As Spotify Wrapped and Apple Music Replays are being released, the age-old question is ever so prevalent: Spotify or Apple Music? Which is better?
As an incessant digital music listener, and someone who has used both of these most popular streaming services, I’m here to tell you the benefits and pitfalls of both and hopefully arise at a conclusion of which one takes the cake.
Pros of Apple Music
The largest pro of listening to Apple Music is the sound quality. Although the platform employs “lossless” streaming, where sound quality is similar to that of a CD, Dolby Atmos or Spatial Audio truly showcases Apple’s incredible sound quality. In Spatial Audio, the listener is immersed into the musical experience through a digital surround sound, feeling as though they are surrounded by the instruments in the song.
On the visual end, Apple Music enlists a much simpler and easy-to-navigate app, consistent with Apple’s minimalistic designs. With each IOS update, the app is improved making it simpler and more enjoyable to navigate.
Additionally, as someone who solely uses Apple products, the compatibility of this streaming service across my multiple devices is unmatched by Spotify. Using Siri and CarPlay are much simpler in Apple Music and playing music through my MacBook and Apple Watch are simpler with Apple Music. I will forever love Apple for the delightful interconnectedness they imbed into their products and services.
Pros of Spotify
Now, onto Spotify’s pros. The most clear advantage Spotify has over Apple Music is its elite music recommendations. I felt like my recommendations on Apple Music were very basic and surface-level. On Spotify, there’s countless personalized playlists, including one of my favorites, the “daylist.” They’ve also recently released a beta version of an AI playlist creator. Spotify seems to be modernizing much quicker than Apple Music.
Additionally, Spotify creates a much closer relationship between the artist and listener. Whether there’s exclusive merchandise items or top listener videos at Wrapped, top listeners feel much more appreciated for their listening habits on Spotify. Speaking of merchandise, Spotify makes it extremely easy to scroll through merchandise, physical copies of music and tour dates.
Also, Spotify is cheaper to use. Although there’s pesky ads, Spotify offers a free tier subscription, with their premium subscription not necessary to enjoy music. The monthly plans between the platforms are similar, but Apple Music doesn’t have a free tier subscription.
Cons of Apple Music
The largest con I experienced with Apple Music was the poor ability to discover new music. When I was listening to music I have enjoyed for years, Apple was superior, but Spotify is leaps and bounds above them with music discovery. Apple creates poor personalized discovery playlists and their “explore” page is deeply inferior to Spotify.
As mentioned before, Apple doesn’t have any kind of free subscription. When unsubscribed to the premium, users must pay individually for each song or album. Also, in comparison to Spotify, Apple doesn’t have the same interconnectedness between music, books and audiobooks. They are all spread across multiple apps.
Cons of Spotify
As opposed to Apple Music, Spotify has significantly worse sound quality, without the lossless and Dolby Atmos features in Apple. If you’re into sound quality, Apple Music takes the cake. No question. Also, Spotify limits offline downloads to 10,000, much lower than Apple’s, which can be pretty debilitating for users who enjoy creating extensive playlists.
Spotify also enlists a cluttered appearance, with the app often feeling like a scavenger hunt for basic features easily found on Apple Music. However, this is a side effect of them having a greater number of features than Apple. It’s all a tradeoff.
Conclusion
So, which platform is better? Well, it depends.
If you’re a music geek who wants to experience the best sound quality, then Apple Music is for you. If you know what music you like and aren’t on the hunt to discover new artists or albums, Apple is great.
On the other hand, if you don’t care as much about the quality and want a modern, Gen-Z feel, Spotify is great. If personalized recommendations and playlists are a priority for you, Spotify’s your choice.
