Tag: apple music

  • Apple Music Rewind 2023 is available for those subs who can’t help but track everything

    Apple Music Rewind 2023 is available for those subs who can’t help but track everything

    Apple Rewind. Like Spotify Wrapped, right? No, not really. Spotify keeps things under wraps and surprises you with stats at the end of the year, while Apple Rewind is a feature that lets you check what you are listening to most at all times.

    Redundant, since you’d be doing it in real time, but hey — remember that you can do it for the entire year! As in, if you feel like checking your playlist history from months ago, through this feature you can do that, so it’s not that surface level.

    And if that got you interested in checking it out, you can do that right now. Apple Rewind for 2023 is live now, and it allows you to check what you expect: top songs, albums, artists and so forth. But it also starts automatically drafting you a playlist with your most played songs of the year, which is always neat.

    If you want to check out your own playlist, you can open your Apple Music app under the Listen Now tab. At the very bottom, you should be able to see all of the yearly playlist that the service has drafted for you, ever since you were a subscriber and as far back as 2015, when Apple Music initially launched.

    At the end of the year, however, Apple will give you a quick hit of dopamine and release a more in-depth overview of your musical journey. If you’d like to follow how the entire process is going, you can check back with the website every Monday, as usually the data is refreshed every Sunday.

    You’ve had to have reached a certain threshold of listening activity in order for the feature to kick in for your account. In other words: If you aren’t seeing anything by next Monday, you might want to add “Listen to more music” to your list of goals to achieve in 2023.

  • Mercedes Enables Apple Music Spatial Audio On Its Cars

    Mercedes Enables Apple Music Spatial Audio On Its Cars

    Mercedes has always made a big deal about its Burmester Audio system on its luxury vehicles which promise 3D and 4D sound, but now it has upped the ante by collaborating with Apple. Apple’s music streaming service, Apple Music, launched spatial audio support last year and now it is deeply integrated into the latest Mercedes Benz EQE SUV which launched on Sunday.

    Spatial audio will be enabled at the heart of the MBUX infotainment system which will first come to the Mercedes Maybach S-Class, S-Class, EQS, and EQS SUV via a software update and it will be launched as well on the EQE and the newly launched EQE SUV. This feature is available for cars that have the Bumester 3D or 4D sound system which costs an additional $4,550 to $6,730.

    Mercedes and Apple believe that it will offer a more realistic audio experience and give the vibe of a concert hall.

    “Sound quality is incredibly important to Apple Music which is why we are so excited to be working with Mercedes to make Spatial Audio on Apple Music available natively in the car for the first time. Spatial Audio is revolutionising the way artists create and fans listen to music and it’s an experience that is impossible to explain in words; you have to hear it for yourself to appreciate it. Together with Mercedes, we now have even more opportunities to bring wholly immersive music to our subscribers all over the world,“ said Apple’s VP for Apple Music and Beats Oliver Schusser.

    While Apple has an arrangement with Audi and Porsche for the integration of Apple Music in their cars, this is the first time the Cupertino-based company has extended spatial audio capabilities beyond iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods and HomePods. Recently, Apple revealed that Apple Music had over 100 million songs and a substantial chunk of the portfolio includes songs tuned for spatial audio and lossless high-resolution audio formats.

    Most premium car owners tend to iPhone users as it is the best-selling smartphone in the world and via its vertical integration Apple is now capturing a lot of customers that would’ve traditionally gravitated towards Spotify by virtue of deals like the one it has now cracked with Mercedes.

  • Apple Music introduces new, exclusive live features

    Apple Music introduces new, exclusive live features

    Music streaming services like Spotify, YouTube Music, Deezer, TIDAL are often adding new features to try to improve their offering further. Apple Music is no exception, so if you’re considering the service, you’ll be happy to know that it’s getting new, exclusive live features.

    Called Apple Music Sessions, these exclusive live releases will feature some of the world’s most famous artists, as well as emerging artists. More importantly, Apple Music users will be able to listen to these exclusive live releases in Spatial Audio.

    All Apple Music Sessions are recorded out of Apple Music’s studios around the world. Interesting enough, these are also filmed, which makes the combination of Spatial Audio tracks and companion live performance music videos more appealing.

    If you’re already paying for Apple Music, then you’ll want to know that Apple Music Sessions is already available with releases from Carrie Underwood and Tenille Townes, recorded out of Apple Music’s new studios in Nashville, Tennessee.

