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Apple Music vs Spotify: Which Is Better?

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The ultimate face-off between the streaming giants: Spotify and Apple Music

Spotify and Apple Music dominate the music streaming industry due to their vast music libraries, exceptional audio quality, and diverse non-music content.

It can be difficult to choose between the two, especially if you need to decide whether to value Spotify’s extensive podcast library or Apple Music’s lossless audio.

Analyzing their features offers insight into each platform, so we’ve researched and reviewed both to compile this guide for you.

Apple Music vs Spotify: Comparison Overview

Apple music supports lossless audio, spotify doesn’t, spotify has more flexible plans, apple music’s music library is more thoughtful and inclusive, spotify offers more non-music content than apple music, spotify triumphs in music discovery, apple music’s interface makes more sense and functionality, both apple music & spotify have a bunch of additional features, apple music vs spotify: which should you go for, frequently asked questions.

Here’s what kind of audio quality you can expect from each:

As you can see, Apple Music supports high-resolution lossless settings up to 24-bit/192 kHz, so it outshines Spotify in terms of audio quality.

Apple Music also maintains its edge over Spotify by offering support for Spatial Audio enriched with Dolby Atmos surround sound technology.

This cutting-edge feature transforms your listening experience into a three-dimensional sonic journey. Hence, it feels like you’re hearing sounds from all directions instead of the typical stereo (left and right).

But don’t get too excited about Apple Music yet, there’s a catch. Not all devices can totally support lossless audio , not even Apple’s AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max. This is because lossless audio requires certain minimum specifications. One of those is to use wired headphones instead of wireless ones.

So, to try Apple Music’s High-Res lossless setting, you must invest in a good digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and high-quality wired headphones. Unfortunately, these are additional costs a lot of casual listeners won’t be willing to make.

While Spotify and Apple Music share similar plan rates, Spotify sets itself apart in this category with a range of additional offerings.

Sure, Apple Music’s Voice Plan stands out as a cost-efficient option for those entrenched in the Apple ecosystem. Plus, the absence of address-sharing requirements for Family plans is super convenient.

However, you’ll benefit from more plan options with Spotify Premium Mini, which is a 7-day plan for one device in select countries, and Premium Duo. Not to mention the availability of additional services like Spotify Kids on the Family plan and Hulu and SHOWTIME on the Premium Student plan, which, in my opinion, gives Spotify a leg-up over Apple Music.

Unlike Apple Music, Spotify also comes with a free, ad-supported plan. With this, you can listen to everything in Spotify’s content library at the expense of having to listen to ads from time to time. On-demand playback is somewhat restricted, though, so you can only listen to some playlists in shuffle mode.

If you have children, have budget constraints, or want to get the best value for your buck, Spotify is the preferable choice.

Both platforms have excellent mainstream and indie libraries that would make any music fan happy. They have current hits, local and world song charts, and various music categories to explore. Both apps have also tapped record labels and publications to help curate better indie playlists.

However, Apple Music triumphs in this comparison with thoughtful curation and fleshed-out music categories.

For example, both Spotify and Apple Music have a category dedicated to the people behind the music – Songwriters and Behind the Songs. Spotify’s Songwriters simply focuses on songwriters.

In contrast, Apple Music goes the extra mile by featuring songwriters, singer-songwriters, producers, and session musicians. The app’s library is also thoughtfully presented in hundreds of genre- and mood-specific playlists.

On the Browse page, you’ll find fresh music picks in sections like Playlists You Need , Must-Have Music , and We’re Loving , all curated by Apple Music editors. Keeping up with the latest releases is easy with New Music and Daily Top 100 , which features the 100 most-played hits in over 115 territories .

Like Spotify, Apple Music has all the popular music genres covered. However, Apple Music has more fleshed-out genres with over 100 options compared to the 57 offerings in Spotify’s catalog.

I also think many of Apple Music’s categories, such as Indigenous Australia , Schlager , and Behind the Songs , are interestingly specific.

When it comes to non-music content, Spotify is best known for its wide range of podcasts. Through the acquisition of podcast production companies like Gimlet Media, Anchor, Parcast, and The Ringer, the app now hosts as many as five million titles .

In addition to traditional podcasts, Spotify introduced video podcasts in 2020. This opened the doors for creators to upload video content to their existing audio shows.

A live audio feature is also in the works after the acquisition of Betty Labs and Locker Room in March 2021. Locker R oom is a live sports talk app that Spotify aims to develop further to “offer a range of sports, music, and cultural programming.”

In 2020, Spotify also partnered with Riot Games and League of Legends (LoL). The deal makes Spotify the exclusive streaming partner for all official LoL content , including original podcasts.

Aside from podcasts, Spotify also has a selection of audiobooks ranging from classic literature, poetry, language learning, and children’s stories, to name a few.

On the other hand, Apple Music does indeed offer a lot of video content and radio programs. However, most of this content is focused solely on music and live radio.

Spotify uses three different types of algorithms – Collaborative Filtering, Natural Language Processing , and Raw Audio Modeling to streamline its suggestions. The app also factors in user inputs , like in-app activity, genres you listen to, musical elements, and even the time of day.

It goes even further by providing recommendations within playlists you’ve created. It’s a feature not available on Apple Music and one that I sorely missed while using the app.

In contrast, Apple Music uses a simpler algorithm that analyzes your listening history and song ratings. But for the most part, human curation is still the driving force behind Apple Music’s recommendations.

Both platforms also feature artist recommendations on artist profiles to help listeners discover new music. However, Apple Music will only give you a maximum of 8 suggestions, while Spotify offers as many as 20.

Apple Music’s music discovery features are somewhat limited and leave you looking for more. It also feels like the app takes longer to calibrate to your tastes, and it requires a lot of “Liking” and “Disliking” to train the algorithm. Despite that, it does get the job done – eventually.

However, Spotify catches on more quickly and does a better job connecting you with music you’re sure to love and tunes you didn’t know you needed in your life.

On Apple Music, there is a customizable sidebar that allows you to choose what content sections you want to see. This significantly improves navigation and ease of use. The scrolling lyrics function is also fun and helpful for those who enjoy singing along.

Another stand-out feature is Apple Music’s search function . You can find a song within seconds by typing in lyrics, which is incredibly helpful, especially when looking for a song you only heard in passing. Spotify has the same features, but the results might not be as accurate.

On the other hand, Spotify’s mobile and desktop apps’ playlists have a helpful sorting feature that lets you reorder songs by title, artist, date, or duration.

With larger playlists, you can easily find what you want with the “ Search in playlist ” function. You can also save songs to your library and refine your recommendations by “liking” a song or pressing the heart icon.

In terms of additional features that enhance the music listening experience, both Spotify and Apple Music are evenly matched.

For example, Spotify’s Wrapped is only available at the end of each year. But it’s always something nice to look forward to.

Meanwhile, users can access Apple Music Replay all year round, but the feature would’ve been better if it gave users more than just a simple playlist of songs.

Spotify’s Collaborative playlists make music listening more fun because you can create and develop playlists with friends. On the other hand, Apple Music focuses more on sharing playlists than creating them together, which tends to feel like a one-person party.

One unique feature on Spotify, however, is the Spotify DJ , a new feature that delivers a personalized radio show just for you.

It uses generative AI and OpenAI technology to curate a playlist based on the music you like. And with the help of a dynamic AI voice platform, an AI DJ will deliver interesting facts and trivia about the songs or artists you’re listening to.

It’s a pretty cool feature if you want something different than traditional radio. But it mostly just sends you music that you’re already listening to so its real advantage is debatable.

Here’s a little recap of everything we’ve covered so far:

Choosing between Apple Music and Spotify all boils down to your priorities.

For example, Spotify takes the lead in music discovery and offers a vast array of podcasts and audiobooks.

Apple Music, on the other hand, is a music-centric platform, with a strong focus on quality, including lossless and spatial audio. It is the go-to choice for music videos, live performances, documentaries, and exclusive content.

Read our comprehensive review on Apple Music and Spotify to gain more insight into what the two platform offers.

Why do people prefer Spotify?

Who has more users, apple music or spotify, who treats artists better, spotify or apple music.

People prefer Spotify because it offers a unique social aspect to music streaming, allowing users to connect with friends, create playlists together, and engage in features like Spotify Wrapped. This social integration enhances the overall convinence and user experience.

Spotify has a larger user base than Apple Music, with over 551 million users , including 220 million Premium subscribers worldwide. Apple Music follows behind, boasting more than 88 million users globally.

Apple Music treats artists better than Spotify with a higher per-play rate, fair compensation for all creators, and no pay-for-play scheme.

Apple Music pays $0.01 per play, while Spotify offers $0.0033 – $0.005 , partly due to its ad-supported free tier and regional subscription rates. Spotify’s Discovery Mode sacrifices royalties for artist visibility, while Apple Music’s playlists are merit-based and maintain consistent compensation .

💬 Conversation: 2 comments

As an independent musician, I am appalled by Spotify’s new form of payola. Not to mention all of the scam artists who have become “promoters” on social media, and get people to pay them to get their music heard on Spotify. I see a class action suit in the near future. Apple is one of the few companies that has some integrity left. And I really respect the fact that they respect artists, and still use human generation and not just algorithms. And the lossless audio and Dolby Atmos blows Spotify out of the water, if you care about sound quality. Personally, I don’t see why anybody would go to Spotify over Apple Music

Spotify is much more better. Dolby Atmos is sh*t and useless, Looseless audio is useless to, because u need a DAC for enjoy.

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Apple Music vs Spotify

Published on April 17, 2023

When it comes to the best music streaming services, Apple Music and Spotify immediately come to mind—which isn’t surprising, considering they lead the competition regarding the number of paid subscribers. Sporting different features catering to specific users, it can be difficult to choose between the two. Let’s dig a little deeper into Apple Music vs Spotify to see which is the right music streaming service for you.

Editor’s note: this article was updated on July 24, 2023 to mention the new Spotify Premium plan cost.

Apple Music vs Spotify: Streaming quality

As of August 2022, only Apple Music will provide you with an audiophile-grade streaming experience. Spotify announced its Spotify HiFi tier in February 2021 and said it would be releasing later that year. However, we are well into 2023, and there is still no Spotify HiFi— Spotify Co-President Gustav Söderström said it’s still coming, but nothing definitive has materialized yet. If it ever comes to fruition, Spotify will offer CD-quality audio and will only be available to select regions upon its release.

