Qobuz Postpones US Launch for 2019 and Announces Pricing Plan

French online music service Qobuz promised to launch its streaming and download subscriptions in the US in 2018, offering a completely new option for the industry, with a high-end tier plan of 24-bit FLAC streaming that until now has never been available. Throughout the year, Qobuz has been actively promoting the service and the different hi-res streaming and download options. The company finally made an announcement confirming its US pricing plan, and stated that steps have been taken towards an "early 2019 US launch."

With the iPod and all the clone mp3 players now long gone and forgotten, music enthusiasts already deeply committed to music streaming services are looking again for ways to enjoy higher-quality and high-resolution audio options when out of home and on the move. Manufacturers like HiBy are responding with dedicated and affordable streaming music players like the R3, promoted as the smallest and lightest Tidal's Online Music Library Player. And now HiBy also confirmed MQA playback support for the R3.

In audioXpress we've published several stories about French music streaming provider Qobuz, soon to be launching in the US this Fall. The company claims to be "the world's highest resolution music streaming service," meaning they have more hi-res audio files to download than any other. But the interesting part is their claim that, with the launch in the US, they will be also providing a hi-res streaming option based on FLAC (lossless compression). A world first, which the company will be introducing at CEDIA Expo 2018.