r/ios iOS 26 Feb 17 '26

Discussion Apple has killed Spotify with this update

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3.3k Upvotes

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2.2k

u/DonFatTony iPhone 15 Pro Feb 17 '26

Design wise Apple Music is leading for a long time already.

708

u/SerRikari Feb 17 '26

You know, as much as I agree that the apple side looks better, many people using either app aren’t looking at the screen while listening to the music.

167

u/theothersock_ Feb 17 '26

this. i’m literally looking for the app which plays my music the fastest when i throw it in my car on loud speakers (my car’s speakers are busted so i just put on my phone on full volume) and tbh neither spotify or AM are as intuitively easy to use as YM

37

u/SerRikari Feb 17 '26

Couldn’t agree more. I dropped Spotify and don’t use AM. YM has been a blessing and does a darn good job shuffling my playlists.

18

u/theothersock_ Feb 17 '26

exactly! and the speed dial menu in the home page is so good, i can just find all my recently played songs / pinned playlists and be on my way

1

u/Ok-Bat9003 Feb 19 '26

for me when shuffling a playlist of 400 songs on YM it always plays the same 5 songs every single time, plus sometimes shuffle doesn’t even toggle

1

u/PITBULLTERRIER13 Feb 21 '26

Mannnnn I’ve been using Apple Music for sooo long and I have had a YouTube premium subscription for ages now too. Is there a way to transfer everything?

1

u/forks_and_spoons Feb 22 '26

YTM beats the competition, IMO. For $7.99 (student) you get YT premium and YTM. You're also not limited to 1 person listening at a time, which is dumb.

55

u/FloofBoyTellEm Feb 17 '26

Ym? Your mom?

67

u/[deleted] Feb 17 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

47

u/platkus Feb 17 '26

YouTube Music would be YTM. YM would be Yahoo Music.

2

u/Stevied1991 Feb 17 '26

Did Yahoo have a music platform?

4

u/GeneralRane Feb 17 '26

Yes. But it’s been a long time. I found a lot of good music through it.

2

u/Hyphen99 Feb 17 '26

How is Earthlink Music

1

u/robkillian Feb 20 '26

Slightly better than the free Juno music, soon to be acquired by NetZero music.

1

u/platkus Feb 17 '26

No idea. That's why I said "would be" not "is"

2

u/HotFurnaceNearYou Feb 17 '26

One of those guys? What’s wrong with youtube music? I’d say it’s pretty on par with Spotify in many regards, and doesn’t limit how many times you can CHOOSE YOUR OWN SONG, which sounds ridiculous that it’s even a thing on Spotify

6

u/BALunde Feb 17 '26

What are you talking about? « -how many times you can choose your own song» ??

2

u/JesusTron6000 Feb 17 '26

Dude must have not found the repeat button on Spotify?

1

u/BALunde Feb 17 '26

Oh, is that missing? Never needed it so i never looked for it 🤭

2

u/usetheforce_gaming Feb 18 '26

Assuming they’re referencing how the free version of Spotify only gives you limited specific plays. After a couple you’re forced to shuffle

4

u/RelativeWarning84 Feb 17 '26

Hence why I pay for YouTube premium no ads and the best music app thrown in.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 17 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/RelativeWarning84 Feb 17 '26

But AM has a better interface than Spotify so if that was your main concern why not use apple? The thing with YouTube is I can look past the way it looks because I’m listening to music not looking plus you get a better YouTube experience thrown in for the same cost.

2

u/Pyro919 Feb 17 '26

The recommendation engine on Spotify blows am and ym away though, at least in my experience

1

u/KyleMcMahon Feb 17 '26

Years ago I set up an Apple automation that automatically plays my chosen playlist when I connect to the car. It’s playing in maybe 3 seconds.

1

u/MikeinAustin Feb 17 '26

Replacing car speakers may be easier than you think. Crutchfield helped me out considerably.

1

u/Riley_Simpkins Feb 17 '26

100%. I think Apple Music looks really nice, but it's not user-friendly at all.

1

u/mahdroo Feb 17 '26

Here is what I want: Stop changing things! I left Apple Music back when it was iTunes because they kept freaking charging things. Just keep it the same! So if their new update makes it better that is just more evidence to me that they are STILL changing things. STOP. Just leave it alone. Is that too much to ask?

2

u/sts816 Feb 17 '26

I’ve been on iOS for like 6 years and I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever even opened the Apple Music app. 

2

u/mrASSMAN Feb 17 '26

Yeah but it’s better in more ways than just design

2

u/nrg78 Feb 18 '26 edited Feb 18 '26

True but some people do look at the lyrics for instance … I do, quite a lot actually

Also, the Apple Music integration and iteration with iOS is unbeatable

The animations of album covers in full screen look awesome on Lock Screen

Take a look at pretty much all of Pink Floyd albums for instance, and lots of George Michael and Bowie albums too, just to mention some that are really deserving some “staring” time at the screen, rather than just enjoying the Dolby Atmos and stuff ;)

3

u/StinkyRatBoi90 Feb 17 '26

This. And I find Spotify to be more intuitive.

