Apple Failed to Release a Classical Music App in 2022
In August 2021, Apple announced it had acquired classical music service Primephonic. At the time, Apple said it planned to release a dedicated classical music app in 2022, but the year has now ended without the app launching.
"Apple Music plans to launch a dedicated classical music app next year combining Primephonic's classical user interface that fans have grown to love with more added features," said an Apple Newsroom press release in 2021. Apple has not publicly addressed the plans since, and it's unclear if the app will be released in 2023.
Primephonic shut down in September 2021, with subscribers at the time receiving six months of access to Apple Music for free. If it ever launches, the Apple Classical app would serve as a replacement for Primephonic, providing users with a destination for streaming classical music from the likes of Beethoven and Mozart.
Hidden references to the Apple Classical app were discovered in a beta version of the Apple Music app for Android and in the iOS 15.5 beta last year. Even more references to the app were discovered in an XML file on Apple's servers last year.
Apple said it would incorporate the best features of Primephonic, including "better browsing and search capabilities by composer and by repertoire" and "detailed displays of classical music metadata," and it's possible that the company simply needs more time to work on this. Primephonic also compensated artists and other rights holders with a unique pay-per-second-listened model instead of a pay-per-play model like Apple Music, so perhaps Apple is still trying to figure out a suitable payout model for the Apple Classical app.
At this point, it's unclear if the Apple Classical app will be released at some point in 2023 or if the plans have been abandoned. We've reached out to Apple for comment on the situation and we'll update this story if we hear back.
Popular Stories
Apple today released iOS 18.0.1 and iPadOS 18.0.1, the first updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that debuted earlier in September. iOS 18.0.1 and iPadOS 18.0.1 come two weeks after the launch of iOS 18. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. According to Apple's release notes, the...
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.0.1, the first update for the macOS Sequoia operating system. The 15.0.1 update comes a week after Apple first released macOS Sequoia 15. Mac users can download the macOS Sequoia update by using the Software Update section of System Settings. According to Apple's release notes, macOS Sequoia 15.0.1 fixes a bug that could cause the Messages app...
Now that it's been two weeks since the iPhone 16 models were released, we've been able to spend enough time with the new devices to share a more in-depth review on their performance, battery life, feature set, and more. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've been testing the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, but the gap between the Pro models and the standard iPhone 16...
Amazon is hosting another Prime Day event this year, called Amazon Prime Big Deal Days and offering shoppers the first chance to save on holiday shopping from a major retailer. Similar to the first Prime Day, it will last for two days (October 8-9) and you can already find a large selection of early deals across Amazon's storefront, covering savings on tech, clothing, video games, groceries, and...
It's hard to believe we're already into October with the iPhone 16 launch behind us, but there's lots more still to come from Apple this year on both the hardware and software fronts. We're still expecting a number of Mac and perhaps some iPad updates in the very near future, while Apple Intelligence features are set to begin rolling out with iOS 18.1 and related operating system updates....
Apple is set to release iOS 18.1 in October, bringing the first set of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update marks a significant step forward in Apple's AI integration, offering a new Siri contextually-aware experience and a range of additional capabilities powered by on-device machine learning and large language models. There are a couple of handy new...
Apple is working on a new iPad mini that will "potentially" be released "by the end of 2024," according to a report today from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Last month, Gurman reported that Apple had "new iPads in the works," including an upgraded version of the iPad mini. At the time, he said the device was "on deck for Apple's October event" alongside the first M4 Macs. The wording in his...
Apple will announce several new M4 Mac models around the end of October, with the company planning to launch at least some of them as soon as Friday, November 1, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman said that Apple will launch a new M4 version of its low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, as well as higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models...
