Apple Music for Android Now Supports Saving Songs to SD Card

[69Mustang]

On these two point I would like to get a clarification.

Do we know as fact that you will be able to transfer music saved on an SD card across devices?

Yep. But there is a caveat. As long as the device you transfer to has access to your account, you're gravy. Say you have an M8 with AM and decide to move to a Note 4. You've also downloaded songs to your SD card. Once you've migrated your AM account information over, you're good to go. They're not going to let someone download a crap ton of songs, cancel the service, then keep the music. I personally use Google All Access because it's a better value than AM. 2 iPhones (wife and 16yo), the Moto G, and my S5 for 14.99 + Youtube Red (no ads) thrown in for free. It's good for up to 20 devices (5 devices per person). Multiple tablets and PC's are connected. Just like with AM, any device with an SD slot and access to the account can carry the music. But for those who want to use AM, it's just an added benefit.

For your daughter, have you looked at all the binge on plans from TMob. Not sure it could possibly be cheaper than $10 month. But those plans seem interesting for the streamers out there and another reason why saving locally may be a bit redundant.

I like TMo, but went with Republic Wireless for specific reasons. Control. I wanted her to have a great phone but one that didn't cost much. Moto G (3rd Gen) fits that bill. I also wanted to limit her online exposure to times where parental or adult supervision was possible. School and home. Her data is specifically for phone calls and text away from home. I never worry about an overage. Plus the monitoring tools with RW are pretty nice since she's only 10.

The only issue I have with Binge On is the data cap exclusion is limited to Binge On partners. Tons of streaming is done w/o Binge On affiliation. In my daughters case specifically, a lot of her school related things wouldn't qualify for that exemption. That's not a criticism of Binge On. It's just how it impacts my personal use case.

 

[windywalks]

This! That would be a pretty cool feature to just get a new phone and swap in the new SD card.
Also, WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO BRING APPLE MUSIC TO THE iPODS?! I love my phone no doubt and other than running with a 4.7" device to my arm, I have no complaints about it's size. I couldn't imagine strapping a + to my arm.

You've no idea, how I'd love to load my trusty Shuffle with some Apple Music, even if it would entail listening to it only once - during a workout etc.

But...
That's never going to happen, as the iPod is becoming increasingly obsolete. Seeing as they're probably going to introduce some wireless earbuds with the next iPhone, the Apple Watch will become the de facto iPod, if you can afford such a combo of course, but Apple sure is pushing towards ousting the iPod line all together and replacing it with iPhones and the Watch.

If only the current crop of BT earbuds weren't such a bummer in sound quality and the AW had a better battery life I'd jump right in, but alas my funds are short and I find neither BT earbuds nor the Watch compelling enough.

 

[Zirel]

Seriously! When is the last time you ever touched Android phone?

Today.

I had my Moto X 2014 for 1 year and half for now, never lag. Even after update to Marshmallow... Something you cannot say about update iOS... Almost all iPhone are progressively slowet with each iOS update.

According to Apple-haters.

You forgot that part.

 

[windywalks]

Seriously! When is the last time you ever touched Android phone?




I had my Moto X 2014 for 1 year and half for now, never lag. Even after update to Marshmallow... Something you cannot say about update iOS... Almost all iPhone are progressively slowet with each iOS update.

And isn't Marshmallow as far as you'll get in updates?

Sorry, I know that iOS updates make some devices dead slow, such as my iPad 3, which by now is just a glorified picture frame, but as half-assed as Apple's efforts are in the optimization and older hardware support department, they at least provide a continuous flow of security and feature updates, unlike Android updates, that just happen every once in a while or never for some cellular providers/manufacturers.

I've had two Android phones - a Samsung Galaxy S2 and S3 (this along with an iPhone 5) - I wasn't too happy about the iPhone 4s
I hated the phone with every inch of my skin - the screen was yellow, the interface laggy and unintuitive and I had to patch things up with all sorts of add-on apps, that just bloated the thing.

Enter the LG G4 mini my partner's mom has bought after she broke her iPhone 4 by subjecting it to wine.
All she does now is curse the phone, because there are too many options hidden away in swipe up, down, left right menus etc. She just couldn't afford a new iPhone before her plan expired, that's it.

