Today saw Apple finally take the leap and enter the increasingly competitive music streaming arena with the official release of Apple Music.
Apple Music is the Cupertino company’s second attempt at a streaming service, following behind iTunes Radio and iTunes Match.
Apple Music offers a hybrid approach in comparison to present streaming services such as Spotify or Pandora, and allows users to either stream music from Apple’s 43 million song strong iTunes catalog, listen to internet radio, or play tracks which already exist in an iTunes library. Certain songs or albums are not yet available for streaming in some regions.
Additionally, Apple Music offers social element through music recommendations based on music already downloaded from iTunes or through user feedback.
Apple Music is the first streaming service with a dedicated internet radio station – Beats 1 – which was launched alongside the streaming service today.
Apple Music arrives with a three month free trial for users to explore all the service’s features – thereafter the service costs $9.99 USD monthly for a single subscription or $14.99 for a family plan that includes multiple users.
The streaming service will also offer a free tier, but will restrict users to playing music already purchased (downloaded or not) from iTunes and playing radio stations with advertisements. Free users will additionally still be able to listen to Beats 1.
iOS users interested in Apple Music will be able to access the service immediately once they’ve updated their iOS devices to iOS 8.4, which will be rolled out across the course of the day.
Regardless of whether a user is subscribed, the Apple Music app will be added to one’s iPhone, iPad, or iPhone, and from now will be the official route for iOS users to access music downloaded or synced from iTunes.
Android users will be able to download a version of the Apple Music app from the Google Play Store in late 2015, while Apple TV is expected to support the service by year end.
