Just downloaded ios 8.4 Have been playing around with the music app and all features!, LOVE IT !!! There is so much there.. So many ways yo discover and listen to music... Can be over whelming but in a great way ! Pretty cool so far.... Lets see how it keeps up .
The main interface of Apple Music is white/very light gray with pink accents. But when you select artists, songs, albums, playlists etc. the UI colors change to adapt to the artwork. Yet the bottom section with the mini player and Music sections doesn't change it stays white and pink. In some cases this doesn't look bad, in others it looks awful (see below). I think the bottom section should adjust to match the color scheme of the top section. So if the top section is black and orange or green and gold the bottom section should be as well.
Also in some instances the back and search icons are really hard to read. Apple needs to adjust the artwork to make sure both of those are clearly visible. And perhaps the status bar needs to go too as it just clutters the interface.
I'm the wrong target audience: 50 year old who likes his own music library and exploring extensions of that.
Apple Music may still be a nice way to discover new music, but Beats 1 is not for me. I'm curious about how much energy Apple is putting into Beats 1; how can you expect to design one station that pleases everyone? To me the power of radio (traditional or streaming) comes from the DIVERSITY of multiple stations. I'm glad that the iTunes Radio stations still exists, and that Apple Music now opens up a wide library.
One thing that confounded me for a while in iOS 8.4's music app was that the shuffle button for one's own music is missing. I almost always listen to my songs in shuffle mode on my iPhone.
The trick is this: you must actually choose a song in your song list to play. Then, once it is playing, click on the title and then you'll be able to choose a shuffle icon for subsequent random songs.
I hope Apple puts the shuffle button back where people can find it easily. This was _not_ a GUI improvement.
One consistent theme I'm seeing across all the initial reviews is there is just a lot of stuff here. Apple crammed everything under the sun and then some into this new app. One review said it seemed like instead of designing the app from the ground up Apple just checked off a bunch of features and cobbled them together. Playlists exist across multiple sections including the ability for you to create your own playlist. And then there's also radio stations based on genres. The New section has 15 different areas within it (and the ability to filter by 22 genres):
New Music
Hot Tracks
Recent Releases
Top Songs
Hot Albums
Discovered on Connect: Audio
Discovered on Connect: Video
Apple Music Editors Playlists
Playlists based on Activities
Curated Playlists (from Rolling Stone, Pitchfork etc.)
Recommended Music Videos
Summertime Playlists
New Artists
Spotlight on Sia
Alternative Essentials
How on earth could anyone be expected to navigate all that? What is the difference between new music and recent releases? Why do we need a separate section for hot tracks and hot albums? Why do we need a separate section for new music, recent releases and new albums? And why do we need sections for discovered on Connect when there is a separate section of the app specifically for Connect? Apple needs to take an ax to the New section of this app and radically streamline it.
The other thing that was not clear to me is that the Family Plan allows everyone to charge music to my credit card! I had hoped to include my married son and his wife who live 30 minutes away on my subscription, but I certainly don't want to pick up the tab for all their music purchases!
What you are trying to do is precisely the reason family sharing accounts must also be linked to a single credit card.
I love that there are playlists from Rolling Stone, PitchFork and Q Magazine. I love that there are so many artists that I can listen to. It really is an amazing service.
The iOS update went off very smoothly and the Music app is the best it has ever been.
I got my update notice at 8:15 PST. When I first opened the Music app, I got a small UI bug:
So far seems pointless... All my previously downloaded albums are gone...the songs show up in the purchased section but what about the Albums? Not sold on this... Won't be signing up for the free trial with this
the iPad interface is poor, so much wasted space and tiny album artwork on the screen where the song is playing. Is it too hard to make album art large on a large screen?
the iPad interface is poor, so much wasted space and tiny album artwork on the screen where the song is playing. Is it too hard to make album art large on a large screen?
I agree! I was shocked when I first saw it. I thought it looked like an iPhone app in 1x mode.
Does any of the new Apple Music stuff work well with car bluetooth controls? With downloaded music my car can see the playlists, sort through artists, show albums covers etc. If these new features work well with the car that would defintely be a reason for me to go with this over Spotify.
The other thing that was not clear to me is that the Family Plan allows everyone to charge music to my credit card! I had hoped to include my married son and his wife who live 30 minutes away on my subscription, but I certainly don't want to pick up the tab for all their music purchases!
What you are trying to do is precisely the reason family sharing accounts must also be linked to a single credit card.
Wow, what an arrogant, idiotic response. My kids have their own credit cards, and that's what I would like them to use when they buy stuff on iTunes. Oh, they're unmarried, one lives at home and the other is in college. Does a Robin Huber-type problem get solved? If so, how?
1. After I've set my faves, can I ask it to play a random assortment based on those settings? I only see a Play icon next to pre-established collections.
