Apple Explains Why It Launched an iPhone App Dedicated to Classical Music

[NufSaid]

While I am glad to have the app. I looked at it and wonder why it took them so long to deliver such a bland app. The music and podcast app designs really are bad. Despite that I still use them a lot, but they are real weak points

 

[MindYourMind]

Very pleased with this app, thanks Apple!

 

[SoldOnApple]

So should we remove the classical albums from our Apple Music libraries now? And is everything that's in Classical app now, is there any chance that an album might be removed from it, meaning if we removed it from our Apple Music library and Apple remove it from the Classical app, that it just won't be in our libraries at all anymore? Like if Apple decide that muscles don't count as "classical" music anymore.

 

[zapmymac]

It’s only Monday! Ugh 😩

Is anyone planning on jamming to Classical Music App + Drinking some Red Wine this upcoming weekend? 🎶 🍷

Mac Rumors get-together 😲🥳🍷…. Or another atmospheric river 😁

 

[Fugabutacus]

I mean I can finally see why this is its one app because the metadata is a train wreck and the classical is unusable for some albums, and definitely isn’t what anyone wants the main music app to look like. But hopefully they can resolve it and eventually roll it into the main app.

 

[davedrives]

Two things that are missing from the Apple Classical app are portals to Opera and Ballet respectively. There is an "Opera Essentials" button much like artist essentials in the standard Music app but there needs to be a section just for music from these distinct, but important genres.

And while we're at it, perhaps a video section for classical performances, opera and ballet?

… and while we’re at it lyrics from the opera just like song texts in the regular music app.
But hey, I get the feeling we’re going to get loads of extra refinements in the future. To get such a catalogue from day one!
In the search field you can type orgel (thanks to the primephonic heritage loads of explanations in Dutch!) and all organ music is filtered.
It’s only a matter of icons to put these refinements in the UI.
Super happy about this app and it will open up Apple Music to a huge amount of people without competition! (And that might be a problem for them to get off their a… and provide those extra refinements).
We’ll see.

 

[rb24]

The first two albums I searched for, which are present in Apple Music, are nowhere to be found in Apple Classical. Dealbreaker, for now.

Scott Ross: Bach Complete Keyboard Works

Paul Tortelier: Bach Cello Suites BNF Recording

 

[citysnaps]

I'm enjoying using the App. Good move on Apple's part releasing a separate classical music app.

 

[davedrives]

Hope there's something don't get, but i can't see any difference vs. regular Apple Music.

I just want a simple, simple thing: filter results by composer, director and orchestra. I can't see this basic option, i still have to browse countless meaningless results.

On the bottom you got
Listen now, discover, library and search!
And there at your service top of the screens,

 

[dz5b609]

Hopefully Apple's Classical Music app will pique the interest of growing youth and help them appreciate the beauty of classical music, moving them closer to it, and further away from the vanity of tiktoks and instagrams.

Being this elitist about classical music is displaying just as much vanity as people on tiktok and instagram.

 

[dz5b609]

.

 

[Killa Aaron]

Apple did because Apple can.

 

[Jonkil]

Sad that Apple couldn’t have just rebranded their acquisition and named it i-phonic or apple-phonic or something and left a perfectly workable proper app alone instead of releasing this waste of screen space. Terrible.

 

[jchap]

I'm not the audience for this (I may use it occasionally) but shouldn't they have a macOS app? Audiophile-ish people have all their desktop DACs and amps for playing lossless (and higher) music. Those people are going to want to use that for classical, not be limited to bluetooth audio with an iPhone, or portable amps and etc.

Patience.

 

[contacos]

Spotify should have a separate podcast app... I just music in the default Spotify app...

Are classical music going to be inaccessible from the default Apple Music app now that Classical is available?

They don’t want you to actually play music because podcasts are most definitely cheaper for them

 

[Lerenard3000]

i LOVE it!! really cool to finally get solists search !!!! With my AirPods Pro spatial audio is cool but not overwhelming which is good!

People with HomePods tell me because it might push me to buy a pair!

Good job Apple BUT now I want a bridge to Apple musique app, seamless transitioning to the normal app because I like classical but I also want to switch faster to other genres !!!

 

[chucker23n1]

Much like the Music app, I feel like this lacks the powerful drill-down abilities of iTunes back in the day. The Mac version of Music still has those if you know where to look, but the mobile app never got them.

It also has "Listen Now" and "Browse". I don't really know what those mean on the Music app (which also has "Radio", which, same), and I don't know what they mean here. They just seem to be like random "maybe this is where I find music" categories. Seems better to merge them into a "Discover" tab.

 

[Marbles1]

Initial thoughts are it's a good start. They seem to have got the metadata right, and they've got a single set of 'introduction to classic music' audio-programmes for each of the eras, the kind if thing you might get on NPR in the USA or Radio 3 in the UK. But that's it. I was hoping for a lot of this kind of additional content - good curation, more of the history of the composers, more detailed explanations and context.

They should incorporate podcast / Apple Music style shows. But then again there Apple Music shows are still a mess - halfway between being 'songs' you can play and true podcasts; and no ability to follow or get alerts on when there's a new episode.

But the content is good enough. I was indulging in some medieval music this morning. It does need more search features, the data is there but it's not immediately obvious. You should be able to enter a date range or choose a particular composition and get a beautiful pages highlighting the most popular / commonly accepted performances, and also more information about why particular performances are well known or well regarded.

Classical music is hard to get into - there's an opportunity here to bring in new fans.

 

[Abazigal]

They don’t want you to actually play music because podcasts are most definitely cheaper for them

I think it's about discoverability. From Spotify's perspective, it's easier to push podcasts to existing spotify app users, than try to get them to download a separate app. It also allows them to mix and match music tracks and podcasts into a common playlist.

Where Apple is concerned, they don't really care whether people use their podcast app or not, since it's already preinstalled, and they don't make any money off it. So they can keep them as separate apps.

 

[arkitect]

Now if only they would have explained why there is no Mac or iPad app?

Surely, surely it can't be that difficult. Or is this going to be like the strange case of the iPad Calculator app?

 

[attila]

> hundreds of recordings of well-known pieces.

But so do many other genres of music!

I haven' tried the Classical app yet, but I'm willing to guess that it's a much better app than Music, which interface I'm still struggling with.

 

[LilNasX]

mac version when?

 

[ch1ptune]

Is it just me or is it not possible to "Control other speakers" from within the Classical app like you can with Apple Music? If that's the case, it's going to only use AirPlay and not be playing directly from HomePod. That probably means I'm not going to be using it. What a shame - actually really like the app so far.

 

[Royksöpp]

I can confirm that it will run on iPad OS as a blown up iPhone app. Not the most elegant solution, but t least it works.

 

[funinhounslow]

Classical music is hard to get into - there's an opportunity here to bring in new fans.

Like me! I sometimes listen to Classic FM but don’t “know” anything about classical music and don’t know where to start. Occasionally listen to Bach Essentials or similar or take a lucky dip and try classical albums in Atmos almost at random.

At first glance this new app seems ideal for me - some intriguing playlists there and will get stuck into “The Story of Classical” ones at some point. Currently listening on headphones to Vikingur Olaffson playing Bach and thoroughly enjoying it!

Been working from home since you-know-what and desperately need to broaden my musical horizons - I can’t listen to the Beatles and Metallica for the rest of my life! I have been ploughing through the recommendations in a coffee table book 1000 (popular) Albums to Hear Before You Die and this new app has made it easier to explore and learn about classical music.

I hope an Apple TV app comes soon though.