Tidal has announced big news for high-res audio enthusiasts: starting today (June 29), 6 million songs are now available in FLAC on iOS

These songs will first be available to members of Tidal's Early Access Program (EAP) and will be fully rolled out to all HiFi Plus users in August

The announcement of the rollout was made on Reddit, where Tidal CEO Jesse Dorogusker explained that the FLAC format (short for free lossless audio codec) embodies everything the company stands for:

"FLAC is open source, greater accessibility for artists and fans, and is consistent with TIDAL's support of open platforms Combining accessibility with best-in-class sound quality is directly in line with our goal of empowering artists to run economically prosperous businesses," said Drogsker

So how do you get started streaming FLAC? It's very simple

Before you get started, remember that FLAC files will first be made available to Early Access Program subscribers If you are not already a member, you can sign up at the Tidal website Once registered, download the TestFlight and TidalBeta apps (If you already have them, make sure you have the latest versions)

Open the app and select the highest quality on the new Audio & Playback Settings screen

Finally, make sure you have wired headphones connected to your iOS device If you are using wireless headphones, audio will be compressed over Bluetooth

That's it That's all

If you are not on an Early Access plan, no worries As mentioned above, Drogsker said that HiFi Plus members will have access starting in August