Although iOS comes with a native Apple Music app, there are some third-party apps that offer even better experiences for those who subscribe to Apple’s streaming service. If you’re an Apple Music subscriber and want to learn how to better enjoy your music library, check out some of the best iOS apps with Apple Music integration.
SongCapsule
Instead of working as an alternative player for Apple Music, SongCapsule (formerly known as Next DJ) brings features to help you rediscover your current music library. The app uses algorithms to generate smart playlists and Magic DJ — featuring a mix of songs from your favorite artists and genres.
While it’s always good to discover new songs, sometimes we have great songs in our library that get forgotten after a while. That’s why one of my favorite features of SongCapsule is the Forgotten Songs playlist, which does exactly what the name suggests. It brings together all your favorite songs from the past in one place.
You’ll also find other smart playlists with the most played songs from specific artists and genres, not to mention a playlist with songs you’ve added to your library but never played. Playlists are automatically generated based on your Apple Music data and updated every time you open the app.
SongCapsule is available on the App Store for $4.99 as a one-time purchase. The app has versions for iPhone, iPad and Mac.
SongCapsule quiz
From the same developers as SongCapsule, SongCapsule Quiz is a game inspired by the iPod’s Music Quiz, but now with a “fresh and modern approach” designed for the streaming era. As the name suggests, the player had to guess the name of the song that was playing.
When you’re ready to play, just tap Start Quiz and the game will start playing the songs. To make things more interesting, you can score up to 1000 points per round. The faster you choose the right song, the more points you get. The game shows you all the songs you hit correctly with your bodoms, as well as the ones you got wrong.
You can share your result with your friends on social networks. But more than that, the game integrates with Apple’s Game Center.
SongCapsule Quiz is available in the App Store. It costs $4.99 and requires a valid Apple Music subscription.
Marvis
Maybe you’re someone who subscribes to Apple Music but doesn’t like the official Music app. The Marvis app is a great alternative to the official Apple Music app as it brings all the features you’d expect to let you explore your music library by album, playlist, genre and more.
The home screen of the application can be customized with only the sections you need and the way you want. For example, you can choose from Recently Played Songs, Most Played Songs, Favorite Songs, Top Charts, New Releases, Radio Stations and more to make your Home experience unique within the app.
Another interesting feature of the Marvis app is the gesture-accessible side menu, which is great when you have to use the phone with just one hand. You’ll also find a great and intuitive interface that works in both portrait and landscape mode.
Marvis is available in the App Store for $9.99 as a one-time purchase — and offers additional Last.fm integration that can be unlocked with a $5.99 in-app purchase. The application works with iPhone and iPad.
Sister
Just like Marvis, Soor is another alternative to the official Apple Music app for iOS — and it also brings cool features for users who aren’t satisfied with the default iPhone Music app. Soor’s interface is highly customizable, with options to change home sections, set a light or dark theme, rearrange playlists, and more.
In addition to your local music library sections such as albums and playlists, you can also add For You, New Songs, Hot Tracks and other sections directly from Apple Music. With a feature called Magic Mix, you can create Genius-like playlists with filters for artists, albums, genres, composers, plays and more.
The app also comes with multiple widgets for the iOS home screen, which is great for customizing your iPhone while making it easy to access your favorite songs. These include the Now Playing, Magic Mix and Music Collection widgets. It even has Cover Flow.
Soor is available on the App Store for $6.99 as a one-time purchase. The application is compatible with iPhone and iPad. Don’t forget to read the full Soor review here 9to5Mac.
MusicHarbor
Apple Music doesn’t offer a way to follow your favorite artists to track their latest and upcoming albums and songs, but MusicHarbor does just that. Rather than offering suggestions or acting as an alternative player for Apple Music, MusicHarbor is built for users who know exactly who they want to follow.
Just open the app, search for artists and start following them — and MusicHarbor will do the rest. The app lists all albums released by each artist, and also shows all upcoming content, such as singles and videos. You can also enable push notifications to be notified whenever one of the artists you follow releases a new song.
Furthermore, MusicHarbor has a button that redirects you to the website with the latest news about the artist and a special tab to show all scheduled concerts. Widgets, iCloud data sync and theme options are also available to users.
You can try MusicHarbor for free in the App Store, but some features require in-app purchases to be unlocked. You can use it on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Long game
Longplay is also an interesting app that was introduced this year to allow users to rediscover their music library. Unlike all the other apps on this list, Longplay is focused on exploring the entire albums and playlists you have — excluding those for which you’ve only added some of your songs to your Apple Music library.
Once you open the app, it only displays artwork from your albums and playlists. You can change the layout of the app’s main view by selecting just albums or playlists, or using one of the smart “Sort by” options. There are no extra options or anything to make you think about where to start. All you have to do is tap on an album or playlist and start listening.
By long-pressing the albums, Longplay offers the options of playing in shuffle mode or using AirPlay. It’s a fun app and Apple Music users should give it a try.
Longplay is available on the App Store for $6.00 as a one-time purchase. The app has versions for iPhone and iPad.
Concertina
We have already covered the Concertino here 9to5Mac, which is an app aimed at turning “Apple Music into a magical classical music jukebox.” Previously only available as a web app, Concertino is now available for iOS in the App Store.
Concertino works as a third-party client for Apple Music, making it easy to find classical songs on Apple’s music streaming service. You can explore classical music by the most sought-after composers, historical periods, or playlist suggestions (called “radio stations” in the app).
The app is available for free on the iOS App Store. Concertino works on iPhone and iPad.
Wrap
With these apps, you can definitely have a whole new experience with Apple Music. You can replace the official Music app or rediscover songs you don’t even remember now.
It’s worth mentioning that while these apps work best with an Apple Music subscription, they also work with songs purchased from the iTunes Store or synced from your computer to the Music app.
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