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I have been looking to move away from Spotify for a while now due to their lacklustre support for iOS devices. Is there a good comparison between Spotify, Apple

I have been looking to move away from Spotify for a while now due to their lacklustre support for iOS devices. Is there a good comparison between Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Prime Music somewhere, especially in terms of their coverage?

disgu 6y ago
Are there any big differences between iOS and Android versions?
- csunbird 6y ago
  Well, for starters, they do not support Apple Watch, which is very problematic for me.
  - WanderPanda 6y ago
    The support Apple Watch, just not downloading songs for offline usage, right?
    - csunbird 6y ago
      It just works as a remote control for whatever device that you are currently playing the song.
    - m-p-3 6y ago
      which is basically a no-go with abysmal data plans in Canada. Why do we need to rely on mobile data so much anyway..
    - matthewmacleod 6y ago
      No. The Spotify app on the Apple Watch is a remote control for managing other devices and cannot stream songs independently. It’s insanely frustrating.
  - pmarreck 6y ago
    Do any of the other cloud music providers?
  - bthrn 6y ago
    I think it’s more that the Apple Watch doesn’t support Spotify than the other way around. Apple prioritizes its own music service for the watch.
    - madeofpalk 6y ago
      Apple made an Apple Music app for the watch with support for offline playback. Spotify did not. I believe for a year or so the Watch OS has supported the APIs Spotify would need to do offline playback, but they have not yet used them for whatever reason.
      - csunbird 6y ago
        This was a controversial topic actually, Spotify openly accused Apple for not providing the access to Apple Watch SDKs when Apple Music was first launched. The APIs are made available after a while I think, but Spotify is still mad. Spotifys accusation: https://timetoplayfair.com/the-case/ https://timetoplayfair.com/the-case/ Response from Apple: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/03/addressing-spotifys-claims/ https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/03/addressing-spotifys-c... HN Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19377322 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19377322
    - DangerousPie 6y ago
      Other 3rd party apps can sync content for offline playback (eg. Overcast for podcasts) so I don't think there's any technical reason Spotify are not supporting it.
      - madeofpalk 6y ago
        Does Overcast still support sync/offline playback from Apple Watch? I know it's been a bumpy feature that Marco has had trouble supporting due to API limitations and lack of demand/usage.
        DangerousPie 6y ago
        Yup. There was a version a few months ago that broke things but that got fixed after a few weeks. I'm surprised to hear about the lack of usage though - Apple Watch support is the only reason I'm using Overcast.
criddell 6y ago
What's lackluster about Spotify on iOS? I use Spotify on my iPad, my Android phone, and my Windows desktop and they all work pretty well. > especially in terms of their coverage? If you are a typical user with typical tastes, they are all more or less the same. If there's something in particular you want - like lossless compression or being able to upload your own music or Grateful Dead concerts - mention it and people may be able to guide you better. You've mentioned the big three services, but you might want to also consider Google/YouTube Music, Pandora, Deezer, and Tidal and I'm sure there are more.
- augstein 6y ago
  Spotify for Apple Watch is still basically a remote for Spotify on iOS, presumably due to some contracts between Spotify and Samsung. So although Spotify could technically implement a standalone Apple Watch App since at least WatchOS 6 (released over a year ago now), they haven’t, which means you always need to carry your Phone with you. Their support Forum is full of complaints about this, with no proper reaction or explanation from their side. The Apple TV app also does not work properly, requiring to re-login often and can‘t be controlled properly by iPhone.
  - criddell 6y ago
    Oh okay. So iOS is mostly fine but WatchOS and tvOS have problems?
  - lukeschlather 6y ago
    Spotify allows you to download music to Garmin watches. Maybe you're underestimating the difficulty of porting Spotify to Apple Watch?
  - kristofferR 6y ago
    If you're technically proficient you can just compile this [1] and run this [2] on GCE. I did it yesterday, works great! Offline downloading and playback of Spotify playlists on the Apple Watch, without being tethered to an iPhone. [1] https://github.com/rafaelmaeuer/open-apollo https://github.com/rafaelmaeuer/open-apollo [2] https://github.com/lgruen/open-apollo-server https://github.com/lgruen/open-apollo-server Spotify is BTW developing a proper watch app, it's in beta now: https://9to5mac.com/2020/09/17/spotify-finally-testing-apple-watch-streaming/ https://9to5mac.com/2020/09/17/spotify-finally-testing-apple...
plibither8 6y ago
Well, for what it's worth I've been using YouTube Music for over a year and it's coverage has never disappointed me - even for little-known songs (though that's relative). Just my experience and observation.
kekington 6y ago
I've been wanting to write about my experiences with the streaming services that I've tried (Spotify, Deezer, AM, YTM, Tidal...) so I guess this seems like a good opportunity. This was a bit long for just a comment so I'm sharing a pastebin. https://pastebin.com/KG5huAnn https://pastebin.com/KG5huAnn
- stjo 6y ago
  Woah, I’ve been looking for a comparison like this for quite some time. Thank you
  - kekington 6y ago
    You're welcome. I might write it as an article so it could be shared easily.
    - kingosticks 6y ago
      Cheers for your write up. I noticed a typo near the bottom - "songshit" instead of "songshift" (I assume it's a typo!). Another interesting thing to compare might be the API each service offers, it's easy for most of them - none.

