Apple Music is my new music streaming platform – and Spotify won’t be having any more of my money
I’ve been with Spotify Premium for years. Since I knew how easy it was to stream music on the go, Spotify has been my go-to for music since I was at university.
It has allowed me to stay concentrated during heavy exam weeks, got me through some tough times in my life and been a real companion on my phone, tablet and PC – but from this month, that’s no longer the case.
It’s goodbye to Spotify and hello to Apple Music for me from here. There are several reasons I’ve decided to ditch the platform and they have made my life much easier when I’m out and about.
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If you have been wondering which one to buy or just intrigued as to why I’ve thrown the Swedish streaming player out the window – keep reading on.
The music quality and experience are better
Whether or not it’s a placebo or not, Apple Music’s Lossless Audio sounds better to my ears. I’ve used it on my iPhone, my tablet and my PC and it seems much better to my ears.
If you have no idea what Apple’s Lossless Audio is, don’t worry we’ve got you covered. Without going into the proper nitty-gritty of audio compression and file type, Lossless Audio means you get the sound quality as its supposed to be out of the studio without losing any audio through compression.
It’s essentially like popping in a CD in your CD player without losing chunks of data. Depending on the quality you choose, streaming songs can seem lower quality. Now, Spotify has been promising lossless, hifi quality on its platform for years – but it still isn’t here in 2024.
I switched to Apple Music and – even though many claim they can’t hear a difference – the difference sounded noticeable to me, even as someone who used to crank their Spotify audio quality up to full on every platform. It’s not night-and-day but it’s there.
When it comes to Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos, I wouldn’t go to Apple Music for the feature. It’s nice to have but it feels a bit gimmicky. I personally turn it off because it disorientates me so it’s not all sunshine and rainbows but Dolby Atmos continues to kill surround sound and is a nice addition when I have it on.
There’s also the option to edit EQ on iPhone which is a lovely feature to have – but not for everyone.
The user interface (UI) is less cluttered and easier to browse
There’s been a few discussions on the internet about how Spotify absolutely nails its UI – and I would agree. Everything is very easy to browse on Spotify and they have nailed it down to a tee.
But in typically Apple fashion, less is more and I’ve come to appreciate how less is more. Big, clear album art work with less things shoved into every page you scroll through.
It’s a bit of a breath of fresh air where it seems Spotify feels like it is now promoting more things to me like audiobooks and podcasts that I couldn’t care about at all. Another point to Apple.
My biggest gripe – Spotify sucks on the Apple Watch
Onto my biggest gripes and I understand this is an Apple user problem – Spotify struggles to store offline tracks on the Apple Watch. This seems like a niche problem but for my current life, I run 10KM each week and rely on songs being stored because I go off-track where there is no signal.
Spotify seems to have got worse with music downloads and Apple Music has completely solved this. I know what you’re saying now: “Well of course Apple Music will be better on Apple devices duhhhhhh”.
Yes, I do sound like an Apple user fanning the flames at the moment but over my time using it on my Apple Watch Ultra, it seems to get worse and worse. Apple Music however looks absolutely clean and works like a treat on the Watch Ultra. Clear artwork, all my songs I download work without needing to download them over and over again.
I will admit, this is purely a Apple user problem and this isn’t an issue most people will face but if you have a majority of your devices through Apple like an iPhone or Apple Watch, Apple Music seems far more well optimised – which sounds like an obvious statement.
I don’t care about audiobooks or podcasts
I have no desire whatsoever to listen to audiobooks on my music streaming platform – or podcasts. Apple Music has a podcasts feature which if I need to use, I can do with no real issue.
If you really want everything on one platform, Spotify has the advantage of offering it all on one app whereas Apple still feels like it needs to use the Podcasts app which could honestly be ditched.
Spotify is great if you really want to take advantage of the audiobooks and exclusive podcasts but for us listeners who just don’t care about audiobooks, Apple Music is your better bet.
The price is better on Apple Music if you have a family
Both Spotify and Apple Music offer similar pricing structures but Apple has one advantage – a better family plan. Six people can listen to Apple Music for £16.99 a month whereas you have to pay £19.99 a month on Spotify.
So if you have a family of six or less that love music like you, Apple Music is better value and makes more sense. If you want to look at all the plans that Apple Music has, you can check them out right here.
If you feel like I’ve made a decent case and you’re still wondering whether or not you should go for Apple Music or Spotify, you could join me and switch to Apple Music right here.
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows and there are a few things to consider. I have found connecting to other devices that aren’t Apple products not as seemless as Spotify, although AirPlay does fairly well with what it does. It takes a bit of fiddling and set up, whereas Spotify seems to do it much smoother, so maybe worth considering if you’re not an iPhone or Apple Watch user.