  • Apple Music Voice Plan to go live in iOS 15.2

    Apple Music Voice Plan to go live in iOS 15.2

    Designed exclusively for Siri, Apple Music’s Voice Plan is likely to be available for users in the United States this month, after being officially unveiled back in October. The new subscription service for Apple Music offers access to a catalog of 90 million songs, thousands of playlists, and Apple Music Radio via Siri for $4.99.

    The Voice Plan is so integrated with Siri that even the subscribing process must can be done through Apple’s voice assistant. Those who wish to subscribe to the Apple Music Voice Plan must say “Hey Siri, start my Apple Music Voice trial.” Of course, another option would be to simply sign up through the Apple Music app.

    The service allows users to request music be played across all Siri-enable devices, including HomePod mini, AirPods, iPhone, or any other Apple device, and even when using CarPlay.

    The new tier subscription service was mentioned in release notes for the upcoming iOS 15.2 software update and seeing that Apple has just released the fifth iOS 15.2 beta software update, it’s very likely that the stable version will be made available in December.

    Unlike the standard Apple Music subscription tier that cost $9.99 per month, the Siri-controlled tier doesn’t allow subscribers to manage the service with the Music app. Also, Spatial Audio, lyrics, and the ability to save music offline aren’t supported by the Voice Plan. However, Apple Music subscribers have all the features offered by the Siri-oriented plan included.

  • Apple Music headed to PlayStation 5

    Apple Music headed to PlayStation 5

    In an unsurprising turn of events, Apple Music is about to make its debut on PlayStation 5, Sony’s hard to come by the gaming console. This would be the second major Apple service provided by Sony via its PlayStation console after the Japanese giant offered PS5 owners six months of free access to Apple TV+.

    Although the arrival of the app hasn’t been officialized yet, some Reddit users claim they have received the option to download Apple Music on their PlayStation 5 consoles, but the app wasn’t available.

    Eurogamer reports they have tried to download the app from a UK account, but they didn’t find the app. However, they did get the prompt to download Apple Music from a newly created US account.

    While PS5 users may not yet be able to download Apple Music on their consoles, the recent reports suggest that Sony is going to make the app available very soon. We’re not sure if this is such a big thing for Apple to announce its October 18 event which focuses on Macs, but at least we know the Apple Music app will sooner or later come to the PS5.

  • Apple Music plans on challenging Spotify

    Apple Music plans on challenging Spotify

    Last week, Spotify announced that during the first quarter of this year, the number of its paid subscribers rose 21% to 158 million. During that quarter, Spotify HiFi was unveiled which will give subscribers the option to listen to lossless streaming music in select markets later this year. Spotify says that the feature will allow subscribers to “listen to their favorite songs the way artists intended,” and that this is “consistently one of the most requested new features.”

    Apple recently released iOS 14.6 developer beta 1. Code found in the release mentioned things like “Dolby Atmos,” “Dolby Audio,” and “Lossless.” The references do not appear in iOS 14.5 and in iOS 14.6 beta 2 which means that Apple could be trying to make this a secret.

    Besides Spotify, whose high-quality stream will be available later this year, Amazon Music HD offers a higher-quality stream at 320kbps for $14.99 a month ($12.99 for Prime members), $5 more a month than its standard plan. Tidal has a lossless service priced at $19.99 monthly that streams at 1,411 Kbps.

    Apple could introduce the lossless streaming tier for Apple Music during virtual WWDC 2021 which is scheduled to kick off on June 7th. Additionally, some believe that Apple will announce the new Apple Music tier at the same time that it introduces new AirPods which might include the AirPods 3, the AirPods Pro 2 and two other possible models. However, TF International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said back in March that the third-generation “earable” won’t see the light of day until the third quarter (July-September) of this year.

    Speaking of AirPods, if you can’t wait for the next generation models to launch, check out the best sales and deals on the most popular TWS earbuds in the world.

  • Apple Music update brings some iOS 14 features to Android devices

    Apple Music update brings some iOS 14 features to Android devices

    Apple briefly tested some iOS 14 features for its Music app for Android devices last month, but they were only available for those able to access the beta version of the app. Starting this week, just about all the important changes that were spotted last month are now making it to the stable version of the Apple Music app.