Apple Music recently released its high-resolution streaming options at no extra cost. You can now stream 16-bit/44.1kHz, 24-bit/48kHz, and 24-bit/192kHz audio and use Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos content through Apple Music. Apple Music also streams content at 256kbps utilizing the AAC audio format and streams via one high-quality Bluetooth codec: AAC , which is far more efficient than most other open-source lossy alternatives. By default, Apple Music will stream at the highest possible quality and reduce quality when streaming using cellular data. However, this quality throttle can be disabled in the settings.

On the other hand, Spotify has its streaming quality set to automatic by default, adjusting depending on your connection strength—whether you’re on Wi-Fi or cellular data. The app streams audio using the open-source Ogg Vorbis codec at up to 320kbps for Spotify Premium users, and up to 160kbps for people with a free account.

The streaming quality from both services is sure to satisfy casual music listeners. However, if you’re someone who lives in an area with an unreliable internet connection, you’ll appreciate Spotify’s variable streaming quality options for an uninterrupted playback experience. If you don’t want to have to worry about altering stream quality to accommodate data constraints, Spotify also lets Premium users download and save up to 10,000 songs at a time on up to five different devices. Downloaded music can be saved at the same bitrate options as streaming—up to 320kbps.

Apple Music vs Spotify: Content and recommendations

When it comes to music content libraries, there’s no beating Apple Music. With over 60 million songs, you’ll be sure to find music from the artists you love, and from artists you have yet to discover. Moreover, Apple Music is well-known for making exclusive deals with artists like Drake and Taylor Swift for early content releases. This is exclusive content is due in large part to Apple’s paid-only service; users are required to have a paid subscription after the three-month free trial. On top of the exclusive content, users have access to many on-demand radio shows, including Apple Music 1.

While Apple Music may have more content, Spotify’s music catalog is still extensive with over 80 million songs, with around 40,000 added daily. Unlike Apple Music, Spotify also offers podcasts , with over 4 million titles currently on the platform. Over the years, Spotify has been diversifying its content library to become the ultimate audio streaming application, which is why the company has gone to great lengths to secure big-name podcasters like Joe Rogan. However, though you can’t listen to podcasts via Apple Music, Apple has a podcast service, Apple Podcasts , which is free for any Apple-device owner.

There’s no beating Spotify when it comes to recommendations

Spotify is well-known by consumers for its ability to recommend songs based on your listening history. Sure, Apple Music’s human-curated Stations allow users to discover new music, though it doesn’t quite compare to the magic behind Spotify’s recommendation algorithms.

At the bottom of every playlist, you’ll see recommendations for new songs based on what’s on your list. You also get custom playlists such as Discover Weekly, which automatically generates hours worth of new music for you to discover based on your listening patterns. Spotify also includes a collection of hand-picked playlists featuring the latest hits, which are automatically reorganized for each user according to their tastes.

The latest version of Apple Music features a dedicated Listen Now tab that is full of song recommendations based on your listening habits. Listen Now replaces the cumbersome design of the old “For You” page with an interface that is much more streamlined—while bearing a strong resemblance to Spotify app’s home page.

Alternatively, you can also take songs, albums, and playlists and create Stations, automatically generating a list of similar songs—including everything from hits to hidden musical gems. Spotify also has this feature, though most people opt to use the platform’s Discover Weekly playlist to find new music.

Does Apple Music or Spotify have better features?

When it comes to music streaming apps, Spotify has the best user interface—which is surprising considering Apple is typically the king when it comes to design. In this case, Spotify’s app layout is much cleaner and better organized than Apple Music.

Spotify’s UI is laid out in a way that gives you instant access to your own content. The home page shows your recently played songs and playlists, which is what most people want to see when opening a music app. Every part of Spotify’s design puts your content at the forefront, only providing you with suggestions after you’ve seen what you wanted to see.

Apple Music is also well-designed, though it can come across as overwhelming with all the different tabs at the bottom of the screen. It seems like Apple wants to show off all the features at first glance, though this tends to get in the way of accessing your content. Apple Music’s interface divides its features into separate sections, rather than integrating them into a single scrollable page like Spotify. The large, colorful artwork plays into Apple’s design aesthetics, making Apple Music—like the company’s other apps—quite pleasing to the eye.

Apple Music and Spotify are now tied for search functionality

In terms of search functionality, Apple Music outshone Spotify for quite some time because it had a Search by Lyrics feature and Spotify didn’t. How many times have you wanted to listen to a song only to remember the lyrics and not title? However, now Spotify has implemented this feature as well, so regardless of which service you’re using, you can forgo Googling and type your lyrics directly into the app’s search bar. You’ll then be presented with the song with a small excerpt showing the lyric you searched—talk about convenience.

Apple Music’s on-screen lyrics are a piece of eye candy

Both Apple Music and Spotify have recently added on-screen, karaoke-style lyrics to their apps. Gone are the days when you’re jamming to your favorite song, only to forget the lyrics and switch into a freestyle mumble.

While Spotify’s inclusion of on-screen lyrics is nicely integrated into the Now Playing screen, Apple Music’s full-screen presentation of the lyrics just seems more attractive with its bold text and pleasing gaussian blur background; like a classier-looking karaoke machine. With both streaming services, the lyrics highlight as the singer sings them, and you have the option to scroll through the lyrics and jump to a specific line in a song.

Take control of your sound with EQ

If you like to fine-tune their listening experience, you’ll enjoy Spotify’s inclusion of a graphical equalizer , allowing you to tailor the sound of your music to your tastes. The app also includes several EQ presets for you to choose from, if you so desire. Android-owning Spotify users will be bumped into their phone’s system audio settings to EQ the sound, which may impact audio in other apps.

On the other hand, Apple Music doesn’t really offer any extensive EQ functionality. In fact, all you get are a list of EQ presets to choose from, which are only available to iOS users via the Settings app.

Spotify is better for use with voice assistants

If you use a voice assistant in your daily life, whether it be through a smartphone or smart speaker , Spotify has you covered. The platform is supported by most, if not all voice assistants—including Amazon Alexa , Google Assistant , and Apple’s Siri. Yes, you read that right. Even Siri supports Spotify. Do note that voice assistant integration requires a Spotify Premium subscription.

On the flip side, Apple Music is quite lacking in terms of voice assistant functionality, with only Siri having full support for the platform. Unless you’ve got a HomePod or any other Siri-enabled device, don’t expect to stream your Apple Music playlists using your non-Apple virtual assistant.

What is Apple Music Spatial Audio?

As of June 7, 2021, Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos is available to Apple Music users. This is a feature that mimics the effects of surround sound and provides a 3D audio experience. Any Apple listening device such as the Apple AirPods Max or an iPhone 12 Pro will automatically play supported songs in the Dolby Atmos format. Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos is available to any Apple Music subscriber at no additional cost. Compatible songs will be clearly labeled on the Apple Music interface, and Apple plans to create playlists of Dolby Atmos content to make it easy for users to find.

Apple Music vs Spotify: Sharing is caring

Both platforms make it easy to share music with your friends and family. With either app, you can share songs on your Instagram story, or even send a direct link on your social media platform of choice. While this is certainly useful, Spotify has a couple of tricks up its sleeve that give it a leg up over Apple Music.

For starters, Spotify allows you to create Collaborative Playlists, allowing you and your friends to make the perfect playlist for a Friday night in, or a Saturday night out. You also have the ability to quickly share songs and playlists through Spotify Codes, which can be generated and scanned within the app itself. Apple Music doesn’t yet support collaborative playlists, but does support playlist-sharing.

Apple Music vs Spotify: Pricing

Spotify and Apple Music both offer pricing options comparable to one another. An individual Apple Music plan costs $9.99/month, which is slightly cheaper as Spotify Premium’s new $10.99/month rate. For alternative plans, find the tables below:

Unlike Apple Music, Spotify allows you to use the service for free with a few caveats. Music can be played in shuffle mode you’re limited to skipping songs up to six times per hour. You’ll also be subjected to many audio ads that are pretty annoying to listen to.

Apple’s music streaming platform is available as part of Apple One: the company’s collection of services that gives you access to Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and 50GB of iCloud storage. The Individual plan starts at $14.95/month, while a family plan is available for $19.95/month—with support for up to five users per family account.

Comparing the prices, it seems that both services offer a great value for money and you can’t go wrong either way. If you’re a student, Spotify may appeal more to you by including non-music streaming perks like Showtime and Hulu. However, if you’re already invested in the Apple ecosystem, then Apple Music—or even the Apple One bundle—may be worth considering.

Before committing to either of these streaming services, take advantage of their free trial periods. Apple Music gives you access to its entire library of songs and radio stations for three months—which is quite generous when compared to Spotify. After that, you’ll have to pay for a subscription to continue accessing the service.

Spotify, on the other hand, only lets you try Premium for a month before you either pay for a subscription or revert to the ad-supported free version. However, while Apple Music’s trial period is limited to an individual account, Spotify gives you a free month regardless of your chosen plan. That includes Duo and Family plans, meaning that multiple people can try Premium for free under the same subscription.

Apple Music vs Spotify: Which is better?

After comparing these two streaming services , Apple Music is a better option than Spotify Premium simply because it currently offers high-resolution streaming. However, Spotify still has some major advantages like collaborative playlists, better social features, and more. If you’re someone who avidly uses Apple devices in their daily life, you’ll appreciate Apple Music’s familiar UI design language, Siri support, and automatic synchronization across Apple devices.

On the other hand, Spotify has always been designed with cross-compatibility in mind. If you’re looking to step out of Apple’s ecosystem when streaming music, Spotify is sure to satisfy listeners with its vast collection of music and podcasts, and its powerful music recommendation algorithms. However, while you can access Spotify for free, Premium doesn’t just eliminate the ads. The free version of Spotify doesn’t let you save music locally, which can tax mobile data plans, and also limits how often you can skip songs while using the mobile app (6 an hour). Still, it’s a great option if you want to save money and mainly listen to music on your computer.

Frequently asked questions about Apple Music and Spotify

No, the “download” function of Apple Music is not truly a download, but rather a feature that allows you to listen to the music from the app offline. It is not the same as purchasing the music, and therefore it can only be used with your Apple Music account.

Indeed you can! To add songs from your laptop/desktop, all you have to do is open your audio files using the Music app. After you’ve synchronized your library, your files will be available on all your devices which have Apple Music installed.

Yes, however, his process is far from intuitive. In order to add your own music from the Desktop app, go into your settings. Scroll to “Local Files” and enable “Show Local Files.” From there, you can specify paths for Spotify to find music from.

