Apple Music- App of the Year

Apple Music 

Apple Music is my choice for (most under appreciated) app of the year.  Thanks to one well known tech blogger not backing up his music files, Apple Music took a big hit right out of the gate.   Somehow, this person that writes about tech doesn't have a backup of his music and somehow lost his music.  I haven't seen anyone else with this issue, but he got picked up by so many tech blogs (it makes great click bait) that it soon seemed like it was a common issue.  Nope, just one person with an issue that also has a big megaphone.

 (As a side note: I was reading a year end article just today and his problem was brought up again.  If this issue is so widespread, why is everyone just quoting this one guy rather than talking about their own personal experience?  Yeah, it appears that the guy was one of the few people that had the issue and if some of the articles about his issue are true, he simply missed checking one of two boxes in the preferences on iTunes. )

Matching

While matching isn't perfect, it is better than not having any of your own music available. I have a 25,000 song library and I admit that I run into an issue with the wrong album artwork or wrong album showing up on occasion, but I don't think it is a federal crime. For one thing, I don't listen to my own music via the service that often (although it is a very nice perk that sets it apart from most of the competition).  Since they now have The Beatles, there is even less reason to listen to my own collection.

Secondly, the app has a home sharing button to get to my own untouched collection when I am home (it even supports 24/96 with the right DAC). Apple has millions of songs available and I have never been so desperate to listen to that one album that they may have matched incorrectly that I haven't been able to find something else to listen to.  It just hasn't happened. 

In short, I look at this as an extra, very nice, feature that has very little to do with the overall experience.  For one thing, my 25,000 song library is minuscule compared to their millions of songs. Of those 25,000 songs, a huge majority were matched properly.   

If I was so anal that missing one album in 1500 was a huge issue, I would probably just use Plex or DS Audio to access my music when on the road.  However, I like having my music combined with the streaming service so I can access nearly everything from one app.

Siri on the iPhone is Seriously Amazing

Siri on iOS has been the real game changer here.  It is what sets this service apart from all of the other services and has made Apple Music my favorite and most used app this year.

As I have mentioned in aprior review, the service is absolutely amazing on the iPhone.  I can be driving to work and simply say "Hey Siri, play songs from 1972" and music just starts playing.   I can also tell it to play songs, albums, artists and they just play.   

AppleTV 4 app

The new AppleTV was released with the Apple Music app.  I have used Spotify, Rdio, and SiriusXM on my Roku, but they are practically empty shells compared to their iOS counterparts.  On the other hand, the Apple Music app is simply amazing on the AppleTV.  For example, the videos look a lot better on the big screen when compared to the iPhone/iPad.

Siri has also been added.  While it isn't perfect, it is a lot better than other music services on other platforms.

Apple Watch 

It is easily one of the best apps on the Apple Watch.  It is simply an extension of the iPhone, but it is an ultra-convenient extension.  You can play music from your saved library, your saved playlists, etc..  However, the real magic is that it works with Siri for the entire Apple Music database and you can also control Airplay while your iPhone is docked in a separate room.

For You 

While other services think I want to hear what my friend is listening to, Apple Music is built around MY TASTE.  I prefer this approach.  I am old school and consider music to be a personal experience,  not a way to follow the crowd.

New

The "New" section is kind of a catch all for just about anything new.  I was mainly using it for new releases, but I noticed that Apple has added a new section at the bottom of the page for "Mastered for iTunes" albums.  

I think mastering is more important that bit rates once you get in the 224 kbps range and Apple has some of the best masters of many albums.  I look at this feature about once a week and it has varied from classical albums (some of the all time great albums at that), Christmas albums, and this week they have singer/songwriter albums (Dylan, Simon, Springsteen, etc.).  This section alone is almost worth the price of the service for me.

iTunes Integration 

Be aware that my thoughts on this issue go against the grain.  Many think that iTunes is getting to be a swollen dumpster where Apple throws everything.  I am not going to argue that they might want to think about breaking it up, but I like Apple Music mixed in with my music.  I simply leave on Apple Music and uncheck iCloud Music in the preference section after I match new music.  This leaves me with everything I want to hear, including my own Apple Lossless files and doesn't include the music that was matched to the cloud.  

On the Apple Music app on the AppleTV, you have to listen to the "Computer app" to get your own local library and "Apple Music" for the matched music and songs available for Apple Music.  I prefer the iTunes approach, so I don't have to jump from app to app to listen to music.

Connect

\I was a bit baffled by this section when the app first came out.  However, I have it setup for genres now and the suggestions are great when you want to hear a suggested album/artist/playlist from "Jazz", "Rock", etc.  It supplements the "For You" section, but is better for quickly getting to a genre.  As an example, "Americana" had a "A Very Folk Christmas" playlist available at Christmas.

You can also get to genres by going to the "New" section, but this is just a way to flip on the app, click one button, scroll down to the genre you want to hear, and play it.

App of the year

It really is mind blowing to hear all of the complaints about the service.  No, it isn't perfect, but I could nitpick just about any service or product out there.  I have tried pretty much all of them and none of them are perfect...for one thing, none of them, other than Apple Music, currently work with Siri.  If you are on Android, then you do get some similar features, but you have to buy into that ecosystem and I am not going that route (Note:  If I was on Android, I would have made YouTube Red my app of the year).

In this case, the features, the compatibility across hardware, and the exceptional Siri control made this an easy pick for my app of the year.