Apple Music Vs Amazon Music: Which One Is Better?
Do you need clarification about which music streaming app to stream music from? Can’t make your mind up between Apple Music or Amazon Music to choose from? Then this article is a must-read for you. In this article, we have compared both Apple Music vs Amazon Music streaming services to highlight their positives and negatives.
There are several music streaming services competing with each other to stand out more in the market with more paid subscribers. So, it’s normal to see which music subscription is best in the market to opt for. Apple Music and Amazon Music are new upgraded music apps in the market. But the main question is which you should choose for yourself.
Keep reading this article until the end to know more about these two music streaming applications so you can choose one per your preference.
Amazon Music Vs. Apple Music
Apple and Amazon Music have several subscribers on their platforms and have made major changes to their streaming services. Amazon Music has added lossless music to their Amazon Music HD subscription. They also added a high-fidelity feature to Amazon Music Unlimited subscription for no extra charges.
Simultaneously, Apple Music has included spatial audio support and lossless music streaming in their services. Amazon Prime members can now access the Amazon Music Unlimited library, while Apple’s subscription price has increased. You might be thinking about which music streaming service is better now.
Hence, we have compared both these music streaming services in this article, starting with Apple Music vs Amazon Music prices.
Apple Music Vs. Amazon Music: Price
Apple Music has to be purchased for 10.99 dollars per month to use its music streaming service. Amazon Music comes with various tiers you can sign up for streaming music. These Amazon Music tiers start with a free tier, allowing you to stream music.
The free tier allows you to listen to 100 million songs from Amazon’s library that are on shuffle mode. Amazon’s free tier might feel restricted as you might not like songs that play in shuffle mode.
Amazon Music Unlimited Vs. Apple Music
You should be more interested in the Amazon Music Unlimited tier, the standard subscription of Amazon Music. Amazon Music Unlimited costs 8.99 dollars per month, although you must remember the annual cost of Amazon Prime Membership is 139 dollars.
If you don’t have a Prime membership, then the standard subscription cost is 9.99 dollars per month.
As a Prime member, you must pay 89 dollars for an Amazon Music Unlimited subscription. Prime members now get access to the Amazon Music Unlimited library but in shuffle mode for no additional cost.
To get “All-Access” on-demand streaming of music from Amazon Unlimited Music, you will have to pay 89 dollars that is not stuck on shuffle mode.
If you are a Prime member with an Amazon Echo speaker, you can get the Unlimited subscription for 3.99 dollars per month. However, the subscription will be for only that single speaker, so you won’t be able to use it for other devices.
While Apple Music does not have these privileges, the standard individual music subscription starts from 10.99 dollars per month.
Amazon Music student plans cost 4.99 dollars per month, while Apple Music student plan costs 5.99 dollars monthly.
Amazon Music Unlimited other tiers include the Family plan, which costs 14.99 dollars per month. Six individual accounts can use this single subscription. Apple Music Family plan subscription costs 16.99 dollars monthly, and six accounts can access it.
Clearly, Apple Music is costlier than Amazon Music, with a difference of 1 to 2 dollars in all their plans. So Amazon Music wins in this comparison.
Apple Music Vs. Amazon Music: Music Library
Now, if you compare the music library of Apple Music and Amazon Music Unlimited, both have 100 million songs. The Amazon Music Unlimited free tier that is available for Prime members lets you listen to music on shuffle. Simultaneously, the paid version of Amazon Music Unlimited allows you to on-demand music from its library.
Apple has no such free benefits; it offers a paid version with over 100 million songs. The platform also does not boast exclusive song releases like earlier, so don’t worry about missing out on new songs.
Both services tie in this ground of comparison.
Apple Vs. Amazon Music: Sound Quality
The sound quality of Apple Music is top-notch, along with its great resolution and bit rate. Adding “lossless” music streaming in Apple Music delivers full “CD-quality” music up to 24-bit/192kHz. This results in true high-resolution audio. This high-resolution audio quality is not Windows desktop compatible.
Amazon Music Unlimited offers a choice between high-resolution 24-bit/192kHz format or CD quality 16-bit/44.1kHz format. You will need an external DAC when listening to high-resolution Amazon Music on mobile. When listening to Amazon Music of CD quality sound through the desktop app, the quality is glitch-free.
But when listening to high-resolution music from Amazon Music through a desktop app, there might be some problems. This problem occurs as your desktop’s internal audio setting is in default settings, which makes the high-resolution audio down-sampled to 24/48.
No automatic solution for this problem is available, so you must adjust your desktop settings to get high-resolution audio quality while listening to Amazon Music.
In this regard, Apple also cannot provide high-resolution music for Windows users; hence, both music streaming services tie in this regard.
Apple Music Vs. Amazon Music: Immersive Sound
Regarding immersive sound experience, Apple Music offers its spatial audio support based on Dolby Atmos, which helps create 3D effects in your headphones. While this feature is great, it is only limited to Apple devices that can project this kind of immersive sound quality.
Devices like Apple TV 4K, iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, and Macs can offer this kind of 360-degree sound.
While Amazon Music HD and Unlimited claims to support Sony 360 Reality Audio and Dolby Atmos. But both formats have more hardware than Apple’s format, as Dolby Atmos quality playback can only be compatible with Amazon’s Echo Studio speakers.