She instantly caught up with features like iMessage, e-mail on iOS, Personal Hotspot, Skype, Find My Friends for stalking her 20 yo daughter This is a 60 y/o woman we're talking about here.
My point being - Android phones are for people who like to tinker, don't mind to have a Task killer app etc.
iOS devices are for people who like getting the basic things done, and if they so wish, there's usually an app for everything else

 

[UhFive]

You've no idea, how I'd love to load my trusty Shuffle with some Apple Music, even if it would entail listening to it only once - during a workout etc.

But...
That's never going to happen, as the iPod is becoming increasingly obsolete. Seeing as they're probably going to introduce some wireless earbuds with the next iPhone, the Apple Watch will become the de facto iPod, if you can afford such a combo of course, but Apple sure is pushing towards ousting the iPod line all together and replacing it with iPhones and the Watch.

If only the current crop of BT earbuds weren't such a bummer in sound quality and the AW had a better battery life I'd jump right in, but alas my funds are short and I find neither BT earbuds nor the Watch compelling enough.

We need more space on these watches if the intention is to replace the iPod...2gb of music is just not enough. Hopefully they double the total storage and alloy 5-8gb for music on the AW2.

 

[bwillwall]

Still better than no support at all. Poor iPhone users forced to buy higher capacity to store music and pay premiums for storage upgrade where we the Android users can enjoy SD card and not pay premiums to Apple.

The idea here is that some Android phones come with less storage and therefore SD cards are more mandatory, and before somebody complains about the 16GB iPhones... yes I know and agree. Either way, it only makes sense that Apple is catering their Android app to Android features and necessities that are different than those of iOS.

 

[tony1984]

Never going to happen. Apple Music will only work with online devices that can connect and check for a valid active subscription - and I'm guessing this would have been a requirement from the record labels as part of the licencing - or what is to stop somebody signing up for the trial, dumping 160Gb of Apple Music tracks on to their iPod Classic and then cancelling the subscription and just keeping the music forever...

It sucks as I'd love to be able to sync stuff to my classic too, but I can see why it's not allowed.

Never say never, Apple could update the nano software to require a sync with Internet connection to renew music that is offline.

 

[Manatlt]

And isn't Marshmallow as far as you'll get in updates?

Sorry, I know that iOS updates make some devices dead slow, such as my iPad 3, which by now is just a glorified picture frame, but as half-assed as Apple's efforts are in the optimization and older hardware support department, they at least provide a continuous flow of security and feature updates, unlike Android updates, that just happen every once in a while or never for some cellular providers/manufacturers.

I've had two Android phones - a Samsung Galaxy S2 and S3 (this along with an iPhone 5) - I wasn't too happy about the iPhone 4s
I hated the phone with every inch of my skin - the screen was yellow, the interface laggy and unintuitive and I had to patch things up with all sorts of add-on apps, that just bloated the thing.

Enter the LG G4 mini my partner's mom has bought after she broke her iPhone 4 by subjecting it to wine.
All she does now is curse the phone, because there are too many options hidden away in swipe up, down, left right menus etc. She just couldn't afford a new iPhone before her plan expired, that's it.

She instantly caught up with features like iMessage, e-mail on iOS, Personal Hotspot, Skype, Find My Friends for stalking her 20 yo daughter This is a 60 y/o woman we're talking about here.
My point being - Android phones are for people who like to tinker, don't mind to have a Task killer app etc.
iOS devices are for people who like getting the basic things done, and if they so wish, there's usually an app for everything else

This is why I'll choose the Nexus or Motorola phones over the Samsungs, the LGs, the Sonys etc.
Heck, my first (and current) Android phone is the Motorola Nexus 6 haha.
Stock Android, no bloatware, latest updates straight from Google themselves. Fast and simple.

It's easy to turn on Personal Hotspot, Skype is just as good and the Gmail app (but you have freedom to choose which default e-mail app you want unlike iOS)

Stock Android really is the way to go. I mean imagine Samsung using iOS adding their own bloatware that slows the phone down and have unnecessary stuff that confuses people.

Anyway I've seen many old people in the UK handling an Android so it's not only for the techies.

 

[69Mustang]

And isn't Marshmallow as far as you'll get in updates?

