rbnetengr

dr. x said:

I get your point but for those that do third party repair, it makes it easier for people. Some Apple Stores are far away and one might not want to drive 2 or more hours just to get their battery replaced by Apple and having to pay Apple's Tax. 

 Best Buy is an authorized repair center for Apple:

I have been an Apple Music user and subscriber for several years, and am familiar with most of the features you mentioned.  But yet I had trouble following along with some of your explanations.  Also, a feature you did not mention, but one I use frequently, is the ability to share a song, album or playlist with others.

I like the idea of Apple Music (iCloud Music) replacing the music tracks you own with potentially higher quality versions.  However, I have bee afraid to turn it on, as I once had it turned on accidentally (during an iOS update?) and it ended up either duplicating or deleting some of the music I ripped from music CDs I’ve owned for years.  So now I basically have my ripped music on my Mac, I sync it to my iPhone (iPhone X with 256GB), and then I have music purchased through iTunes, which is available to all of my devices.  Then, I listen to albums or playlists on individual devices using Apple Music.

One VERY IMPORTANT THING you failed to mention regarding Apple Music subscriptions is that it defaults to subscribing you to a monthly subscription at $9.99/mo, but you can go into your iCloud account and change Apple Music to an annual subscription of $99.99, which ends up giving you two free months compared to the monthly subscription.  For someone like me who ONLY subscribes to Apple Music, and will continue to do so for years, it makes financial sense.

-rb