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Apple Music vs. Spotify Buyer's Guide

Apple Music and Spotify overwhelmingly dominate the music streaming space, but the two services offer surprisingly different experiences despite their competitive pricing, so which is best?

Both ‌Apple Music‌ and Spotify boast extensive music libraries, sophisticated personalization features, and comparable subscription models, but the nuances of their offerings cater to slightly different audiences. When choosing between the services, you should decide which of the two following groups you fall into.

‌Apple Music‌ touts a seamless and feature-rich listening experience for Apple device users, offering particular advantages to those who are heavily embedded in Apple's ecosystem. The service is particularly appealing to audiophiles and those invested in high-quality audio, thanks to features like Lossless Audio and Spatial Audio. ‌Apple Music‌'s exclusive content, such as live radio shows and the ‌Apple Music‌ Classical app, provides unique value to those seeking more than just a vast music library. ‌Apple Music‌ is the preferred choice for users who appreciate the convenience of ‌Siri‌ integration, conventional library management, the ability to merge their own music library with the streaming service, and who are possibly already subscribed to other Apple services, making the ‌Apple One‌ bundle an attractive proposition.

Spotify, on the other hand, excels in music discovery and social sharing. Its sophisticated algorithms that power features like Discover Weekly and Release Radar are unmatched for surfacing new music tailored to the listener's tastes. Spotify's cross-platform design and compatibility with a wide range of devices make it a versatile option for users with a diverse range of hardware. The service's superior social features, such as the ability to see what friends are listening to in real-time, enrich the music discovery process. Spotify is the go-to choice for users who value these social and discovery aspects highly, as well as those who appreciate the option of a free, ad-supported tier.

Which music streaming service do you prefer and why? Let us know in the comments.

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Top Rated Comments

Obviously Apple Music because of CarPlay . Also the separation of Classical and Apple Music now where you can enable playback of lossless music from both as well as Spatial Audio tracks or Albums.

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Comparative Essay Between Apple Music and Spotify

Essay by Maggie Ortiz   •  November 6, 2017  •  Essay  •  1,147 Words (5 Pages)  •  2,726 Views

Essay Preview: Comparative Essay Between Apple Music and Spotify

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Essay 4: Compare and contrast

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Battle of the bands: Spotify and Apple Music

Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, Apple Music, Sound Cloud, Tidal, Rhapsody… The list of music streaming services appears to be never-ending. While they all share the same market, only two of them sit at the top of the music streaming industry: Spotify and Apple Music.

Sweden’s Spotify officially launched on October 7 th , 2008 through an invitation-only access and by December 2014 its user base was of 60 million globally according to Spotify’s “15 for ’15!” article (Spotify team). Seven years later, on June 30 th , 2015 Apple launched its own music streaming service, Apple Music, which posed a serious threat to Spotify’s lead position, as not only was the new service backed by one of the most popular brands in the world, but it was also coming with the music baggage that was associated with Apple’s iTunes. Although Apple Music was strongly criticized at their launch for simply copying Spotify’s service and for its initially counter-intuitive interface, they grew rapidly and managed to obtain 10 million users in only 6 months according to Fortune (Addady).

        These two streaming services appear to be the same at a first glimpse: unlimited music and video streaming services available through different devices (phone, tablets and computers) which provide the ability to listen created, curated playlists, follow artists and download music features for offline listening. Even the user interface, although aesthetically different, aims at being easy to use and intuitive. Although they share some features and traits, their membership offer,  music discovery and social features mark important differences which has allowed Spotify to remain the leader.

        The first difference a user experiences occurs the moment they wish to access either service. Apple Music offers users three months of free usage before a paid membership is required, whether it is a single license, a family license or a student license. Spotify on the other hand is referred to as a “freemium” service, which means that basic features are available with advertisement for unlimited time, but paid memberships are available for features such as offline music listening, improved quality, skipping songs and no commercials.

        Once the way of accessing each service is chosen, the next step is actually using the service, typically through their mobile applications. On this point, users experience few differences among the services, other than Apple Music’s initial prompt to select preferred artists and genres. Beyond that initial difference, the experience is very similar. Both companies have achieved an intuitive and easy to use system: the moment the app is launched we are one “tap” away from the music we like. Spotify will show us the playlists we most recently listened to, and Apple Music will bring forward the music we recently added to our library. At the bottom part of the application, five small icons help us explore other options: our music library, a browsing option to search among all the music available to us, radio function, a search function and a section with music we recently listened to and music suggestions based on what we like.

        Despite this similarity on the user interface, the experience with each service is very different when it comes to music discovery. While both streaming services seek out to learn what music you prefer and suggest new content based on it, Spotify appears to be more successful in presenting new music to the user. Apple Music’s “For You” function will limit itself to suggesting different albums from an artist you have already listened to, or playlists where that artist is included. Although their approach is probably accurate, it does not invite the user to discover new music or step outside their already familiar artists. Spotify takes a different strategy. Its Discover function looks at the music you have listened to, and compares it to users that have listened to very similar music. Then, it looks at songs that these similar users have listened to, that you have not, and presents it to you under a playlist named “Discover weekly” which is updated every Monday.

• Entertainment

Apple Music and the terrible return of DRM

Give me convenience or give me death.

By Nilay Patel , editor-in-chief of the Verge, host of the Decoder podcast, and co-host of The Vergecast.

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My Amazon Echo just arrived, months after I pre-ordered it. I'd totally forgotten about it until I got a ship notification the other day, and then it was there, a strange little tube promising yet another peek at a future that never seems fully within grasp.

After two days with it, it's mostly useful as a sort of permanent Siri: we've set kitchen timers with it, asked it for the weather, and otherwise generally ignored it. It seemed destined to be yet another foolish gadget buy, until I randomly asked it to play some music for me.

And then it was magic. All of the stress and panic I feel when I have to pull out a smartphone and open an app and pick a playlist and select my AirPlay or Bluetooth speakers and wait for it all to work is gone. I just ask for music, and it's there. Great.

But it's also super depressing, because it's just another example of how the rise of streaming media has brought crazy digital rights management back into our lives . We've completely traded convenience for ecosystem lock-in, and it sucks.

We've completely traded convenience for ecosystem lock-in, and it sucks

Right now, the Echo can play music from Amazon's Prime Music service, Pandora, and whatever random music I've uploaded to my Amazon cloud locker. This means that the music selection is pretty bad! I stopped buying music around the time I started using Spotify, so I don't have much new stuff to upload, and Prime Music has a fairly thin catalog compared to Spotify. Basically this thing can play my 2000s-era iTunes collection at me, which means I'm listening Wilco and The Clash way more than I have in the past few years. Is that good? It might be good.

But next week Apple is probably going to launch another streaming service, and if history is any guide, it's only going to work with Apple products. That means I'll have yet a fourth music service in my life (Spotify, Google Play Music, Prime, and Apple Music) and a fourth set of content exclusives and pricing windows to think about instead of just listening to music.

In 2007, Steve Jobs wrote a fiery essay on Apple.com called "Thoughts on Music." The essay is now gone from Apple's site, but it remains as powerful as ever, a straightforward examination of the state of digital music and the pros and cons of applying digital rights management to purchased music files — there were no streaming services back then. The labels had forced Apple to use DRM in the early days of iTunes, and Jobs clearly recognized that although Apple and the iPod had emerged as the early winners in digital music, the effort required to maintain DRM over time (or license Apple's DRM to other companies) would be better spent making new products and services.

"If anything, the technical expertise and overhead required to create, operate and update a DRM system has limited the number of participants selling DRM protected music," wrote Jobs. "If such requirements were removed, the music industry might experience an influx of new companies willing to invest in innovative new stores and players. This can only be seen as a positive by the music companies."

But it's no longer the labels pushing DRM on the music services; it's the services themselves, because locking you into a single ecosystem guarantees you'll keep paying their monthly subscription fees and hopefully buy into the rest of their ecosystem. Google Play Music is an objectively better experience on an Android phone than an iPhone, because it can download files in the background and purchase music not available for streaming. Apple Music might be available on Android , but it probably won't be as good, because Apple wants you to buy an iPhone. Playing Spotify through Bluetooth or AirPlay on iOS requires a trip through a totally superfluous screen promoting Spotify Connect. YouTube is the best way to find and share a single song on a desktop computer, but it remains a strange little island, disconnected from almost every other service. I used to love playing MP3s on my Xbox 360 while gaming, but there's no Spotify app on the Xbox One, so those days are over.

There's not even a single standard playlist format to make switching services easier

There's not even a single standard playlist format to make switching services easier, like the old .m3u playlist files my friends and I used to swap back and forth between iTunes and WinAmp and whatever else. There's just lock-in, endless lock-in.

Is this what we wanted? Am I really despairing for the days when I maintained a huge collection of legal and not-so-legal MP3 files that could play on any device I owned without any hassle? I don't know.

All I know is that I'm listening to a lot of Wilco on my Amazon Echo.

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Turning up the volume: What does Apple Music need to surpass Spotify?

Published on May 2, 2024

If you’re a long-time Android user like me, chances are that you haven’t considered an Apple Music subscription. For over a decade, Spotify and YouTube Music (formerly Google Play Music) have reigned supreme as the de facto music streaming apps.

Spotify , in particular, has amassed a loyal following even though its Premium tier is a standalone subscription service. On the other hand, the Apple One subscription bundles 50GB of iCloud storage with the company’s music and TV streaming services — all of which can be useful even if you’re an Android user. This makes it an excellent deal compared to Spotify’s Individual Premium plan , which costs 60% as much for music alone.

Given that Apple Music is one of the rare cases where the company offers better value for money than the competition, you may wonder. Why isn’t Apple Music more popular and what can it do to win the battle vs Spotify?

Apple Music vs Spotify: What we’d like to see

As I mentioned above, Apple Music already has a handful of advantages over Spotify. But that doesn’t mean it does everything better than Spotify. The same goes for the opposite as well, some Apple Music features are still inexplicably missing in Spotify. But for now, let’s see where Apple’s music streaming service needs to improve to catch up with Spotify.

An analogue to Spotify Connect

Apple Music supports AirPlay as you’d expect and it will even surface a Chromecast button on Android, but you can only control playback on other devices via the former. For the vast majority of smart speakers and other non-Apple devices like the PS5, you can’t wrestle playback control or continue listening on a different device mid-track.

Spotify Connect , meanwhile, is universal and allows me to see and control what’s playing on my LG WebOS TV from my Android tablet. Given Apple’s walled garden reputation, this is unlikely to change but it could at least start within the ecosystem. For example, the Apple Music app on your iPhone should be able to tell you what’s playing on your iPad and offer a convenient way to continue playing immediately. Call it Handoff even.

