Apple is launching a standalone music app where listeners can stream classical tracks both new and old.
Apple Music Classical will give subscribers of Apple Music access to the world’s largest classical music catalog, with over five million classical music songs and 700 expertly curated playlists to choose from – at no additional cost.
After the tech giant acquired the streaming service Primephonic in 2021, it originally made plans to release a classical-focused music app by the end of 2022, but only recently began to pick up the pace.
Apple Music Classical has a wide variety of offerings, such as high audio quality (up to 192 kHz/24 bit Hi-Res Lossless), an immersive spacial audio recordings with Dolby Atmos, “insightful composer biographies, deep-dive guides for many key works, intuitive browsing features, and much more.”
Introducing Apple Music Classical, the new app designed specifically for classical music. Pre-order today on the @AppStore. https://t.co/lwnF4Dx4uapic.twitter.com/F8uMKMVm2i
— Apple Music Classical (@AppleClassical) March 9, 2023
The new mobile app will also adopt Primephonic’s streaming features, such as accurate classical metadata and a search function that allows users to look “by composer, work, conductor, or even catalog number, and find specific recordings instantly.”
Instead of being incorporated into the iOS, Apple Music Classical will be separate from Apple Music, despite being only accessible to Apple Music subscribers.
For now, the app will only be available in iOS devices, but the company plans to create an Android version of Apple Music Classical “soon.”
While the announcement was made today, users may only preorder the app on the App Store for the meantime. Apple Music Classical will be available for download on March 28, and will be compatible with devices running iOS 15.4 and above.