Gone are the days when music was only available on record players and cassettes. Music consumption has changed over the years from those forms of media to MP3 files and iPods. And now, streaming services have taken over. Many people now get their music from streaming services. Apple Music is one of these streaming services and it is not the only one in the industry; a bunch of other popular services are also available. Well, today, the spotlight is on Apple Music and we would go into details of how this streaming service works.
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Apple Music is based on the Beats Streaming Service that Apple bought back in 2014. Coupled with the help of the most popular DJs in the world, Apple Music became more and more popular. Apple Music began to compete with streaming services like Spotify when the Beats brand became a live internet radio station within the app, and musicians like Drake signed some deals with Apple Music.
You can download the Apple Music app from Apple App Store for iOS or Google Play Store for Android.
How to Use Apple Music
iOS devices have Apple Music as their default app for listening to music. It is also available on Google Play Store for Android which is a surprise considering the few numbers of Apple apps on the Google Play Store. There are similarities you’ll encounter when using the app on both Android and iOS. However, the main difference between both is the music search option. The iOS app has the search button present in a separate tab in the bottom menu and on Android, the search icon lies in the top right instead. Navigating on the app on both platforms is the same. The button menu consists of various icons that will lead you to different menus. Looking from left to right, you’ll find the Library, the “For You” section, Browse, and the search button (on iOS).
Signing Up
With Apple Music, you get access to over 50 million songs and music videos on macOS, iOS, tvOS, watchOS, CarPlay, HomePod, Windows, Android, Chrome OS, Amazon Echo, Sonos, and web browsers. Having a device with any of these platforms means you can access Apple Music. It is very easy to sign up. Apple offers you a three-month trial and if you like, you can subscribe to a plan after the trial ends. There’s a $9.99 per month single membership and $14.99 family membership plan (which allows up to 6 people).
The Library
The Library is a center that’s got all of your music. You’ll find your personal library or songs you searched for and saved. To save, simply hit the “+ Add” button to add songs to your list. The UI is intuitive and makes navigation easy just like it was on iTunes. The Recently Added section is also on the main screen so you can easily access the songs you added previously.
Audio Quality
Apple Music has decent audio quality, but when compared to Tidal’s Hi-Fi and Masters offering, it is still below. This is not easily noticeable though, except you’re a hardcore audiophile—the audio streams at 256Kbps, which is a lower bitrate than Spotify’s 320Kbps streams. Thanks to the AAC format Apple Music uses, streams can retain more audio data. There’s the lyrics feature (when they are available) to make singing along possible if you’re not sure of the words.
With the rise of streaming services, the competition will be fierce, but there’s a high probability that Apple users like iPhone users will stick to Apple Music, which is their default music app. In all, one great music app you can bank on is Apple Music.