Better user playlist discoverability

While Apple Music and Spotify both have a vast library of music, traversing through it isn’t equally easy. Both platforms have algorithms and staff-curated playlists to ease the sting, but my favorite feature is only available on Spotify: the ability to search for user-created playlists.

Whether it’s the ever-popular Lofi Girl or a 90s-themed sad music track list, you can bet that someone has created a public playlist you can easily search for. I’ve personally found the feature comes in handy when I’m least expecting it. Looking for a TV show’s soundtrack spanning multiple seasons? Chances are that someone has already created a playlist for it.

Searchability is key here because even though Apple Music allows you to share playlists with others, it doesn’t surface them in search results until you scroll through Apple’s own first-party playlists. This reduces the chances of randomly stumbling upon someone else’s tracklist.

A free tier

While Spotify has added a number of restrictions to its free tier (like forced shuffle in playlists), it’s still plenty usable to test out the service. Several of my friends began using Spotify for free before forking over for the paid tier. It’s an effective marketing strategy and I’m surprised Apple hasn’t used it to attract a wider audience.

Another hidden Spotify benefit is if you stop paying for a Premium subscription one day, you will still be able to access your playlists and saved content. No such luck with Apple Music, which locks you out until you restart your subscription.

Better PC and Mac apps

It’s easy to forget that Apple Music apps exist for Android and PC. After all, the company has done little to advertise the service outside its core hardware market. But if you’re not deeply invested in the Apple ecosystem, cross-platform support may be an essential feature. Unfortunately, Apple Music’s PC and Mac apps are buggy and almost feel like an afterthought. I’m not the only one with issues, take one look at subreddits like r/AppleMusic and you’ll realize that it’s a widespread sentiment.

Considering Spotify’s excellent cross-platform support, Apple needs to do a better job of maintaining feature parity and usability across both, mobile and desktop.

Bonus: Third-party extensions

While I can’t blame Apple directly for the lack of third-party integrations, the music streaming platform doesn’t have the same breadth of support. Between web apps like stats.fm, Smarter Playlists, and third-party apps, Spotify’s open API affords developers and users a lot of freedom to discover, catalog, and listen to music. Apple’s MusicKit does exist but it’s not as flexible, meaning fewer apps have been built for the platform.

On Linux, for example, I use the open-source Spotify Player which runs entirely in a terminal window. The advantage is lower system resource consumption, which is a big deal on underpowered systems like the Raspberry Pi. Likewise, Home Assistant offers a Spotify integration, allowing me to stream music across speakers and devices throughout my home. Even the Rabbit R1 has a way to play tracks from Spotify, even if the device itself is a bit lackluster.

Apple Music has a scant number of third-party apps and even fewer services that can interact with it. You have Marvis Pro on iOS and Cider on desktop as far as third-party clients go, but no web app integrations like stats.fm, likely because of Apple’s API restrictions. If you like tracking your listening habits, Spotify is the better choice by far.

What Spotify needs: Lossless audio

With the base Apple Music subscription, you get access to higher-resolution 24-bit/192kHz or “lossless” audio streaming at no extra cost. Spotify sets the quality to Automatic by default, which means it can dip as low as 160kbps to save data but generally stays at 320kbps for Premium users. If you’re not well-versed in audio quality, the gist is that Spotify’s current best quality setting doesn’t hold a candle to Apple Music’s lossless format.

Standard Bluetooth codecs cannot handle the large amount of data required for lossless audio, so Apple Music uses a special codec to achieve it wirelessly on the AirPods Pro 2. Elsewhere, you’ll need a wired connection to reap the benefits of lossless audio. Only you can judge the difference between Spotify’s sub-CD quality and lossless audio, but it’s nice to have the latter as an option on Apple Music.

We’ve heard about a potential Spotify HiFi subscription for over two years now, but it hasn’t come to fruition. Rumors indicate that lossless audio will cost you extra on Spotify, though, which makes Apple Music the better deal yet again.

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Apple Company and Its Effects on Society | Apple Analytical Essay

Apple company introduction, apple company background, effect on ordinary people, effect on employees, effect on costs, effects on other electronics companies, apple company conclusion, works cited.

The Apple Company has made an indelible mark in the world stage with its innovations that have changed the way people use computers and mobile devices. Apple has been very successful and it is worth billions (Farivar 1). The share price of the company is over $530 making Apple the most successful company in the technological sector. In this paper, the effect of the apple company on the society in terms of ordinary people, employees, costs and on other electronic companies will be discussed.

Apple started in 1976 and its effect on ordinary people started with the introduction of personal computers. The personal computer revolutionized the technological world. The personal computers had a simple design and they were user-friendly to people. However, Apple did not achieve a large market share in the face of stiff competition from other companies.

As a result it started a product that has become part and parcel of modern day activities from the office to homes and the brand of choice (Sanderson 1). The products that Apple has produced such as iPod, iPhone, IPad are household names.

They have changed the way people buy music with the successful iTunes store. The products are sleek and functional and help meet needs that ordinary people did not know they had (Greenwood 1). The effect of Apple can be seen with the excitement that announcement of any new products create and the long queues of people waiting to buy them. Apple will continue to affect the lives of ordinary people through innovation of useful new products.

The employees of Apple have to stay at the top of their game to continue releasing new products that stir the market. They must maintain the high standards that the former Apple products have set and surpass them. The employees must remain committed to the vision of Apple as embodied by Steve Jobs. He is synonymous to Apple, and with his demise the company employees have to deal with the post-Jobs era.

They are constantly faced asked what Jobs would have done about the decisions made by the new CEO Tim Cook, and such questions may frustrate some. The employees have to adjust working under Tim Cook who is different from Jobs and continue working hard to keep steering Apple towards its vision (Cheng 1).

The price tag on Apple products is high unlike that of other companies. The features of Apple’s products are high quality and unmatched in the market. Therefore, Apple is able to charge high prices, but customers still buy because they feel the products are worth (Greenwood 1).

The cost of the Apple products is not likely to come down as the company offers other things for instance after sale services and customer care support. The company has an edge over the other companies with its brand products that have won the faith of many people and created loyal fan base. On the other hand, the company produces its products in China amidst of criticism for shipping jobs overseas, but the cost of production is cheaper than at home increasing the profit margin.

Apple is the leader in the tech world and it has a major impact on other electronics companies. Its greatest rival in the mobile technological market is Samsung that leads the competition in the sale of mobile devices. Furthermore, Apple faces competition from other smaller companies that have improved their products to tap into the market.

They produce products similar to those of Apple, but their prices are lower hence they will get customers who want the experience of sleek gadgets, but at a cheap price. One the other hand, in the wake of patent suit against Samsung for patent infringement, the other companies have to be careful in designing their products lest they make them similar to Apple products and get slapped with a patent suit. The fear of suits can curtail some electronics company innovation (Mullis 1).

Apple has changed the world through its products. The effects on consumers is phenomenon and only the future knows what products the Apple is going to bring to the market if their past trend is anything to go by, and it is likely to remain a giant for a long time. They have come up with products that people never imagined they needed, but once introduced to them they became hooked.

Apple is a maverick in the technology world, and the successful strategies they employ are likely to keep the company on an upward trend, consolidating its lead and market share. The company has huge cash reserves at its disposal that it can use to develop products, and invest in any area they see fit to ensure that the company remains the leader in the technological world. Therefore, Apple will continue to affect the society in the near future with its strong brands that are famous across the globe.

Cheng, Jacqui. The ghost of Jobs: Apple’s challenge to decide “what would Steve do?” . 2012. Web.

Farivar, Cyrus. 30 years of Apple: Accessing Apple’s impact . 2012. Web.

Greenwood, Ben. Apples booms so what next for the tech giant ? 2012. Web.

Mullis, Steve. Apple’s patent win could Alter Landscape of smart phone Industry . 2012. Web.

Sanderson, Rachel. The Apple brand has the biggest impact on the world’s consumers, while Microsoft and the United States nation brand are those considered most in need of a remake, a survey showed on Monday . 2008. Web.

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• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2023, October 29). Apple Company and Its Effects on Society | Apple Analytical Essay. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-apple-company/

"Apple Company and Its Effects on Society | Apple Analytical Essay." IvyPanda , 29 Oct. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/the-apple-company/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'Apple Company and Its Effects on Society | Apple Analytical Essay'. 29 October.

IvyPanda . 2023. "Apple Company and Its Effects on Society | Apple Analytical Essay." October 29, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-apple-company/.

1. IvyPanda . "Apple Company and Its Effects on Society | Apple Analytical Essay." October 29, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-apple-company/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Apple Company and Its Effects on Society | Apple Analytical Essay." October 29, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-apple-company/.

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Kendrick Lamar Won’t Stop Pressing the Red Button

It's been a historic weekend.

Once upon a time, a dick-measuring contest threatened to destroy the whole world. After J. Robert Oppenheimer helped create the planet’s first atomic bombs, the United States and Russia found themselves in a race to develop as many nukes as possible, just so the other country knew not to fuck with the other. This idea evolved into the concept of “mutually assured destruction,” which is to say, “if you nuke us, we’ll nuke you.” Or as the late Prodigy once said, “I’m going out blasting, taking my enemies with me.” To put it simply, the fate of our existence depended on a general confidence in our rivals not being totally on one. Now, following a lengthy period of silent conflict and ammunition-stacking in the Great Rap War of 2024 , Drake and Kendrick Lamar are on a thousand, throwing caution to the wind in the most epic rap beef in decades. 

After years of covert sneak disses, and a couple weeks of jabs, the two rappers had been prepping to unload their WMDs on Friday, May 3. Before this, both had threatened the other by hinting at owning a whole bunch of nukes (a narrative that was also pushed on The Joe Budden Podcast ). But now it was time to see who would blink first. On Friday night, Drake entered his nuclear launch codes—mutually assured, whatever be damned—by releasing “Family Matters,” which ends with serious (but currently unverified) claims about Kendrick allegedly abusing his wife. Drake fans rejoiced and took their victory laps, noting the sharp wordplay, the disrespectful easter eggs, and even the spinny G-Unit medallion. But then Kendrick pressed his own red button. Then he pressed it again. 