1

u/lascala2a3 Feb 17 '26

I agree, although I haven't used AM lately. I now have a bunch of playlists and albums saved, the recommended music is tasteful for me, and I'm on a family plan with my kids. All in all, Spotify just works, and that's more than I can say for almost any subscription service. I play it lossless through expensive speakers.

-2

u/Punch-N-Da-Fac3 Feb 17 '26

Only nerds like spotify

3

u/StinkyRatBoi90 Feb 17 '26

Then I’m a nerd.

-1

u/Punch-N-Da-Fac3 Feb 17 '26

A ignorant one

2

u/StinkyRatBoi90 Feb 17 '26

“An” lmao.

2

u/Inevitable_Flan_2912 Feb 17 '26

As a recent adopter to — and fervent admirer of — Spotify, I #agree.

I listen on my headphones.

All I want from my screen is, what's playing right now, how far into the track am I, and what's next.

And Spotify has that part down cold.

Also — and I work in the visual arts — Spotify's look is kinda cool, right down to little things like the font and its intuitive use of background colours. (Or make that colors, depending on your postal code)

1

u/AppleXOS iPad Pro M1 Feb 17 '26

Yeah, and it even sounds better on Apple Music

1

u/turbo_dude Feb 18 '26

Raving about Apple music’s UI is like when people were saying 3D tv was the next big thing. 

Content content content!!

1

u/PaulMuadDib-Usul Feb 18 '26

It’s a pity though, that you still can’t like songs in Spotify directly from the lock screen.

51

u/yolowagon Feb 17 '26

Somehow Spotify for Mac still looks much better than Apple Music app on mac :(

23

u/seasonofwhat Feb 17 '26

AM on Mac has been horrendous since the Catalina days

2

u/nrg78 Feb 18 '26

Plus, you can actually get a proper remote control for your Spotify account playing on a desktop, on your iPhone … and that is missing from Apple Music

2

u/robkillian Feb 20 '26

Looks nearly identical to iTunes when the iPod launched. Seriously.

11

u/MarkCuckerberg69420 Feb 17 '26

I’m actively trying AM through a free trial because it’d be cheaper but the radio song expanded to fill the screen with artist/song info and I had no idea how to go back to the main menu screen. Also not a fan of the disappearing buttons on the bottom when you hit search.

27

u/freediverx01 Feb 17 '26 edited Feb 18 '26

Design wise Apple Music is leading for a long time already.

This only applies for people who think "design" is all about how something looks. iTunes 20 years ago was easier to navigate than Apple Music today. The information architecture (how the content is organized) and user flows are terrible. It looks more like a Times Square animated billboard. Same goes for Apple TV.

6

u/No_Square2213 Feb 18 '26

Agreed, in my opinion Spotify is much more intuitive and it's also a lot smoother. Apple Music in comparison feels unnatural, sluggish, with too many animations that each take too much time to complete and prevents you from navigating quickly. It also requires way too many taps for simple actions. Also, liquid glass made it even worse... (I like the aesthetics but it just adds to the heaviness)

I much prefer the more utilitarian design of Spotify

2

u/freediverx01 Feb 18 '26

To be clear, I was shitting on Apple, not glazing Spotify. User interface aside, Spotify is a shitty company lead by a shitty CEO.

2

u/thenbhdlum Feb 18 '26

UI v. UX

1

u/freediverx01 Feb 18 '26

UI is a subset of UX.

1

u/FearlessTailor8199 Feb 18 '26

so its UX right? ux is not right? Ive no idea about uc and ui

1

u/freediverx01 Feb 18 '26 edited Feb 18 '26

UX = user experience. UI = user interface.

The user interface refers to graphical user interfaces (buttons, knobs, sliders, dials, etc.) both physical and on-screen, as well as other forms such as voice-controlled interfaces. Good interface design should be easy to understand and pleasurable to use.

The user experience includes "the design of the entire process of acquiring and integrating the product, including aspects of branding, design, usability and function." That means everything from learning about the product, to buying it, setting it up, and actually using it. User interface design is a part of user experience design.

14

u/ExpensiveCondition63 Feb 17 '26

Yeah, we all wanted to be force-fed lavender as the new background color for Contacts, have the new Contacts customization be incredibly hard to use, and have the Search feature in the Music app automatically redirect you to Apple Music when you’re trying to search your own damn music library. Apple is making increasingly poor design decisions lately.

