Apple today unveiled Apple Music Classical on the App Store. Here are 15 things you need to know about the new app:
- Apple Music Classical is based on Primephonic, a classical music streaming service that Apple acquired in 2021. The new app leverages Primephonic's playlists and audio content, search capabilities, metadata, and more.
- Apple Music Classical works in tandem with the existing Apple Music app, providing dedicated features to engage with classical music on the Apple Music platform more directly, but with many of the same features like support for Spatial Audio.
- As its name suggests, the app singularly contains classical music, offering over five million tracks, hundreds of curated playlists, and thousands of exclusive albums.
- Apple says that it has been working with classical music artists and institutions to offer exclusive content and recordings in Apple Music Classical, including Hi-Res Lossless and Spatial Audio tracks.
- The app's design is based on Apple Music, but with a simplified UI that heavily uses Apple's New York font instead of SF Pro.
- There is no Radio tab in the Apple Music Classical app, and it is not yet clear if it will support classical Radio Stations from Apple Music.
- The app features a more capable search experience, allowing users to search by composer, work, conductor, catalog number, and more.
- The Now Playing screen has an all-white or all-black background, unlike Apple Music, which generates a background from the currently playing track's album artwork.
- The Now Playing screen features an info button instead of lyrics, providing detailed written descriptions of songs.
- The app features rich composer bios, editorial notes, and detailed information about key works.
- Apple has commissioned unique artwork of famous artists for Apple Music Classical using color palettes and artistic references from the relevant classical period. The first portraits include Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric Chopin, and Johann Sebastian Bach, with more to come in the future.
- There is no version of Apple Music Classical for iPadOS, making it an iPhone-only app.
- An Android version of Apple Music Classical is in the works and set to arrive "soon," according to Apple.
- Apple has launched a new Twitter account for Apple Music Classical, @appleclassical, to track news and updates about the app.
- Apple Music Classical is included for free as part of an existing Apple Music or Apple One subscription, but it is not included in the $4.99-per-month Apple Music Voice plan.
Apple Music Classical is now available for pre-order on the App Store and due to be released on March 28, 2023.