View this video on YouTube

The first explosion came 37 minutes after Drake’s strike. Titled “Meet the Grahams,” it’s an Alchemist-produced diss conceived in a cauldron of vengeance and utter wickedness. Featuring downbeat percussion and dreary keys, it’s a soundtrack for the sinister, built around a sample from Andrew Wartts and The Gospel Storytellers’ “Can You Say Yeah?” That particular song was released in 1982 on an album called There Is a God Somewhere , but listening to “Meet The Grahams” too many times, you’ll start to think there isn’t. Here, Kendrick takes the gloves off for something intimate, piercing, and altogether uncomfortable. Part lecture, part bedtime story, the track sees Kendrick addressing Drake’s son Adonis, Drake’s parents and, finally, an 11-year-old daughter Kendrick says Drake’s abandoned (Drake says it’s cap). 

Kendrick employs all of his theatrical gifts on “Meet the Grahams,” using the timbre of his voice and exaggerated inflections to convey everything from genuine concern to complete disgust. Speaking to Drake’s son Adonis—or, pretending to—in the first verse, Kendrick runs through all of the Toronto rapper’s perceived shortcomings as a man. He calls out Drake for allegedly hooking up with escorts. He references the time T.I.’s friend allegedly peed on Drake’s leg. He brings up the idea that Drake disowned Adonis’ mother out of shame. It’s an extremely condescending way of saying, “Listen here, son, don’t be like your daddy.” It’s cutting, and it’s as technically sharp as it is well-acted. “And you're a good kid, need that good leadership/ Let me be your mentor, since your daddy don't teach you shit,” Kendrick raps, carrying all the paternal warmth of a concerned father. From there, he pretends to tell Drake’s parents that their son is a pedophile, phasing into a frenzied delivery that carries the urgency of a priest performing an exorcism. He might as well be saying, “The power of Christ compels you.” Drake’s team says the part about him having an abandoned daughter is a lie, but even without that, the damage was done.

History might gloss over “Family Matters” in light of Kendrick’s clapback, but “Family Matters” is a strong ass diss record. Boi1da and Tay Keith come through for a proper drive-by soundtrack. And similarly to “Push Ups,” the raps themselves are an exercise in efficiency, as Drake makes time to go at Kendrick, Metro Boomin, Rick Ross, and others without a lot of wasted movement. Most scandalously, he accuses Kendrick of abusing his wife, having a child with Kendrick’s business partner Dave Free, and being a deadbeat father. Similar to Kendrick’s claims about the 11-year-old daughter, these allegations haven’t been substantiated and K. Dot had previously implied that Drake is simply “fabricating lies on the family front cause [he] heard Mr. Morale.” But Drake gets off his accusations with tidy rhyme schemes and concision, hitting Kendrick with bars like, “Why you never hold your son and tell him, ‘Say cheese?’ We could've left the kids out of this, don't blame me/You a dog and you know it, you just play sweet/Your baby mama captions always screamin', ‘Save me.” Drake’s accusation is extremely serious, one that Kendrick will have to address, and the whole song is a rap character assassination distilled in a cold-blooded way. 

Still, “Family Matters” won’t be remembered as a knockout punch in this battle. Drake’s multitasking is impressive, but scattered attention takes some power out of his blows. He tries to unload some bomb shells, but judging by the reception on social media after it landed, it’s not having the impact Drake may have expected. Kendrick’s strategic move to drop directly after “Family Matters” both took the wind out of the Drake’s sails and put a hole in the boat. To date, Drake’s Twitter post for “Family Matters” has been retweeted 27,000 times. Kendrick’s post for “Meet The Grahams” has been retweeted 127,000 times. That’s just one silly metric, but overall public opinion seemed to be swaying in Kendrick’s direction. 

But Kendrick wasn’t finished. Shoving his index finger onto the blood-red sphere of temptation on Saturday night, he tapped in with Mustard for “Not Like Us,” easily the biggest banger of the rap war since “Like That.” Remember when Kendrick said that if he had to smack the shit out of somebody he’d make it look sexy? “Meet The Grahams” wasn’t sexy. “Not Like Us” is. The track works on a few levels. One, it has perhaps the best Mustard production since “Ballin.” Two, the hook is infectious as it is symbolic. And it’s an exclusionary sentiment aimed at Drake and anyone like him, effectively making it a rallying cry; whatever “they” are, they’re not like “us.” Videos of folks turning up to the song at clubs have already flooded the web, and it’s unlikely that’ll stop any time soon. 

Those elements alone make it one of the best songs of 2024 so far. But Kendrick fuses all of these with some of the most incisive bars of this entire battle royale. He recalls a shameful instance of Drake betrayal: “Fucked on Wayne girl while he was in jail, that's connivin/ Then get his face tatted like a bitch apologizing." Elsewhere, he continues to accuse Drake of pedophilia, using some cheesy, but effective wordplay to make his point in an instantly memorable micro-climax: “Why you trollin' like a bitch? Ain't you tired? Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A-Minor. 

The surgical deconstruction doesn’t stop there. In the fourth verse, Kendrick uses a minor history lesson and a trip to Drake’s own recent history to paint the Toronto rapper as a culture vulture. He calls out Drake for his “Family Matters” bar about Kendrick rapping like he’s “about to get the slaves freed” before suggesting that Drake steals various parts of his style from Atlanta: “You run to Atlanta when you need a few dollars/ No, you not a colleague, you a fuckin' colonizer.” Harsh, dexterous and utterly irresistible, “Not Like Us” completed a historic Kendrick hat trick. Even a Drake Stan like DJ Akademiks had to admit, “'Not Like Us' might be a legit hit song.. shit too hard.”

Predictably, the internet has been totally chaotic since. Adonis is trending. Mustard is trending. “Family Matters” is trending. “Not Like Us” is trending. Literally, everything related to this whole thing is trending. It’s the aftershock of a titanic rap battle we might never see again. After all, it’s rare that technical rhyming skillsets match up to the accolades. Drake’s won so many Grammys he stopped giving a fuck about them years ago. He’s got more slaps than the Beatles. Kendrick’s got Grammys and No. 1 hits. And he won a Pulitzer Prize. 

If you’re looking for a historical precedent, you have to go back at least 23 years. That’s when Jay-Z and Nas went at it. But imagine if Hov and Esco dropped “Takeover” and “Ether” back-to-back on the same night. What if they dropped “Supa Ugly” and “Made You Look” just a couple days after that? What if The Notorious B.I.G. decided to make fun of Afeni’s addiction and release a Tupac diss so scathing that it made “Hit Em Up” look like “We Are the World”? 

On a less theoretical level, you can look back to Drake dropping “Charged Up” and “Back to Back” in a four-day span. He went back to back. Kendrick went back-to-back twice. On “Not Like Us,” he hints that he’s got several more Drake disses on deck, too. Even folks like ScHoolboy Q seem to be hinting that more deadly assaults are imminent. When he dissed Drake and J. Cole on “Like That” a little over a month ago, Kendrick brought back that old feeling. Now, he’s brought us something we never felt before, and the end of the world never sounded so good.

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Watch Apple Trash-Compact Human Culture

What was the company thinking?

Listen to this article

Produced by ElevenLabs and News Over Audio (NOA) using AI narration.

Updated at 6:25 p.m. ET on May 9, 2024

Here is a nonexhaustive list of objects Apple recently pulverized with a menacing hydraulic crusher: a trumpet, a piano, a turntable, a sculpted bust, lots and lots of paint, video-game controllers.

These are all shown being demolished in the company’s new iPad commercial , a minute-long spot titled “Crush!” The items are arranged on a platform beneath a slowly descending enormous metal block, then trash-compactored out of existence in a violent symphony of crunching. Once the destruction is complete, the press lifts back up to reveal that the items have been replaced by a slender, shimmering iPad.

The notion behind the commercial is fairly obvious. Apple wants to show you that the bulk of human ingenuity and history can be compressed into an iPad, and thereby wants you to believe that the device is a desirable entry point to both the consumption of culture and the creation of it. (The ad is for the latest “Pro” model of the iPad, the price of which starts at $999 and goes as high as $2,299, depending on its configuration.) Most important, it wants you to know that the iPad is powerful and quite thin.

But good Lord, Apple, read the room. In its swing for spectacle, the ad lacks so much self-awareness, it’s cringey, even depressing. This is May 2024: Humanity is in the early stages of a standoff with generative AI, which offers methods through which visual art, writing, music, and computer code can be created by a machine in seconds with the simplest of prompts. Apple is reportedly building its own large language model for its devices, and its CEO, Tim Cook, explicitly invoked AI in his comments about the new tablet—the iPad Pro features, he said , an “outrageously powerful chip for AI.” Most of us are still in the sizing-up phase for generative AI, staring warily at a technology that’s been hyped as world-changing and job-disrupting (even, some proponents argue, potentially civilization-ending ), and been foisted on the public in a very short period of time. It’s a weird, exhausting, exciting, even tense moment. Enter: THE CRUSHER.

Apple is very good at defining the zeitgeist as it relates to how humans use technology to interact with the world. Announced with a Super Bowl commercial in 1984, the Macintosh ushered in the era of personal computing by presenting streamlined hardware and a pleasant graphical interface; iTunes and the iPod augured a world of limitless media; the iPhone delivered on its promise to fit the entire universe in our pocket. There is about a zero percent chance that the company did not understand the optics of releasing this ad at this moment . Apple is among the most sophisticated and moneyed corporations in all the world. (The company did not respond to a request for comment.)

But this time, it’s hard to like what the company is showing us. People are angry . One commenter on X called the ad “ heartbreaking .” Three reasons could explain why. First: Although watching things explode might be fun, it’s less fun when a multitrillion-dollar tech corporation is the one destroying tools, instruments, and other objects of human expression and creativity. Second, of course, is that this is a moment of great technological upheaval and angst, especially among artists, as tech companies build models trained on creative work with an ultimate goal of simulating those very people’s skilled output. It is easy to be offended at the ad’s implication, and it is easy to be aghast at the idea that AI will wipe out human creativity with cheap synthetic waste.

Read: These 183,000 books are fueling the biggest fight in publishing and tech

The third-order annoyance is in the genre. Apple has essentially aped a popular format of “crushing” videos on TikTok, wherein hydraulic presses are employed to obliterate everyday objects for the pleasure of idle scrollers. Arguably, the company thought that copying this specific motif would be fun, but something is grim about Apple trying to draft off a viral-video format to sell units. It’s unclear whether some of the ad might have been created with CGI, but Apple could easily round up tens of thousands of dollars of expensive equipment and destroy it all on a whim. However small, the ad is a symbol of the company’s dominance.

