Another streaming music player iPhone, you can listen to all your favorites at will with spotify. You can listen to music, podcasts, and watch music videos. Like a lot of apps, to access better features, you will have to pay, though the app itself is free.
Spotify—one of Apple's main rivals in both the latter's services strategy and in antitrust investigations—has released a new version of its iPhone app that supports home screen widgets, one of the flagship features of iOS 14.
Last month's release of iOS 14 brought home screen widgets—previously only the domain of iPads and Android phones—to iPhones. As we noted in our iOS 14 review, the value of the feature depends entirely on strong adoption and clever uses by third-party app developers.
Releases of widget-supporting apps from developers have been slow. Part of that was because Apple launched iOS 14 with less notice to developers than usual, meaning many were racing to play catch-up. But even now, a month later, the roster of widget-supporting apps has only grown a little.Spotify is one of the most high-profile apps on the App Store, and it finally made the jump with version 8.5.80 of its iOS app. Unfortunately, the new widget isn't all that powerful or useful. It essentially does the exact same thing the Music widget does: it shows a list of recently played songs or playlists that you can tap into from the home screen.
Tapping an entry doesn't just take you to the song in the app—it starts playing it right away, saving you an extra tap. Many users will wish they could customize what appears in the list or that they could control playback, as they currently can in the Android widget. As the setup stands now, the widget offers no customization options at all.
Some app developers (like Spark) have found creative ways to use the somewhat limited iOS widgets API (WidgetKit) to offer multiple, flexible uses of that precious home screen real estate. But users have said a lot of widgets just aren't that useful at the moment.
Those same users might wonder why we're not seeing essentially fully working slices of apps appearing on the home screen. Apple is likely to expand what developers can do with WidgetKit in future software releases, but there will always be some big limitations because of an emphasis on maintaining battery life.
Lots of interactivity and live data from multiple apps on the home screen could have a negative impact there—that's probably why Apple and many devs have generally been conservative in terms of making widgets ultra-powerful.
By contrast, the Android Spotify widget offers playback control. But Spotify actually removed that comparatively powerful widget in August of last year, only to reintroduce an improved version of it shortly afterward when users complained. The brief removal led to a plethora of user-made widgets to replace the lost functionality.
But at least Spotify is supporting widgets on iPhones at all—that wasn't a foregone conclusion.
Listing image by Samuel Axon
Music makes life so much better. And thanks to your iPhone, you never have to be without your favorite tracks. There are tons of apps that allow you to discover and listen to awesome sounds from around the world, often for free or for a small price. Moreover, they boast tons of additional features, like creating custom playlists and saving for offline listening. From the calm and soothing to the groovy and experimental, there’s something for everyone in these best music streaming apps for iPhone.
1. Spotify
When you talk about the finest music-streaming app for iOS, “Spotify Music” is the one name that instantly strikes the mind. Not for nothing, it’s rated as the number one music app in the world.
You can search for any tracks, artists and start listening to them. You will also create special playlists to access all of your favorite tracks with ease.
Oh yeah, it also offers personalized recommendations to liven up your music experience. Additionally, you can upgrade to the premium version of the app to download your favorite songs and enjoy ad-free music.
Price: Free (In-app Purchases start from $3.99)
2. Apple Music
Though Spotify remains the most popular music app by a long distance, Apple Music is catching up with it pretty fast. Moreover, it has even surpassed Spotify to become the most loved music app in the US.
The app has got plenty to boost your music time. For instance, you can create your radio stations, view the lyrics of any song, and even listen to your favorite music offline. Plus, you will also create your Apple Music profile to share your playlists with friends. Jump over to this post to discover some cool hacks to rev up music experience.
Apple Music offers three months of free trial. Afterward, you have to upgrade to the premium version ($9.99/monthly individual or $14.99/monthly family plan.)
Price: Free
3. Pandora
Ranked as the number two in the music category, “Pandora Music” is undoubtedly one of the very best in the business. One of my favorite features in this music app is the ability to create personalized radio stations.
The app also recommends songs based on what charms you the most. Therefore, you won’t have to spend much time to find out the tracks you like a lot.
You can upgrade to Pandora Plus/Premium to unlock several features like ad-free music, unlimited replays, skips and more. And yes, the Plus version of the app also allows you to make the unlimited number of personalized stations.
