More than a year since Apple acquired the classical music streaming service Primephonic, the company's own Apple Music Classical app is set to finally launch March 28, 2023. But despite Apple missing its target release date by nearly three months, the final product that will be released to users still isn't finished. When Apple first acquired Primephonic in August 2021, the company planned to ship a dedicated classical music streaming app by the end of 2022. The company shuttered Primephonic soon after on Sept. 7, 2021. However, the end of 2022 came and went with no mention of Apple Music Classical.
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Apple started including references to Apple Music Classical in the source code of iOS starting with version 16.3, which signaled a release was imminent. The company publicly listed the app on the App Store on March 9, and the app's page provides an expected release date of March 28. On that same day, Apple sent push notifications to current Apple Music subscribers, letting them know that the Apple Music Classical app is coming. More importantly, it confirmed that Apple Music Classical can be accessed by anyone with a current Apple Music subscription — no additional fee or plan required.
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Apple Music Classical Will Have Launch-Day Limits
Though the app's user interface looks a lot like the primary Apple Music app, the company says that the experience is tailored to classical music listening. For starters, Apple Music Classical's catalog of five million songs is the largest of any classical music streaming service, according to the company. It'll also provide complete metadata for tracks, with additional resources available like composer biographies and descriptions of their key works.
But the app's limitations on launch day begin to pile up one-by-one. Apple Music Classical will only be available on iOS, so users won't be able to listen on their iPad, Mac, Android device, or the web. It also requires an active internet connection — songs can't be downloaded for offline playback. Apple Music Classical can be downloaded to any iOS device running version 15.4 or later when it becomes available. Additionally, the Apple Music Voice Plan is not supported.
Beyond those somewhat stringent compatibility notes, Apple Music Classical should be a painless addition to current Apple Music plans. Users can pre-order the app for free starting today and Apple Music Classical will automatically install when it becomes available. Due to the number of features known to be coming to the iPhone by the end of March, it's possible Apple Music Classical will debut alongside the release of iOS 16.4.
