Google’s journey has been bumpy. The search giant’s Play Music service never took off. The company has replaced it with YouTube Music, which now comes by default on Android devices running OS 10.
Cross-Platform Availability
YouTube Music is available on iOS and Android. It’s also available on the web. There is no native support for Mac and Windows, though. Google has added support for the company’s smart speakers and Chromecast devices. Download YouTube Music for iOS
Interface and Experience
User experience does matter in a music streaming service. If a user doesn’t find what he is looking for, then he might switch to another app. YouTube Music has kept home, discover, and library menu at the bottom. You can access the downloads, liked songs, albums, etc. from the Library menu. The profile menu is at the upper right corner, and YouTube should move it to the bottom tabs for an easy access.
Discover Songs
YouTube Music already has your listening habits through the YouTube app, and unsurprisingly, it does a better job at the recommendation. The app displays new videos, favorite artists, songs, and playlists based on Collage, Relaxation, Road Trip, Office hours, Gym, and more. There is something for everyone. The hotlist section shows the trending videos from the YouTube platform. Overall, YouTube Music is a mixture of music albums, videos, and live performances. I like how it has an integrated video section right inside the app. You can also browse through trending playlists set by the moderators. Both the apps support millions of songs, and you won’t have a hard time finding a song.
Extra Features
The company provides loudness normalization, which keeps the overall sound profile at the same level all songs. YouTube Music also offers high-quality downloads at 320kbps. The app allows you to auto-download mixtape based on your usage. The automated suggestions have been a hit and miss for me. YouTube has integrated Siri shortcuts support in the app. You can set Siri to open up any playlist and play a song via a set phrase. I’m hoping to see Google Assistant integration in a future update. The app supports iOS widgets so you can long-press app icon to access downloaded songs directly.
Listening Experience
The equipment on which you are playing the song makes a major difference in the listening experience. YouTube Music provides stats for nerds with every song. In music playing screen, tap on the three-dot menu and select stats. You will find all the technical details such as Framedrop, Net Activity, codes, and more in the little dialog box. Always remember, if you truly care about listening experience, then invest in better quality headphones or earphones to get the maximum out of these streaming services.
Price
For YouTube Music, you can separately purchase the service at $10/month or opt for YouTube Premium at $12/month, which lets you access ad-free YouTube app, download videos, and keep the videos running in the background.
Which One You Should Use
Next Up: Have you decided to ditch Spotify in favor of YouTube Music? Read the post below on transferring playlist from one platform to another.