disgu 6y ago

Are there any big differences between iOS and Android versions?

csunbird 6y ago
Well, for starters, they do not support Apple Watch, which is very problematic for me.
- WanderPanda 6y ago
  The support Apple Watch, just not downloading songs for offline usage, right?
  - csunbird 6y ago
    It just works as a remote control for whatever device that you are currently playing the song.
  - m-p-3 6y ago
    which is basically a no-go with abysmal data plans in Canada. Why do we need to rely on mobile data so much anyway..
  - matthewmacleod 6y ago
    No. The Spotify app on the Apple Watch is a remote control for managing other devices and cannot stream songs independently. It’s insanely frustrating.
- pmarreck 6y ago
  Do any of the other cloud music providers?
- bthrn 6y ago
  I think it’s more that the Apple Watch doesn’t support Spotify than the other way around. Apple prioritizes its own music service for the watch.
  - madeofpalk 6y ago
    Apple made an Apple Music app for the watch with support for offline playback. Spotify did not. I believe for a year or so the Watch OS has supported the APIs Spotify would need to do offline playback, but they have not yet used them for whatever reason.
    - csunbird 6y ago
      This was a controversial topic actually, Spotify openly accused Apple for not providing the access to Apple Watch SDKs when Apple Music was first launched. The APIs are made available after a while I think, but Spotify is still mad. Spotifys accusation: https://timetoplayfair.com/the-case/ https://timetoplayfair.com/the-case/ Response from Apple: https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/03/addressing-spotifys-claims/ https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/03/addressing-spotifys-c... HN Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19377322 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19377322
  - DangerousPie 6y ago
    Other 3rd party apps can sync content for offline playback (eg. Overcast for podcasts) so I don't think there's any technical reason Spotify are not supporting it.
    - madeofpalk 6y ago
      Does Overcast still support sync/offline playback from Apple Watch? I know it's been a bumpy feature that Marco has had trouble supporting due to API limitations and lack of demand/usage.
      - DangerousPie 6y ago
        Yup. There was a version a few months ago that broke things but that got fixed after a few weeks. I'm surprised to hear about the lack of usage though - Apple Watch support is the only reason I'm using Overcast.

criddell 6y ago

What's lackluster about Spotify on iOS? I use Spotify on my iPad, my Android phone, and my Windows desktop and they all work pretty well. > especially in terms of their coverage? If you are a typical user with typical tastes, they are all more or less the same. If there's something in particular you want - like lossless compression or being able to upload your own music or Grateful Dead concerts - mention it and people may be able to guide you better. You've mentioned the big three services, but you might want to also consider Google/YouTube Music, Pandora, Deezer, and Tidal and I'm sure there are more.

augstein 6y ago
Spotify for Apple Watch is still basically a remote for Spotify on iOS, presumably due to some contracts between Spotify and Samsung. So although Spotify could technically implement a standalone Apple Watch App since at least WatchOS 6 (released over a year ago now), they haven’t, which means you always need to carry your Phone with you. Their support Forum is full of complaints about this, with no proper reaction or explanation from their side. The Apple TV app also does not work properly, requiring to re-login often and can‘t be controlled properly by iPhone.
- criddell 6y ago
  Oh okay. So iOS is mostly fine but WatchOS and tvOS have problems?
- lukeschlather 6y ago
  Spotify allows you to download music to Garmin watches. Maybe you're underestimating the difficulty of porting Spotify to Apple Watch?
- kristofferR 6y ago
  If you're technically proficient you can just compile this [1] and run this [2] on GCE. I did it yesterday, works great! Offline downloading and playback of Spotify playlists on the Apple Watch, without being tethered to an iPhone. [1] https://github.com/rafaelmaeuer/open-apollo https://github.com/rafaelmaeuer/open-apollo [2] https://github.com/lgruen/open-apollo-server https://github.com/lgruen/open-apollo-server Spotify is BTW developing a proper watch app, it's in beta now: https://9to5mac.com/2020/09/17/spotify-finally-testing-apple-watch-streaming/ https://9to5mac.com/2020/09/17/spotify-finally-testing-apple...

plibither8 6y ago

Well, for what it's worth I've been using YouTube Music for over a year and it's coverage has never disappointed me - even for little-known songs (though that's relative). Just my experience and observation.

kekington 6y ago

I've been wanting to write about my experiences with the streaming services that I've tried (Spotify, Deezer, AM, YTM, Tidal...) so I guess this seems like a good opportunity. This was a bit long for just a comment so I'm sharing a pastebin. https://pastebin.com/KG5huAnn https://pastebin.com/KG5huAnn

stjo 6y ago
Woah, I’ve been looking for a comparison like this for quite some time. Thank you
- kekington 6y ago
  You're welcome. I might write it as an article so it could be shared easily.
  - kingosticks 6y ago
    Cheers for your write up. I noticed a typo near the bottom - "songshit" instead of "songshift" (I assume it's a typo!). Another interesting thing to compare might be the API each service offers, it's easy for most of them - none.