Consumers already invested in large iTunes libraries or who are otherwise committed to the Apple ecosystem will absolutely benefit the most from Apple Music — but, as Apple recently revealed, there’s a growing list of immersive Spatial Audio content being added — plus a catalog of more than 75 million songs now streams in Apple’s special ALAC lossless audio codec.
*Apple says thousands of tracks will be available in Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos encoding at launch in June — with more being added on a regular basis.
How it works: As the service with one of the most matured catalogs on our list, Apple Music already gave subscribers access to millions of songs, music videos, podcasts, and live radio stations ad-free — however, according to Apple, the new features are coming to Apple Music at no additional cost. The catch is you will need to own a compatible Apple device to take full advantage of all the features offered by the service. Compatible Apple products get a slight advantage in performance with native playback of CD-Quality and higher. AirPods and Beats headphones with an H1 or W1 chip will play tracks encoded with Dolby Atmos, as well as the built-in speakers in the latest versions of iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
After you purchase any of the latest Apple hardware or download the Apple Music app to Android devices or Windows PCs, you can basically stream across Apple’s ever-expanding ecosystem of smart devices and software free for the first three months.
Once the free trial period ends, individuals pay $9.99/month through the credit card associated with their Apple ID. There’s also a $14.99/month subscription for families of up to six family members. If enrolled in a university, there’s also a discounted rate of $4.99 for students.
Features & Technology
Audio Fidelity
- Limited “lossy” Sound quality — 256kbps AAC bitrate.
- Apple Music’s Lossless tier starts at CD quality — 16 bit/44.1 kHz up to 24 bit/48 kHz.
- Hi-Resolution Lossless all the way up to 24 bit/192 kHz!
- Spacial Audio tracks with support for Dolby Atmos.
Music Discoverability
- Catalog — Access to a deep library of 75 million songs plus Exclusive Content — much of Apple Music’s exclusive content is delivered in the form of early releases of new music, curated playlists from the most popular artists, live performances, including Apple’s live 24-hour radio station — Apple Music 1 — which hosts live artist interviews, and even radio shows hosted by artists, themselves. Plus, thousands of Spacial Audio tracks and albums available in Dolby Atmos will have a badge for easier discovery.
- Shareability — Since Apple Music comes pre-installed on all Apple devices and is free to download on Android and PC, chances are many of your friends & family members already have an Apple device and an Apple ID that will let you share new artists, music, or playlists with them. With Apple Music, you can also see what your friends are listening to which helps us discover new music from our co-workers, friends, and family.
- Curated playlists — Exclusive access to human-curated playlists based on music tastes, genres, mood, and artist recommendations. Apple is also curating a special set of Dolby Atmos playlists to help listeners find new Spacial Audio tracks.
User Experience & Accessibility
- Accessibility — access to your entire music library across all your devices (iOS, Android, macOS, PC & CarPlay).
- Experience — The desktop app for Windows computers is a little clunky. However, you can now listen to Apple Music in a browser for a more streamlined experience.
- Compatibility — Compatible Apple products with an H1 or W1 chip will play Dolby Atmos tracks, as well as the built-in speakers in the latest versions of iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Compatible with third-party smart products including Sonos, Amazon Echo, and Google Nest using the third-party apps made by these third-party brands.
- You won’t be able to listen to Apple Music directly with Google Home smart speakers, but you can still Bluetooth Apple Music from a smartphone or computer to the speaker.
- Voice control with Siri and the only service that streams directly from a HomePod, HomePod mini, Apple TV, Apple Watch & CarPlay.
Overall Recommendation
If you are already invested in Apple’s ecosystem of hardware and software products, then the convenience of Apple’s services is hard to deny. Now that the wait for Apple to come out with a hi-res version of their popular music platform is finally over, you can really improve the soundstage of your Apple Music library when you upgrade your computer speakers and use an external DAC to bypass the cheaply made DAC/headphone amp section that comes in your smart device or PC. Another neat idea is to use a digital upscaling device like the Chord M Scaler to scale up the lower-bit rate performance of some songs to higher than CD-Quality with a suitable DAC. Finally, if you want to take full advantage of Spatial Audio, you’ll want a high-performance Dolby Atmos soundbar that can immerse you in a bubble of 3D sound.
How to get better audio quality: