It appears that Apple is preparing to gear up for the upcoming debut of Apple Music Classical, a standalone classical music app that will be available to users alongside the traditional Apple Music app.
Right now, it is uncertain when the app will see release, though Apple has made a promise of it seeing release this year.
Apple Gearing Up for Debut of Apple Music Classical
Reports indicate that mentions of Apple Classical are appearing in backend code that Apple employs. This suggests that users may be seeing a debut of Apple Music Classical in the near future. Twitter user @aaronp613 was the one to announce the discovery of the source code.
Concerning the app itself, Apple Musical Classical is built around Primephonic, a classical musical service that Apple acquired back in Aug. 2021. During the acquisition of Primephonic, Apple promised notable improvements to the classical music experience for Apple Music subscribers.
Additionally, Apple has also stated that there is going to be a “dedicated classical music app” arriving in 2022. The app is looking to combine Primephonic’s classical user interface alongside “more added features”. However, with around three months left to go in 2022, the app will hopefully arrive soon should Apple be looking to hit the timeline.
Right now, there are no new signs that Apple Music Classical has seen an addition to the iOS 16.1 beta. However, Apple may be saving the release for the end of the year.
Of course, we have taken a look at the new changes that are arriving to Apple Music in the iOS 16 update, though right now, it doesn’t seem like there will be any major changes to Apple Music in iOS 16.1, at least for the time being.
Right now, iOS 16.1 is available as a public beta, should users wish to give it a try. Of course, if you do wish to give it a try, make sure you back up your device before installing the iOS 16.1 public beta.
Are you looking forward to Apple Music Classical app? Let us know in the comments.
Nick:
As classical music is my principal genre, I am intrigued by this, but it depends upon the execution.
I have not used the classical music streaming offerings on Apple Music, apart from their ‘Contemporary Classical’ offerings featuring current and up-and-coming composers. For streaming, I use dedicated app from the local classical music station, which I can simply call up on any of my HomePods by name via Siri, and will occasionally go to iTunes to obtain a copy of a specific recording for my library.
Apple have done a better job with jazz curation, another of my preferred genres and my wife’s principal genre, than with (European) classical music. They even offer AI-curated stations that will specialise in sub-genres (like bebop – Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker) with reasonable fidelity.
I am intrigued at what Apple will offer, but as a regular subscriber to my local station, which has deep ties to the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) and a content contributor to PBS writ large, the execution will have to be exceptional for me to become a regular user.
Excellent point. Also, thanks for the bebop recommendation! I think Apple Music Classical have to offer an overall different presentation from Apple Music, though I certainly have no idea what this would entail.
It’s been an ongoing question ever since Apple bought Primephonic. I was never a subscriber, but I’d read that Primephonic had a very excellent service, which Apple has absorbed and should be improving upon for its Apple Classical offering. Time will tell…this has been in the works for quite a while.