10 Things You Didn't Know You Could Do With Apple Music
How to make the most out of Apple's spotify-killer music streaming service.
Apple have now announced their competitor to Spotify and Tidal. With all the imagination that they spent in naming the Apple Watch, they have christened their new service 'Apple Music', and already people have been signing up on their iPhones, iPads, Macs and PCs to see what all the hullabaloo is about.
While the premise does not appear to be anything that we have not seen before; streaming music is something that everyone has got quite used to at this time, whether it be through a designated music service, or even just playing songs from YouTube. Apple's new radio station, named Beats 1, is still not a particularly unique idea. Online radio services have been around since as early as 1993, when Carl Malamud started the 'Internet Talk Radio' which was the "first computer-radio talk show, each week interviewing a computer expert" - of course that did not feature Zane Lowe as their resident disk jockey, or exclusive tracks from huge artists.
While Apple Music is clearly still a work in progress, there are a few thing that new users can play with before the three-month free trial expires in October. Apple are keen to use this extra bit of software to push their own hardware sales, so functionality and usability is going to be their watchwords. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done, and so we've compiled the most important things to look for when using Apple Music, including the stuff that you didn't know was even a part of the program.
10. Buy It Cheaper Abroad
The last in this list is possibly the most unusual, and it's also the most interesting (aren't you glad you stayed until the end?)
Apple Music aspires to be a worldwide streaming service, and attempts to cater for a global audience; but one thing that has to be addressed when supplying music streams to over 100 countries is that a country's GDP can mean that the $9.99 price tag that comes with an Individual subscription to Apple Music will not go down well in India, for example. Which is why, in India, Apple Music is $2 a month. The website Quartz has taken note of the over conversion rates: In Brazil, Indonesia, and Thailand, it’s $5 and $7; in Hong Kong, $6 and $10; and in Singapore, $7.50 and $11 (in US dollars).
The reason for this, one could speculate, is that Apple makes the most of its money form its hardware: iPhones, iPads and Macs. By offering a new, cheap service for something already available abroad, while keeping the price of its smartphones and laptops the same, Apple could be hoping to boost sales in countries outside of the west.
But, if you're really desperate for Apple Music at a bargain, and a change of scenery, India might be your next holiday destination.