Apple Music Classical Now Available on the Web
Toggle Dark Mode
Apple is again expanding its Apple Music Classical service, but not in the direction many have hoped. While we have yet to see a native Mac or Apple TV version of the Apple Music Classical app, this week the company introduced a new web version, which we suppose is at least some consolation to classical music fans who would prefer to browse and listen from their computers.
Apple Music Classical launched a little over two years ago, providing access to a library of over five million classical music works and, more significantly, a proper way to browse and search for classical music.
The Classical Music app, which is effectively just a different front-end for Apple Music (and shares the same library and subscription ), was first announced in August 2021, shortly after Apple’s acquisition of popular classical music streaming service Primephonic. Apple initially promised that the service would arrive sometime in 2022, possibly as part of iOS 16, but it didn’t arrive until later in that cycle, coming alongside iOS 16.4.
Apple Music Classical also began solely as an iPhone app. Since it was tied into Apple Music, users could create playlists in the Classical app on their iPhone and access them through the standard Music app on the iPad, Mac, and other platforms. However, they would still be missing the Classical app’s more focused browsing and music discovery experience.
In an interesting twist, the next platform Apple Music Classical embraces was not the iPad or Mac, but Android. A few weeks after Apple Music Classical landed on the iPhone, Apple released an Android version of the app to bring the service to users of its rival smartphone platform. From there, it would be another six months before we’d see an iPad version.
That at least completed the cycle for Apple’s mobile devices. The Vision Pro also gained access to Apple Music Classical when it launched in early 2024, not from a native visionOS app, but due to its ability to run the iPad app.
While a Mac app remained missing in action, Apple checked off another box by adding CarPlay support in an iPhone app update in November. There’s still no Apple Watch app, but that’s arguably less necessary considering that playlists can be accessed on the wearable via the standard Apple Music or Siri. We imagine fewer people browse for new music on their wrists than on their iPhone or even their dashboard.
Now, Apple Music Classical has come to the web. It can be accessed online by visiting classical.music.apple.com and logging in with your Apple Account. As long as you have an Apple Music subscription, you’ll be good to go; if not, you’ll be prompted to sign up for a one-month free trial.
The service works similarly to Apple Music on the web, although it seems a bit rough around the edges. AppleInsider noted that some tracks took a while to start or failed to begin — problems I also encountered intermittently, particularly in Chrome (it naturally works better in Safari, but it’s still not an entirely flawless experience).
While Apple hasn’t formally announced the launch of Apple Music Classical on the web, it appears to be official. An Apple spokesperson told MacRumors that it’s added some exclusive new recordings to celebrate the web launch of the classical streaming service. “A new recording of Julius Eastman’s Symphony No. 2 and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2 from conductor Franz Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra will be available exclusively on Apple Music Classical for the next six weeks,” the spokesperson said.
