Apple Music update lets Android users save songs to SD cards
Apple in an update to the Android version of Apple Music on Wednesday added the ability to save downloaded songs to an SD card, greatly increasing the offline listening library capacities for phones running Google mobile operating system.
In the latest Apple Music for Android version 0.9.5 release notes, Apple says the added SD card functionality will allow users to keep more music offline. Unlike Apple's own iOS devices, certain Android handsets come with built-in SD card slots to expand internal storage capacities
As noted by The Verge, most users will be saving songs to microSD cards that, while less capacious than the full-size SD card format, offers an advantageous value proposition compared to iPhone and iPad. For example, a 128GB microSD card that effectively doubles the space of Apple's largest preconfigured option can cost as little as $13 on Amazon.com.
Today's update also includes a full schedule of Beats 1 shows and adds new browsing options for Composers and Compilations, which Apple says helps surface classical music and movies soundtracks.
Apple first launched an Android version of its music streaming service in November, granting users access to curated playlists, live Beats 1 radio, iTunes Connect and iTunes purchases. The company has yet to release statistics on Apple Music's Android user base, and Google Play offers equally vague metrics, saying the app has been downloaded between one million and five million times.
Apple Music version 0.9.5 is a free update from the Google Play app store. Apple is still offering a 90-day free trial for new users with subscriptions starting at $9.99 per month.
In the latest Apple Music for Android version 0.9.5 release notes, Apple says the added SD card functionality will allow users to keep more music offline. Unlike Apple's own iOS devices, certain Android handsets come with built-in SD card slots to expand internal storage capacities
As noted by The Verge, most users will be saving songs to microSD cards that, while less capacious than the full-size SD card format, offers an advantageous value proposition compared to iPhone and iPad. For example, a 128GB microSD card that effectively doubles the space of Apple's largest preconfigured option can cost as little as $13 on Amazon.com.
Today's update also includes a full schedule of Beats 1 shows and adds new browsing options for Composers and Compilations, which Apple says helps surface classical music and movies soundtracks.
Apple first launched an Android version of its music streaming service in November, granting users access to curated playlists, live Beats 1 radio, iTunes Connect and iTunes purchases. The company has yet to release statistics on Apple Music's Android user base, and Google Play offers equally vague metrics, saying the app has been downloaded between one million and five million times.
Apple Music version 0.9.5 is a free update from the Google Play app store. Apple is still offering a 90-day free trial for new users with subscriptions starting at $9.99 per month.
Comments
A feature Apple denies us.
Most Android phones appear to take cards, there seem to be a few more cropping up that don't, but I suspect that isn't for the reason Samsung dropped them.
I currently transfer movies into my iPad this way, and just yesterday was looking for a way to transfer a photo from my iPad to my iPhone when my internet was out. Having a way to do this, even in a pinch would be fantastic.
Somehow I feel like this puts a great deal of pressure on Apple, and they wouldn't do it if they weren't planning to offer something similar to Apple customers in the future as well. Even so, it's disappointing that Android customers got it first.
Frankly, an "upgrade" like this would be something worth announcing at an event with a new iPhone, flagship or not.
Each to their own. I recently popped a 64Gb card in my phone to give me more storage space for music, photos, videos and apps. It's nice to be able to do that and not have to buy a new phone. Can you imagine if Apple made DSLRs with fixed memory?
This is one of the things I hate about iOS - not being able to do file transfers via Bluetooth. Couldn't you use Airdrop?
With this move Apple acknowledges that general offline storage has a value and that the limited file management capabilities of iOS also have some downsides. Apple just told the world that I should use the Android app for the Apple Music service, it has a killing feature not available on iOS.
iTunes is huge on windows PCs, and Apple want Apple Music to be the same on Android devices. Good tactics if you ask me.
That's the only thing I miss from Android...