Complete Apple Music Review. The music service you're most likely to love

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

IOS 8.4 was released yesterday with Apple Music. In it you can - for the first 90 days for free, and then for 169 rubles a month - download music, listen to the radio and follow your favorite artists. We've looked at Apple Music from every angle and are ready to share why other streaming services need to be scared.

About a year ago, I got tired of music on the VKontakte social network, and since there is not much memory on the computer, it was also impossible to store audio offline. Then I learned about Google Music and iTunes Match services. I studied them for a week. Closely, learning about every detail and comparing the quality of the music.

I don’t know how I missed the difference between these services: if Google Music did what I needed, iTunes Match was the usual repository for pirated music. Of course, I paid for an annual iTunes Match subscription and regretted it ten minutes later when I learned that I had bought a pig in a poke. Himself to blame.

Apple Music is exactly what I wanted a year ago. Music service for those who are tied to the "apple" ecosystem. With a convenient application, the ability to download music offline, listen to the radio and follow the performers.

Appearance

After launching the new Music app, I immediately ran into a problem. Despite the fact that Apple provides a three-month free subscription, there must be an amount equal to the cost of one month on the linked card or iTunes account. The money is not withdrawn, but I had to run to the ATM and throw it on the card.

After activating the subscription, all the music that you have purchased before will be available in the "My Music" tab. Speaking of tabs, there are five of them:

1. "For you" - music that is selected automatically according to your preferences.
2. "New" - a tab for finding new music.
3. "Radio" - radio stations sorted by genre.
4. Connect - communication with performers (it is empty for now).
5. "My music".

Unlike Spotify and even more so Google Music, the service works fine on the iPhone 5. It is unlikely that anyone could forgive Apple if it were otherwise. After all, "Music" is a native application.

Apple couldn't help but focus on Taylor Swift. Of all the streaming services, her album "1989" is only available on Apple Music, and this is reminded on the first screen.

If you go to the album page, it becomes possible to add it to your library, favorites, or share with friends. By opening the additional menu, you can turn on the radio, download the album offline, show it in the iTunes Store, or add it to a playlist.

The playback interface has changed a bit. The background is now painted in the color of the album. In addition, it is possible to add a song to your favorites, view the playlist and minimize the player by clicking on the button at the top. You can also minimize it by simply swiping from top to bottom.

The lock screen also has a button for favorites. If you try to share a song, the app will open; you cannot do this from the lock screen.

Music

I don't give a damn about the design of the application, the main thing is the music. It can be found in Apple Music in four ways:

1. Listening to radio stations.
2. By adding your favorite artists ("My Music").
3. Choosing performers according to preferences ("For you").
4. Learning about new releases ("New").

Each method deserves a separate mention.

Radio

Unfortunately, Russian users do not have access to the Beats 1 radio station. At the WWDC conference, the station put a special emphasis on it. Cool DJs, quality music, round-the-clock broadcasting and interviews with famous performers. It is worth saying that without the Beats 1, we are missing something. Since I have an American account, I managed to listen to the radio and was delighted with it.

There are other stations with music sorted by genre. I would not say that I liked the proposed songs. It may take time for the service to adapt to the tastes of users.

My music

It seems that Apple has logically assumed that the "My Music" tab will be the most used, and placed it to the right of the rest. The problem is that I'm left-handed and it's uncomfortable to reach there. What can we say about the owners of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. It's a shame that there is no way to sort the tabs.

On the My Music screen, you can choose the criteria by which the music will be sorted: artists, albums, songs, videos. You can only display music that is available offline. By the way, offline songs are not downloaded very quickly, but bearable.

The good news is that - unlike Spotify - they can rock even when the app is closed. Therefore, when you launch Apple Music for the first time, you can download all your favorite music and close the application - the download will continue.

In "My Music" there is a separate tab with playlists. Here you will find not only the playlists you have created, but also automatic ones, for example, "Top 25" or "Recently Added".

For you

The longer you use the service, the better this tab will work. On the first visit, you will be asked to select your favorite genres (you can double-click if you really like the genre), and then select your favorite artists from the proposed ones.

Despite the fact that I chose Alabama Shakes, Massive Attack, the proposed music included Disturbed and All That Remains. I have nothing against these groups, but I am waiting for the moment when the service learns my wishes better and starts offering music of better quality.

The "For You" tab offers not only albums, but also playlists created manually by the service editors. For example, the Intro to The Hives playlist featured the top ten songs from various albums by this group. Great feature. I don't even need to explain why.

New

The New tab is similar to the Featured section in the App Store and iTunes Store. This includes new albums by Apple-approved artists. There is a rubricator at the top, and I highly recommend using it. In my experience with iTunes, very popular artists come in here, and it's hard to find good music. Sorting by headings saves the day a bit.

But this section also contains some of the coolest features. Below you will find three things. The first is Apple Music Editors' Music Collections. This includes only selected songs of different genres, which are passed through the moderators of the service.

The second is the playlists of curators - famous music magazines. For example, Rolling Stone or Resident Advisor. This is where you need to go if you need new music, the quality of which you can not doubt.

And finally, the third is activity. Here you can choose a playlist for any activity: running, cooking, party, work or study. Each category contains a dozen playlists. Here I hang out for a long time, downloading music for tomorrow's run.

Connect

I expected a lot from Connect, and so far it has disappointed me a little. Everyone has a favorite artist, and following them, for example, on Twitter is hell. The feed is filled with tweets with concert announcements, and the amount of useful information is reduced to zero. Therefore, Connect was supposed to become a kind of music social network, where fans could interact with idols.

And he will, but a little later. So far, there is very little information in Connect, but what is there works somehow. I was unable to download the video of the Alabama Shakes rehearsal, no matter how hard I tried: the player gave an error.

But even now you can see a rare photo from the concert of Nirvana and comments from fans of the group. Moreover, you can write a comment yourself, but answer someone - no. Only complain.

Conclusion

Since the announcement at WWDC, I've been looking forward to Apple Music. Perhaps you know from my articles on Google Music and Spotify that I am breathing unevenly towards music, so I expected Apple's service to be a point in my search for the perfect way to listen to audio. And he became her.

However, in addition to the several drawbacks that I described above, there is one more. Apple, contrary to its reputation as a company that creates the perfect ecosystem, has not connected devices within Apple Music in any way. For example, I use my iPad as a music station that is always connected to my speakers. But I cannot control music from iPhone or Mac. By the way, Spotify can do that. I hope that with the release of the service for Mac, the function will still be added.

I know Google Music and Spotify have their own pros, but if you're tied to the Apple ecosystem, you have no choice. Price, convenience and a huge song base will do the trick. And if you use several Apple devices and have not switched to Apple Music yet, then you will soon.