Apple Music for Android Gains Home Screen Widget in New Update

[MacRumors]

The Apple Music app for Android devices was updated today, adding a new home screen widget that gives Android users the ability to control Apple Music playback without needing to open the Apple Music app.

The widget lets users view what's playing, and quickly pause, skip, rewind, and favorite songs. Today's update also lets Android users add songs directly to playlists without first needing to add them to the Apple Music, offers a way to redeem iTunes credit for membership renewal, and includes several other useful interface tweaks that should be a welcome change for Android Apple Music users.

Image via PocketNow​

Now you can add songs from the Apple Music catalog to playlists without having to add it to your library. You can also:
- Control playback with a widget you can add to your home screen
- Redeem gift cards in Settings to renew your membership using iTunes credit
- See what's playing on Beats 1 directly from the Radio tab -- without having to tune in
- Tap the name of the currently playing song in Now Playing to go to the album
- See which songs are most popular on albums in the Apple Music catalog

Apple Music for Android can be downloaded for free from the Google Play Store.

Article Link: Apple Music for Android Gains Home Screen Widget in New Update

 

[KieranDotW]

Widgets for iOS confirmed?

 

[69Mustang]

How does AM on iOS differ from AM on Android? Aside from the widget, of course.

 

[_Refurbished_]

How does AM on iOS differ from AM on Android? Aside from the widget, of course.

It doesn't work.

 

[Sirious]

Interesting how Apple is taking advantage of features on Android but refuses to loosen up with iOS

 

[Adam Betts]

Interesting how Apple is taking advantage of features on Android but refuses to loosen up with iOS

That's not the right way to view it. Apple have said that they're trying to make an app that feels right at home in Android even though they themselves may not agree with Android's UI trends.

If a highly-requested feature isn't on iOS yet, it usually means that Apple haven't found a right approach, something that would fit in with iOS properly. Remember iOS copynpaste?

 

[glindon]

Interesting how Apple is taking advantage of features on Android but refuses to loosen up with iOS

There is a widget on iOS. Swipe up to open control center. The widget is always available no matter where you are in iOS unlike this widget that is only on that particular home screen.

 

[kdarling]

That's not the right way to view it.

Perhaps there's more than one way to view it

If a highly-requested feature isn't on iOS yet, it usually means that Apple haven't found a right approach, something that would fit in with iOS properly. Remember iOS copynpaste?

iOS has been out for almost ten years, widgets have been around for decades, and Jobs even said they were his favorite thing on his Mac.

I think the holdup could be the base difference in the way iOS and Android were designed. According to one of the core developers, a main reason Android stuttered at first was its coding to securely share overlapping screen space with multiple process views. Among other things, this capability allows widgets. iOS was designed in a much simpler way to put smoothness foremost. Someday they'll be very similar.

 

[RoyalElephant]

There is a widget on iOS. Swipe up to open control center. The widget is always available no matter where you are in iOS unlike this widget that is only on that particular home screen.

Music controls/album art and titles from music playing apps on android, including apple music are accessible in the same way on Android as an "ongoing notification" which also gets displayed on the lockscreen.

Homescreen widgets in general are pretty meh IMO anyway.

 

[waterskier2007]

There is a widget on iOS. Swipe up to open control center. The widget is always available no matter where you are in iOS unlike this widget that is only on that particular home screen.

That is by far the dumbest point I have ever seen. I am not saying I want or don't want widgets, but if I was going to argue against them, this is not the point I would base my argument on.

Widgets would be something available for any app to implement, whereas control center is locked to what Apple decides should be there.

 

[9052042]

Widgets for iOS confirmed?

So first to comment with such a clever line and no likes?

 

[macduke]

All this arguing about iOS needing widgets and here I am wondering what everyone is talking about? I've got a ton of widgets available from either my lock screen or anywhere I am: the Today view! Works great and keeps everything nice and tidy. I've got widgets for all sorts of things: weather and radar, sports scores, stocks, calendar, data plan usage, thermostat controls, to-do lists, pedometer, system monitoring, breaking news and package deliveries. What is everyone complaining about? I've even got widgets on my Watch! Widgets for days. WIDGETS FOR WEEKS! A man could go mad with this kind of power.

 

[12vElectronics]

I didn't even know you can get Apple Music on Android!

 

[Dj64Mk7]

It doesn't work.

Hint: it's a beta.

 

[JohnApples]

All this arguing about iOS needing widgets and here I am wondering what everyone is talking about? I've got a ton of widgets available from either my lock screen or anywhere I am: the Today view! Works great and keeps everything nice and tidy. I've got widgets for all sorts of things: weather and radar, sports scores, stocks, calendar, data plan usage, thermostat controls, to-do lists, pedometer, system monitoring, breaking news and package deliveries. What is everyone complaining about? I've even got widgets on my Watch! Widgets for days. WIDGETS FOR WEEKS! A man could go mad with this kind of power.