The ad remains, in some sense, great marketing. Everyone is talking about the iPad, a mainstay in Apple’s lineup that nevertheless gets far less attention than the iPhone. But this sudden interest offers room for a genuine appraisal of the device 14 years after its release. The iPad was one of Steve Jobs’s final products, one he believed could become as popular and perhaps as transformative as cars . That vision hasn’t panned out. The iPad hasn’t killed books, televisions, or even the iPhone. The commercial hails the new Pro model as “the most powerful iPad ever,” but its bravado is mostly unearned. The iPad is, potentially, a creative tool. It’s also an expensive luxury device whose cheaper iterations, at least, are vessels for letting your kid watch Cocomelon so they don’t melt down in public, reading self-help books on a plane, or opting for more pixels and better resolution whilst consuming content on the toilet.

In the day and a half since the ad was released, people have only gotten angrier. Cook’s post on X featuring the commercial has been viewed more than 29 million times, and the unhappy responses are piling up . (Since this story was published, Apple has apologized for the commercial and will no longer run it on TV, according to Ad Ag e .) Odds are, people aren’t really furious at Apple on behalf of the trumpeters—they’re mad because the ad says something about the balance of power. Apple is a great technology company, but it is a legendary marketer. Its ads, its slickly produced keynotes, and even its retail stores succeed because they offer a vision of the company’s products as tools that give us, the consumers, power. The fundamental flaw of Apple’s commercial is that it is a display of force that reminds us about this sleight of hand. We are not the powerful entity in this relationship. The creative potential we feel when we pick up one of their shiny devices is actually on loan. At the end of the day, it belongs to Apple, the destroyer.

Apple unveils stunning new iPad Pro with the world’s most advanced display, M4 chip, and Apple Pencil Pro

Thinnest Apple Product Ever

World’s Most Advanced Display

Only Possible with M4

Outrageously Powerful Device for AI

Pro Cameras

Pro Connectivity

Apple Pencil Pro

All-New Magic Keyboard and Smart Folio

Powerful iPadOS Features

Logic Pro for iPad 2

Final Cut Pro for iPad 2

iPad Pro and the Environment

• Customers can order the new iPad Pro with M4 starting today, May 7, at apple.com/store , and in the Apple Store app in 29 countries and regions, including the U.S., with availability in stores beginning Wednesday, May 15.
• The new 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro will be available in silver and space black finishes in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB configurations.
• The 11-inch iPad Pro starts at  $999  (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi model, and  $1,199  (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model. The 13-inch iPad Pro starts at  $1,299  (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi model, and  $1,499  (U.S.) for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model. Additional technical specifications, including nano-texture glass options, are available at apple.com/store .
• For education, the new 11-inch iPad Pro is available for  $899  (U.S.) and the 13-inch iPad Pro is $1,199 (U.S.). Education pricing is available to current and newly accepted college students and their parents, as well as faculty, staff, and home-school teachers of all grade levels. For more information, visit  apple.com/us-hed/shop .
• The new Apple Pencil Pro is compatible with the new iPad Pro. It is available for $129 (U.S.). For education, Apple Pencil Pro is available for $119 (U.S.).
• Apple Pencil (USB-C) is compatible with the new iPad Pro. It is available for $79 (U.S.) and $69 (U.S.) for education.
• The new Magic Keyboard is compatible with the new iPad Pro. It is available in black and white finishes. The new 11-inch Magic Keyboard is available for $299 (U.S.) and the new 13-inch Magic Keyboard is available for $349 (U.S.), with layouts for over 30 languages. For education, the 11-inch Magic Keyboard is available for $279 (U.S.) and the 13-inch Magic Keyboard is available for $329 (U.S.).
• The new Smart Folio is available for $79 (U.S.) in black, white, and denim finishes for the new 11-inch iPad Pro and $99 (U.S.) for the new 13-inch iPad Pro.
• Logic Pro for iPad 2 is available on May 13 as a free update for existing users, and for new users, it is available on the App Store for $4.99 (U.S.) per month, or $49 (U.S.) per year, with a one-month free trial. Logic Pro for iPad 2 requires iPadOS 17.4 or later. For more information, visit apple.com/logic-pro-for-ipad .
• Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 will be available later this spring on the App Store for $4.99 (U.S.) per month, or $49 (U.S.) per year, with a one-month free trial.
• Apple offers great ways to save on the latest iPad. Customers can trade in their current iPad and get credit toward a new one by visiting the Apple Store online , the Apple Store app, or an Apple Store location. To see what their device is worth, and for terms and conditions, customers can visit apple.com/shop/trade-in .
• Customers in the U.S. who shop at Apple using Apple Card can pay monthly at 0 percent APR when they choose to check out with Apple Card Monthly Installments, and they’ll get 3 percent Daily Cash back — all upfront.

Text of this article

May 7, 2024

PRESS RELEASE

Featuring a new thin and light design, breakthrough Ultra Retina XDR display, and outrageously fast M4 performance with powerful AI capabilities, the new iPad Pro takes a huge leap forward

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today unveiled the groundbreaking new iPad Pro in a stunningly thin and light design, taking portability and performance to the next level. Available in silver and space black finishes, the new iPad Pro comes in two sizes: an expansive 13-inch model and a super-portable 11-inch model. Both sizes feature the world’s most advanced display — a new breakthrough Ultra Retina XDR display with state-of-the-art tandem OLED technology — providing a remarkable visual experience. The new iPad Pro is made possible with the new M4 chip, the next generation of Apple silicon, which delivers a huge leap in performance and capabilities. M4 features an entirely new display engine to enable the precision, color, and brightness of the Ultra Retina XDR display. With a new CPU, a next-generation GPU that builds upon the GPU architecture debuted on M3, and the most powerful Neural Engine yet, the new iPad Pro is an outrageously powerful device for artificial intelligence. The versatility and advanced capabilities of iPad Pro are also enhanced with all-new accessories. Apple Pencil Pro brings powerful new interactions that take the pencil experience even further, and a new thinner, lighter Magic Keyboard is packed with incredible features. The new iPad Pro, Apple Pencil Pro, and Magic Keyboard are available to order starting today, with availability in stores beginning Wednesday, May 15.

“iPad Pro empowers a broad set of pros and is perfect for anyone who wants the ultimate iPad experience — with its combination of the world’s best displays, extraordinary performance of our latest M-series chips, and advanced accessories — all in a portable design. Today, we’re taking it even further with the new, stunningly thin and light iPad Pro, our biggest update ever to iPad Pro,” said John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware Engineering. “With the breakthrough Ultra Retina XDR display, the next-level performance of M4, incredible AI capabilities, and support for the all-new Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard, there’s no device like the new iPad Pro.”

The new iPad Pro — the thinnest Apple product ever — features a stunningly thin and light design, taking portability to a whole new level. The 11-inch model is just 5.3 mm thin, and the 13-inch model is even thinner at a striking 5.1 mm, while both models are just as strong as the previous design. The 11-inch model weighs less than a pound, and the 13-inch model is nearly a quarter pound lighter than its predecessor — allowing pro users to extend their workflows in new ways and in more places. The new iPad Pro is available in two gorgeous finishes — silver and space black — both with 100 percent recycled aluminum enclosures.

The new iPad Pro debuts the Ultra Retina XDR, the world’s most advanced display, to provide an even more remarkable visual experience. The Ultra Retina XDR display features state-of-the-art tandem OLED technology that uses two OLED panels and combines the light from both to provide phenomenal full-screen brightness. The new iPad Pro supports an incredible 1000 nits of full-screen brightness for SDR and HDR content, and 1600 nits peak for HDR. No other device of its kind delivers this level of extreme dynamic range. Tandem OLED technology enables sub-millisecond control over the color and luminance of each pixel, taking XDR precision further than ever. Specular highlights in photos and video appear even brighter, and there’s more detail in shadows and low light than ever before on iPad — all while delivering even more responsiveness to content in motion. For pro users working in high-end, color-managed workflows or challenging lighting conditions, a new nano-texture glass option comes to iPad Pro for the first time. 1 Nano-texture glass is precisely etched at a nanometer scale, maintaining image quality and contrast while scattering ambient light for reduced glare. With its breakthrough tandem OLED technology, extreme brightness, incredibly precise contrast, brilliant colors, and nano-texture glass option, the new Ultra Retina XDR display is the world’s most advanced display, giving iPad Pro customers an unparalleled viewing experience.

The incredibly thin and light design and game-changing display of the new iPad Pro is only possible with M4, the next generation of Apple silicon that delivers a huge leap in performance. M4 is built on second-generation 3-nanometer technology that’s even more power efficient, which is perfect for the design of the new iPad Pro. With an entirely new display engine, M4 introduces pioneering technology for the stunning precision, color, and brightness of the Ultra Retina XDR display. The new CPU offers up to four performance cores and now six efficiency cores, 2 with next-generation machine learning (ML) accelerators, to deliver up to 1.5x faster CPU performance over M2 in the previous-generation iPad Pro. 3 M4 builds on the GPU architecture of M3 — the 10-core GPU includes powerful features like Dynamic Caching, and hardware-accelerated mesh shading and ray tracing, which come to iPad for the first time. Coupled with higher unified memory bandwidth, pro rendering apps like Octane will see up to 4x faster performance than M2. 3 M4 also delivers tremendous gains and industry-leading performance per watt. Compared to M2, M4 can deliver the same performance using just half the power, and compared to the latest PC chip in a thin and light laptop, M4 can deliver the same performance using just a quarter of the power. 4 A new advanced Media Engine includes support for AV1 decode, providing more power-efficient playback of high-resolution video experiences from streaming services.

The new iPad Pro with M4 features Apple’s most powerful Neural Engine ever, capable of 38 trillion operations per second, which is 60x faster than Apple’s first Neural Engine in the A11 Bionic chip. Combined with next-generation ML accelerators in the CPU, a high-performance GPU, more memory bandwidth, and intelligent features and powerful developer frameworks in iPadOS, the Neural Engine makes the new iPad Pro an outrageously powerful device for AI. With iPad Pro with M4, users can perform AI-enabled tasks even faster, like easily isolate a subject from its background in 4K video with just a tap with Scene Removal Mask in Final Cut Pro. With this advanced level of performance, the Neural Engine in M4 is more powerful than any neural processing unit in any AI PC today.

iPadOS also has advanced frameworks like Core ML that make it easy for developers to tap into the Neural Engine to deliver phenomenal AI features locally, including running powerful diffusion and generative AI models, with great performance on device. iPad Pro also supports cloud-based solutions, enabling users to run powerful productivity and creative apps that tap into the power of AI, such as Copilot for Microsoft 365 and Adobe Firefly.

