What devices are compatible with Amazon Music Ultra HD?

Amazon Music Ultra HD is Amazon’s premium music streaming service that offers songs at a higher bitrate and sample rate for the best listening experience. With Amazon Music Ultra HD, users get access to songs in lossless Ultra HD audio quality, with music presented exactly as the artist created it in the studio. To take full advantage of the enhanced audio quality, compatible devices are required for playback.

This article will provide an overview of which devices are compatible with Amazon Music Ultra HD streaming. We cover Amazon’s own devices like Echo speakers and Fire TV’s, as well as compatibility across platforms like iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac.

Amazon Echo Devices

Amazon has developed a wide range of Echo devices that support Amazon Music Ultra HD, with the flagship devices being the Echo Dot, Echo Studio, and Echo Show, according to Amazon’s own help documentation.

The Echo Dot is Amazon’s most compact and affordable Echo device. Despite its size, it delivers crisp vocals and balanced bass from a 1.6” speaker, allowing you to enjoy Amazon Music Ultra HD tracks. It also has a 3.5 mm audio output so you can connect an external speaker for even better sound.

For the audiophiles, the Echo Studio delivers immersive, three-dimensional sound through five built-in speakers – a 1″ tweeter, three 2″ mid-range speakers, and a 5.25″ bass driver. This allows you to feel the music play all around you in Ultra HD quality with support for both Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality Audio.

If you want a screen with your smart speaker, the Echo Show models also support Ultra HD music playback. The Echo Show lineup features vivid, crisp displays ranging from 5.5” to 15.6” in size, coupled with powerful speakers, so you can view album art, lyrics, and more while enjoying your favorite tracks.

Fire TV Devices

Amazon’s Fire TV devices are compatible with Amazon Music Ultra HD. This includes the Fire TV Stick 4K and the Fire TV Cube.

The Fire TV Stick 4K supports Ultra HD audio up to 24-bit/192kHz. It has a quad-core processor and 8GB of storage, allowing it to efficiently process and store high quality audio files.

The Fire TV Cube features a hexa-core processor and 16GB of storage. It can decode multiple audio formats up to 24-bit/192kHz for immersive sound. The hands-free Alexa capabilities also allow for convenient voice control of music playback.

Both devices connect to compatible speakers or audio receivers via HDMI-ARC or optical audio output to take full advantage of Amazon Music Ultra HD’s high-resolution audio.

iOS Devices

Many iOS devices are compatible with Amazon Music Ultra HD. According to Amazon, “Any iOS device that can run iOS 12.0 or later, including iPhones and iPads released since 2014, can support HD/Ultra HD” (Amazon Forum).

Specifically, iPhone 8 and later iPhones are compatible, including iPhone 14 models. All iPad Pro models can also stream Ultra HD from Amazon Music.

To enable Ultra HD streaming on iOS devices, users need to have an Amazon Music Unlimited subscription. Playback settings can be changed in the Amazon Music app by going to Settings > Audio Quality.

Android Devices

To stream Amazon Music Ultra HD on Android devices, your device needs to meet certain requirements:

Android 8.0 or higher

At least 3GB RAM
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor or better

Devices that meet these specifications should be capable of playing back Ultra HD quality audio from Amazon Music. According to Amazon’s help documentation, “playback requires compatible devices, proper headphones or speakers, and may take up to 15 seconds to start.”

Some example Android devices capable of Ultra HD from Amazon Music include:

Samsung Galaxy S9 and newer
Google Pixel 3 and newer

OnePlus 7 and newer

While many newer Android phones can handle Ultra HD playback, factors like the audio processor and built-in DAC will impact sound quality. Using an external USB DAC can help provide the best listening experience.

Windows PCs

Amazon Music Ultra HD is supported on Windows 10 and Windows 11 PCs using the Windows app. The following browsers are compatible with the web player:

Microsoft Edge (latest version)
Google Chrome (latest version)

To take full advantage of the high resolution audio, your Windows audio output device and settings need to support 24-bit/192kHz output. Check your audio device properties and Windows Sound settings to enable 24-bit 192 kHz output ¹. Using the Amazon Music app on Windows is recommended over the web player for the best Ultra HD experience.

Mac PCs

To play Amazon Music Ultra HD songs on a Mac, your Mac PC needs to meet the following system requirements:

macOS 10.15 Catalina or later
Supported browsers like Safari, Chrome, Firefox, or Edge for web playback. The Amazon Music app for Mac is also supported.

As per a forum discussion on the Amazon forums, the minimum requirements in 2024 for Ultra HD playback on a Mac are expected to be macOS 12 or higher. To achieve Ultra HD playback, you may need to use an external DAC as well.

Other Supported Devices

In addition to Amazon’s own devices, Amazon Music Ultra HD is also compatible with several other third-party platforms and devices, including:

Sonos speakers – Most Sonos devices produced after 2015 support streaming Amazon Music Ultra HD, including the Sonos One, Play:1, Play:3, Play:5, Beam, Arc, and more. Newer “S2 compatible” Sonos devices can stream Ultra HD up to 24-bit/48kHz ¹.
BluOS devices – The Bluesound range of wireless speakers and audio components are able to stream Amazon Music Ultra HD via the BluOS platform.
Chromecast devices – You can cast Amazon Music Ultra HD to Chromecast devices like Chromecast Audio and Chromecast Ultra from the Amazon Music app.

Apple AirPlay 2 – AirPlay 2 enabled devices like Apple HomePod and other third-party AirPlay 2 speakers are compatible for streaming up to 24-bit/48kHz Ultra HD audio from Amazon Music.

Unsupported Devices

Some older devices are unable to support playback of Amazon Music Ultra HD due to hardware limitations. This includes older Echo smart speakers like the original Echo, Echo Dot 1st gen, and Echo Dot 2nd gen which lack the processing power to handle the higher bitrates of Ultra HD streaming.

Many older Android devices, especially those with only 1 or 2GB of RAM, may struggle to play Ultra HD tracks smoothly. The processing demands are higher for Ultra HD and can lead to choppy playback on underpowered devices. Android phones released prior to 2014-2015 are less likely to provide a seamless Ultra HD streaming experience.

iOS devices also require a certain level of processing power for Ultra HD. iPhones before the iPhone 8, such as the iPhone 5s, 6, and 7, are unable to play Ultra HD tracks even if updated to the latest iOS version. The iPhone 8 and later models contain upgraded internals that enable Ultra HD playback through Amazon Music.

In summary, older Echo speakers, low RAM Android phones, and iPhones before the iPhone 8 lack the capabilities to handle Ultra HD streaming from Amazon Music. Users with these devices will be limited to lower audio quality such as regular High Definition tracks.

Conclusion

Amazon Music Ultra HD is available on a variety of devices, ranging from Amazon’s own Echo and Fire TV products to mobile devices and computers. The main categories of compatible devices include Amazon Echo speakers and smart displays, Fire TV streaming media players, iOS devices such as iPhone and iPad, Android smartphones and tablets, Windows PCs, and Mac computers.

Specific models that support Ultra HD include the Echo Studio, 4th gen Echo, 3rd gen Echo Dot, Fire TV Stick 4K, Fire TV Cube, and more. Popular mobile devices that work with Ultra HD include recent iPhones and high-end Android phones like the Galaxy S22 series.

For an always up-to-date list of supported devices, check the Amazon Music site. You can also use their compatibility tool to search for your specific device. While Ultra HD is available on a wide variety of gadgets, some older and lower-end devices are not supported due to hardware limitations.