Josh Centers found some interesting differences between Beats and its competitors.
What sets Beats Music apart
Josh Centers found some interesting differences between Beats and its competitors.
When I found out Apple might be interested in Beats, I also signed up for the trial to see what they might be so interested in.
So far, I really like it. I prefer it to Spotify, actually. Mostly for the curation.
But the human involvement in the curation seems way more like something Google would do than Apple. Maybe Apple finally learned their lesson from Maps.
Like Josh, I found a lot to like about Beats. The music sounds great, the human-curated content is fantastic, the recommendation engine tends to work better than its competitors’… you’d think it would be the killer service. But the app just isn’t good.
My trial finally ran out and, in an unexpected change of plan, I let it lapse. I gave Beats every chance but there’s just no sense in paying to not be able to listen to music. If Apple really is acquiring it, here’s hoping they can sort it out.
A mild tangent here, but I’m hoping Apple can do something about the headphone/earbud side of Beats’ business. Both companies are known for “luxury” products that have significant profit margins, but Apple’s got excellent hardware and software engineering behind their devices. Beats’ primary claim to fame is that fame claims to use them.
I’ll always plunk down extra cash for a well-designed product, but you’d have to do more than have celebrities endorse something for me to buy it at such a high price.
Anyway, Beats Music. Much like their headphones, it’s aesthetically pleasing. I like gradients and dark, flat backgrounds quite a bit. Reminds me of old Zune promotional materials! However, being a Sprint customer, I got that free Spotify promotional dealie. Maybe when that runs out I’ll switch, but likely not. Even if I do come to the conclusion that subscription-based music services are for me, Spotify has an educational discount that halves the price for several years. Beats Music has a great user interface, but not THAT great.