I loved when they added widgets, and I added a bunch to my Today view, but I sadly can't say they work great for me. Every single time I slide down the NC, the widgets are all blank and take a few seconds to load the data. And they don't do it all at the same time either, which causes them to all expand/contract out of order and is impossible for me to select anything for about 6 seconds.

Do you experience this? I'd love for my widgets to be a lot smoother... Maybe it's just the ones I'm currently using?

 

[Ghost31]

All this arguing about iOS needing widgets and here I am wondering what everyone is talking about? I've got a ton of widgets available from either my lock screen or anywhere I am: the Today view! Works great and keeps everything nice and tidy. I've got widgets for all sorts of things: weather and radar, sports scores, stocks, calendar, data plan usage, thermostat controls, to-do lists, pedometer, system monitoring, breaking news and package deliveries. What is everyone complaining about? I've even got widgets on my Watch! Widgets for days. WIDGETS FOR WEEKS! A man could go mad with this kind of power.

If it was that big of a deal, they wouldn't have an iPhone. People just like to complain

 

[shiseiryu1]

Screw Android! Apple needs to focus on making the Apple Music app better for iPhone. It runs like complete garbage in my 5s. Yes, I know that phone is older but that is the only app I've ever used that has run so terribly. They need to work on that thing a lot more.

 

[rorschach]

That is by far the dumbest point I have ever seen. I am not saying I want or don't want widgets, but if I was going to argue against them, this is not the point I would base my argument on.

Widgets would be something available for any app to implement, whereas control center is locked to what Apple decides should be there.

Widgets *are* available for any app to implement - in the Today View in Notification Center. Just as they are on OS X, either in Notification Center or Dashboard, both of which are separate "views" just like in iOS.

 

[Jess13]

So Android version colorwise has a decent grayscale UI instead of iOS pink-red Damn you, Apple.

 

[Noble Actual]

6 years later....iPad layout is still exactly the same....still wastes the same amount of ridiculous space.

That's not the right way to view it. Apple have said that they're trying to make an app that feels right at home in Android even though they themselves may not agree with Android's UI trends.

If a highly-requested feature isn't on iOS yet, it usually means that Apple haven't found a right approach, something that would fit in with iOS properly. Remember iOS copynpaste?

Yea, still terrible especially for iPads.

 

[GreyOS]

Home screen widgets aren't cool anymore, they're very 2010. People still wanting them on iOS are behind the times.

 

[allenvanhellen]

There is a widget on iOS. Swipe up to open control center. The widget is always available no matter where you are in iOS unlike this widget that is only on that particular home screen.

Yeah, except that if you play audio from somewhere else, the widget doesn't return to Apple Music (or whatever was playing before the interruption) when the interrupting video or audio finishes. That's a big bummer and I hope Apple adds that in a future update. The old multitasking audio controls used to work in that way.

 

[navaira]

Home screen widgets aren't cool anymore, they're very 2010. People still wanting them on iOS are behind the times.

Why don't you suggest Apple removes the antiquated headphone jack while you're at it, and takes away the last port in the rMB. The main reason I use Android are home screen widgets. I tried to switch back into iPhone and I immediately started losing track of my events because my agenda wasn't on the front page and I couldn't for the love of Jobs get into the habit of checking notification centre or opening Calendar manually all the time.

 

[BulkSlash]

There is a widget on iOS. Swipe up to open control center. The widget is always available no matter where you are in iOS unlike this widget that is only on that particular home screen.

The trouble with the Control Centre widget is it quickly forgets what you were last listening to (presumably memory restrictions) and if you've just watched a YouTube video all it will offer is the ability to play that again. However that's useless because Google refuse to allow background playback of YouTube videos. The Control Centre music controls desperately need improving.

And don't get me started on the fact that the Music app on iPad doesn't appear in the swipe over/split screen menu on the right. The Music app was the first and original iOS multi-tasking app, offering background playback even on the very first iPhone. Yet on an iPad you're forced to load the Music app full screen just to resume some music (assuming the Control Centre has done its usual thing I mentioned above)...

 

[oldmacs]

AM for Android is so much better - it has a widget, you can store your music on an SD card (meaning you can still have your music and not pay for Apple's overprice storage upgrades.
[doublepost=1458895342][/doublepost]

The trouble with the Control Centre widget is it quickly forgets what you were last listening to (presumably memory restrictions) and if you've just watched a YouTube video all it will offer is the ability to play that again. However that's useless because Google refuse to allow background playback of YouTube videos. The Control Centre music controls desperately need improving.

And don't get me started on the fact that the Music app on iPad doesn't appear in the swipe over/split screen menu on the right. The Music app was the first and original iOS multi-tasking app, offering background playback even on the very first iPhone. Yet on an iPad you're forced to load the Music app full screen just to resume some music (assuming the Control Centre has done its usual thing I mentioned above)...

All of this is so true!!!