“Just a week after its release, the iOS 8.4 update has already been adopted by 37 percent of all active iOS users, an above-average rate for an incremental upgrade that may be driven in part by desire for access to the free trial of the new Apple Music service,” MacNN reports.
“Analysts Mixpanel, which has posted a live chart of the adoption increases here, says that although iOS update adoption is routinely the envy of the industry with users quickly upgrading on any release, the accelerated adoption of v8.4 may be “dangerous for Spotify,” given that ‘that’s hundreds of millions of people who can get a free three-month trial with Apple Music,'” MacNN reports. “[Also] potentially troubling for streaming services like Spotify, is the extended length of Apple’s free trial and competitive pricing (particularly on “family” accounts, which offer up to six individual accounts for $15 per month). Given a limited number of hours to listen to streaming music in a day, many Spotify subscribers are expected to drop their paid level and try out Apple Music for the summer — with a good possibility of staying on with it after the trial is over, particularly if the company can issue its Windows and Android versions of the service in the early-fall timeframe.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: If Apple doesn’t release Apple Music apps for Windows and Android when the free trial ends, it’ll be the greatest cock-up ever – especially since Apple already released the Windows version on June 30th and the Android app is ready-to-go when the time comes. First, the witless Android settlers have to pay some penance for making the wrong choice by backing a flawed knockoff, patent-infringing platform over the inimitable innovator. Enjoy your Apple Music-less summer, iPhone wannabes!
SEE ALSO:
Apple Music could kill more than just Spotify, it could kill music labels, too – June 25, 2015
Spotify founder: Oh ok, we don’t need to be number one in music streaming – June 11, 2015
Why Apple Music will gut and publicly execute Spotify – June 10, 2015
Spotify CEO claims to be ‘ok’ with Apple Music – June 9, 2015
Jimmy Iovine and Eddy Cue: Apple Music gunning for Spotify, YouTube, and terrestrial radio – June 9, 2015
Something about Apple Music betraying Apple’s brilliance by ignoring ‘The Harry Potter Theory of Marketing’ or some such nonsense – June 9, 2015
Bob Lefsetz on Apple Music: What team is Jimmy Iovine on? – June 9, 2015
Apple Music’s huge advantage over Spotify – June 9, 2015
Apple Music is a major mess and it won’t beat Spotify or something – June 9, 2015
When Apple Music arrives, what happens to iTunes Match? – June 9, 2015
What Apple Music says about how Apple views musicians – June 8, 2015
Apple’s revolutionary Apple Music just might prove its skeptics wrong – June 8, 2015
Apple unveils revolutionary Apple Music service – June 8, 2015
The “Windows version” is just iTunes for Windows, right? Obviously, Apple needs to keep iTunes for Mac and iTunes for Windows aligned.
But the Android version… I’ll bet that was a negotiated condition required by “big music” to make Apple Music happen. It was a late concession by Apple, that Apple would create and maintain a version of the “Apple Music” software for Android. That’s why it’s not ready to go on Day One of Apple Music. Apple said, “OK – We’ll do the Android version, but it will take a few extra months to slap it together.” (And it will still be the best Android software out there…)
I don’t see any benefit for Apple in having an Android version of Apple Music. Apple wants to sell even more iPhones through Apple Music, not give Android phone owners a reason to keep buying Android phones.
Big music doesn’t care about an Android version. They know Android demographics are poor.
Iovine (Apple) Music does nothing that Spotify doesn’t already do.
BTW I don’t believe ANY streaming service out there has laid a bigger turd than Beats1. What an absolute abortion. Everyone I know has already abandoned BeatsWorldHipHopThugVillage1.
Not yet a fan of Beats 1, but I like the Apple Music App. For me it’s one simple thing. It doesn’t drop the stream like other streaming apps do when I am driving around. I like other elements too, but just having a stream that doesn’t cut out makes it the only listenable streaming source I’ve used to date.
Drops are probably more related to carrier coverage more than streaming services.. I don’t really experience stream drops too often in my area. Probably because we are pretty much blanketed w/ LTE everywhere.
So you can tell Siri to play Spotify songs!?
I would be happy if Siri could just correctly transcribed anything that is spoken to her. She gets even the simplest of names and expression wrong.
I don’t care for hip hop but throwing “thug” in is pathetic.
It’s fun to go back to old favorites and dig through their entire canon. Like most people, buy music library is broad but not deep.
Now I’m fleshing it out.
Rather premature to opine about Apple Music’s success vs other similar services. Post 3 months will be the most telling about AM’s success when continued use requires $$$.
I didnt upgrade to iOS 8.4 because I heard of some battery drain issues. Have any of you have experience issues with iOS 8.4?
I really want to upgrade. The update notification is in all my iOS devices but I’m holding off to see if those rumors were just some spofy executives that doesn’t want you to have apple music in your phone.
The Spotify app is not too great, but the streaming audio quality is superior to iTunes files. I have compared them in the car, at home on a nice set of Focals and on B&W headphones.
The only files I have in iTunes that beat Spotify’s are Apple Lossless files taken direct from CD.
Of course, if you are listening on crappy Beats headphones you would never know.
No they aren’t. Spotify uses MP 3 and Ogg. You get 320k only on extreme settings and its not as good as 256k AAC. Rationalize it however you want. You can’t hear the difference.
I play music and have almost all my life. The ogg files sound better.
Listen to a high quality recording (DDD) and stream the Apple file and the Spotify file- the difference is obvious.
Things are nicely cleaned up and civil in the comments! Thanks, MDN!
I’ve upgraded to iOS 8.4 but don’t use Apple Music. I’m sure there are others like me who just upgrade to the latest version out of habit. Doesn’t mean 37% of iPhone users use Apple Music.
I just cancelled my Spotify subscription. I imagine there will be many more like me eventually. The music, playlists, and just the variety seem so much better.
I’ll miss the Spotify running feature but that’s about it.
)I should say I arrived at this decision far more quickly than I thought I would.)