It might be difficult to answer that question right away before diving in and seeing what each service offers. Even then, if you just scratch the surface, they probably feel extremely similar. So check out this list of some features in Apple Music you probably didn’t discover or learn about right away. A little perspective goes a long way.
Listen to Apple Music Without Using Cellular Data
One of the biggest drawbacks of switching to a streaming service from just listening to music stored locally on your device is that streaming music eats through your data for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Streaming requires an Internet connection and every time you stream a song, the data use is about the equivalent of downloading it. Fortunately, Apple Music does have a workaround so that you don’t use data while listening to music. Simply plan what you’re going to listen to ahead of time, before you’re in an area where you’d have to rely on cellular data – or even if you’ll be in an area with no cell service at all. Save the playlists, albums, artists or individual songs offline. They’ll download in advance, then when you head out, you’ll have them on your iPhone or iPad for easy access without the data usage. To do this, just tap the ellipsis next to any title in Apple Music, whether it’s a single song or an entire playlist. Then tap Make Available Offline. The songs will automatically start downloading for offline use on your device and you won’t have to stream those selections. Be sure you download them while you’re already connected to Wi-Fi, since downloading would use up your data otherwise. Note: While saving songs for offline listening won’t use any of your cellular data, they will take up storage space in your iPhone or iPad. If you’re storage is close to full, you may not be able to take advantage of offline listening.
Have Siri Stream from Apple Music for You
Siri got smarter alongside the debut of Apple Music. You can ask her to play just about anything from the Apple Music library and even get pretty specific with it. Tell her to play the top songs of the 1990’s and she’ll do just that. You can also say to play a specific artist, album or song – whether it’s in your personal music library or not. Siri can also launch Beats 1 radio for you, Apple’s new live and international radio station in Apple Music. Just tell her to do so. Even more than being able to play music, Siri can perform specific actions and answer your questions. Tell her to “love” a song you’re listening to give Apple Music a little bit of knowledge on what you like. Or ask Siri who sings the current song playing or which album it’s from.
Set Any Apple Music Song as Your Alarm Sound
Now that you have millions upon millions of songs on your iPhone with your Apple Music subscription, you can take advantage of just one to use as your alarm sound. Wake up to smooth jazz or heavy metal, just because you can. Note: The song does have to be in your My Music library, so make sure you search Apple Music first and add it if you didn’t already. For this, head to the Clock app. Set a new alarm or modify an existing alarm. Then tap Sound and choose Pick a song. From here you can browse through your collection and tap the song you want for the alarm. Make sure that when the alarm is set to go off, your iPhone is connected to the Internet somehow, otherwise you might have problems streaming the song.
As Easy As Apple Pie?
Now you have three new tips to make you an Apple Music pro… or at least someone who’s getting the most out of their $9.99 per month subscription.