Sorry, I know that iOS updates make some devices dead slow, such as my iPad 3, which by now is just a glorified picture frame, but as half-assed as Apple's efforts are in the optimization and older hardware support department, they at least provide a continuous flow of security and feature updates, unlike Android updates, that just happen every once in a while or never for some cellular providers/manufacturers.

I've had two Android phones - a Samsung Galaxy S2 and S3 (this along with an iPhone 5) - I wasn't too happy about the iPhone 4s
I hated the phone with every inch of my skin - the screen was yellow, the interface laggy and unintuitive and I had to patch things up with all sorts of add-on apps, that just bloated the thing.

Enter the LG G4 mini my partner's mom has bought after she broke her iPhone 4 by subjecting it to wine.
All she does now is curse the phone, because there are too many options hidden away in swipe up, down, left right menus etc. She just couldn't afford a new iPhone before her plan expired, that's it.

She instantly caught up with features like iMessage, e-mail on iOS, Personal Hotspot, Skype, Find My Friends for stalking her 20 yo daughter This is a 60 y/o woman we're talking about here.
My point being - Android phones are for people who like to tinker, don't mind to have a Task killer app etc.
iOS devices are for people who like getting the basic things done, and if they so wish, there's usually an app for everything else

Brevity is your friend when using anecdotes. If you don't mind, let me fix yours.
The TL;DR version:
My anecdote is different from yours. Both are apropos of nothing. Seriously, neither anecdote proves anything.

 

[jeffe]

And isn't Marshmallow as far as you'll get in updates?

Sorry, I know that iOS updates make some devices dead slow, such as my iPad 3, which by now is just a glorified picture frame, but as half-assed as Apple's efforts are in the optimization and older hardware support department, they at least provide a continuous flow of security and feature updates, unlike Android updates, that just happen every once in a while or never for some cellular providers/manufacturers.

I've had two Android phones - a Samsung Galaxy S2 and S3 (this along with an iPhone 5) - I wasn't too happy about the iPhone 4s
I hated the phone with every inch of my skin - the screen was yellow, the interface laggy and unintuitive and I had to patch things up with all sorts of add-on apps, that just bloated the thing.

Enter the LG G4 mini my partner's mom has bought after she broke her iPhone 4 by subjecting it to wine.
All she does now is curse the phone, because there are too many options hidden away in swipe up, down, left right menus etc. She just couldn't afford a new iPhone before her plan expired, that's it.

She instantly caught up with features like iMessage, e-mail on iOS, Personal Hotspot, Skype, Find My Friends for stalking her 20 yo daughter This is a 60 y/o woman we're talking about here.
My point being - Android phones are for people who like to tinker, don't mind to have a Task killer app etc.
iOS devices are for people who like getting the basic things done, and if they so wish, there's usually an app for everything else

Updates on Android are different than iOS. Google releases and adds apis to Android through the play framework throughout the year. This is outside of system updates and can often add new features, support for new apps and apis for developers to use regardless of which version of Android you use.

 

[windywalks]

Brevity is your friend when using anecdotes. If you don't mind, let me fix yours.
The TL;DR version:
My anecdote is different from yours. Both are apropos of nothing. Seriously, neither anecdote proves anything.

Yeah, got too carried when writing this.

But being concise - when a device has a stock Android version, it's much easier to work with - beginner or not.
Any carrier/manufacturer added apps and launchers just spoil the experience.

From a middle-aged, non-tech person's perspective, even though I can only sympathise with those as I'm still in the Millenials age group, I'm certain iOS is much easier to grasp.

 

[69Mustang]

Yeah, got too carried when writing this.

But being concise - when a device has a stock Android version, it's much easier to work with - beginner or not.
Any carrier/manufacturer added apps and launchers just spoil the experience.

From a middle-aged, non-tech person's perspective, even though I can only sympathise with those as I'm still in the Millenials age group, I'm certain iOS is much easier to grasp.

No worries mate. You should see some of my older quotes. Positively Dickensian in length.

We can agree to disagree about stock Android though. It doesn't seem any easier. Anecdote alert
My 10yo has a Moto G, which she navigates just as easily as she navigates my wife's iPhone or my S5 (with Apex Launcher). She can't touch her sister's iPhone cuz instant death and all. Basic functionality on any phone is pretty easy. More advanced functions require more knowledge but that's true with anything.

