Apple Music
Apple’s streaming service makes serious strides towards becoming a true Spotify competitor.
Launched in 2015, Apple Music primarily focuses on the music you can stream. However, you can also add music you may have ripped from a CD or bought via iTunes, and watch videos. Apple wants Apple Music to be more a “cultural platform” than a music streaming service.
The last time the company revealed official details about the total number of Apple Music subscribers was way back in 2019, when it hit 60 million. By June 2020, that figure was estimated to be 72 million. However, as of March 2021, Spotify has 158 million subscribers, which is a significant difference. But Apple Music doesn’t necessarily need to try to get more subscribers than Spotify; it already has dedicated fans.
All music streaming services are upping their game to bring subscribers better music quality – or at least the option to try it.
Deezer and Tidal already offer hi-res audio. Spotify is launching its HiFi service later in 2021, and Amazon Music HD offers CDquality listening – with better quality soon to follow.
Apple recently announced that Apple Music will be bringing Spatial Audio and the ability to listen to over 75 million tracks in Lossless Audio.
We’ll wait until these new features have rolled out to comment on the quality of them. But what’s important to know right now is Apple Music could sound significantly better than other music streaming services very soon – and not charge you any extra for the uplift in quality.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Right now, Apple Music streams music at a 256kbps AAC bitrate. It streams at the highest quality by default and reduces it if you’re streaming on the move. Tracks sometimes take a few seconds to play, but they’re crisp and clear – especially if you’re listening with a pair of the best noise-cancelling headphones.
There are more than 75 million tracks available to stream on Apple Music – which, at the time of writing, is more than Spotify.
This isn’t just about discovering new music, but loving what you have. Apple Music combines what you already have in iTunes, whether that’s what you’ve bought or ripped from a CD, with the streaming service. This is great for bringing all your music together in one place. There’s similar functionality on offer from Spotify, but you can’t search your library of owned tracks and streaming tracks quite so efficiently; the integration feels seamless with Apple Music.
Apple Music does a fantastic job at helping you to discover new music. It has a great recommendation engine and a vast library.
Upcoming Lossless Audio listening and Dolby Atmos support mean it’s happily keeping up with the competition. Although the service has few stand-out features, it’s Apple through and through, offering a great user experience and fantastic integration with other Apple products.
Becca Caddy