Tartarus
Ambassador
After more than 15 years covering everything Apple, it’s with a heavy heart we announce that we will no longer be publishing new content on iMore and the iMore forums will be closing as of November 1st, 2024.
I was a Google All Access subscriber at the $7.99 rate prior to Apple Music. I tried Napster, Spotify, Rdio (which I liked the best honestly), MOG, and Slacker Premium , so basically all of them. I paid for them all at various points past the trial period in order to really use them for a decent amount of time. Although I liked Rdio the best, I canceled it after trialing Google All Access because of the $7.99 price. I kept that subscription during the trial period of Apple Music. Last week I decided to go ahead and give up my $7.99 pricing on Google All Access and keep Apple Music. While I think Apple Music is inferior in some ways compared to most of the others (Slacker Premium being the worst), there are certain benefits to use it that outweigh the kinks for me. Having it download offline playlists automatically without having to launch the app is one. Being able to use smart playlists is the second. Being able to use smart playlists with Apple music alongside my music is the biggest factor. What Apple Music is missing tends to be the same features that are missing to me on all the others. I don't love Apple Music, but I really like it, and I think as time goes on, it will get better as far as bugs go. The others will get more features faster, by virtue of better update cycles. Just my $0.02.
I'm letting my trial end and not subscribing at this time. I'm currently paying for Google All Access and it's terrific. I honestly like both Google Music and Apple Music. They both have a different style for suggesting music and creating radio and playlists, and I like both approaches. Right now Apple's lack of web browser and various bugs and overlooked interface elements are enough to keep me with Google. If Apple Music improves a bunch in the future I'll take a look at it again. Maybe I'll wait 6 months and buy a month worth and see what's changed if anything.
Google All Access is awesome though.
I actually don't really care for Spotify, and its inability to let you add your own music to the streaming catalog is an absolute deal breaker.
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