Apple Music Set for Design Overhaul in Time for WWDC in June

[MacRumors]

Apple is planning to overhaul its year-old music streaming service to make it "more easy to use", according to people familiar with the matter (via Bloomberg News).

The company is set to redesign the user interface to make it more intuitive, said the sources, who asked to remain anonymous because the plans are yet to be made public. Apple also means to significantly enhance the integration of its streaming and download businesses and expand its online radio service.

According to Bloomberg, a full reboot of Apple Music is to be unveiled at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June and will be accompanied by a fresh marketing campaign to entice customers to the subscription-based service, which currently costs $10 per month.

Apple Music was introduced with much fanfare back in June 2015. While many commentators gave generally positive reviews, the service was criticized for its muddled interface and dearth of features. Meanwhile, Taylor Swift penned an open letter to the Cupertino company criticizing it for not paying artists during the service's free three-month trial and explaining her decision not to make her album 1989 available to stream on Apple Music. Artists have also complained that Apple Music's social aspect, called Connect, "fails miserably" in its aims.

Apple has struggled to integrate its employees and unite the streaming and downloading businesses into a cohesive music strategy, according to the latest report. As a result, the service is now being overseen by content head Robert Kondrk and Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor. Design chief Jony Ive's team has also been involved, along with former Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine and senior VP of Internet services Eddy Cue.

Apple Music has reached 13 million subscribers, announced Apple CEO Tim Cook at last week's earnings call. The figure was 2 million higher than that reported in February, indicating a growth rate on par with industry-leading streaming service Spotify.

Update: Details about the upcoming Apple Music redesign have been shared by 9to5Mac. It is said to feature a "bolder, yet simpler" design that puts an emphasis on black and white backgrounds and text and more of a focus on album art. The "New" tab in Apple Music is being replaced with a "Browse" option with better organizational tools for finding new content, and Apple will encourage users to use a simplified "For You" section.

Connect, Apple Music's artist-focused social network, will remain unchanged, as will Beats 1 Radio. New 3D Touch shortcut previews will be added, Apple will make sharing features more obvious, and a feature allowing listeners to easily access song lyrics will be added. The new Apple Music app will reportedly debut at WWDC in iOS 10 and will be introduced through an iTunes update on the Mac.

Article Link: Apple Music Set for Design Overhaul in Time for WWDC in June

 

[Nimrad]

Maybe make it user friendly and easy to underseand.

 

[lyngo]

It's a convoluted mess like iTunes. Make it simple!

 

[JPLC]

Apple Music never felt like "home" to me. I love the old music app. The very first version. When I use my iPod touch (2010) for sports, I'm so happy with this basic music app that works like it should. It does the job and I can find every song, artist or album within seconds.

 

[jsmith189]

new interface, same old broken icloud music library.

 

[nickmcpherson97]

I wonder if they'll fix my shuffle bug. Every time I open the music app (music previously wasn't playing) and I hit shuffle it'll play then pause before any sound comes out, requiring me to hit play or shuffle again to play music.

 

[Popeye206]

Sweet... will be good to see what's new at the WWDC.

 

[PowerBook-G5]

What about that iTunes refresh coming "next month"?


Edit: We shall see how this turns out.

 

[robotica]

I absolutely hate what Apple Music has done to the music app.

Apple basically destroyed the iPod part of the iPhone. I actually had to download a third party app to be able to control my music to any functional degree.

Apple please reinstate in the old music application and make a separate Apple Music app.

Edit/ a few people asked what 3rd party app I use It's called marvis - it's good but has adverts

 

[Moonjumper]

iTunes has become simpler, but harder to use, and is not consistent across media formats. Hopefully it will also be sorted.

 

[8692574]

So accrording to rumors for WWDC we should expect:
Skylake MBP (with redesign)
Skylake Mini
Skylake iMac (all the line)
New MP
Watch bands
Watch 2
14 MBA
New Apple Music
New iTunes
New Mac OS (preview)
New iOS (preview)

Seems like they should have booked for 4 hours keynote......

 

[obiwan]

This will be a welcome upgrade if it's true. I've just upgraded to family membership. I love the idea of Apple Music, but the interface on the iPhone App is an absolute mess!! It takes me ages to find my playlists. Before I upgraded to family membership it wouldn't let me listen to tracks that I had previously purchased through iTunes if someone else in my household was listening to Apple Music on another device. It's difficult to download individual tracks locally on the iPhone app, but it will let you download whole albums. There is no easy way of purchasing an Apple Music track via iTunes (without the DRM) for use in other apps. It doesn't work on the AppleTV (the last gen one anyway - although you can stream Apple Music from your phone). Ok the list goes on and on with gripes with it. The idea is great, but the implementation is poor. And don't get me started on how Apple have screwed up iTunes...

 

[T Coma]

Apple is planning to overhaul its year-old music streaming service to make it "more easier to use", according to people familiar with the matter (via Bloomberg News).

Not just easier. More easier.

 

[MH01]

They should have fixed the interface after launch, concerned that Apple Music and it's overhaul (front end ) is going to a major innovation at wwdc. Along with new beats products .

 

[bushido]

So accrording to rumors for WWDC we should expect:
Skylake MBP (with redesign)
Skylake Mini
Skylake iMac (all the line)
New MP
Watch bands
Watch 2
14 MBA
New Apple Music
New iTunes
New Mac OS (preview)
New iOS (preview)

Seems like they should have booked for 4 hours keynote......

No need to talk about those, just updates in the Apple Store
Not gonna happen

----

one of the many reasons AM is pure crap ....

 

[navaira]

Fix the bloody matching. Either by adding "incorrect match" option, or by allowing to sync without iCloud. Or just take a page from Google and allow to store up to 50000 songs for free. I don't care. Fix it and you have my money.

 

[Mildredop]

"more easier to use",

What terrible grammar. This should be either "easier to use" or "more easy to use".

 

[icanhazapple]

I never had an issue with Apple Music. Once you understand there are two distinct sections for music, the catalog and your Library (and that you can add components of the streaming catalog into your library), it's pretty easy to use. The only issue I had is that clicking search doesn't always return a result. At all.

My hope is that we have an expansion of the Beats music channels. Would be nice to have some additional variety.

 

[navaira]

It's more easier to use on your Macintosh devices, iPhone devices, Android Phone devices and iPad devices.

Am I doing it right, Phil Schiller?

 

[SMIDG3T]

So accrording to rumors for WWDC we should expect:
Skylake MBP (with redesign) - Yes.
Skylake Mini - Yes.
Skylake iMac (all the line) - Yes.
New MP - No.
Watch bands - Maybe and if so won't take up much stage time.
Watch 2 - No. September.
14 MBA - Eh?
New Apple Music - Yes. It's the one-year anniversary.
New iTunes - Yes.
New Mac OS (preview) - Definitely.
New iOS (preview) - Definitely.

 

[AppleInLVX]

What terrible grammar. This should be either "easier to use" or "more easy to use".

Anything that makes it more gooder is fine by me.

 

[SMIDG3T]

Personally I've had no issues. The only thing that doesn't work consistently is Connect. It'll be good to see what they do though.

 

[Steeley]

I really hope it gets its own app and/or a web client. it'd be great if it had an API too so other apps could integrate with it like how IFTTT, Shazam and Uber integrate with Spotify.

 

[JosephAW]

Yeah and it will require iOS 10 leaving those of us on iOS 8 in the dust.

 

[maflynn]

Sad, that they couldn't get it right the first time, its not like this is the first time they did music. I'm looking forward though a new design that will make it a bit easier to use.