The updated camera system on the new iPad Pro delivers even more versatility, and with its rich audio from four studio-quality mics, users can shoot, edit, and share all on one device. The 12MP back camera captures vibrant Smart HDR images and video with even better color, improved textures, and detail in low light. It also now features a new adaptive True Tone flash that makes document scanning on the new iPad Pro better than ever. Using AI, the new iPad Pro automatically identifies documents right in the Camera app, and if a shadow is in the way, it instantly takes multiple photos with the new adaptive flash, stitching the scan together for a dramatically better scan.

On the front, the TrueDepth camera system moves to the landscape location on the new iPad Pro. The Ultra Wide 12MP camera with Center Stage makes the experience of video conferencing in landscape orientation even better, especially when iPad is attached to a Magic Keyboard or Smart Folio.

iPad Pro includes a high-performance USB-C connector with support for Thunderbolt 3 and USB 4, delivering fast wired connectivity — up to 40Gb/s. Thunderbolt supports an extensive ecosystem of high-performance accessories, including external displays like the Pro Display XDR at its full 6K resolution, and external storage, all connected using high-performance cables and docks. iPad Pro supports Wi-Fi 6E for super-fast Wi-Fi connections for pro workflows on the go. Wi-Fi + Cellular models with 5G allow users to access their files, communicate with colleagues, and back up their data in a snap while on the go. Cellular models of the new iPad Pro are activated with eSIM, a more secure alternative to a physical SIM card, allowing users to quickly connect and transfer their existing plans digitally, and store multiple cellular plans on a single device. Customers can easily get connected to wireless data plans on the new iPad Pro in over 190 countries and regions around the world without needing to get a physical SIM card from a local carrier.

Apple Pencil Pro features even more magical capabilities and powerful new interactions that take the Apple Pencil experience even further. A new sensor in the barrel can sense a user’s squeeze, bringing up a tool palette to quickly switch tools, line weights, and colors, all without interrupting the creative process. A custom haptic engine delivers a light tap that provides confirmation when users squeeze, use double-tap, or snap to a Smart Shape for a remarkably intuitive experience. A gyroscope allows users to roll Apple Pencil Pro for precise control of the tool they’re using. Rotating the barrel changes the orientation of shaped pen and brush tools, just like pen and paper. And with Apple Pencil hover, users can visualize the exact orientation of a tool before making a mark.

With these advanced features, Apple Pencil Pro allows users to bring their ideas to life in entirely new ways, and developers can also create their own custom interactions. Apple Pencil Pro brings support for Find My for the first time to Apple Pencil, helping users locate Apple Pencil Pro if misplaced. It pairs, charges, and is stored on the side of iPad Pro through a new magnetic interface. iPad Pro also supports Apple Pencil (USB-C), ideal for note taking, sketching, annotating, journaling, and more, at an incredible value.

Designed for the new iPad Pro, an all-new thinner and lighter Magic Keyboard makes it more portable and versatile than ever. The new Magic Keyboard opens to the magical floating design that customers love, and now includes a function row for access to features like screen brightness and volume controls. It also has a gorgeous aluminum palm rest and larger trackpad that’s even more responsive with haptic feedback, so the entire experience feels just like using a MacBook. The new Magic Keyboard attaches magnetically, and the Smart Connector immediately connects power and data without the need for Bluetooth. The machined aluminum hinge also includes a USB-C connector for charging. The new Magic Keyboard comes in two colors that perfectly complement the new iPad Pro: black with a space black aluminum palm rest, and white with a silver aluminum palm rest.

The new Smart Folio for iPad Pro attaches magnetically and now supports multiple viewing angles for greater flexibility. Available in black, white, and denim, it complements the colors of the new iPad Pro.

iPadOS is packed with features that push the boundaries of what’s possible on iPad. With Reference Mode, iPadOS can precisely match color requirements of the Ultra Retina XDR display for tasks in which accurate colors and consistent image quality are critical — including review and approve, color grading, and compositing. Stage Manager enables users to work with multiple overlapping windows in a single view, resize windows, tap to switch between apps, and more. With full external display support of up to 6K, iPad Pro users can also extend their workflow, as well as use the built-in camera on an external display for enhanced video conferencing. Users can take advantage of the powerful AI capabilities in iPad Pro and intelligent features in iPadOS, including Visual Look Up, Subject Lift, Live Text, or Live Captions and Personal Voice for accessibility.

With iPadOS 17 , users can customize the Lock Screen to make it more personal — taking advantage of the larger display on iPad — and interactive widgets take glanceable information further with the ability to get tasks done right in the moment with just a tap. The Notes app gives users new ways to organize, read, annotate, and collaborate on PDFs, and working with PDFs is also easier with AutoFill, which intelligently identifies and fills fields in forms.

Logic Pro for iPad 2 , available starting Monday, May 13, introduces incredible studio assistant features that augment the music-making process and provide artists help right when they need it — all while ensuring they maintain full creative control. These features include Session Players, which expand on popular Drummer capabilities in Logic to include a new Bass Player and Keyboard Player; ChromaGlow, to instantly add warmth to tracks; and Stem Splitter, to extract and work with individual parts of a single audio recording.

Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 , available later this spring, introduces Live Multicam, a new feature that transforms iPad into a mobile production studio, allowing users to view and control up to four connected iPhone and iPad devices wirelessly. 5 To support Live Multicam, an all-new capture app also comes to iPad and iPhone, Final Cut Camera, 6 giving users control over options like white balance, ISO, and shutter speed, along with monitoring tools like overexposure indicators and focus peaking. Final Cut Camera works as a standalone capture app or with Live Multicam. Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 also allows users to create or open projects from external storage, giving editors even more flexibility, and offers new content options. 7

The new iPad Pro is designed with the environment in mind, including 100 percent recycled aluminum in the enclosure, 100 percent recycled rare earth elements in all magnets, and 100 percent recycled gold plating and tin soldering in multiple printed circuit boards. The new iPad Pro meets Apple’s high standards for energy efficiency, and is free of mercury, brominated flame retardants, and PVC. The packaging is 100 percent fiber-based, bringing Apple closer to its goal to remove plastic from all packaging by 2025.

Today, Apple is carbon neutral for global corporate operations, and by 2030, plans to be carbon neutral across the entire manufacturing supply chain and life cycle of every product.

Pricing and Availability

• Nano-texture glass is an option on the 1TB and 2TB configurations of the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro models.
• iPad Pro models with 256GB or 512GB storage feature the Apple M4 chip with a 9‑core CPU. iPad Pro models with 1TB or 2TB storage feature the Apple M4 chip with a 10‑core CPU.
• Testing was conducted by Apple in March and April 2024. See apple.com/ipad-pro for more information.
• Testing was conducted by Apple in March and April 2024 using preproduction 13-inch iPad Pro (M4) units with a 10-core CPU and 16GB of RAM. Performance was measured using select industry‑standard benchmarks. PC laptop chip performance data is from testing ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3405MA) with Core Ultra 7 155H and 32GB of RAM. Performance tests are conducted using specific computer systems and reflect the approximate performance of iPad Pro.
• Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 is compatible with iPad models with the M1 chip or later, and Logic Pro for iPad 2 will be available on iPad models with the A12 Bionic chip or later.
• Final Cut Camera is compatible with iPhone X S and later with iOS 17.4 or later, and iPad models compatible with iPadOS 17.4 or later.
• External project support requires iPadOS 17.5 or later.

Press Contacts

Tara Courtney

[email protected]

[email protected]

Apple Media Helpline

[email protected]

Images in this article

This playlist has all the music from Apple’s ‘Let Loose’ iPad event

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

If you want to put on some background music today, why not some music from Apple’s “Let Loose” iPad event from Tuesday?

In addition to announcing those new products, the company also quietly discontinued the 9th-generation iPad and the Smart Keyboard Folio for the iPad Pro. Goodbye to the past, it’s industrial design and Magic Keyboards from here on out.

Apple events are made for the music

One of the traditions of any good Apple event is the music that helps power it, and today’s event was no different. Apple is known for featuring a ton of music during its events, as well as its ads and so on. Tuesday’s “Let Loose” event was no exception, featuring a wide range of music from artists like Still Woozy, Matt Champion, and Glass Beams.

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If you’re interested in checking out all of the music from the “Let Loose” special event, we’ve put together an Apple Music playlist that you can stream or even add to your own library. Check it out below.

We’re past the “Let Loose” event, but even though it’s over, you can always relive it through the music. Enjoy the playlist!

This article talks about:

Joe Wituschek is a Tech News Contributor for BGR.

With expertise in tech that spans over 10 years, Joe covers the technology industry's breaking news, opinion pieces and reviews.

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How Fiona Apple's ‘Paper Bag' Became the True Anthem of ‘The Idea of You'

F iona Apple is the go-to songwriter for exorcising your romantic demons, ruing the ones you loved, the ones who didn't love you back, the ones you pushed away amid yet another freefall. She's also the go-to singer for three studio comedy auteurs: Michael Showalter , Judd Apatow, and Paul Feig.

Apple's songs have featured in three of their films - Apple wrote the original song "Dull Tool" for Apatow's "This Is 40," capturing a decades-long marriage at its breaking point. Elsewhere, her epic ball of romantic resignation "Cosmonauts," off the 2020 album "Fetch the Bolt Cutters," was also originally meant for that film. Meanwhile, her classic cabaret-inspired love song "Paper Bag," about having too much emotional baggage to enter into a new relationship she wants "so bad, oh it kills," featured in Feig's "Bridesmaids" in a montage of Annie (Kristen Wiig) making cupcakes as a balm for her terminally single life. The song now also features in director Showalter's romantic drama "The Idea of You," starring Anne Hathaway as Solène, an art-dealing divorcee in a tentative-turned-whirlwind romance with pop star Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine). And the lyrics to "Paper Bag" - where Apple is "having a sweet fix of a daydream of a boy whose reality I knew was hopeless to be had" - feel genuinely speak to Solène's current state of drifting singledom.

Apple is famously precious about how her songs get incorporated into movies and TV, and when licensing music for projects, she typically donates the royalties to charity. (Apple, who has not released an album since "Fetch the Bolt Cutters," has mostly since taken to social activism as a court watcher.) She did provide vocals for the "Lord of the Rings" TV series on Amazon as well as the theme song, "Container," for Showtime's "The Affair."

