Apple Music - Is It Worth The Hype?

    Let's travel down the road of DFIR-ent technology. Today I will be reviewing Apple's app, Music.

    Apple Inc. created a music app called Music. The app icon, which has a red background and a musical note, looks as plain as the name. It is preinstalled on all Apple devices and can be deleted if the user desires.   It is a self-intuitive app. Most of all the pages mimic each other in design, making it easy to navigate.  The app features live-streaming stations called “Radio,” recommendations on the “Home” screen, and a “Library” that contains music and audio files.

    The “Home” screen is the first to appear when opening the app. At the top of the screen, Apple places “Top Picks for You” recommendations based on new releases interspersed with items recommended by previous user selections. In addition to the “Top Picks for You,” there are “Recently Played,” followed by headings based on prior selections. At least seven to ten additional headings recommend music stations and will replay last year’s hits.

    The bottom of the opening screen contains a taskbar with “Home,” “New,” “Radio,” “Library,” and “Search” buttons. The taskbar remains there regardless of which page the user selects.

 

    The “Home” button always returns the user to the opening page. The “New” button takes the user to a page of trending songs, playlists, and radio episodes. Additional links under “More to Explore” are at the bottom of the screen.

    The “Radio” button contains radio stations active on Music. In addition to audio streams of music, there are interviews and video interviews with people in the music industry. When scrolling to the end of the page, additional links are under “More to Explore.”

    The “Library” button takes the user to their personally created content, including downloading audio files such as songs, audio recordings, or audiobooks. 

 

    The “Search” button screen has a prominent search bar on top and over 50+ selections of categories such as jazz, chill, rock, spatial audio, etc. It will allow the user to search the library on a separate included button as well.

    Despite the app's ease of use, users can encounter some issues. One of the first features I would change is the “More to Explore” feature. Sometimes, simplicity is better, and Apple seems to overuse it by placing it on every page. These long lists could be easily handled within the “Search” portion of the app.

    A second feature I would change is the “Search” feature. For example, when a user searches for an artist, whose name is misspelled, the results may be null.  If Apple Intelligence is integrated into “Music,” the search responses might significantly improve.

    The third feature that needs the most improvement is offline listening. Currently, Pandora has an offline feature that allows the streaming feeds to automatically switch to an offline mode if the device loses internet connectivity. The only feature I have seen for offline streaming is when the user downloads the music into their library and keeps it stored on the device. In this case, the user must manually select the music on the device, which is cumbersome and time-consuming. It is also inconvenient if the user is driving, and the connection is lost.

    Overall, it is a good app, but as with everything, minor improvements can send something from good to great.