Why I'm Finally Ditching Spotify for Apple Music (And You Should Too)

The Breaking Point: Lossless Audio That Actually Works

I've been a Spotify subscriber since 2015. I defended it through every redesign, every podcast push, every time they raised the price. But last Tuesday, I finally pulled the plug and switched to Apple Music. And honestly? I'm mad I didn't do it sooner.

The thing that finally pushed me over the edge was sound quality. Spotify's been promising "Spotify HiFi" for three years now. Three years. Meanwhile, Apple Music has been serving lossless audio to every subscriber since 2021 at no extra cost. When I actually sat down and compared tracks from my favorite band — The National — the difference was night and day. The drum hits had more punch. The vocals sounded like they were in the room with me.

I know what you're thinking: "But my headphones can't even reproduce lossless audio." That's a fair point. I'm using Sony WH-1000XM5s, which support LDAC but not Apple's ALAC codec. But here's the thing — even over standard AAC Bluetooth, Apple Music just sounds richer. I did a blind test with three friends last weekend. We played "Pink + White" by Frank Ocean on both services at the same volume. Every single person picked Apple Music as sounding better. Not scientific, I know, but it convinced me.

Playlist Discovery: Where Spotify Still Wins (But Barely)

I'll be honest: Spotify's algorithmic playlists are still superior. Discover Weekly has been creepily good to me for years. Apple Music's "New Music Mix" feels like it was programmed by someone who only reads Billboard charts. But I've found a workaround — using third-party apps like SongShift to transfer my Discover Weekly finds over. It adds two minutes to my week, and I get the best of both worlds.

What really surprised me was Apple Music's human-curated playlists. Their "Today's Hits" is generic, sure. But dive into the genre-specific stuff — like "ALT CTRL" for indie rock or "Rap Life" for hip-hop — and you'll find selections that feel genuinely hand-picked by people who love the music. I discovered a band called Wisp this way that Spotify never once recommended to me. Their track "Your Face" has been on repeat for a week.

The Interface: Clean vs. Cluttered

Spotify's interface has gotten worse with every update. Remember when it was just a green app with your library? Now it's a Frankenstein of podcasts, audiobooks, and TikTok-style video feeds. I don't want to watch a 15-second clip of Joe Rogan. I want to listen to music. Apple Music keeps it simple. Your library is front and center. Search works. The "Listen Now" tab actually shows me new releases from artists I follow, not just whatever's trending on Twitter.

But there's a learning curve. Apple Music's library management is weird. If you add an album, then remove it, the songs still show up in your playlists as grayed-out links. It took me an hour to figure out how to delete a playlist without deleting the songs in it. Spotify is definitely more intuitive for new users. But once you get past the first week, it clicks.

The Hidden Feature Nobody Talks About: Music Recognition

Here's the feature that sealed the deal for me. Apple Music has Shazam built into the operating system on iPhone. You can set a Control Center button, tap it when you hear a song playing anywhere — a coffee shop, a friend's car, a TikTok video — and it identifies the track AND adds it directly to a playlist you specify. No opening an app, no manual searching. I've discovered 23 new songs in the past week this way. Spotify has nothing like this.

The Price Problem

Both services cost $10.99/month for individual plans. But Apple Music comes bundled with Apple One — for $16.95/month you get Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud+ (50GB), Arcade, and Fitness+. If you already pay for iCloud storage, the math gets interesting fast. I was paying $2.99 for iCloud storage plus $10.99 for Spotify anyway. For an extra $3, I got TV+ (which has Severance and Ted Lasso) and Arcade. That's a no-brainer.

Spotify's bundle with Hulu and Showtime is decent, but it's ad-supported Hulu, which is basically unusable. I'd rather pay a little more for no ads everywhere.

The Verdict After One Week

I'm not saying Apple Music is perfect. The desktop app is slow. Android users get a worse experience. And if you're heavily invested in Spotify's social features — like seeing what your friends are listening to — you'll miss that. But for pure music listening with better sound quality, better value, and a cleaner interface, the choice is clear. I should have made this switch years ago.