2023-10-20 19:54:58
In May 2021, Apple Music began offering lossless audio streaming. At the time, the company chose not to increase the price, despite the significant increase in data usage, due to the larger size of high-resolution songs, reaching 24-bits/192 KHz. This put Tidal in tough competition, as Apple Music was already installed on all iPhones and iPads, and was more affordable.
Which has the best music library?
Apple Music or Tidal would be more worth it in terms of music library, interface, audio quality, price, among other aspects. Source: Vitor Valeri
After using Apple Music and Tidal for a long time, I realized that unfortunately Tidal doesn’t have a wide variety of music compared to Spotify, YouTube Music and Amazon Music. To my surprise, Apple Music managed to match Spotify when I evaluated the diversity of tracks on the streaming platform. Furthermore, in the comparison between Apple Music and Spotify, I commented that Apple Music managed to offer me at all times the same songs and albums that Spotify had, but with superior sound quality.
Although Tidal also has better sound quality than Spotify, just like Apple Music does, the app still lacks a wider variety of albums and songs. You can see this when trying to transfer playlists between Tidal and Apple Music. If you don’t know how to migrate playlists between platforms, check out our tutorial.
What are the differences in the application interface today?
The home page of the Apple Music and Tidal mobile apps have different proposals when viewed at the top. While on Apple Music you notice that the content is focused on discovering new artists and albums, on Tidal you notice that there is a focus on songs that have been played recently and on tracks that are similar to them. However, the music discovery system used leaves something to be desired in both cases, as you will see below.
Apple Music home screen on the left and Tidal on the right. Source: Vitor Valeri
On the playback screen, the impression I had was of a “cleaner” look on the Apple Music app while on Tidal it is “polluted”, with several buttons to select. While this doesn’t mean that one is better than the other, it is something that may or may not please those who like to enjoy the album cover that is currently playing. However, the art on the Tidal app for Android is larger than on Apple Music.
Apple Music playback screen on the left and Tidal on the right. Source: Vitor Valeri
To access band, artist or ensemble credits, Tidal still remains an example in this regard. Just tap the “i” symbol to access all information regarding the authorship of the song being played. On Apple Music, you need to tap the three vertical dots symbol to then select the “see credits” option.
Options shown when selecting the button with three vertical dots – Apple Music on the left and Tidal on the right. Source: Vitor Valeri
In the case of the button to change the playlist being played, there is a button dedicated to this on both Apple Music and Tidal. However, in the case of Apple Music, in addition to allowing you to change the playback order of the boxes, there are also music control options such as forward and backward buttons, play/pause, random playback, looping playback and playback. infinite.
Options for changing the playlist that will be played – Apple Music on the left and Tidal on the right. Source: Vitor Valeri
Access to the music library, albums, artists and playlists is similar on Apple Music and Tidal. It is necessary to select one of these options to then filter what is saved in these lists. However, in some sections, Apple Music leaves something to be desired in terms of filters, which is the case with the artists page.
Display of albums, artists and playlists for each service – Apple Music on the left and Tidal on the right.
Which gives better recommendations for songs, albums and artists?
Apple Music’s song recommendations are slightly better than Tidal’s, although the app doesn’t have as intuitive a system for discovering new works. I found some Apple Music playlists to be very good and I believe this is due to the fact that the streaming service uses a hybrid system of algorithms and human curation to select tracks. At the same time, I had some work to do to find a good list of songs.
In the case of Tidal, I liked the songs that were recommended to me at times when all the tracks on an album had just been played. In addition to the app presenting me with melodies similar to those being played, the choices weren’t bad at all. However, I confess that I prefer to listen to ready-made playlists created by human curation than ready-made lists obtained through algorithms. For this reason, I still prefer Apple Music in terms of “recommendations”.
Is there a way to store offline music locally on both services?
Yes, both apps allow offline music storage on the logged in device. This way, you can listen to them even when you are not connected to the internet. However, it is important to note that they will only be available on the device that was downloaded, that is, if you download the tracks on your cell phone, they will not appear on your notebook.
Are there differences in the Android version of Apple Music and Tidal?
Yes, while Tidal can natively play on bit perfect [1] music on cell phones (Android and iOS) and computers (Windows and macOS), Apple Music requires the use of iOS or iPad OS to play the tracks without interference from the operating system.
Additionally, if you don’t have the iPhone 15 or a newer iPad, you will need to use a lightning to USB-A female adapter, if you want to get the bit perfect. If you want to know more regarding the scenarios in which Apple Music allows lossless streaming, visit this article.
[1] Article regarding bit perfect and lossless music streaming
Which has the highest music quality? Apple Music or Tidal?
Unfortunately, I didn’t have the opportunity to test Apple Music using an iPhone or iPad connected to my tabletop DAC [2]. However, what I can say is that the sound of Apple Music pleased me more than Spotify and YouTube Music, for example.
[2] Article regarding what a DAC/amp and a DAC are
Price
If you have an iPhone or iPad, Apple Music undoubtedly has an advantage due to the fact that its application streams tracks with a resolution of up to 24-bits/192 KHz, charging just R$21.90 per month for the individual plan. On Tidal, you must subscribe to the Hi-Fi Plus plan to play tracks in the same resolution. It is only on the Hi-Fi plan that Tidal can match itself in terms of values, but in this case the transmission is limited to 16-bits/44.1 KHz (quality equivalent to CD).
However, if you are an Android and Windows user, Tidal may be more worth your time as its app has features to get you “bit perfect.”
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