Cross-Platform Availability
Download Apple Music for iOS
User Interface
This one is important. If a user doesn’t find what he is looking for, then it can be irritating and might lead a switch to rival service. The Settings menu is at the top, which is uncomfortably weird. The three-dot menu throughout the UI uses a transparent theme that looks good to me. Apple Music is straightforward with iOS guidelines. It uses a white theme by default and supports the dark mode in iOS 13. All the major options such as Library, Browser, Search, etc. are at the bottom. As its case with every Apple app, the settings menu isn’t accessible from the app itself. You need to go to device Settings to make the changes.
Discover New Songs
The banner on the top displays the brand-new albums for the chosen languages. Below that, you will find the custom playlist created by moderators, trending ones, and playlists based on occasions. When playing a song, users can tap on the three-dot menu and choose ‘customer also listened to’ option to find new songs based on other’s listening habits. Apple Music straight away asks you to choose the music interests on the startup. Now, from the app, head to ‘For You’ section, and it will suggest the playlists, songs, and new music based on interests. The Browser menu lets you discover new songs and albums based on languages. It is a vertical mix of banners, playlist, and songs in a single menu. Apple also displays Beats 1 interviews and gives an overview of the upcoming albums at the bottom. The radio integration is also there if you are into listening online radio on the go.
Music Player and Listening Experience
No matter how many songs a service offers, if the listening experience isn’t up to mark, then it might lead users to the uninstall option. I tried the app with Mi Bluetooth speaker and Funcl wireless earphones. It worked flawlessly. There was no lag and the overall quality stayed to the maximum level. Unfortunately, there is no built-in equalizer support. Apple Music opts for a fairly simple player UI with minimum functions at the bottom. Due to the closed nature of the Apple eco-system, the casting functionality only works with Apple devices such as Apple TV and HomePod speaker. Tap on the three-dot menu, and the sliding section lets you like a song, suggest fewer songs like that and other personalized options. Apple Music offers EQ support, but it’s not available in the app. You need to go to Settings > Apple Music > Playback > EQ and select the relevant setting.
Features
Other functions include sleep timer to shut the service down after set time, the offline recommendation to automatically download songs for you, music downloads, loudness normalization to keep a balance among all songs, and more. Apple Music, being a built-in service, takes advantage of other Apple services. It supports Siri shortcuts, has radio integration, automatic downloads, the ability to set volume limits, and more.
Price
Apple Music is free for the first three months. After that, it costs $10/month for a personal plan and $15/month for the family plan, which lets you add up to five more people into the group.
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