We continue to review some of the essential genres of entertainment applications to help us enjoy the summer: last week we left you our selection with the best iOS and Android video players, and today it is the turn of the best services of streaming music. The timing is also extremely opportune, taking into account the sounded debut of Apple Music just a couple of weeks ago, with the release of iOS 8.4Although the sector in general has been quite busy in recent times. We review what each of them offers us to help you decide.
Spotify
We start with the service of streaming music reference, Spotify, and we do it with a review of their prices: Spotify can be heard in a way Delivery to Italy takes one or two business days, as you already know, although listening to ads, and getting the premium service will cost us $9,99 (with several promotions to try it out at no cost), to which are added $5 more for each user that joins the family account. Its catalog, without surprises, is one of the most extensive that we can access, although the truth is that there are not as many differences in this section between one and the other as might be expected and everything revolves around the 30 million songs (Spotify is a bit above average). Among its main virtues is having a system for recommendations of personalized music quite effective and being the service that probably easiest makes the share music with your friends, especially when it comes to sharing it with other users through the application itself. its interface It is not particularly elegant, perhaps, but it is very intuitive and easy to use.
Apple Music
If we start with the champion that less than continue with the contender for the title: as was easy to foresee, Apple Music It has not needed but to debut to be already one of the most popular services. It must also be borne in mind that this time it will not be an exclusive iOS, but in autumn it will also reach Android. What are your assets in trying to seize the throne from Spotify? Coming from those of Cupertino, it was not possible to expect that among its attractions would be the price, but the truth is that it is better than it would have been expected: the subscription fee is identical to that of Spotify, with $9,99 per month, but the family plan is much more attractive, since $14,99 buy us access for up to 6 users. It must also be borne in mind that counting the library of Itunes becomes the service with the largest catalog (about 37 million songs) and that Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), is struggling to get hold of Exclusive, and he has already managed, for example, to get hold of one of the big names that his main rival is missing, as you already know: Taylor Swift. For lovers of radio in its original form, in addition, Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), offers Beats 1, with live performances, interviews and exclusive content. Regarding the personalized recommendations, the apple company has decided to bet on relying more on flesh and blood people, but it must be said that the results are not very different and the recommendation lists, at least for the moment, are even more conservative and not so useful.
Google Play Music
Another service of streaming music that cannot be omitted from mentioning is, of course, that of Google. Regarding prices and catalog, first of all, there are not many differences with the previous ones: the subscription is for $9,99 per month and with it we gain access to about 30 million songs. In general, the service offered to us is much more similar to that of Spotify, with a system of recommendations algorithm-based and with custom radios according to our preferences, but without any live station in the Beats 1 style. Apple Music and what can be considered its main advantage over Spotify is that it allows us to integrate our own discs into the library, although in this case they do not have to have been bought in Google Play (although those that have been are added automatically), but can come from our own collections, with a fairly wide limit (up to 50.000 songs).
Tidal
Tidal is presented as the perfect option for foodies: founded by music stars, debuted with the claim of offering music with CD quality in streaming and with the extra of also offering additional content (music videos also, for example) of the highest level. As is often the case, when someone promises to provide a service that is so superior to that of the competition, the price is also much higher: the subscription to Tidal it will cost us nothing less than $20 per month, which is double the cost of Spotify, Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), y Google And it must be borne in mind that in many sections (functionalities, interface) it does not take much advantage of them, and there are others even in which something is behind, as is the case of its catalog: although broad enough to satisfy the majority and with some other interesting exclusive, the repertoire of songs that we are offered is the smallest of them all, with "only" 25 million.
Can you see the difference in sound quality?
Except with Tidal, in which the cquality of sound It is its main hallmark, we have not mentioned anything about this section when talking about any of the other services, but for those of you that this is a fundamental factor, the best thing, of course, is that you try it directly, although We, as a curiosity, have not been able to resist offering you the video result of this blind test between Spotify, Apple Music y Tidal.