The original iOS version of Apple Music received mixed reviews, with criticism directed towards a user interface deemed "not intuitive".

As of late 2019, users also have the ability to access the full version of Apple Music through an Apple-designed web player in beta.

Apple Music's interface consists of five tabs: "Library", "Home" (Formerly: "Listen Now"), "Browse", "Radio", and "Search".

Human expert selections supplement the algorithmic curation, while users are able to "Like" and "Dislike" songs to further improve music suggestions.

Artist pages also include sections for their featured releases, albums, singles, top songs, and background information.

[8] Users also have the ability to view their most played songs, artists, and albums of the entire year through a feature called Apple Music Replay, accessible on the "Listen Now" tab.

Apple Music Replay also provides an interactive system where it plays a generated animation that recaps what your activity was like over the past year, along with a milestone section that shows specific goals you reached.

Apple also hired noted New Zealand born British radio DJ Zane Lowe to serve as a music curator.

Furthermore, Morris said he expects the service to be the "tipping point" to accelerate the growth of streaming, along with arguing that Apple has "$178 billion dollars in the bank.

[23][24] UK independent record label Beggars Group also criticized the trial period, saying it struggled "to see why rights owners and artists should bear this aspect of Apple's customer acquisition costs".

[33] Hip hop artist Drake appeared onstage at the announcement event to elaborate on how he used the Connect platform, and Apple subsequently emphasized how "Independent music can share their music on Connect, too", in contrast to the iTunes Store, where small, independent artists were finding it difficult to participate.

[2] Apple originally sought to enter the market at a lower price point for the service, but the music industry rejected the plan.

[33] A previously unreleased song by Pharrell Williams, entitled "Freedom", was used in promotional material and announced as an exclusive release on the launch of the service.

[36] The "History of Sound" advert for the launch of the Apple Music service was soundtracked by the tune There Is No Light by Wildbirds & Peacedrums, from their 2009 album The Snake.

[68][69] In January 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple was exploring original video content, including its own television series and movies.

[72] In March, The Information reported that Apple had recently hired several people to help evolve its video platform, including YouTube product manager Shiva Rajaraman.

[74][75] On the same day, Bloomberg Businessweek reported that artist Will.i.am would make a reality show for Apple Music, in an effort to turn the service into a "one-stop shop for pop culture".

[80][81] In June 2017, Apple hired two television executives from Sony, Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg.

The two have jointly held the title of "President" at Sony, and have helped develop shows including Breaking Bad and Shark Tank.

[110] In July 2021, the Android version of the app also received support for lossless and spatial audio with Dolby Atmos, though the features were not mentioned in the update release notes.

[114] Apple is partnering with Bharti Airtel to provide its music and video streaming services to the telecom company's premium clients in India from 2024 at no cost.

[115] As of May 2023[update], the most streamed song of all time on Apple Music is "Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran with more than 930 million plays worldwide.

[120] The Apple Music Classical app is currently translated only in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, and Dutch.

[121] The app is available for Apple Music subscribers exclusively and provides a customized user experience based on allowing users to browse works by individual pieces and movements (including individual and "Editor's Choice" selections of recordings), composers, performers (including soloists, orchestras, ensembles, choirs, and conductors), periods, and instruments.

"[157] Sam Machkovech of Ars Technica wrote that Apple's emphasis on unsigned artist participation in the Connect feature could be an effort to restore the company's former reputation as a "tastemaker" in the mid-2000s.

Caitlin McGarry of Macworld praised Apple for having "cleaned up the clutter, reconsidered the navigation tools, put your library front and center, and added algorithmically created playlists to rival Spotify's."

The music service added more needless options, key actions like repeat got buried, and the For You section leaves a lot to be desired".

... Apple not offering a top-quality tier has led labels to stop making quality products available to the masses".

[170] The move followed in the footsteps of other artists, including Adele, Coldplay, Future, Drake, Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Kanye West, who released albums on exclusive terms with music streaming competitors of leading service Spotify.

[176] Rolling Stone wrote in October 2016 that "if you wanted to keep up with new albums by Beyoncé, Drake, Frank Ocean, and Kanye West, among many others, you would have had to subscribe to not one but two streaming services", adding, "But over the past few months, a backlash has developed against this new reality".