2. I've used the "Recommend less like this" on several rap and R&B collections, but they keep appearing in the For You list. Should my setting suppress them? If not, then what effect does that setting have?
The buttons for Repeat and Scramble seem to be unchangeable sometimes.
I know you have to select a song first. When I go into that song, sometimes the UI lets me change either of these two features, and sometimes it does not. Is this a bug, or are there some situations when the app purposely prevents you from changing this? I can't find a pattern.
I upgraded and all of my music is gone. GONE!! I've turned off the apple music as suggested. Still gone. I've alter purchased hundreds of songs and had 1,000 more downloaded for years. I subscribe to imatch and don't want to subscribe to anything else. Where are my songs??
Comments
Have been playing around with the music app and all features!,
LOVE IT !!!
There is so much there.. So many ways yo discover and listen to music... Can be over whelming but in a great way !
Pretty cool so far.... Lets see how it keeps up .
Good job Apple!
Did Beats Radio 1 go down? Not working on any of my devices now. Keep getting error messages on my Mac and iPhone/iPad.
[IMG]http://i62.tinypic.com/2lbclly.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i61.tinypic.com/al2f5k.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i61.tinypic.com/xkr37o.jpg[/IMG]
Also in some instances the back and search icons are really hard to read. Apple needs to adjust the artwork to make sure both of those are clearly visible. And perhaps the status bar needs to go too as it just clutters the interface.
[IMG]http://i57.tinypic.com/2v0d8cj.jpg[/IMG]
I'm the wrong target audience: 50 year old who likes his own music library and exploring extensions of that.
Apple Music may still be a nice way to discover new music, but Beats 1 is not for me. I'm curious about how much energy Apple is putting into Beats 1; how can you expect to design one station that pleases everyone? To me the power of radio (traditional or streaming) comes from the DIVERSITY of multiple stations. I'm glad that the iTunes Radio stations still exists, and that Apple Music now opens up a wide library.
One thing that confounded me for a while in iOS 8.4's music app was that the shuffle button for one's own music is missing. I almost always listen to my songs in shuffle mode on my iPhone.
The trick is this: you must actually choose a song in your song list to play. Then, once it is playing, click on the title and then you'll be able to choose a shuffle icon for subsequent random songs.
I hope Apple puts the shuffle button back where people can find it easily. This was _not_ a GUI improvement.
(Yo, Jonathan Ive!)
I completely agree with you.
One consistent theme I'm seeing across all the initial reviews is there is just a lot of stuff here. Apple crammed everything under the sun and then some into this new app. One review said it seemed like instead of designing the app from the ground up Apple just checked off a bunch of features and cobbled them together. Playlists exist across multiple sections including the ability for you to create your own playlist. And then there's also radio stations based on genres. The New section has 15 different areas within it (and the ability to filter by 22 genres):
How on earth could anyone be expected to navigate all that? What is the difference between new music and recent releases? Why do we need a separate section for hot tracks and hot albums? Why do we need a separate section for new music, recent releases and new albums? And why do we need sections for discovered on Connect when there is a separate section of the app specifically for Connect? Apple needs to take an ax to the New section of this app and radically streamline it.
The other thing that was not clear to me is that the Family Plan allows everyone to charge music to my credit card! I had hoped to include my married son and his wife who live 30 minutes away on my subscription, but I certainly don't want to pick up the tab for all their music purchases!
What you are trying to do is precisely the reason family sharing accounts must also be linked to a single credit card.
Excellent service so far. I'm just loving it.
I love that there are playlists from Rolling Stone, PitchFork and Q Magazine. I love that there are so many artists that I can listen to. It really is an amazing service.
The iOS update went off very smoothly and the Music app is the best it has ever been.
I got my update notice at 8:15 PST. When I first opened the Music app, I got a small UI bug:
the iPad interface is poor, so much wasted space and tiny album artwork on the screen where the song is playing. Is it too hard to make album art large on a large screen?
I agree! I was shocked when I first saw it. I thought it looked like an iPhone app in 1x mode.
Does any of the new Apple Music stuff work well with car bluetooth controls? With downloaded music my car can see the playlists, sort through artists, show albums covers etc. If these new features work well with the car that would defintely be a reason for me to go with this over Spotify.
Wow, what an arrogant, idiotic response. My kids have their own credit cards, and that's what I would like them to use when they buy stuff on iTunes. Oh, they're unmarried, one lives at home and the other is in college. Does a Robin Huber-type problem get solved? If so, how?
1. After I've set my faves, can I ask it to play a random assortment based on those settings? I only see a Play icon next to pre-established collections.
2. I've used the "Recommend less like this" on several rap and R&B collections, but they keep appearing in the For You list. Should my setting suppress them? If not, then what effect does that setting have?
I know you have to select a song first. When I go into that song, sometimes the UI lets me change either of these two features, and sometimes it does not. Is this a bug, or are there some situations when the app purposely prevents you from changing this? I can't find a pattern.