9 Reasons Why Apple Music Is Better Than Spotify

For quite a while, Spotify has been the dominant music streaming platform. It’s ubiquitous and packs a wide set of features. Spotify was probably the best streaming service at one point, but it might be losing that crown to Apple Music. Use the Right Arrow to Learn 9 Reasons Why Apple Music Is Better Than Spotify.
9 There’s a Three-Month Free Trial
If you have an iOS device, it means you already have Apple Music installed. And while there’s no free option to listen to Apple Music, there is a 90-day free trial so that potential subscribers can try out the service before committing.
The lack of a free tier may sound like a downside, but does it have its perks (one of which is a big one, but we’ll get to that later on this list). For example, you won’t ever hear any ads on the Apple Music platform and you’re not stuck with Spotify's shuffle-only playback option.
It’s also worth noting that Apple Music’s three-month free trial is also considerably longer than Spotify’s 30-day Premium trial.
8 Artist-Fan Interactions via Connect
Streaming services are probably not your primary or only social outlet, but seeing what your friends are listening to is a fun feature. Apple Music, like most of its competition, sports a suite of basic social features — such as social profiles that let you see what your friends are listening to.
But Apple Music also has a unique feature called Connect. It’s a social platform meant to give musicians and artists a way to connect more intimately with their fans, from candid pictures and backstage videos to actual artist-fan interactions. It might not be groundbreaking, but it gives Apple Music a slight edge over services that lack such a feature.
7 Your iTunes Library Is Here, Too
The heyday of buying music on iTunes or ripping tracks off CDs might be over, but it’s nice to have the option. Luckily, Apple Music integrates extremely well with your iTunes library. That means music that’s locally stored — whether via iTunes or a CD — will also appear in Apple Music.
It does this through iTunes Match, a typically separate subscription that’s included with any Apple Music account. And while Spotify has a similar feature, it’s much easier to find and play your own library alongside your service’s catalog in Apple Music. It’s a nifty feature that the competition currently lacks (at least with the same level of functionality).
6 First-Party Video Content
Your Apple Music account is not going to replace your Netflix subscription yet, but there’s plenty of evidence that Apple wants it to eventually. The Cupertino juggernaut has increasingly moved into the original TV content sphere, and it’s likely that it’ll debut that content on Apple Music.
That content isn’t limited to “Planet of the Apps” or “Carpool Karaoke,” either. Apple has landed a slew of shows and movies from high-profile names in the industry, and it’s previously expressed its desire to create premium “prestige content.” While we don’t know exactly how Apple will get this content to consumers, it’s worth venturing that Apple Music will play a part.
5 It Makes HomePod Better
If you own HomePod, or if you’re looking to purchase the Apple smart speaker, your best bet is undoubtedly to go with Apple Music. While you can play Spotify via the Apple speaker, the process is much less intuitive and seamless. Basically, you’ll need to use AirPlay 2 to play third-party services.
With an Apple Music subscription, however, you can control your playback from your iOS device, or via Siri directly on HomePod. Sure, there’s an argument to be made about the drawbacks of a “walled garden,” but Apple Music just simply makes HomePod better. That's also significant because it's one of the best-sounding smart speakers on the market, too.
4 It Has Its Own Digital Assistant
Apple Music is thoroughly baked into the company’s ecosystem. While that means tighter integration with Apple’s various operating system (and the products that run on them), it also means that Apple Music has its own digital assistant: Siri.
That means if you ask Siri to play the number-one hit in February 1993, the digital assistant will happily “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston. Sure, you can find that tidbit of information through a simple Google search, but Apple Music lets you skip a step. And that’s just one example: the bottom line is that you’re just a voice command away from playing your favorite tracks. Siri's built-in "name that song" feature by Shazam is nicely integrated with Apple Music, too.
3 Better “Radio” Stations
This is more of a subjective point to make, but Apple Music has better radio-like features built into it. While there isn’t extensive research, a few tests found that Apple Music’s radio features based on artists or genres built better playlists. That includes a wider — and more creative — selection of songs than Spotify's "Radio" playlists.
Apple Music has also Beats 1, a 24-hour radio show staffed by some of the most knowledgeable and charismatic personalities in radio. Beats 1 also regularly features shows hosted by notable musicians, and Apple Music also packs in several non-music radio stations like BBC News and ESPN. All in all, your Apple Music radio options are generally not as limited.
2 It (Probably) Has Better Audio Quality
When you first look at the statistics for each service, you might conclude that Spotify has generally better audio quality than its closest competitor. Apple’s top audio quality is current 256kbps, while Spotify Premium sports music playback at a 320kbps bitrate.
But streaming via Apple Music might actually sound better in practice. That’s due to a variety of reasons, but most notably, Apple Music uses AAC, while Spotify uses MP3. While Spotify tracks stream at a higher bitrate, AAC is a less lossy codec. Not only that, but many of Apple Music’s AAC files are actually specifically Mastered for iTunes.
1 More Songs & Exclusive Releases
Apple Music’s catalog is simply bigger than Spotify’s. The first-party Apple service has about 45 million songs. Spotify, by current estimates, has more than 30 million songs. That’s close, but Apple Music has the edge. A lot of that is due to its existing and already massive iTunes catalog.
But along with more tracks total, Apple Music also has more (arguably) higher-profile exclusives than Spotify. In the past, that’s included Frank Ocean, Drake, Taylor Swift and Kanye West, and it's largely because Apple Music doesn’t have a free tier. On the flip-side you're always welcome to a lengthy free three-month trial to test Apple Music for yourself.