Apple Acquires Classical Music Service Primephonic, Will Launch Dedicated Classical Music App
Apple today announced that it has acquired classical music streaming service Primephonic, and will be folding it into Apple Music.
Primephonic offers an "outstanding listening experience" with search and browse functionality optimized for classical audio, plus handpicked recommendations and "contextual details on repertoire and recordings."
"We love and have a deep respect for classical music, and Primephonic has become a fan favorite for classical enthusiasts," said Oliver Schusser, Apple's vice president of Apple Music and Beats. "Together, we're bringing great new classical features to Apple Music, and in the near future, we'll deliver a dedicated classical experience that will truly be the best in the world."
Apple says that with the Primephonic purchase, Apple Music subscribers will be provided with an improved classical music experience. This will start with Primephonic playlists and audio content, and in the coming months, Apple will offer a dedicated Primephonic experience with improved browsing and search capabilities by composer and repertoire, better classical music metadata, and more.
Primephonic will be taken offline on September 7, and is no longer available for new subscribers. Next year, Apple says it will launch a dedicated classical music app that combines Primephonic's classical user interface with added features.
Current Primephonic subscribers will receive six months of Apple Music access for free with access to hundreds of thousands of classical albums that support Lossless and Spatial Audio.
Popular Stories
Game emulator apps have come and gone since Apple announced App Store support for them on April 5, but now popular game emulator Delta from developer Riley Testut is available for download. Testut is known as the developer behind GBA4iOS, an open-source emulator that was available for a brief time more than a decade ago. GBA4iOS led to Delta, an emulator that has been available outside of...
The first approved Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator for the iPhone and iPad was made available on the App Store today following Apple's rule change. The emulator is called Bimmy, and it was developed by Tom Salvo. On the App Store, Bimmy is described as a tool for testing and playing public domain/"homebrew" games created for the NES, but the app allows you to load ROMs for any...
Last September, Apple's iPhone 15 Pro models debuted with a new customizable Action button, offering faster access to a handful of functions, as well as the ability to assign Shortcuts. Apple is poised to include the feature on all upcoming iPhone 16 models, so we asked iPhone 15 Pro users what their experience has been with the additional button so far. The Action button replaces the switch ...
A decade ago, developer Riley Testut released the GBA4iOS emulator for iOS, and since it was against the rules at the time, Apple put a stop to downloads. Emulators have been a violation of the App Store rules for years, but that changed on April 5 when Apple suddenly reversed course and said that it was allowing retro game emulators on the App Store. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel ...
iOS 18 is expected to be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. iOS 18 is rumored to include new generative AI features for Siri and many apps, and Apple plans to add RCS support to the Messages app for an improved texting experience between iPhones and Android devices. The update is also expected to introduce a more...
Top Rated Comments
Or you might have a favorite violinist and you want to find performances that include them. An app tailored to classical music can include that type of information that is unlikely to be used/needed for mainstream music.
Classical pieces also tend to be much longer and while they can be broken up into smaller parts, such as different movements, the listening style is going to be less shuffle or playlist based, listening to the entire performance is more common.
So while the regular Apple Music app can, of course, include Classical Music, a dedicated separate app can provide a better experience for people who are more into it. Similar to how you might want a separate audio book app, even though you could technically listen to audio books in the Apple Music app too.