Apple Music Classical strikes its first note – here’s what it looks like

Originally set to launch on March 28, users in Australia and several Asian countries have managed to get their hands on the long-awaited Apple Music Classical ahead of schedule.

Judging from screenshots posted on Twitter, the app looks exactly as it was shown in previews – for better or for worse. The purpose of this app is to better curate Apple Music’s classical music library. You get over five million tracks with “thousands of recordings [supporting] spatial audio and 192 kHz/24-bit Hi-Res Lossless sound quality.”

Its user interface has been specifically designed to help classical music nerds “search by composer, work, conductor, or even catalog number” if they have a specific favorite. Newcomers, on the other hand, will probably appreciate one of the “hundreds of Essentials playlists,” which offer deep dives into the composition. Currently, the app is available in seven languages including English, Spanish, and French.

Requirements for Apple Music Classical are pretty standard. You’ll need a subscription to some version of Apple Music, be it the Individual, Student, Family, or Apple One. Apple Music Voice does not support the app. And you’ll need an iPhone running iOS 15.4 or later. 

Bugs and quirks

There are some quirks with the app, however. Apple Music Classical requires a constant internet connection so no offline listening (sadly) nor is there a Radio tab. It won’t be available on other platforms at launch although, hopefully, that’ll change in the future. According to previous reports, an Android version is currently in the works. So it’s entirely possible Apple Music Classical may appear on Apple TV and web browsers sometime in the future.

It’s worth pointing out that people have encountered a couple of bugs. It doesn’t really work on iPadOS as some on Twitter have pointed out, so it’s probably not well-optimized for tablets. Users on Reddit have experienced some issues with transmitting over AirPlay. Either the volume won’t show or it’ll outright fail. Apart from that, early adopters seem to enjoy Apple Music Classical.

For those interested, you can pre-install Apple Music Classical on your iPhone. You’ll get a notification alerting you when it’s available for listening; however, there’s a chance of early roll-out. Again via Twitter, there have been reports of the app arriving before midnight March 28 with some as early as 6 PM on the 27th. Be sure to keep an eye out. 

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