Price: Free (Pandora Plus – $3.99)
4. Amazon Music
No list of top music streaming apps can be complete without Amazon Music. What makes this music app a fantastic pick for music lovers is the enormous collection of millions of songs. That means, your music time will never hit a bumpy ride, and you will always have something really exciting to try out.
The app keeps on adding the new releases to its massive library to ensure your cup is filled with all the options. Furthermore, you can use Alexa Amazon’s famous virtual assistant) to instantly start your favorite music. Plus, it also lets you download tracks for offline listening.
Price: Free (Amazon Music Unlimited – $10.99)
5. Google Play
Agreed, “Google Play Music” isn’t ruling the roost and may not be as hot as the ones mentioned above. However, you should always keep this music app under your radar as it’s got everything you would want to enrich your music time.
Packed in with more than 40 million tracks, Google Play Music is the one-stop heaven for a variety of music. Plus, the app also offers recommendations as per your taste.
However, what stands out for this app is the option to let you upload a massive 50, 000 songs. So, if you wish to have a huge cloud for your music, this one has to be your top bet. Besides, you can subscribe to the premium version of the app to listen to music offline and get YouTube premium membership.
Price: Free
#6. TuneIn Radio
If you never want your library of great radio stations to run out of steam, “TuneIn Radio” has to be right on top of your priority list. So, what makes this music app so entertaining?
It’s the more than 100,000 radio stations that make TuneIn Radio a standout option. Whether you want to listen to news, sports, music or famous talk shows, the app can keep live up to your high demand.
Enjoy listening to an audiobook? Don’t fail to check out the large library with over 40, 000 audiobooks! Besides, it also has around 600 music stations to keep you thoroughly engrossed.
Price: Free (In-app Purchases start from $4.99)
#7. SoundCloud
The feature that makes “SoundCloud” a worthy contender is the library of up to 150 million tracks. As someone who enjoys catching up unique tracks, you would love to have it at your disposal.
You can craft playlists for your workouts, parties and even relax. It also offers suggestions as per what interests you the most.
Another notable feature of this music discovery app is the ever-growing community of music artists. So, you can interact with like-minded people and share your thoughts.
Price: Free (In-app Purchases start from $5.99)
#8. LiveXLive
The quality that I adore most in “Slacker Radio” is the ability to provide a more personalized music experience. With hundreds of music stations on offer, you have got many options to experiment and choose the ones that look well-timed for your specific taste.
Don’t like the predefined options? No problem, you can also create your music stations. You will enjoy listening to music shows that are hosted every week. Besides, it also offers news and sports programs to keep you in sync with the latest happenings.
Price: Free (LiveXLive Plus – $3.99)
#9. iHeartRadio
Deservedly ranked at number five in the music category, iHeartRadio can effortlessly become your favorite music streaming app. The best thing that I like about this app is that it lets you discover radio stations near you or from any city across the world. So, if you have a penchant for exploring radio stations to catch up with unique programs, you should keep this app in mind.
Even better, the app lets you make exclusive stations based on artists. Besides, you get tons of curated playlists based on genre, mood, activity and more so that you can quickly access the songs that appeal you a lot.
What’s more, you can subscribe to the iHeartRadio premium to unlock several exciting features like saving and replaying songs, creating unlimited playlists and more to boost your music time.
Price: Free (iHeartRadio Plus – $5.99)
#10. Deezer
Though “Deezer” has never charmed me, I have always found it more than just a good option. With a library of 43 million tracks, it’s loaded with all the ingredients to keep your music time charged up.
The app keeps a tab on your music preference and lets you quickly access the type of songs that attract you. Explore channels to listen to particular genres or based on mood.
Free Spotify Music App
With on-screen lyrics, you can also sing along with the songs. And with the Deezer subscription, you will enjoy tracks without ads and even download songs for offline listening.
Price: Free (In-app Purchases start from $4.99)
That’s pretty much it!
Your pick?
I guess you have found the perfect music app for your iOS device. Would you mind telling us something about your pick down below in the comments?
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The founder of iGeeksBlog, Dhvanesh, is an Apple aficionado, who cannot stand even a slight innuendo about Apple products. He dons the cap of editor-in-chief to make sure that articles match the quality standard before they are published.
Will Iphone Music App Play Spotify Playlist
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