Are you thinking about leaving Spotify? Discover over 7 compelling reasons to switch from Spotify to Apple Music, from superior sound quality to better integration, and more.
Let me start by saying that Spotify is a great music service with awesome playlists (the best among all its peers), terrific recommendations, and fast loading times. Also, unlike Apple Music, Spotify offers a free, ad-supported plan.
However, there are still enough arguments to switch from it to Apple Music, and I will share my reasons with you.
1. No “Play Next” button
I must have a Play Next button in all my music apps. Apple Music and YouTube Music already have this. However, Spotify only has an Add to queue button, not Play Next. So, I often find myself adding songs to the queue and then dragging the one I need to listen to next to the top of the queue. I really don’t like going through this extra step.
On Apple Music, if I come across a song I want to listen to next, I just touch and hold it and choose Play Next. Now, this song will go to the top of my queue and play after the current one ends.
2. Better audio quality
Spotify has been talking about its lossless-quality streaming (Spotify HiFi) for years but has not yet introduced it.
You won’t notice this until you listen to the same song on Spotify and Apple Music, but the Lossless and Hi-Res Lossless streaming on Apple Music is so much better than Spotify’s current Very high tier.
Related: How to stream Apple Music and Spotify at the best possible audio quality
3. Great integration with all Apple devices like HomePod
It goes without saying that Apple Music works very well with all Apple devices, including HomePod, Apple Watch, Siri, and elsewhere.
Now, this doesn’t mean you can’t listen to Spotify on your Apple devices, but the experience can be a little shaky. For instance, if you ask Siri on your HomePod to “Play Every Breath You Take by The Police on Spotify,” it will do that through the Spotify app on your iPhone and not natively on the speaker itself. This is because Spotify is in constant spat with Apple, and unlike services like YouTube Music, Spotify has not added Home app support.
Note that Apple Music is also available on Android phone, Windows PC, web browser, and several other non-Apple devices. So, with one subscription, you can listen to it almost everywhere.
4. Spotify can be expensive
The individual monthly plan for both Spotify and Apple Music is priced at $10.99.
However, with an Apple Music subscription, you also get access to Apple Music Classical at no additional cost.
Additionally, Apple Music is a part of the Apple One plan ($19.95 per month), which includes 50 GB of iCloud+ storage, Apple TV+, and Apple Arcade, making this a money-saving bundle.
So instead of paying $10.99 to Spotify, many people, including myself, have opted for the Apple One bundle to get access to Apple Music, iCloud, TV+, and Arcade games.
5. The Spotify app has too much clutter
While I have always liked Spotify’s app, some users feel differently. They think Spotify tries too much on its Home screen, including showing you podcasts, which they say should be a different app altogether.
So if you prefer simplicity and do not want your podcasts clubbed with your music, Apple offers a better solution: Music and Podcasts, as two separate apps.
6. Apple Music 1
Apple’s Music app has an awesome free radio service called Apple Music 1 (previously called Beats 1). You can listen to it even if you are not an Apple Music subscriber. However, having a subscription helps because when you come across a great song, you can mark it as a favorite or add it to your library for future listening.
7. Apple Music works better with your local songs
Do you have years worth of songs downloaded from the Internet, ripped from CDs, or purchased from elsewhere? In this case, you can upload them to Apple Music using its desktop app. Once that’s done, you can access these tracks on your iPhone, iPad, and other devices. This is made possible thanks to Apple including its iTunes Match feature with every Apple Music subscription.
Spotify also has a similar service, but it’s not as reliable as Apple’s, and people often have a hard time getting it to work properly.
8. Other things to consider
In addition to the above points, here are a few small ones that give Apple Music an edge.
- Apple Music pays artists more than Spotify.
- Apple Music offers better Home Screen widget choices on iPhone compared to Spotify.
- Spotify has a fixed Dark Mode look, but Apple Music’s appearance matches your device’s Dark and Light Mode settings.
- You can connect Shazam (also owned by Apple) to either Apple Music or Spotify (not both) and have your identified songs automatically added to a playlist there. However, I have noticed that after you Shazam a song and tap the Apple Music icon, it opens directly in the Music app. However, if you have connected Spotify to Shazam and tap its icon, it irritatingly opens Spotify in a web browser and not the app.
These are my reasons for preferring Apple Music over Spotify. What are yours for leaving Spotify?
On a related note: How to download all your Apple Music songs to your iPhone or iPad at once