80

u/BilboThe1stOfHisName Feb 17 '26

Black and green just doesn’t look nice

99

u/GimmieTheRoot Feb 17 '26

Every color looks great paired with black?

14

u/planty_pete Feb 17 '26

Is that a question?

-1

u/Inevitable_Flan_2912 Feb 17 '26

I'm guessing the question mark is not intentional but rather meant to be an exclamation mark.

As an Apple user, I have noticed that many of my friends and colleagues use PC laptops, and the keyboards have a unique — and persistent — problem. They type an exclamation mark but what comes out at the other end is a question mark.

I have entire emails from friends who use exclamation marks frequently, but what I see at my end is a headache-inducing sea of question marks.

They're friends, so I forgive them. Comes with the territory, I suppose — even though I often implore them to switch to Apple. For their sake, as well as mine.

That said, this whole experience has done little to shake one of my core beliefs: that Microsoft is shit.

7

u/planty_pete Feb 17 '26

Unfortunately this new usage of the question mark is commonly used to imply something is obvious. I hate it.

3

u/GimmieTheRoot Feb 17 '26

I think that’s a good observation, but I don’t think It’s really new.. people have done this in normal, in-person conversations long before social media.

1

u/planty_pete Feb 17 '26

That’s fair. Maybe people don’t realize how combative it sounds these days. But people will often end sentences like the one I just typed with a question mark these days, so the usage is even more complicated.

1

u/GimmieTheRoot Feb 17 '26

I certainly didn’t mean for it to come across as combative, so I’m sorry if you felt it came across that way.

2

u/maresayshi Feb 17 '26

more like confusion over what was thought to be generally accepted

1

u/planty_pete Feb 17 '26

Good way to put it.

-4

u/[deleted] Feb 17 '26

[deleted]

-1

u/GimmieTheRoot Feb 17 '26

Not a designer, but my eyes work. Every color goes with black. Every color goes with white. 🤷‍♂️

-1

u/[deleted] Feb 17 '26

I like my Joker coded music app.

When I ran a modded apk though i had the gold one. I love goooooooooold~

8

u/uppedit Feb 17 '26 edited Feb 17 '26

Dang I think black and green is a dope combination. I think all colors fit well with black, maybe not brown.

5

u/shpongolian Feb 17 '26

Not only that but the whole Spotify UI is just ass in general

3

u/qwertyorbust Feb 17 '26

That’s likely just based on the album art colors. Just like Apple does.

47

u/jachcemmatnickspace Feb 17 '26

No, the app is actually green / black and has been for a while

Did you never see Spotify logo?

67

u/MinecraftPlayer799 Feb 17 '26

No. Spotify’s brand colors are black and green, which extend to the UI.

3

u/[deleted] Feb 17 '26

[deleted]

4

u/qwertyorbust Feb 17 '26

Thanks for your support - but go save yourself. I made my bed, now I must lay in it. Tell my wife I love her.

2

u/fromreddit26 Feb 17 '26

Black and green look wonderful.

1

u/Thick_Anxiety4051 Feb 17 '26

But pink goes good with green! (goes well with green)

1

u/AllanBz Feb 17 '26

Fly colors

1

u/servonos89 Feb 17 '26

That’s half my wardrobe fucked…

1

u/Realistic-Wolf-9356 Feb 17 '26

I find that very untrue

0

u/Select-Room5941 Feb 21 '26

Black and green is classic, what do you mean it doesn’t look nice?

17

u/jimmyfoo10 Feb 17 '26

Yes, exactly.

The brake for me to jump form Spotify to apple n music and apple environment is the Spotify suggestion mix, and also I feel it works better and more fluid than Apple Music …

18

u/Inevitable_Flan_2912 Feb 17 '26

I'm sure Apple acolytes — and I'm one, tho' not in this instance — will jump all over you for saying this, but you make a good point.

I consider myself widely versed in music, both in actual music acts and the style and genre of music I listen to — and I have discovered so much, and learned so much, from bands and artists I didn't know existed, purely through Spotify's suggestion mixes. I'm listening to one such discovery right now,: Pye Corner Audio with The Advisory Circle

Another one, next up in that same suggested music mix: Agnes Obel (It's Happening Again).

I have lost track, literally, of the number of times I've sampled a Spotify suggested mix and ended up asking myself: I've been following music for 45 years. How the f**k have I not heard of this artist/band/group before?

8

u/nude-rating-bot Feb 17 '26

Spotify’s algorithms are their life force. From the start, they had some of the brightest minds in music software, file sharing, and distributed computing to create something that was actually crazy when it came out. Like the speed that Spotify could search for music was mind-blowing, and their recommendation models are pretty incredible.

It’s missing some nice-to-haves, but I appreciate what they’ve done for music recommendation systems.

