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On June 8, 2015, Apple Music came out. Apple Inc. made it as a way to stream music and podcasts and as a place to store music online. This service gives new subscribers a three-month free trial, and paying subscribers can listen to more than 90 million songs from all over the world.
YouTube is one of the most popular places to watch videos because it has so many different kinds of videos and music. You can find music videos for millions of songs on YouTube and watch them without ads if you sign up for YouTube Premium. But if you want to listen to music more than watch it, you should check out YouTube Music. YouTube Music came out in June 2018. The service is mostly about making your own radio stations, playlists, and music library.
YouTube Music vs Apple Music Comparison Table
| YouTube Music | Apple Music |
|---|---|
| Get started with YouTube Music. | Try out Spatial Audio to hear sound coming from all directions around you. |
| Explore YouTube Music Premium benefits. | Enjoy live radio and playlists that have been handpicked. |
| Select between song and video mode. | Download your favourite tracks. Play them offline. |
| The discovery tools of YouTube receive a lot of focus and development on the platform. | Listen across your devices. |
YouTube Music vs Apple Music: User Interface
The whole UI of YouTube Music looks cool because it uses a dark gradient theme. Google recently changed the look of the mobile apps’ Library tab and playlist view. But a light theme isn’t possible on YouTube Music. The menus for “profile” and “search” are at the top, which can be hard to get to on tall Android phones. We like how the YouTube Music player’s user interface changes depending on the album of songs. It’s another cool thing that Google does.
Apple kept the design of Apple Music for Android simple. Both light and dark themes can be used with it. Based on the album cover, Apple Music has a cool gradient theme. Even the theme of the gradient changes as the song plays. We like the interface of Apple Music’s player better than YouTube Music’s. You can download this app from its official website.
YouTube Music vs Apple Music: Cross-platform availability
There are apps for YouTube Music on iOS, iPadOS, Android, and Wear OS. The web version of YouTube lets desktop users get to YouTube Music. YouTube also works with PWA (Progressive Web App) to make it feel like a native app. You can also play your favourite playlists on the go with Google’s smart speaker line-up and Amazon Echo. You need to change the default music player on the Amazon Echo through the Alexa app.
Apple Music works best on devices made by the company. You can use iOS, iPadOS, Apple Watch, Apple TV, HomePod, and Amazon Echo to listen to Apple Music. The company also has a native app for Android, and in the future, Microsoft Store will have a dedicated app for Windows. You can download this app from its official website.
YouTube Music vs Apple Music: Popularity
As of the third quarter of 2021, official numbers show that Apple Music has 90 million paid subscribers and 745 million users in the 3-month free trial mode around the world. About 30 million people have signed up for YouTube Music. YouTube isn’t just a place to stream music, so the number of active users can’t be figured out. So, if you like music the most, you should choose Apple Music, and if you like art more than music, you should choose YouTube Music.
YouTube Music vs Apple Music: Music Library
Apple Music has over 90 million songs in its catalogue. One of the best things about Apple Music is that it works with your iTunes library. This means you can stream all of the songs you’ve bought from the iTunes Store or ripped from a CD and uploaded to iTunes. All of them will appear in your Apple Music library, which makes its library more flexible.
YouTube Music doesn’t keep a count of how many songs you can listen to and watch. But there are well-organized official albums, videos of live concerts, and millions of people who upload single songs to YouTube. If you don’t know which one to pay for, do a lot of searches on both and see which one meets your needs best. If you are a huge fan of Drake or Taylor Swift or other internationally famous singers, Apple Music is the right choice for you.
Which is best for you?
iOS users don’t have to choose Apple Music if they want to use YouTube Music. This could be one of the main things that helps you decide which music streaming service to use. Many users want their experience to be as smooth as possible. Apple Music is likely to be the service that iOS users choose. Even though there is no free tier, the lower price of the new Apple Music Voice Plan might be enough to convince some users to switch.
If you are an experienced Android user, there are many good reasons to choose YouTube Music. Some users may have had trouble getting used to the loss of Google Play Music, but Youtube Music has done a great job of filling its place. If you like wearing things, you’ll be glad to know that some Wear OS watches also have the YouTube Music app. Even though the free plan has ads, it’s better than not having a music streaming plan at all.
Apple Music pros and cons
Pros:
- 100 million songs in CD and hi-res sound quality
- Spatial audio
- Curated content
Cons:
- UI can seem overcrowded
- No collab playlists
YouTube Music pros and cons
Pros:
- Allows downloads for offline listening
- Option to choose between video mode or audio-only mode
- Plays locally-stored music files
Cons:
- Audio quality
- Clunky interface
FAQs
Is YouTube Music better than Apple Music?
Apple Music is way better than YouTube Music in this case. Apple doesn’t charge extra for lossless audio. It’s the best option for music lovers. Apple Music also has spatial audio that moves with your head.
What benefits does YouTube Music have?
- You can listen to and watch millions of songs and videos for free on YouTube Music.
- You can save songs and videos to your phone so you can listen to them when you’re not online.
- You can keep your music playing in the background while you use other apps.
What quality is YouTube Music?
128 kbps AAC is considered normal (default settings) Excellent: 256 kbps AAC (highest quality setting) At a constant high level: 256 kbps AAC (maintains this even when the connection is poor)