Apple's streaming service was officially released on Tuesday morning, June 30. The new streaming feature is simply called Apple Music. Beats 1 radio station from Apple Music live streaming has also begun airing.
Users of iPad and iPhone have to download and install iOS 8.4, a new update from Apple, if they want to use and explore Apple Music. iPhone users may enjoy a free three-month trial use of Apple Music. However, you might ask yourself what to do after the free trial period is over.
When you sign up for the new Apple Music service, you have the option to choose between a $14.99 family plan and a $9.99 individual plan. The family plan allows up to six different accounts. If you already started your free trial period on Tuesday, then you will have the time to decide whether to continue your subscription or not after September 30.
Keep an eye on your Apple Music Membership Account Settings.
In case you decide not to continue using Apple Music streaming service, you need to be careful, because once the trial is over the account is set to automatically renew your subscription. If you want to turn off the default renewal settings, click on the pink head icon of the Apple Music app in order to get into your account settings.
Another way to get to your account settings is to go at the bottom of the home pages for the iTunes and App Store on your smartphone. Look for your Apple ID in the account settings, scroll down to "Subscriptions" section and press on the Manage option. Then you'll see under Apple Music Membership a switch on for Automatic Renewal. Now, all you have to do is to turn that switch off. This way you can enjoy the free trial period without worries about getting your account automatically charged once the trial ends.
Given the fact that there are around 800 million iTunes accounts, probably most of iTunes users will also be enticed to try Apple Music. Many of them are most likely to continue the paid subscription as well, after the free trial is over, the $9.99 monthly subscription fee for on demand access to over 30 million tracks is not really a bad deal, after all.
The user interface of Apple Music looks visually appealing. The app extracts the themes and colors from the album covers - displaying them across the entire iPhone screen.
The streaming service itself is a mix of Beats Music and iTunes, both owned by Apple. The iTunes store will remain operational even after Apple Music was released. However, it seems more advantageous to pay a $9.99 monthly subscription fee to Apple Music and get unlimited on demand access to a huge library of songs than paying $1.29 a song to buy music on iTunes.
