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Instead of a page of discovery (suggested playlists and aggregated mixes) Apple opts for a menu-led approach.
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‘Library’ elicits a feeling of ownership, which may be part of the reason Apple opted for this language (with a history of users buying music through iTunes) but that’s not the only way it differs from Spotify. The app doesn’t actually have a ‘home’ screen by name, in the way that Spotify does, instead using the ‘library’ tab as the default homepage for users (note that Spotify has a separate library page). There are some really interesting and cool features to add value for music lovers here, such as the ‘concerts near you’ section, which provides you with a list of upcoming gigs also based on artists that you listen to regularly (don’t expect to see anything from Justin Bieber unless you’re a genuine Belieber).Īpple Music takes a slightly different approach. You could quite easily visit only this page for your music fix – probably most notably the ‘made for you’ section which hosts playlists and mixes based on what you listen to when you’re on the app. The sleek design also makes the most of the sideways swipe, with each feature’s slider providing you with sub-genres and curated playlists. Spotify is clever in its approach – having a long ‘home’ page enables the user to find lots of content (‘made for you’, ‘more like’, ‘recently played’, etc.) without having to navigate the footer menu. This screen is home in all senses of the word for the app – clearly headed sections draw the user’s attention towards a particular feature or journey, to find music without moving off page one. Let’s start with Spotify, which opts for a very visual, image-led display with emphasis on icons and images to engage the user.
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Opening the appįrom the off there are very different and distinct ‘homepages’ on each app. I have both services already, so I won’t be walking you through the sign-up processes for either of these services – but from memory they were both about as painless as each other. I’ll mostly be looking at major features that these apps have in common, such as homepages, browse and search.
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