Apple Music can’t do this one thing most other streaming platforms can.
A Redditor, sohailwahabhot, recently brought to light a significant issue with Apple Music’s search functionality in a comparison with YouTube Music. The problem centers on how Apple Music fails to correct or understand misspelled search queries, which YouTube Music can easily do.
In the user’s frustration, he posted it on two subreddits: r/applemusic and r/ios, hoping to give light on one of Apple Music’s biggest flaws.
Apple Music vs. YouTube Music’s Misspelling Bee
The central issue was brought to light when the OP attempted to search for the song “Ronisia – Rentre à la maison” on both Apple Music and YouTube Music.
In his test, the user intentionally misspelled the artist’s name and song title as “ronsia rendre” on both platforms. However, only YouTube Music managed to understand the mistake and display the correct song. Apple Music, on the other hand, failed to return any relevant results, even though the song was indeed available on the platform.
“I’m literally playing the song on Apple Music, and it does not appear on the search.” the OP stated.
The Reddit also post went beyond just pointing out a singular issue. It showcased a systemic problem with Apple Music’s search functionality.
In the comments, the user used examples like “Ke$ha” instead of Kesha and “P!nk” instead of Pink to illustrate how common misspellings or unconventional spellings of artist names and song titles can lead to search failures.
The OP also mentioned the challenge of keeping up with correct spellings across six different languages they know. This further complicates their interaction with music streaming platforms.
The Call for Fuzzy Search
The Reddit thread quickly became a platform for broader grievances about Apple Music’s user experience. Many expressed similar concerns as the OP and emphasized the need for an overhaul of its search capabilities.
Other users also shared stories of having to resort to external search engines to find content on Apple Music.
They do this to check for the artist and song spellings before feeding it to Apple Music. This, in turn, is a disappointing and frustrating issue as it requires them to do an additional search for something that other platforms already addressed.
The comparison with other other platforms also arose. Some users claim that the search function isn’t just a problem within Apple Music, but a problem on the entire iOS system.
Aside from YouTube Music, many users brought Spotify into the discussion. They noted how Spotify’s superior search functionality and personalized user experience highly leaves Apple Music in the dust.
Yet, it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Some users, like BCDragon3000, held out hope for future improvements.