Apple Music seems to be doing well for itself after less than a year on the market, with more than 13 million paying subscribers, but it sounds like there are big improvements ahead as the streaming service continues gunning for Spotify.
Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that Apple plans to “revamp” the service and “make it more intuitive to use,” according to sources. Apple is said to debut the changes next month at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2016 and amplify its marketing in the process.
Bloomberg adds that Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor is working alongside Apple’s content head Robert Kondrk to overhaul Apple Music’s design, along with input from design head Jony Ive’s team, music executive and Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine, and Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of internet software and services.
Hours later, 9to5Mac‘s Mark Gurman – a frequent source for Apple leaks – chimed in with more specific details about what to expect from the revised iOS app, which should release with iOS 10 this autumn after next month’s unveiling.
Says Gurman, the app will take on a “simpler design that emphasises black and white backgrounds and text,” but also blows up album artwork to give it a more prominent place in the interface. It’ll also more prominently use Apple’s San Francisco font, now the system font for both iOS 9 and Mac OS X, and hopefully be easier to navigate.
The report also claims that the “New” tab will be replaced by a “Browse” section that’s a bit more organized, and that the “For You” tab will be improved and enhanced. We should also see more 3D Touch shortcuts and more focus on sharing functionality, although other features like Connect and the Beats 1 radio station should be relatively unchanged.
Lastly, lyrics are said to be a large focus of the overhauled Apple Music, with labels being persuaded to implement them and a “good amount” of songs expected to have them at launch, according to a source. Apple Music should also see updates via iTunes and assumedly also Android, although it sounds like iOS may see the biggest overhaul in approach.
Spotify has some 30 million paying subscribers (out of 75 million overall users), although they had a several-year head start on streaming music over Apple Music. Still, despite its numbers, Apple Music hasn’t seemed to sway everyone just yet, and Apple is apparently looking to make a better impression the second time around.
