Apple’s music streaming service hasn’t even been that successful on its own platform, so I can’t imagine how Android users are going to respond to it. Then again, there are several times as many Android users as iOS users, so maybe access to such a large userbase will be exactly what Apple Music needs. Either way, we still don’t know when Apple Music will actually arrive on Android, but some leaked images of an official Android app suggest that the release is close.
New screenshots of what is reportedly the beta version of Apple Music for Android have been published, providing what may be a first look at Apple’s first second foray into app development on Google’s competing mobile platform. The screenshots, included below, show most of the features users would expect, such as Beats 1 availability and the “For Me” recommendations page. Apple Music Connect, the social network for musicians built into the service, is also included. Aside from radio streaming, Apple Music for Android includes support for browsing and playing the full Apple Music catalog. Interestingly, Apple has opted to provide some new features that aren’t supported on iOS, such as the ability to change the size of the cache used to store offline music. In bringing its software to Android, Apple has taken a slightly different approach from Google’s own iOS apps. While Google’s apps attempt to mimic the company’s Material Design principles—even going so far as to include custom-made toggle switches and other elements—Apple relies on UI elements built into Android rather than attempting to recreate the iOS versions of them. The main navigation has even been moved from an iOS-like tab bar to a more Android-friendly slide-out sidebar.
