A day after iOS 16.4 launched, Apple made its long-awaited Music Classical service available to everyone. Here’s everything you need to know and how to use the new app.
What is Apple Music Classical?
Apple Music Classical is a service based on Primephonic, a classical music streaming service Apple bought in 2021. After two years of development, the company released its own version of the app, which has a similar look to Apple Music, but with new tweaks and a focus on this specific genre of music.
With it, you can access the world’s largest classical music catalog. Search by composer, work, conductor, and more to quickly find any recording. Explore composers, periods, instruments, and more through curated playlists and composer biographies. You can even get detailed information about what you are listening to.
It offers curated playlists for classical fans or beginners who want to use this app.
How to subscribe to Apple Music Classical
The only way to subscribe to this service is to have an active Apple Music subscription. The company explains that Classical is included in your Apple Music subscription at no additional cost.
That said, if you’ve already joined it, simply download the Classical app to start listening. If you’re not a subscriber yet, you can do that by paying $10.99 per month for an individual plan. There are other plans available, such as a family one or bundled with an Apple One subscription.
Where can I listen to Apple Music Classical? In which countries is the service available?
Apple Music Classical is an app created specifically for the iOS platform, meaning you need an iPhone or iPad to take advantage of the app. The iPad software was released on November 16, 2023.
At the moment, there’s no app available for the Mac or Apple TV. That said, you can also enjoy it on Android devices, as the application is available in the Google Play Store.
The service is live in every region Apple Music exists, except for Russia and Türkiye. On January 9, 2024, the Apple Music Classical X account posted that Japan, China, Korea, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan users could pre-order the app. It’s now available in these regions.
Will it be available for Android phones?
Yes, Apple Music Classical is available for Android phones here as of May 30, 2023. It requires Android 9 or newer.
Can I listen to Classical songs on the Mac?
Yes. While you can’t download the app itself, you can add a song from the Classical app to your library using the iPhone or iPad. It will be synced to your Apple Music library, which you can access from the Mac, Apple TV, browser, and more.
It’s unclear if the app could be preparing a new version of this app for iOS 18 and macOS 15. So far, it hasn’t.
Apple Music Classical 2.0 adds thousands of booklets
On September 24, 2024, Apple Music Classical was updated to version 2.0. Now compatible with iOS 18, this version brings two main features: A Recently Added section and thousands of album booklets.
With the Recently Added section, you can easily find the latest albums you’ve added to your library. With the album booklets, Apple now offers more information about classical albums and artists. If available, you’ll see a book icon in the top right corner of the album. Once you click there, it will display the booklet. You can read it both on the iPhone and the iPad.
The service in numbers
The service has the largest classical library with over 100 million songs and the world’s largest catalog of classical music — more than 5 million tracks and 1.2 million recordings. It features:
- 20K+ composers;
- 115K+ unique classical workers listed;
- 350+ movements available.
It is available in Lossless and Hi-Res Lossless up to 24 bits. Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos is also supported.