Amazon Music’s 360 Reality Audio of Sony feature can be compatible with Sony RA3000, Sony RA5000, and the Amazon Echo Studio speakers.
Apple Music has the upper hand in offering 360-degree sound to its users, with more devices having spatial audio music.
Apple Music Vs. Amazon Music: Cloud Locker And Offline Listening
One of the biggest advantages of having Apple Music is that it offers an iCloud Music Library that lets subscribers sync downloaded songs with any device, provided the device is signed in with the same Apple ID. Any Amazon Music subscription does not provide this handy tool.
Amazon Music, like Apple Music, has limited 100,000 songs for downloading on its app that you can save in 10 devices but cannot sync those devices. So, your Amazon Music library remains consistent on all devices separately.
Apple can sync its downloaded song with several other devices with the same Apple IDs. So clearly, Apple Music wins this comparison.
Apple Music Vs. Amazon Music: Browser Playback
Earlier Apple Music required iTunes installation to create playlists, play music, and browse curated content on a browser. But now Apple Music lets you play music independently without needing iTunes installation. You can also browse content on the browser easily, like you browse in apps and create playlists.
Similarly, all Amazon Music subscriptions, be it free or Unlimited, have in-browser features. So, they tie in browser playback comparison.
Apple Music Vs. Amazon Music: Availability
Apple Music is available on browsers, Android and iOS apps. Apple Music is available on the Apple Watch, Apple TV 4K, Apple CarPlay, Apple HomePod and Apple HomePod mini. If you don’t have built-in CarPlay in your car, then Apple Music won’t work in your car by adding CarPlay.
Amazon Music will work in a similar built-in system with Alexa Auto for your car. Or you can upgrade your car with Echo Auto, which lets you play Amazon Music in your car. Amazon Music is also compatible with browsers, Androids, and iOS apps.
Devices like Amazon Echo speakers, Fire TV streaming devices, desktops, and smartphones. Hence, both music streaming services are available on multiple devices, making it a tie.
Apple Music Vs. Amazon Music: Playlists And Curated Content
Both services use curated content similarly by analyzing songs you listen to and making a playlist based on them. Apple and Amazon Music playlists contain your favorite tracks and songs you might enjoy.
They can also create a playlist based on genre and specific time of the day. This means a playlist of upbeat songs in the morning to energize you.
The only difference these two music streaming services have is when providing a radio or radio-like experience. Amazon Music offers DJ Mode, which is not live radio but a curated music playlist with commentary from celebrity hosts. At the same time, Apple Music offers its standard digital radio station, Apple Music 1, which Ebro Darden and Zane Lowe host.
Apple Music Vs. Amazon Music: Social Media
Apple Music can create links for sharing music easily on social media. You can also AirDrop music with other registered music streaming service users. But you must close Apple Music to post the link or AirDrop music on social media platforms.
Amazon Music can create direct links for sharing music on social media and posting songs directly on any social media platform without shutting down your app. Hence, Amazon Music wins in social media sharing comparison.
Apple Music Vs. Amazon Music: Design
Apple Music’s User Interface (UI) design is very clean and stark, while Amazon Music’s UI is similar to Spotify. Amazon Music’s design has a darker background with light text and smaller tiles.
Both apps split non-personalized and personalized content recommendations into different screens. You can find new music by searching on the “Find” page on Amazon Music, while Apple Music has a similar search page.
So both tie in the design sector.
Apple Music Vs. Amazon Music: Which Is The Best Value Music App?
While it seems Amazon Music seems a great option for you due to its lower price and availability, especially with the free version. But listening to music is a relaxing activity you enjoy more than listening to your favorite music.
But the free Amazon Music version will only play in shuffle mode, so you must opt for the paid version. Since you are already opting for the paid version, why not go for the whole immersive experience with Apple Music?
You will get both iCloud locker and offline mode of listening to music and a 360-degree sound quality, just for a dollar more.
Reviews On Amazon Music
Here are some reviews on Amazon Music:
Lynette, an Amazon Prime member says,
Cancel Amazon Prime- you won?t regret it?? She further adds, ?When my Amazon Prime subscription came up for renewal I decided to cancel it purely because of the fact that I could no longer listen to music in the order that I wanted. And when I wanted to hear a specific song – I got some other random tune that I didn’t want. I will not subscribe to Unlimited as I felt that Prime had become too expensive anyway and I was not getting value from it.
2. Clare, another Amazon Music subscription holder says,
Expensive and the functionality is absolutely rubbish. Every time I try and move the order of music around in my list the screen freezes or I have to reload. Absolutely rubbish.
Reviews On Apple Music
Here are some reviews on Apple Music:
Bob Boblins, Apple Music subscription holder, says,
Apple Music has gone rotten.? He further adds, ?The sound quality is poor, very artificial sounding and it?s hard to pick out detail. By comparison, Prime music is £2 a month cheaper if you?re a member and sounds significantly better in my view.
Charles Best says,
I tried Apple Music but did not like it since then they keep sending me emails saying they can?t take a payment and this morning sent me another email saying update my Apple Music so I block them.
Conclusion
I hope now you can decide for yourself based on all the information given above in the article on what music service to use. Let us know which music streaming service you choose and why.
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