UPDATE: Apple Music Classical is now available(Opens in a new window) in the App Store.
Original Story 3/10:
Apple is bringing Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach to Apple Music with a standalone audio app dedicated to classical music.
Dubbed Apple Music Classical, the platform features what the company called “the world’s largest classical music catalog,” with more than 5 million searchable tracks, including new releases and famed compositions, as well as thousands of “exclusive” albums.
You’ll need an Apple Music subscription to tap into Apple Music Classical—specifically, an Individual ($10.99/month), Student ($5.99/month), Family ($16.99/month), or Apple One plan. It’s not available with the $4.99-per-month voice-only Apple Music tier.
The app is available to preorder(Opens in a new window) now in the App Store ahead of a March 28 launch. It’s iPhone-only at the moment and requires iOS 15.4 or later.
The launch comes after Apple acquired (and quickly shuttered) Dutch classical music streaming service Primephonic in 2021. As PCMag noted in a 2019 profile of the company, Primephonic was born as a way to preserve the mainstream existence of the classical genre. It let people search for musicians and albums, but also more specific metadata such as the composer, conductor, soloist, or the choir—a level of specificity that set Primephonic (and now, Apple Music) apart.
Apple Music Classical supports “the highest audio quality” (up to 192 kHz/24 bit Hi-Res Lossless), Apple says, sometimes in immersive spatial audio, and without ads.
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“Apple Music Classical also makes it easy for beginners to get acquainted with the genre thanks to hundreds of Essentials playlists, insightful composer biographies, deep-dive guides for many key works, and intuitive browsing features,” the App Store description says.
Apple Music Classical will roll out globally except in Afghanistan, China, Japan, Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Taiwan, and Turkey.
The move comes as streaming audio rival Spotify introduced new scrollable previews of songs, podcasts, and books. The refresh, available on iOS and Android, makes it easier to find personalized recommendations across various forms of audio.
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