The Longplay app
Albums played the way they were made, at the quality that suits your headphones and your data plan.
Choose a quality, see the cost
Set Wi-Fi and mobile data separately in Settings, Audio quality. Downloads have their own setting.
The five qualities, to scale
Quality
Bitrate, to scale
Bitrate
Data
Plan
Data saver
96 kbps
43 MB an hour
Free
Normal
Mobile data default
160 kbps
72 MB an hour
Free
High
320 kbps
144 MB an hour
Plus
Lossless
Wi-Fi default
1,411 kbps
up to 635 MB
Studio
Hi-res
4,608 kbps
up to 2.1 GB
Studio
Bars are drawn to scale by bitrate. Lossless streams vary by track: the solid part is a typical stream, the hatched part the most it can use. Data figures are the most an hour of streaming uses (sample figures).
Made for listening to whole albums
Records play in the order the artist chose, without gaps between tracks, and every track shows who played on it.
Gapless album playback
Live records and DJ mixes run straight through, the way they were mastered.
On by default
Full credits
Players, producers, engineers and the studio, for every track we have the data for.
Swipe up on Now playing
Radio made by people
Weekly shows hosted by label staff and record shop owners, with the tracklist kept.
Radio tab
Lyrics in time
Lines light up as they are sung, and you can tap a line to jump to it.
Now playing, Lyrics
Live sessions
Concert and studio recordings released only on Longplay (sample).
Search, Live
Download at home, play on the train
Plus and Studio download albums and playlists for no-signal journeys. Choose the download quality on its own: High fits a long trip on a small phone, Lossless suits a week of travel with room to spare.
Data saver
32 MB
Normal
54 MB
High
108 MB
Lossless
up to 476 MB
Hi-res
up to 1.55 GB
One 45-minute album, downloaded (sample figures). Same scale as the streaming ladder.
Where you can listen
One account on up to five devices. Start on your phone and carry on at your desk: the queue follows you.
iPhone and iPad
iOS 16 or later
Hi-res needs a USB-C or Lightning DAC for full resolution.
Android
Android 10 or later
Downloads can go to an SD card.
Mac and Windows
macOS 12, Windows 10 or later
Exclusive mode sends the file to your DAC untouched.
Web player
A current browser
Up to High; lossless needs the app.
Speakers and TVs
Casting from the app
Your phone works as the remote.
Cars
Phone mirroring in the dashboard
Big buttons and voice search while you drive.
System requirements (sample).
Start with an album you know well
Longplay is free to download. Try the same record on Normal and on Lossless, with your own headphones, and decide whether you hear the difference.