Apple Music has never been this far ahead of Spotify

The debate between some things in tech will never cease - we have countless examples of this. Android vs iOS, team red vs team green, Azure vs AWS and so on. One of those is music streaming, and there are two major US players in this space (let's leave YouTube music out of this for now), but with the fresh release of iOS 26.4, I'm pleased to say the conversation has finally reached a conclusion at my end. For reference, I've been on Spotify for way longer than Apple Music, but the choice was always a compromise for me: I was on Spotify for its past UI and the ability to potentially find my next favorite song, and I was on Apple Music for compression-free sound. In 2026, that compromise no longer exists in my opinion. Apple has finally closed the "discovery gap," and when you look at the total package - the tech, the price, and the ethics - Spotify is no longer the king of the hill.

For a long time, Spotify’s "Discover Weekly" was its strongest point. But with iOS 26.4, Apple has introduced "Playlist Playground," and while I still haven't used it myself (it's only available in the US right now), the playing field looks to be more leveled than ever. Unlike Spotify’s algorithm, Playlist Playground uses on-device intelligence to turn a simple text prompt - like "a synth-heavy playlist with moody songs" into a 25-song playlist. It’s specific, it’s fast, and hopefully, I'll now have control over my "curation" that used to be Spotify’s exclusive territory.

If curation is now tied between the two, audio quality is a landslide victory for Apple. Spotify finally rolled out its lossless tier at the end of 2025, but it feels like a case of too little, too late. Spotify’s lossless maxes out at 24-bit/44.1 kHz, while Apple Music’s "Hi-Res Lossless" goes up to 24-bit/192 kHz (I stick to the former because I don't have relevant audio equipment yet). Then there’s Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio - while I personally always have it off, it's a neat feature. Spotify still hasn't figured out immersive audio, and for anyone who actually cares about how their music sounds, that's a dealbreaker. On top of that, Spotify Lossless still isn't available in India as of March, so it was an easy decision.

Pricing used to be a wash, but Spotify’s recent hikes have changed the math. As of early 2026, a Spotify Premium Individual plan in the US has climbed to $12.99. Meanwhile, Apple Music has held steady at $10.99, all while including "Apple Music Classical" and high-res audio for free. If you’re already in the Apple ecosystem, however, the Apple One bundle - which throws in TV+, Arcade, and 50 gigs of iCloud storage - makes the music service feel like a nearly free bonus.

Visually, for me, it’s not even a contest, but that's probably because I'm on iOS. Spotify is pretty much similar on both operating systems, but Apple Music on Android is vastly different from iOS. Apple’s new UI is stunning, with full-page artwork that tints the entire screen to match the album’s vibe. Spotify, by comparison, has gone for a more TikTok-style vertical feed for some reason - the home feed feels more like social media to me - which makes sense considering the company puts a lot of emphasis on the same aspect. Additionally, Apple Music has a built-in karaoke/sing-along feature, which works flawlessly for the most part. Spotify's lyric tab doesn't come close, really.

Also, my final straw was how these companies treat the people making the music. Apple Music pays roughly $0.01 per stream, nearly double to triple the $0.003 - $0.005 median rate Spotify offers. As a premium-only service, Apple isn't siphoning off royalties to pay for a massive "free" ad-supported tier. On top of that, Spotify has used generative AI for stuff like daylists and the 2024 Wrapped, and people weren't exactly big fans at the time.

Of course, neither giant is a saint. Spotify is still dealing with the fallout of its "podcasting-first" approach - the company faces recurring protests over misinformation on platforms like the Joe Rogan Experience. Apple, on the other hand, is currently under the microscope of global regulators. The company recently ate a huge €1.8 billion fine for "anti-steering" practices that supposedly kept competitors like Spotify from being treated fairly.

But looking at the app on your phone today, the choice should be pretty clear. Apple Music has better sound, better value, and now, with Playlist Playground and "Concerts Near You," better discovery than before. If you’ve been holding onto Spotify out of habit, and you've been considering a switch for a while - it’s time to let go - Apple Music makes it easy to transfer your albums and playlists from Spotify as well.