“Apple has confirmed Apple Music’s streaming bitrate is 256kbps,” Nate Swanner reports for TNW. “That’s Apple’s standard playback rate for existing iTunes tracks, but below some of the competition.”

“It’s even below Beats Music’s threshold of 320kbps — the company Apple purchased last year,” Swanner reports. “Spotify, Google Play Music and Tidal all stream at ‘up to’ 320kbps, too.”

“Higher bitrate streaming leads to more data consumption,” Swanner reports. “There’s been no lavish outcry for better iTunes playback quality, suggesting users either can’t tell the difference between 256kbps and 320kbps — or just don’t care.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: 256kbps will sound fine and, importantly, keep cellular data consumption in check. We still do not know if it will be AAC vs. the inferior MP3 (Beats Music uses) or what the format/bitrate will be for Apple Music or Connect content that Apple Music members save for offline listening.

SEE ALSO:

Why Apple Music will gut and publicly execute Spotify – June 10, 2015
Spotify CEO claims to be ‘ok’ with Apple Music – June 9, 2015
Jimmy Iovine and Eddy Cue: Apple Music gunning for Spotify, YouTube, and terrestrial radio – June 9, 2015
Something about Apple Music betraying Apple’s brilliance by ignoring ‘The Harry Potter Theory of Marketing’ or some such nonsense – June 9, 2015
Bob Lefsetz on Apple Music: What team is Jimmy Iovine on? – June 9, 2015
Apple Music’s huge advantage over Spotify – June 9, 2015
Apple Music is a major mess and it won’t beat Spotify or something – June 9, 2015
When Apple Music arrives, what happens to iTunes Match? – June 9, 2015
What Apple Music says about how Apple views musicians – June 8, 2015
Apple’s revolutionary Apple Music just might prove its skeptics wrong – June 8, 2015
Apple unveils revolutionary Apple Music service – June 8, 2015