    If you’re using Apple’s music streaming service on an Android phone, here is what you’ll get in the latest update. First off, the update adds Listen Now, a new section that replaces the For You tab, a brand-new search experience, which involves relocating the search icon to the bottom bar, and, finally, an enhanced playback experience.

    Under the “enhanced playback experience” tag, you can include important new features like Autoplay, Crossfade, as well as the possibility to share on Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat Stories. All of these new features are now available to all Apple Music users on Android devices.

    Besides the most obvious stuff, Apple mentions that the update also improved the app’s performance, which means a lot of under-the-hood changes were made too. To get the most out of your Apple Music app, you can download the latest update right now via the Google Play Store.

  • Spotify’s newest feature finally puts it on par with Apple Music

    Spotify’s newest feature finally puts it on par with Apple Music

    Spotify is the leading music streaming service and the company is continuously trying to improve its platform. Today, it has rolled out a useful new feature to Android and iOS users around the world.

    The feature hasn’t been given an official name but it essentially upgrades in-app search with support for lyrics. Once enabled, Spotify users can search for a song by typing in some of the lyrics.

    That comes in handy when you don’t know the name of the song or artist. It should also reduce the dependence on third-party apps such as SoundHound and Shazam, the latter of which is owned by Apple.

    Speaking of the Tim Cook-led company, this new search feature finally puts Spotify on par with arch-rival Apple Music, which has supported the in-app lyric search for a couple of years now.

    The news comes less than a week after Spotify updated its Collaborative Playlists feature to make it easier to add friends and family members while also introducing user avatars in the playlist header and alongside each song of the episode.
  • Shazam finally adds Apple Music integration on Android

    Shazam finally adds Apple Music integration on Android

    It’s been almost two years since Apple acquired Shazam, the music recognition software that everyone installs on their phones. To this day, Shazam would allow Android users to connect to the Spotify app to add songs to playlists or even play them within the app.

    Apple Music users must have been frustrated that Shazam doesn’t feature integration with their favorite music streaming service, even after the app was bought by the Cupertino-based company.

    Luckily, things are about to change for the better. Apple Music integration is now making its way to Shazam users on Android. When you receive the update that adds the new feature, you should be able to see the Apple Music option in the Settings menu of the Shazam app. Simply tap the Connect button next to the service and if you have an active subscription, you’ll be able to share playlists and play songs recognized by Shazam.

    At the moment, it’s unclear whether this is a server-side or a straightforward update that you can download from the Google Play Store. What we do know is that even Shazam users with a slightly older version of the app installed have started to see this feature on their Android phones.

  • Apple Music app soon to receive dark mode on Android devices

    Apple Music app soon to receive dark mode on Android devices

    Unlike Google, Apple is a bit slower when it comes to adding dark mode to its Android apps, but that’s quite understandable. If you happen to use Apple Music on your Android smartphone, you’ll be pleased to know that an upcoming update will bring the long-awaited dark mode.

    If you want to try it out before Apple makes it available to everyone, you can install the beta version of the app via the Play Store. The guys at 9to5mac have recently spotted a new update to Apple Music beta, which adds not only a dark theme but also several features from iOS 13.

    Apart from dark mode, the update will also add the redesigned Now Playing UI and time-synced lyrics, which lets users follow along with their favorite music as it plays. The time-synced lyrics feature comes with appealing animations to make following along more fun, as well as some gesture controls that will allow you to jump to your favorite verse.

    Apple hasn’t yet committed to a release date for this update, but there’s a high chance that the new update will be pushed out around the same time Apple releases iOS 13 in the fall.

  • Apple Music trial may shrink from three months to just one

    Apple Music trial may shrink from three months to just one

    One way for music streaming services to expand their subscribers base is through trials. Offering their services for free for a limited is a great way to convince potential subscribers whether or not a service suits their needs.

    Apple is one of the not so many companies that offer a generous 3-month trial to those who want to try out its music streaming service. However, the situation might change.

    A new banner published on Apple’s page for accessories offers a one month free trial of Apple Music instead of the standard three-month free trial. It doesn’t look like this is a mistake, but it’s possible that Apple will start offering 1-month trials in addition to the usual 3-month trials.

