Video summary

Is Apple Music Beating Spotify? I Switched for 30 Days

Main summary

Key takeaways

Product Review

Product reviewed

The video compares Spotify vs Apple Music. The creator tests Apple Music for 30 days after being a long-time Spotify user, focusing on pricing, discovery, playlists, audio quality, features, local files/uploading, device control, UI, and social features.

Key features compared (unique points mentioned)

Pricing / plans / bundles

Spotify

  • Has a free tier (Apple Music does not).
  • Free tier is limited: can’t download, can’t control other devices, and has ads.

Apple Music

  • Cheaper across most paid tiers (examples given):
    • Individual: $13 Spotify vs $11 Apple Music
    • Student: $7 Spotify vs $6 Apple Music
    • Duo/family plans: Spotify more expensive
  • Strong bundles:
    • Apple One bundles: includes Apple Music + iCloud + Apple TV + Apple Arcade, etc.
    • Family scaling (example pricing): $20, then $26 for expanded tier; Premier adds more services like Fitness+ and News+.
  • The creator suggests Apple’s ecosystem/business model helps them price more aggressively.

Importing / switching setup

  • Switching playlists from Spotify to Apple Music: the creator used a SongShift-type transfer, copied albums/playlists after a settings step, and said it took minutes.
  • Switching either direction is described as fairly easy with import tools.

Playlists & music discovery

Both platforms include

  • Search for songs/albums/artists/lyrics
  • Large catalogs (creator says both have 100M+ songs)
  • Ability to add content to playlists/library and play next

Search behavior differences

  • Spotify search: suggests likely matches + related albums faster; has category toggles (artists/playlists/profiles/etc.), but described as a bit clunky.
  • Apple search: autocompletes by starting letters (e.g., “Goose” → “Goosebumps”), then filters by type (songs/playlists/radio episodes).

Discovery quality (creator’s experience)

  • Spotify generally more relevant.
  • Example issue: a playlist that should stay in one genre produced an unrelated Cardi B recommendation.
  • Apple sometimes takes time to match taste; when it works it’s okay, but the creator feels it plays it safe and still misses.

Playlist mixing / transitions

Both support gapless-style improvements and transitions

  • Apple: “Song transitions” (crossfade and auto mix mentioned)
  • Spotify: “gapless playback” and crossfade/auto-mix settings

Spotify’s standout feature

  • “Mix”: more advanced DJ-like mixing inside a playlist
    • Shows BPM per track
    • Allows reordering and detailed transition controls (fade types like rise/blend/wave; volume/EQ/filter controls)
    • Useful for hosting/parties (creator calls it impressive)

Audio quality

The creator summarizes common perception: Apple “sounds better,” and provides reasons.

  • Spotify: normalizes volume/compresses dynamic range by default.
  • Apple Music: “Sound Check” lets normalization be on/off, with a default that can preserve dynamics (quieter/louder songs).

Lossless

  • Spotify added lossless high (described as a big improvement over the past).
  • Apple is described as having higher 192 kHz on some tracks.

Spatial audio

  • Apple Music includes spatial audio; Spotify does not.

Conclusion on audio

  • Apple Music “without a doubt” gives more flexibility and can sound significantly better—especially if not limited by Bluetooth codecs and if using supported gear.

Social features / sharing / collaboration

Overall feel

  • Apple Music feels “more alone” / studio-like.
  • Spotify feels more like a party with friends and is stronger for social discovery.

Spotify social highlights mentioned

  • Spotify Wrapped (shareable; creator loves seeing their own even if it’s shared a lot)
  • Top song leaderboards
  • Follow people
  • Public & private playlists
  • Collaborative playlists exist on both; creator notes Spotify had it longer
  • Blends: creates a shared playlist from two people’s tastes (framed as great for road trips with their wife)
  • Jam: queue-based listening where everyone adds to the queue
  • Friend activity: see what others listen to in near real-time (with ability to disable)

The creator notes Apple added social features later (collab playlists + emoji reactions), but still prefers Spotify’s ecosystem for social/music discovery.

AI DJ / recommendations / discovery tools

Spotify

  • AI DJ: mixed feelings at first (plays similar songs; “last time it played”) but can improve with prompts (e.g., “road trip in the evening… Wilco type stuff”).
  • Release Radar: frequently highlighted as long-running; may include re-releases but usually fresh enough for discovery.
  • Daylist and other “Made for You” features updating several times per day.
  • 6 daily mixes and other guided mixes.
  • Prompted playlists (user gives a concept like “2006 middle school dance theme”).
  • “Fans of [artist/band]” style playlists.
  • Blends (also noted in the social section).

Apple Music

  • “Made for you” with radio-like stations (e.g., “Get Up” and “Discovery Station”).
  • Creator felt recommendations were sometimes irrelevant (example: Keith Urban appearing despite not listening).

Podcasts, audiobooks, and mixed media clutter

Spotify

  • Includes podcasts and audiobooks inside the music app.
  • Can clutter search/home with miscategorized content (e.g., videos labeled as podcasts, audiobook prompts requiring extra payment).

Apple Music

  • No podcasts at all (separate podcast app).
  • No audiobooks inside Apple Music (separate audiobook app).

