Over the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to try out and use the new Apple Music Classical app.
For the record, I am someone who has been listening to classical music in the form of movie and TV scores since I was in high school, so even the initial announcement that Apple was creating an app dedicated to classical music made me quite enthusiastic and excited.
Now that the app has launched and been out for a little bit, I can say that it has been a positive experience.
First of all, in the beginning, I was against it being its own app since for some users it could create more clutter and be yet another app for them to have on their iPhones. Then I thought about it some more and noticed that the baseline storage on an iPhone today is around 64GB and that took my concerns away. That should be enough for a lot of users.
As for the design and layout of the app, I like that when you open the app, it takes you to recommended classical music playlists. This is something that is highly convenient and a great way to introduce the app and genre to users that may not be as familiar with good classical music.
Oh, and the fact that the font Apple chose for the wording in the app looks quite old-fashioned, which fits the app perfectly, and looks quite similar to the “American Typewriter” font. It’s a fitting look for an app like Apple Music Classical.
Another part of Apple Music Classical I like comes from the Apple Music app where if you come across and artist or album that has the “classical” genre to it, in the top-right corner of the app, it will have an icon that gives you the option (once tapped) to play the album/song in the Apple Music Classical app.
Its catalog is pretty impressive too, but I have a feeling that is to be expected with Apple. It was nice to see that Apple does consider film/TV scores to be seen as “classical” music. That subject as a whole is one I have had a debate with my own twin brother for a little while. I’d say score music is simply classical music but a modern version of it.
As you can see in the photo above, it does have the “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” soundtrack from the 2016 film. You can additionally see my new favorite “traditional” composer, Claude Debussy, and his brilliant song “Clair de Lune.” That song in particular I have had on repeat in the app recently.
The one con on the app I have found is it is currently only on the iPhone. I really think Apple should have made an iPadOS app for it, and possibly even expanded it as far as an Apple TV app. The app has a lot of potential with Apple Music users and allows for Apple to use it as a competing tool against competitors like Spotify.
Overall, I’m thoroughly impressed with Apple Music Classical. It’s on the right track and I hope the app is expanded in the future to the devices listed above. I will give it a solid 4/4 stars because for what it is already is nothing short of great.
Rating: 4/4 stars
