Apple set to launch classical music streaming app

Apple is reportedly on the verge of launching its next subscription service – a standalone classical music streaming app.

According to MacRumors, Apple Music Classical will be a standalone music app that will be available alongside the Apple Music App.  

The report points to a Tweet which shows backend code referring to the Classical streaming service and an app which will operate independently of Apple Music. 

The launch will come after Apple acquired classical music service Primephonic in August 2021, with the company’s VP of Apple Music and Beats Oliver Schusser at the time saying that “we’ll deliver a dedicated classical experience that will truly be the best in the world.”

Primephonic officially shut down on September 7 2021, with subscribers receiving six months of Apple Music.

The report however notes that time is running out for Apple to roll out the service in 2022 as previously promised. There is no sign of Apple Music Classical in the latest iOS 16.1 beta.

While Primephonic is now offline, Apple Music Classical will serve as competition to French classical streamer Idagio and more niche music streamers like Qobuz and Tidal which, at a higher cost, promise hi-resolution audio in FLAC. It remains to be seen whether Apple, which boasts Dolby Atmos support within Apple Music, will attempt to match these streamers for CD-level audio quality.

Also unclear is how Apple Music Classical will fit into Apple’s broader services portfolio and whether it would be included in one of the the Apple One services bundle tiers (alongside Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, iCloud+, Apple News+ and Apple Fitness+).