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Apple Music lossless uses substantially more data than standard AAC. Apple’s 2021 estimate was about 36 MB for a three-minute Lossless track and 145 MB for a three-minute Hi-Res Lossless track. Scaled to an hour, those figures work out to roughly 720 MB and 2.9 GB, respectively. They are planning estimates, not guaranteed current rates: Apple’s current support guidance confirms that lossless and higher-resolution streaming use more data, but does not give a fixed amount per hour.
Estimated Apple Music data use by quality
The song-size figures below are estimates Apple published around the 2021 launch of lossless audio. Hourly figures are calculations from those three-minute estimates, not separate measurements or current guarantees.
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| Audio quality | Maximum resolution | Estimated data for a three-minute track | Approximate data per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| High Quality AAC | Not stated in the cited launch estimate | 6 MB | 120 MB |
| Lossless | Up to 24-bit/48 kHz | 36 MB | 720 MB |
| Hi-Res Lossless | Up to 24-bit/192 kHz | 145 MB | About 2.9 GB |
Apple’s current support page says that streaming lossless over cellular or Wi-Fi consumes significantly more data, and that higher resolutions use more data than lower ones. It does not promise a fixed data-per-hour rate. Actual use varies with the track’s available resolution and duration, network conditions, and playback behavior. Apple Support’s lossless audio guidance explains the current quality options and their data and storage trade-offs.
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Why your actual usage may differ
Apple Music uses ALAC for lossless audio. Apple says most of its catalog is encoded across resolutions from 16-bit/44.1 kHz to 24-bit/192 kHz, but a chosen quality setting is a ceiling, not a promise that every track will stream at that resolution. Apple notes that streaming quality depends on track availability, network conditions, and the capabilities of the connected playback equipment. The launch-era estimates therefore help compare tiers, but should not be treated as a monthly data-plan forecast precise to the megabyte.
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The 2021 estimates, including the AAC comparison, were reported from Apple’s launch announcement; the hourly equivalents are simple extrapolations. Apple’s 2021 announcement describes Lossless and Hi-Res Lossless, while current support documentation is the better guide to the available settings today.
How to limit Apple Music data on cellular
On iPhone or iPad, set a lower quality for cellular while keeping higher quality for Wi-Fi or downloaded listening:
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- Open Settings > Apps > Music > Audio Quality.
- Turn on Lossless Audio if you want to use lossless quality, then review the separate options for cellular streaming, Wi-Fi streaming, and downloads.
- Choose a lower quality for cellular streaming if you have a capped data plan; select Lossless or Hi-Res Lossless for Wi-Fi or downloads when appropriate.
Apple’s controls allow these contexts to be set separately. Lossless downloads take more device storage. If you change the lossless setting after downloading music, delete and download the tracks again to obtain the version at the newly selected quality. See Apple’s instructions for changing lossless audio settings.
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Streaming data and playback quality are different issues
A higher stream setting can use more data, but your equipment may not reproduce the highest resolution. Apple says iPhone playback above 48 kHz requires an external digital-to-analog converter (DAC), and Bluetooth connections do not support lossless playback. These limitations affect what you hear; they do not make the data estimates for the streaming tiers equivalent. Apple’s Apple Music audio-quality information describes the equipment considerations for Hi-Res Lossless.
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