 

[Michael Goff]

I just realized I've never had an Android phone that even had an SD card slot.

 

[dan110]

Wow ... I wish I could have a microSD on my iPhone to save stuff too. But you know, we gotta get it 0.3 mm thinner every year.

 

[moderngamenewb]

Still better than no support at all. Poor iPhone users forced to buy higher capacity to store music and pay premiums for storage upgrade where we the Android users can enjoy SD card and not pay premiums to Apple.

That's one of the very few reasons I'm actually glad I switched from my 5S to a Note 4. While I miss the iPhone, at the same time having the SD card is really beneficial to me.

 

[trekkie604]

I guess people use Apple Music on an Apple device (even though it is restricted to which devices). I am surprised that people are using it on an Android. But here is my biggest surprise -- people care about storing it to an SD card.

1. If you are paying for streaming then why save? Really... I purchase my music so I can listen to it whenever I want without having to stream. But if you pay for the streaming service, downloading seems redundant. Yes, you could argue that it is needed for when you hit a dead spot, but that is pretty small these days so not that big a deal (okay at least in my world, maybe you live somewhere where there are no towers).

2. On Android you have so many other options from Google, Spotify, Pandora, etc. Why would anyone care about the Apple Product?

3. Why does anyone use slow SD cards anyway? Since Android phones are cheap, buy a phone with 64 gig or more of SSD.

Okay, I know I will get flamed by the android community that seems to love to visit MR, but I am interested in knowing.

1. I fly; a lot. A pretty large deadzone is onboard an aircraft.
2. My music collection and all it's playlists are in iTunes, a result of having started the collection from an iPod Mini. I'm far too lazy to change that.
3. My SD card is 128GB class 10, ~90MB/s is not slow

 

[rikscha]

So?

so? this is nearly as bad as having to use windows.

SD cards? what a ridiculous idea in a smartphone.

 

[LovingTeddy]

so? this is nearly as bad as having to use windows.

SD cards? what a ridiculous idea in a smartphone.

Why?

Windows 10 is great. I installed Windows 10 on my Macs (deleted OS X) and it has never gave me any issue. It runs super fast and it stable as hell. I can run all the programs I wish to and it still runs great.

Android Marshmallows, it allows SD card formated as internal storage and system automatically allocate stuff between internal storage and SD card.

And any Class 10 UHS-I SD card is fast enough for app load and certainly enough for musics and pictures to store.

Can you explain why SD card is ridiculous idea for smartphone? Frankly, paying Apple 100 dollars for storage bump is ridiculous.

 

[Mac 128]

1. If you are paying for streaming then why save? Really... I purchase my music so I can listen to it whenever I want without having to stream. But if you pay for the streaming service, downloading seems redundant. Yes, you could argue that it is needed for when you hit a dead spot, but that is pretty small these days so not that big a deal (okay at least in my world, maybe you live somewhere where there are no towers).

Traveling in a foreign country. Visiting a national park. Flying almost anywhere, but particularly over an ocean. Camping, or otherwise visiting or traveling through some rural areas. Boating offshore in the open sea. An area with bad cellular reception and no wifi. Conserving mobile data limits in any situation, especially where reception is poor or slow, or a carrier has throttled data speed due to congestion. Etc ...

I'm always stunned by those whose lives are so hermetically sealed they can't imagine a situation where they might not be able to stream data. Heck, I live in Los Angeles, and I'd want local storage for no other reason than to be able to play music after an earthquake which might congest data lines to just emergency communication for days afterwards.

 

[crisss1205]

Still better than no support at all. Poor iPhone users forced to buy higher capacity to store music and pay premiums for storage upgrade where we the Android users can enjoy SD card and not pay premiums to Apple.

I have 3 Android phones in addition to my iPhone 6s Plus (work and dev) yet not a single one has a SD card slot. (Nexus 6P, Galaxy S6+ Edge, Moto X 2nd gen)

 

[Michael Goff]

Wow ... I wish I could have a microSD on my iPhone to save stuff too. But you know, we gotta get it 0.3 mm thinner every year.

The lack of an SD card has nothing to do with the making the phone thinner.