iPhone: The Missing Manual, 13th Edition

Chapter 8. Music & Videos

No wonder Apple has almost completely given up making iPods; the iPhone’s talents as a music and video player have supplanted it. Music gets impressive battery life (40 to 80 hours of playback, depending on the model), and there’s enough room on your phone to store thousands of songs.

In the Music app, five tabs greet you across the bottom: Library, For You, Browse, Radio, and Search.

Some of the app’s features are useful only if you’ve subscribed to Apple Music, Apple’s $10-a-month music service—but not all of them. The internet radio stations, for example, mean you’ll never run out of music to listen to—and you’ll never pay a penny for it.

NOTE

If you’re not interested in paying for an Apple Music subscription, you can hide the two tabs you’ll never use (For You and Browse). To do that, open Settings → Music and turn off Show Apple Music (“Playback Controls”, top right).

The For You and Browse tabs disappear.

The bottom line: Your Music app might show you either of two different sets of tabs. Complicated? Yes. But this chapter is written as though you haven’t hidden the Apple Music tabs.

This chapter also covers two other important audiovisual apps: the iTunes Store and TV.

Apple Music

The Apple Music service, which debuted in 2015, is a rich stew of components. For $10 a month (or $15 for a family of six), you get all the features described in this section.

TIP

You can give Apple Music a free 90-day trial. After that, you’re charged $10 a month—unless ...