Karaoke / lyrics

Apple Music

  • Hidden karaoke feature:
    • Mutes vocals and shows lyrics
    • Creator calls it a phenomenal experience and adjustable (vocals volume via swipe)

Both

  • Provide lyrics display (Apple generally described as larger/better; lyrics can expand full-page)

Uploaded/local music support

Spotify local files

  • Creator says Spotify “really sucks” for local uploads: local playback is basically not supported (or was limited).

Apple Music

  • iCloud Music Library (music locker)
  • Apple Music as the default local player on macOS

Offline music limits

  • Apple Music: up to 100,000 songs across 10 devices
  • Spotify: up to 10,000 songs across 5 devices
  • The creator says both limits are likely more than they personally need, but Apple’s are higher.

Device connectivity / control / ecosystem

Spotify wins for cross-device control

  • Can control playback/queue across devices (example: phone to laptop Bluetooth speaker control).

Apple Music

  • Described as more device-independent (less remote control).

Tap-to-play

  • Spotify supports tap features on many non-Apple devices (e.g., Sony headphones).
  • Apple is better on Apple devices by default (HomePods work well with Apple Music).

Non-phone use cases

  • Creator notes Spotify is the option for Garmin watches and other devices where Apple Music isn’t as strong.

UI / home screen experience

Apple Music UI

  • Minimal, cleaner, less stressful; “dad’s old CD collection” vibe.

Spotify UI

  • More colorful, more content, potentially cluttered; feels like “radio with stations.”

Personalization quirks

  • Apple sometimes shows artists/bands the creator doesn’t listen to (e.g., Jay-Z).
  • Spotify home includes recommendations and podcast/audiobook sections that can’t be fully removed; creator wishes they could hide audiobooks/podcast recommendations and remove disliked podcast suggestions.

Desktop/web

  • Both have usable web players and desktop apps on Mac/Windows with similar functionality and a full interface.

Ethics / artist pay (non-audio but mentioned)

  • The creator claims Apple supposedly pays 2–3x more than Spotify on average (framed as an ethics consideration).

Pros and Cons (as stated)

Apple Music – Pros

  • Cheaper plans (vs Spotify) in most cases
  • Strong bundles (Apple One / Premier ecosystem)
  • Better audio quality potential
    • More flexible dynamics (Sound Check)
    • Spatial audio
    • Higher resolution (192 kHz on some tracks)
  • Karaoke feature: vocal muting with adjustable levels
  • Cleaner, minimal UI
  • Better offline library limits (100k songs/10 devices)
  • Local file / iCloud Music Library support works better
  • No podcasts/audiobooks clutter inside the music app

Apple Music – Cons

  • No free tier
  • No Spotify-style deep cross-device control
  • Collaborative/community features came later (still improved, but creator prefers Spotify)
  • Recommendations can be less relevant and take time to personalize
  • Creator feels Apple Music is “alone” / less social

Spotify – Pros

  • Free tier available
  • Superior music discovery & relevance (creator’s main opinion)
  • More extensive feature set
  • Highly social
    • Wrapped, leaderboards, follows
    • Collaborative playlists, Blends, Jams, friend activity
  • Advanced playlist mixing (“Mix”) with BPM and detailed transition controls
  • Better interoperability across many non-Apple devices
  • Cross-device playback control
  • AI DJ can be coached into better selections over time
  • Lots of curated discovery tools (Release Radar, mixes, prompted playlists, fan-based playlists)
  • Social listening convenience for road trips/parties

Spotify – Cons

  • No spatial audio (by implication)
  • More clutter on home/discovery (podcasts/audiobooks mixed in)
  • Local file support is weak per creator
  • Spotify UI described as noisy/cluttered and hard to customize
  • Audio normalization/dynamic compression may reduce perceived quality for some users

Ratings / numerical scores

  • The subtitles include pricing figures (not star ratings):
    • Individual: $13 Spotify / $11 Apple Music
    • Student: $7 Spotify / $6 Apple Music
    • Apple One example: $20, $26 (family tiers), plus Premier (price not numerically specified beyond that tier)
  • Offline song limits:
    • Apple Music: 100,000 songs / 10 devices
    • Spotify: 10,000 songs / 5 devices
  • No overall numeric review score is given.

Comparisons with other services

  • The creator briefly acknowledges other services (YouTube Music, Tidal) but says this video compares only Spotify vs Apple Music.
  • Mentions a future plan to compare other platforms based on viewer feedback.

Overall user experience / verdict (creator’s final recommendation)

  • Audio quality: Apple Music is better (flexibility, spatial audio, resolution, dynamics).
  • Discovery + social + feature depth: Spotify is superior and more fun to use.
  • Final conclusion: Spotify remains the creator’s choice, and they do not permanently switch to Apple Music despite Apple’s strengths (especially sound and cleanliness).

Speakers/views

  • Single main speaker/creator viewpoint throughout:
    • Personal testing (30 days Apple Music vs 10 years Spotify)
    • Focus on lived experience: discovery relevance, UI feel, social features, mixing tools, device support, and audio preferences.

Original video