A user warns of Apple Music’s pitfalls when used on non-Apple devices.
A post by a Reddit user, crzdkilla, on r/AppleMusic, offers an in-depth analysis of the challenges and shortcomings he faced when using Apple Music on non-Apple devices. This post highlights a series of issues that, in their view, make Apple Music on non-Apple devices a “nightmare.”
Sound Quality vs. Usability
The OP switched from Spotify to Apple Music for its higher-quality lossless audio but ended up facing many issues.
He acknowledged that the platform sounds better than Spotify, especially with lossless audio. This became apparent when he used the platform on his 2018 HP Envy 13 laptop, a Samsung S22+ phone, and his new Sennheiser HD 6xx headphones.
However, he also found the service’s problems to be too significant to ignore.
“Music certainly does sound much better than Spotify.” he says.
“But all the trade-offs and bugs in user experience, the infuriating choices Apple seems to have made in building its UI, and the way Apple seems to treat AM’s windows and Android iterations as its ugly deformed stepchildren have increasingly made me think of moving back.”
Here are the key points he mentioned:
- Encountered bugs with the Windows app, such as errors when trying to delete songs from playlists.
- Noticed audio glitches, especially at the start of songs on Windows.
- Faced issues with the playlist search function, which requires exact spelling and doesn’t allow album name searches.
- Was disappointed by the app’s music recommendation system, which failed to suggest interesting new music.
- Had troubles with album and playlist management; deleting an album also removes its songs from all playlists.
- Found it difficult to navigate in albums featuring multiple artists, as the app only links to the first mentioned artist’s page.
- Discovered that the equalizer on Windows does not work.
- Experienced inconveniences managing playlists, such as being unable to prioritize favorite playlists.
- Noted that deleting a song from a playlist skips to the next song, disrupting the listening experience.
- In areas with low reception, the app skips songs that haven’t fully loaded instead of waiting for a better connection.
- Mentioned that transferring playlists between different streaming services is very difficult.
Other Experiences on Using Apple Music on Android and Windows
Crzdkilla’s post stirred up a lot of discussion on the r/AppleMusic subreddit.
First off, many people agreed with the OP, sharing their own tough experience with using Apple Music on non-Apple devices.
However, others pointed out that the same problems hit macOS and iOS. These talked about problems within Apple’s whole ecosystem, suggesting that the troubles with Apple Music are everywhere, no matter what device you’re on.
On the flip side, several users had nicer things to say, especially about the Android version of Apple Music. Some users claimed that the Android version works just as well as the iOS app.
These stories suggest that while the Windows app gets a lot of flak, views on the Android version aren’t as uniform.
Other users also offered a hopeful take, pointing out that Apple Music’s suggestions get better with time. They hinted that sticking with the service might lead to a more tailored and enjoyable experience, despite its early shortcomings.