Apple's Hollywood connections on a personal level abound: She dated Paul Thomas Anderson (director of the "Paper Bag" music video and others) for years as well as magician David Blaine and comedian Louis C.K . But so rarely does her music show up onscreen. Her song "Valentine," about an inferiority complex over another woman and off the 2012 album "The Idler Wheel," appeared in a Season 2 episode of "Girls," also executive-produced by Judd Apatow. That show's chronically searching main character, Hannah Horvath (Lena Dunham), earlier that season opined to a weekend-long stand (Patrick Wilson) about wanting to "feel it all" just like Apple says in the lead single, "Every Single Night," off the same album.

According to "The Idea of You" star Galitzine , Apple superfan Hathaway (clearly a lover of dark chanteuses, as she was also seen in a viral paparazzi shot listening to Lana Del Rey on her iPhone) wanted "Paper Bag" in the movie. "Annie's a huge Fiona Apple fan and fought to have that song in the movie. So really, I mean, Fiona owes her for this one, but it's cool to see this resurgence," the actor said.

"Paper Bag" comes into "The Idea of You" during Solène (Anne Hathaway) and Hayes Campbell's (Nicholas Galitzine) first encounter after their Coachella meet cute. Solène is but three years out of a pretty rancorous divorce and surely still feeling just a bit "too shaky to hold" (Apple's words in the song) for a new fling, with Hayes presumably being her first since the breakup. He's the frontman of a One Direction-type band called August Moon who probably doesn't know too much about Apple when Solène name-drops her at a warehouse in Glendale, where they've gone to look at more art after Hayes bought out her entire gallery.

Solène introduces Hayes, who is clearly already wooing her, to a painting called "Unclose Me" by her artist friend Sarah (the IRL painter is named Sarah Anne Johnson). They met in college, where Solène knew they would be fast friends because she was "blasting a Fiona Apple song from her dorm room" (a classic Apple inception stort). Cut to Solène and Hayes back in her car, and she's playing "Paper Bag" on the stereo, Hayes surely hearing it for the first time. Now we know where Solène's daughter Izzy (Ella Rubin) got her love for "aggressively talented female singer/songwriters," as she says in the film's first scene, i.e. this girl is most definitely a Mitski fan, too.

According to Showalter in an email to IndieWire, "Originally the line was about Ani DiFranco. That's what we shot, and for a while, we had Ani DiFranco's amazing song, ‘Both Hands' in the film." (DiFranco, if you're woefully unfamiliar, is right up there with Apple, PJ Harvey, and Tori Amos as the angst goddesses of the 1990s.)

"In the edit, we realized that we wanted a slightly more mainstream artist/song for this moment but also that Ani DiFranco was a more appropriate reference for someone who'd been in college in the early-mid '90s versus early 2000s," said Showalter (Solène is turning 40 in the film, likely set pre-COVID around the time Robinne Lee's 2017 novel came out). "Fiona Apple's album ‘When The Pawn' came out in 1999. It's a perfect kind of album for Solène to have listened to in college. ‘Paper Bag' is just a brilliant, soulful, infectious song. Anne came in, and ADR'd the line ‘Fiona Apple' to replace ‘Ani DiFranco,' and the rest is history."

Showalter added, "I am an Ani DiFranco fan. The Ani DiFranco reference is something that I put in the script [by Jennifer Westfeldt]. Turns out Anne loves Ani, too, and so it was no fight at all to convince me to use the song ‘Both Hands,' but we did try some other Ani DiFranco songs, too. Most notably ‘Buildings & Bridges.' But then I decided that Ani felt too folksy for the moment and that we needed something with a little more pop to it."

It's fascinating how mostly male directors (Showalter, Apatow, Feig) have incorporated Apple's work to such pointedly plot-driven effect - just from personal experience, Apple tends to be the province of women and gay men. Galitzine told IndieWire his sister introduced him to Fiona Apple, known most broadly for her brooding 1996 single of self-destruction, "Criminal," and the various (and at times equally self-destructive) controversial moments that followed in her heightening fandom (like that MTV Awards speech where she decried the entire music industry and also the world). And "Bridesmaids" and "The Idea of You" each center around women in or nearing their 40s at a crossroads, which can also be said for "This Is 40," though that film splits its time between the POVs of Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd as a flatlining married couple.

Who better to tell a tale of romantic ennui onscreen musically than Apple? Working off the Joni Mitchell tradition of confessional songwriting, she has inspired many of today's "aggressively talented female singer/songwriters" in her path toward lyrical honesty, from Mitski to King Princess (whom Apple has actually collaborated with). And even amid all those catchy August Moon earworms, "Paper Bag" emerges as the true banger of "The Idea of You," as Apple watches the "dove of hope" begin its "downward slope," and Solène realizes she's more than just "a mess that he don't wanna clean up." What if maybe Hayes does?

"The Idea of You" is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

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Popcast (Deluxe): How Kendrick Lamar Out-Drake’d Drake

Breaking down the heavyweight rap battle between the two rappers after a weekend of dramatic diss tracks..

Hosted by Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli. Produced by Sawyer Roque and Jamie Hefetz. Audio editing by Pedro Rafael Rosado.

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This week’s episode of Popcast (Deluxe) , the weekly culture roundup show on YouTube hosted by Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli, includes segments on:

The back story of the tension between Kendrick Lamar and Drake

The early songs: “First Person Shooter,” “Like That” and “7 Minute Drill”

Drake responds: “Push Ups” and “Taylor Made Freestyle”

Kendrick Lamar responds: “Euphoria” and “6:16 in LA”

Drake responds, and shifts the tone of the battle to the personal: “Family Matters”

Kendrick responds, upping the personal ante: “Meet the Grahams” and “Not Like Us”

Drake bows out?: “The Heart Part 6”

How this battle will play out for Drake and Kendrick Lamar as musicians

How this battle will play out for Drake and Kendrick Lamar as people

A snack of the week, chat about TikTok, “Challengers” & the most annoying songs of the N.B.A. playoffs

Connect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel . We want to hear from you! Tune in, and tell us what you think at [email protected] . Follow our host, Jon Caramanica, on Twitter: @joncaramanica .

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Over five decades, hip-hop has grown from a new art form to a culture-defining superpower . In their own words, 50 influential voices chronicle its evolution .

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

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Yes, Apple's new iPad ad is ugly and crushing, but art can't be flattened

Linda Holmes

A screenshot from the new ad for "the thinnest Apple product ever." NPR hide caption

A screenshot from the new ad for "the thinnest Apple product ever."

There is something so ugly about crushing an acoustic guitar. Making it buckle, making the middle of it explode in splinters. That might be personal to me, as someone who grew up with a dad who was what you might call a campfire guitarist — not a performer, just a dad who used to entertain us with songs like "Dark as a Dungeon," a little folk tune about the lethal dangers of coal mining. Maybe to you, it's not the guitar. Maybe it's the cameras or the vinyl records.

A little more than halfway through the new ad for "the thinnest Apple product ever," an enormous hydraulic press bears down on an acoustic guitar — and cameras, and records, and other things that hold reservoirs of emotion for people who make art. Paint, pencils, a dressmaker's mannequin, books, a wooden model of a person, a not-yet-dry clay bust, a video game cabinet. Everything is flattened under its power. But the most spectacular crushings are of musical instruments — that guitar, a piano, a drum set, a trumpet standing on its end until it gives way.

The ad — which Apple has since apologized for — is meant to communicate, I suppose, that this tiny, thin iPad can contain what is important from all these things. It can replace them all. You can make your music with it. You can paint with it. You can play games on it. You can take your photos with it. And it suggests this means you can finally destroy all those things that have been so burdensome, like massive pianos and messy paint.

But these are not practical items to begin with. Nobody owns a piano because it's practical; it's about the least practical thing you can own. It can wreck your floor. It goes out of tune. And if you happen to get a new place, you don't just need movers for it; you may need special movers. You don't own a piano to get from point A to point B in the most direct way you can. You own a piano for the reason we had one in my house: a person plays it. Someone sits down, as my mother did, and plays the "Maple Leaf Rag," and you can hear the pedals lightly squeak, and you can watch hands skitter across keys, and of course you are listening to music — but also, those are your mother's hands .

Of course, to be fair, the ad is also meant to cause controversy, because you do not crush beautiful things and offend accidentally. The ad says almost nothing about the iPad itself except that it's very thin; the point is all the crushing, the point is the ugliness, so admittedly, to recognize that ugliness is to serve the ad's purpose.

But its ugliness is also what proves the folly of its concept. The reason people will react as emotionally as they do to the vulgarity of the ad is precisely why the thinnest iPad yet cannot do what they say it will do. It cannot replace the things that people have, over hundreds of years, learned to carry and live beside, and to incorporate into their creation of what they hope will be beauty. Art is intertwined with humanity, with all its flawed dimensions, and the two cannot be separated. In the making of art, there is family, there are friends and collaborators, there is both fragility and permanence, and there is the passage of time. And there is physicality.

This romcom lets you pick the ending — that doesn't make it good

In our current environment, the ad plays as an extension of, or maybe a companion to, the idea that artificial intelligence — or what travels under that name — can take over the production of art: of books, of illustrations, of music, of films. We are enduring an all-out assault on the need for anyone's idiosyncratic individuality to be involved in the creation of art. It is an attempt to reduce creative acts to devices with the right capabilities, to the point where machines can make it all entirely without us. We will, in this vision, order a book or a film as we do a mass-produced piece of fast fashion, and as such, it will be cheap and disposable and reliant on the exploitation of labor.

But the very fact that Apple knew this ad would make people so angry is how you know this reductive approach to art is doomed to fail. The people who made this ad specifically chose to crush things that are valuable not only because of their capabilities, but because they are things that creative people imbue with meaning, that they save up for and hand down to their kids. Those things will not be replaced by iPads.

You can make beautiful music with an iPad; you can make beautiful digital art. But that art will be made alongside other music, other art, not stacked on top of the corpses of old violins. If you think of new frontiers in art as an opportunity to destroy sculptures or explode bottles of paint, you never understood art at all, and you never will.

In certain kinds of stories, "I am not worried" is the last thing you say before the monster devours you. But while I am worried about the economics of art and its creation, I am not worried at all that art made by humans will ever vanish or be replaced by the thinnest iPad ever. The gasp that went up from so many people when they saw that guitar explode, that sound came from the part of a human being that makes art. And that part instinctively understands that beauty isn't fixated on tech-world dominance. It doesn't demand to crush what is loved in order to chase the fantasy that you can fit everything that matters into the pocket of a briefcase.

This piece also appeared in NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour newsletter. Sign up for the newsletter so you don't miss the next one, plus get weekly recommendations about what's making us happy.

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