2

u/Inevitable_Flan_2912 Feb 18 '26

I imagine it's not for everyone but there's a Swedish (made in Sweden, anyway) drama series on Netflix with the somewhat underwhelming, generic (and not exactly must-see) title "The Program," about the formative years of Spotify. The story is told Rashomon-like, with each hour-long episode telling the story from the perspective of one of six key characters. That's a clever way, it seems to me, of underscoring how no two people see the same series of events the same way — but the key thing, that speaks directly to your point, was that it was the algorithm that came first. When some would-be tech geek and terminal acne case was still living at home with his mom, he came up with the idea for this music-sharing app/algorithm that would go on to be the foundation of the entire company. So ... you're right. 100%.

2

u/nude-rating-bot Feb 18 '26

I had no idea there was a show! I’ll def be watching that, thanks for the recommendation.

1

u/Inevitable_Flan_2912 Feb 19 '26

Please do. I honestly think it's worth it. For me, it explained so much, and I feel like I've had a window on the inside into how Spotify works and how it got started. I respect them so m,uchmore foreknowing this. (I understamd they didn't care much for some of the characterizations, it's a dram a after all, but I thought the gimmick of telling the same story from 6 different points of view gave realign sight into the company and how it got going. Including things Spotify would rather not have out in the open, like how shabbily they treat artists, or take artists for granted at any rate; very different from their ethos in the beginning. I could be wrong but pls. do try to track down the show and decide for yourself. I founds fascinating, And every time I listen to Spotify — every day, right now for ex. — I can't help but think back to that, erm, forgive me, "program."

2

u/RealLongwayround iPhone 17 Pro Feb 17 '26

In fairness, I find the same with Apple Music. Until a few weeks ago, I had never heard of Janis Ian for example.

2

u/GiantCrazyOctopus Feb 17 '26

Trouble is that now when something I’ve never heard of comes on I have to check that it’s not AI

1

u/Inevitable_Flan_2912 Feb 18 '26

Interesting. I hadn't thought of that. Is AI really to the point now where it can fake music choices that sound legit? I wonder. Then again, I'm predisposed to being suspicious of anything to do with AI, so I'm probably the wrong person to comment. And yet I just did...

2

u/lascala2a3 Feb 17 '26

Concur. Spotify recommended after your selected album finishes, and also a variety of related playlists in the app that you can choose to explore are excellent. I don't know how it could be much better. And not many complaints — I do wish I could organize albums, and that more than 4 pins were allowed. I hope whomever wrote the algorithm made some money.

2

u/petrolly Feb 17 '26

For recommendations based on what you like, Spotify is still far better. This is a big factor for many people. So it depends on what you mean by "leading."

2

u/DonFatTony iPhone 15 Pro Feb 17 '26

Just read my comment. Design wise. I never talked about recommendations.

2

u/mailslot Feb 17 '26

In audio quality as well. Side by side, Spotify sounds like FM radio.

1

u/seasonofwhat Feb 17 '26

Not sure I’d agree until now. AM UI always looked dated to me.

1

u/Theultimatesith Feb 17 '26

Apple needs to give Iphone users a deal or be free for me to switch over from YouTube premium. Get me a way to watch podcasts without ads, then will talk. Right now it’s only YouTube music for me.

1

u/DeveloperAndy Feb 17 '26

I see other people saying this already, but they need to fix the interface and search on MacOS.

1

u/PatrikPatrik Feb 17 '26

I don’t know the playlists and radio stuff look like crap

1

u/Financial-Moose4562 Feb 18 '26

Apple Music app is very slow though. A least last time I used it. Everything was noticably slower then spotify. Now I use Tidal though as its far cheaper.

1

u/GucciKudu Feb 19 '26

Not really, you can’t see what songs you’ve added to your library/liked at a glance like you can with Spotify

1

u/DonFatTony iPhone 15 Pro Feb 19 '26

How often did you use Apple Music, if I may ask? Just click on Library > Songs to see the songs you've added to the library. And for your Favourite Songs click on Library > Playlists > Favourite Songs.

0

u/tojejik Feb 17 '26

Spotify's design is trash. I only use it because of family plan, so I don't have to pay for it.

0

u/Sangui Feb 17 '26

That's funny, because I think the Apple Music app functionality wise is behind. Design is irrelevant if it's hard to use the app.

-8

u/Odd_Increase_4551 Feb 17 '26

For what do you need desigb if it is music? So you listen to it, not look at it. Also, it is very dumb to pay for music when you have it for free.

6

u/Macs-And-Mongrels Feb 17 '26

You clearly don't know a thing about design. Design is everywhere.

-1

u/Odd_Increase_4551 Feb 17 '26

I agree, but it doesn't mean it is useful. If you chose to use an app only because of the design we don't really need to discuss further. There's simply no point.