    If you click on the banner, you will get the prompt for a three-month free trial in iTunes, so that’s encouraging. Also, Apple hasn’t yet officialized the move on the Apple Music website, so it remains to be seen whether or not this a mistake or the company plans to change the duration of its Apple Music trial.

  • New Apple Music subscribers can get free four-month Plans

    New Apple Music subscribers can get free four-month Plans

    While Spotify has managed to maintain its solid lead in the thriving music streaming industry thanks to frequent deals bundling the service with other popular apps or even free hardware, the steady growth of Apple Music has come largely in the absence of discounts and free trials.

    If you didn’t feel comfortable buying certain headphones or getting certain unlimited wireless plans just to receive gratis access to a library of over 50 million songs for anywhere between 3 and 6 months, Groupon is now offering a sweet and straightforward 4-month deal with absolutely no strings attached. The only condition you need to meet to qualify for this extended trial is to be a new Apple Music subscriber.

    Meanwhile, existing users get nothing, unlike those who subscribed in the past but ditched the platform in the meantime for some reason, which is eligible for a free month of premium music streaming.

    Arguably the best thing about this promotion is that you can choose either an individual subscription or a family plan for your free four-month Apple Music trial, the latter of which naturally offers the best value, supporting up to six members on six separate accounts, each with their own playlists, settings, and preferences. Just remember to cancel your subscription if you don’t want to extend it beyond the promotional period and pay $9.99 a month for an individual plan or $14.99 a month for your entire family.

    You can do that whenever you want, but first and foremost, it might be a good idea to hurry and claim the Groupon deal before it expires. By the time of this writing, more than 25,000 people have apparently already redeemed free family subscriptions, with an additional 10,000+ new users signing up for individual plans at no charge.

  • The music streaming competition just got Started

    The music streaming competition just got Started

    There is no shortage of players in the music streaming space and the metrics used to determine success are also pretty complex, but from one metric Apple Music just passed Spotify, but it’s too early to say for sure what this means for either company. Even so, it appears to cement Apple Music as a major player in the music streaming space.

    Apparently, in the month of February, Apple Music passed Spotify in terms of paid U.S. users for the first time ever. Apple Music counted 28 million paid subscribers in the U.S. while Spotify had just 26 million, and Apple Music had a faster growth rate than Spotify. That seems good, but for full context there are a few things to keep in mind. First and foremost, Apple Music doesn’t even have a free tier for subscribers, so that 28 million is essentially the entire U.S. user base for Apple Music (not counting anyone on a free trial.) Spotify does have a free/ad-supported version and taking that into account, Spotify does have more users in the U.S. than Apple. The ad-supported tier doesn’t generate as much money for Spotify but it does add up.

    Beyond all that, we’re sorry to say but the U.S. is only one country in the world and Spotify has almost twice as many paid subscribers globally as Apple Music does (98 million to 50 million as of December). And, that gap gets considerably bigger once you include the ad-supported tier which bumps Spotify’s user base to more than 200 million.

    Of course, music streaming is Spotify’s entire business, whereas Apple Music is one service offered by the behemoth. Any paid subscribers Apple gets is just gravy, whereas that’s the lifeblood of Spotify. Still, it’s something to keep an eye on going forward.

  • Apple Music wants to expand your musical knowledge

    Apple Music wants to expand your musical knowledge

    Apple Music doesn’t get a ton of attention compared to services like Spotify, but the service quietly has racked up a ton of subscribers simply due to the fact of Apple’s massive hardware install base. Those subscribers are a diverse set of people from around the globe and now Apple wants to highlight some of that diversity with a new playlist.
    The new Apple Music playlist will be called “Suave” and it will be built around R&B songs in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. The plan is to have a multi-lingual, globally inspired playlist and apparently Apple Music execs were inspired to make the playlist because of the song “Fresh Air” by Melii, which is a pretty catchy tune if you haven’t heard it. The Suave playlist is launching today and will be available worldwide tomorrow.
    Alaysia Sierra, R&B and Hip Hop Programmer for Apple Music, told that the idea was to have the Suave playlist “be the intersection of culture where the music comes first,” because Apple enjoys when music breaks down barriers.
    The plan is to update the playlist with new music weekly with music from artists like by Paloma Mami and Rosalia. Obviously, you’ll need to be an Apple Music subscriber to get the playlist, but the smart money says someone will copy the playlist to Spotify pretty quickly (though we obviously can’t endorse that sort of thing.)