Apple initially planned to release a classical version of its Apple Music last year. Now, the tech giant will finally release it with no additional cost to Apple Music subscribers beginning on March 28th.
It is a new, standalone app that optimizes classical music searches and makes it easy to find any recording in the world’s largest classical music catalog.
According to Apple, the app will feature hundreds of curated playlists, thousands of exclusive albums, insightful composer biographies, deep-dive guides for many key works, and intuitive browsing features.
Apple said it will contain over 5 million tracks ranging from new releases to celebrated masterpieces.
Plus, thousands of exclusive albums, all boasting the highest audio quality (up to 192 kHz/24 bit Hi-Res Lossless) with thousands of recordings in immersive spatial audio.
The new app will allow users to search by composer, work, conductor, or catalog number, benefitting from complete and accurate metadata, ensuring they know exactly what and who they are playing.
Users need iOS 15.4 or later and any Apple Music subscription (except the Apple Music Voice Plan) to use Apple Music Classical.
The new standalone app will be rolled out wherever Apple Music is available, except China, Japan, Korea, Russia, Taiwan, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
Additionally, it is currently available for pre-order on the App Store—a free download exclusively for the iPhone, and after pre-ordering, it will automatically download upon release.
Apple had previously announced Apple Music Classical in 2021 when it acquired the existing classical music subscription service, Primephonic.
