All kinds of music streaming apps are emerging these days to let users enjoy their favourite music with the touch of a hand and get the latest update of their favourite band’s upcoming album. There are probably dozens of them now and each with their own merits. Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora and Deezer are all pretty much the four horsemen of music streaming apps nowadays. Below we provide a brief yet inclusive review of each of them. Read on and we’ll let you decide which one is worth having on your phone after!
Apple Music
At Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) this year, Apple announced that they had surpassed 15 million paid subscribers all around the world. This figure obviously does not count those who have yet to subscribe. If you own an Apple device and are still wondering whether being a subscriber is worth it then take a look at the following advantages of this app.
The only downside of this app is probably the fact that it’s not compatible with many devices. Even if you have an iPhone, it needs to be compatible with iOS 8 or higher.
Deezer
Despite the fact that this particular online music streaming service has been around for yonks, but it only started to gain popularity in the last two years. This is a pretty simple web player and is available for iOS, Android, Mac, Windows and even smart TV users. While other apps are only available in specific countries, Deezer can be accessed in over 182 countries. Other benefits include:
The downside of this app according to users is that some songs are cut at the end, meaning they are not played until final chords but still worth considering nonetheless especially since it also has an inbuilt music ID feature.
Pandora
It’s not a complete music streaming apps review if Pandora is not mentioned. Despite the fact that Apple Music and Spotify in particular are getting increasingly famous, Pandora somehow still manages to stay in the game in 2019. Even if you’re a free user, you still can listen to and skip songs, although it’s limited to 6 skips per hour, but it’s less frustrating than Spotify that does not even let you listen to a song you haven’t saved offline when your premium is due. More merits of having Pandora are as follows:
The fact that Pandora is now currently only available in Australia, US and New Zealand makes very unfortunate. But, it’s nothing that cannot be fixed with a simple fake location solution using a VPN service.
Spotify
Spotify has the largest music catalogue compared to any other music streaming services out there. Its biggest strength is probably the fact that you can play just about any song instantly without having to download or purchase it from a legal source. Most musicians launch their new singles or albums on Spotify these days so this platform has the fastest access to new music which is probably the second main reason why people are relying on it. Those are not the only reasons why Spotify virtually trumps other online music streaming services, other plus sides include:
KKBOX
For you Asian music enthusiast (especially Mandarin), KKBOX is the most perfect music streaming application for you. The Taiwan-origin app has a biggest Asian songs library than other apps here. Addition to Mandarin songs, you will be able to find Korean, Japanese, Cantonese and even Malay songs. Currently KKBOX only available in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan.
Every music streaming app in this review has their own values. Which one do you think stands out from the rest?
Apple Music
Website: Apple Music
- Apple Music has an amazing music curation which also happens to be the best feature of this app. The “For You” playlists on this app pop up based on the choices you made at the beginning during the signup. Simply explore these options if you are tired of repeating the same songs and you’ll easily find some new songs that fit your taste.
- You can ask Siri to launch songs. Ask it to “play the best song from the 70s” or “after this song, play Carry On My Wayward Son”. This saves you from clicking on the arrow button repeatedly to find the specific song you want to listen.
- Apple Music offers you a three month free trial for all their new subscribers. A great element like Beats 1 (live broadcasting feature worldwide) is also available for free to all members (premium and non-premium) as long as they sign in with an Apple ID, a step which does not require you to input a credit card number.
The only downside of this app is probably the fact that it’s not compatible with many devices. Even if you have an iPhone, it needs to be compatible with iOS 8 or higher.
Deezer
Website: Deezer
Despite the fact that this particular online music streaming service has been around for yonks, but it only started to gain popularity in the last two years. This is a pretty simple web player and is available for iOS, Android, Mac, Windows and even smart TV users. While other apps are only available in specific countries, Deezer can be accessed in over 182 countries. Other benefits include:
- It has built-in lyrics, no need to download, no need to google them. When a song is playing, the lyrics automatically come up
- This app has up to 40 million song collection. It officially makes this music streaming service one of the biggest music catalogues available to access for free.
- It also offers Flow which is a radio-like service that functions like your own personalised radio and plays random music based on your favourites
- If you become a premium user and subscribe to the Elite Service, the bitrate reaches hi-def CD quality amounting to 1,411 kbps at 16/44.1 kHz
The downside of this app according to users is that some songs are cut at the end, meaning they are not played until final chords but still worth considering nonetheless especially since it also has an inbuilt music ID feature.
Pandora
Website: Pandora
- You still can listen to over 30 million songs online by simply typing the song name in the search box even if you are a free user. If you want to take a peek at premium features, simply use the 30 day free trial where you’ll get the bigger picture.
- There is a feature where you can create your own playlist and add similar songs to it, not to mention the Music Genome Project’s data that can aid you find some new music easily based on the songs you already love
- It’s available on various devices starting from Android, iOS, Windows, Roku to Amazon device.
The fact that Pandora is now currently only available in Australia, US and New Zealand makes very unfortunate. But, it’s nothing that cannot be fixed with a simple fake location solution using a VPN service.
Spotify
Website: Spotify
Spotify has the largest music catalogue compared to any other music streaming services out there. Its biggest strength is probably the fact that you can play just about any song instantly without having to download or purchase it from a legal source. Most musicians launch their new singles or albums on Spotify these days so this platform has the fastest access to new music which is probably the second main reason why people are relying on it. Those are not the only reasons why Spotify virtually trumps other online music streaming services, other plus sides include:
- You can import local music files on the Spotify desktop client with the option of syncing with a mobile phone that pretty much mitigate the issue of missing artists.
- Like Apple Music, Spotify also allows people to make public playlists that others can enjoy. If you want to find calming songs or great workout playlist but don’t know what to search for, simply type in the playlist keyword and you’ll find dozens and even hundreds of playlists created by others. The quality of a playlist is usually shown by the number of monthly listeners.
- There is a weekly discover playlist that Spotify itself generates by using a great algorithm. The app will take into account your listening habit and then create a personalised playlist for you every Monday. The algorithm applied in making the playlist clearly stands out from its competitors.
KKBOX
Website: KKBOX
For you Asian music enthusiast (especially Mandarin), KKBOX is the most perfect music streaming application for you. The Taiwan-origin app has a biggest Asian songs library than other apps here. Addition to Mandarin songs, you will be able to find Korean, Japanese, Cantonese and even Malay songs. Currently KKBOX only available in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan.
- KKBOX has more than 45 million tracks with various genre. Enjoy the high-quality sound (320kbps quality with DTS surround) music in multiple devices, online or offline. You can also get your personalised recommendations based on your listening history.
- Scrolling lyrics function is available in this one of the best music streaming app.
- Music recognition will help you to add your favorite song to your playlist, with just humming in seconds.
- You can live streaming of various concerts with best audio quality and video effects in KKBOX app.
Every music streaming app in this review has their own values. Which one do you think stands out from the rest?
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