Almost eight months after Apple Music Beta appeared on the Google Play Store, the Android version of the popular music app has finally officially launched worldwide. This launch coincided with the release of the latest Apple Music Android update which brings the app to version 1.0 and adds some much-needed changes to Apple’s latest Android app.
Among other things, Apple Music for Android now boasts equalizer settings and numerous performance, playback, and stability improvements. The equalizer settings weren’t originally ported from iOS because they don’t actually exist in the original version of the app and are instead located in the iOS Settings app. In any case, they’re here now and give users a lot more control over the manner in which they play content purchased through Apple Music and iTunes. Counting the closed beta period, Apple Music for Android has been in the beta testing phase for almost a year now so users can definitely expect a high level of polish.
In comparison to the iOS version of the app, the Android port offers some unique features like the ability to play music offline by saving tracks and entire albums to an SD card. Other than that, Apple Music for Android also has a pretty neat widget packed with simple and intuitive playback controls. As for stuff that’s missing, there’s isn’t much to complain about. The app recently got updated with video playback and family plan features, an advanced music recommendation system, and a bunch of user interface fixes. In other words, if you’re used to the iOS version of Apple Music, you’ll probably be more than happy with its Android port. All in all, the now-finished version of the app provides a nice alternative to services like Spotify designed for smartphone and tablet users looking for a reliable on-demand music service at a relatively affordable rate, especially considering the amount of exclusive content it boasts. That being said, latest reviews posted to the Apple Music’s Google Play Store do mention some connectivity issues, though these seem to exclusively occur on older devices. Apple is yet to officially respond to these complaints.