Apple Releases iOS 8.4 With 'Apple Music', It's The Big One

Finally, it’s here! Apple AAPL +0.7% has released iOS 8.4 to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners today and with it comes one of the company’s most anticipated services in years…

‘Apple Music’ is built into iOS 8.4 and it represents Apple’s long awaited debut in the streaming music space and gives Spotify another whale to compete with asGoogle GOOGL -0.29% steps up its own streaming offering ‘Google Music’ (spotting a trend here?). As well asquietly killing Beats Music.

So let’s break Apple Music and the rest of iOS 8.4 down:

What Apple Music Brings To The Table

It may be arriving years later than many expected, but Apple Music debuts as a remarkably well rounded service.

Apple Music will face up to Google Music and Spotify – Image credit Apple

Perhaps most importantly it fuses some of the best aspects of Google Music and Spotify in one, namely:

• A 30M track library from major and independent record labels that matches both rivals
• The right to upload 25,000 of your own tracks free which will increase to 100k with iOS 9 (Google Music offers 50,000 at present)
• A manned ‘Beats One’ radio service that steps beyond the automated radio playlisting of Google and Spotify
• Bespoke, human curated, playlists
• A $14.99 per month ‘Family Pack’ for up to six people Vs the $9.99pm single user rival options
• A longer 3 month free trial period (with enhanced Taylor Swift smackdown) compared to 1 month on Google Music and 2 months on Spotify