Does Apple Music on Android sync with iTunes?
Apple Music is Apple’s music streaming service that allows users to access over 90 million songs through a monthly subscription. iTunes is Apple’s media management software for organizing and playing digital music and video. For Windows users, Apple provides a version of iTunes that allows syncing content between Windows devices and iPhones/iPods. However, there has been ongoing debate around whether Apple Music on Android smartphones can properly sync listening history and libraries with iTunes on Windows computers. This article explores that question in depth.
Apple’s Ecosystem
Apple products and services are designed to work together seamlessly across the Apple ecosystem. For example, iMessages and FaceTime sync across iPhone, iPad, and Mac without any additional setup. Apple’s ecosystem is designed to be very simple and intuitive for users by eliminating many complex configuration steps required on other platforms.
However, this seamlessness comes at the cost of Apple’s ecosystem being very closed off. For example, services like iMessage and FaceTime only work with Apple devices and don’t have apps or accessibility on Android. And Apple Music, while available on Android, does not have feature parity or syncing capabilities compared to iOS. Many critics have pointed out downsides of Apple’s closed ecosystem approach:
- “Apple has created a closed ecosystem that keeps its customers locked in, making it difficult to switch platforms.” (Source)
- “From the consumer viewpoint, living in Apple ecosystem is not bad at all. As discussed above, all Apple products and services synch incredibly well.” (Source)
So in summary, while Apple’s closed ecosystem enables great seamless experiences for users within the Apple-verse, it also makes interoperability and switching to other platforms more challenging.
iTunes on Windows
In 2003, Apple made the decision to release iTunes for Windows, marking the first time they ported one of their media apps beyond the macOS platform (History of iTunes). The primary goal was to allow Windows users to sync content from iTunes with their iPods, as the iPod had become a major success for Apple and they wanted to expand their market reach.
iTunes for Windows provided users the ability to manage their music libary, purchase music and videos from the iTunes store, and sync that media with their iPods (Steve Jobs Reveals Plan to Port iTunes to Windows). While it didn’t integrate as deeply with Windows as it did with macOS, it still gave Windows users much of the core iTunes and iPod experience that Apple device owners enjoyed.
Apple Music on Android
In November 2015, Apple launched Apple Music on the Android platform after keeping it exclusive to iOS and iTunes initially. As reported in an article on The Verge, “Apple Music has arrived on Android. The app launched in the Play Store today and is available in every region that Apple Music currently serves” (https://www.theverge.com/2015/11/10/9705434/apple-music-android-launch).
This launch was another step toward making Apple Music widely available across platforms. While Apple generally aims for exclusivity within its own ecosystem, the company decided to bring Apple Music to Android to tap into a broader subscriber base. As noted on the Apple website: “Android Download – Music. Tap the button above to download Apple Music now” (https://www.apple.com/lae/apple-music/android-download/).
Overall, the launch of Apple Music on Android increased the potential reach of the service and made it more competitive with cross-platform streaming offerings like Spotify. It signaled Apple’s shift toward driving subscriber growth over locking users into its own ecosystem.
Syncing Capabilities
One of the most commonly asked questions about Apple Music for Android is whether it can sync listening history and playlists with iTunes on Windows or Mac. Unfortunately, the two services do not directly sync with each other. When you use Apple Music on an Android device, that usage data stays within the Apple Music Android app and does not communicate with iTunes.
So while playlists and listening history will be preserved in the Apple Music for Android app, they will remain separate from the iTunes library on your desktop. Any playlists or play activity from iPhone, iPad, or iTunes will appear there but not display in the Android app. Vice versa, your play history and playlists created in the Android app will not show up in iTunes (https://discussions.apple.com/thread/254976662).
The lack of syncing stems from Apple Music on Android being developed as a standalone app, without full integration into Apple’s ecosystem. Since the Android platform is outside of Apple’s control, the company has not devoted resources towards syncing capabilities between apps.
Workarounds
Android users have discovered some workarounds to help improve syncing between Apple Music on Android and iTunes. For example, one user on Reddit suggested enabling the “Sync Library” setting in Apple Music for Android to allow your music library to stay in sync across devices (Source).
Another workaround is to connect your Android device directly to your PC via USB cable. Services like iSyncr and doubleTwist can then help transfer and sync music between iTunes and your Android device (Source). This allows you to manually sync your libraries instead of relying on Apple’s cloud syncing.
While these workarounds help, many Android users still report frustration with getting Apple Music to reliably sync their libraries across devices. Direct USB transfer seems to be the most robust option currently available.
Apple’s Stance
Overall, Apple does not make it easy for users to sync Apple Music content across platforms especially between an Android phone and iTunes. From Apple’s perspective, as denoted in the
Apple’s stance centers around promoting native iOS features and keeping users tied into its services. As one developer pointed out in the forums, “Apple likes users to utilize their subscriptions on their platforms.” Making Apple Music fully compatible and integrable with Android and other outside platforms would make it easier for users to leave iOS. So for Apple, there is little incentive or upside in dedicating significant resources to sync capabilities across non-Apple devices.
User Feedback
Looking at user reviews and comments online provides some insight into the syncing experience of Apple Music on Android. On Reddit, one user who switched from Spotify to Apple Music on Android commented “Great music discovery, amazing Playlist ecosystem, great management (Songs and Playlists)” (Source). This suggests playlists and library management sync well between Apple Music on Android and other Apple devices.
However, some users have reported issues with syncing and matching songs between devices. Overall reviews indicate that while the Apple Music experience on Android is quite good, full integration with iTunes and the Apple ecosystem remains a limitation on Android.
The Bottom Line
Syncing between iTunes/Apple Music on Android devices and other Apple services or products is very limited. Apple’s ecosystem is designed to provide the smoothest experience when using multiple Apple devices signed into the same Apple ID. Android devices fall outside of this tight integration.
While the Apple Music app on Android allows streaming of Apple Music’s song catalog, there is no capability to sync individual media files purchased or imported through iTunes on Windows with the Android app. The app’s primary function is streaming Apple Music, not serving as a full iTunes replacement.
Some discussions on forums like Apple’s support forums and Reddit indicate problems even getting iTunes purchases to reliably transfer to iPhones. So sync between non-Apple devices appears non-existent.
The bottom line is using Apple Music on Android will not provide the ability to sync back to an iTunes library on Windows. Users should not expect full iTunes equivalence from the Android app. Its main purpose is playing the Apple Music catalog.
Conclusion
While native Apple Music app support on Android is still limited, Apple seems to be planning for more cross-platform capabilities in the future. According to an article on Reddit, “Apple is widening cross-platform support for their services in order to compete with existing offerings on the market.”
Complete and seamless syncing between Apple Music on Android and iTunes may still have limitations, but Apple appears focused on enhancing integration across platforms and ecosystems going forward. As users provide more feedback, we can likely expect continued improvements to syncing and expanded feature support in Apple Music’s Android app over time.
For now, while full parity across Apple devices and Android may not yet exist, the core functionality of Apple Music is available. And Apple’s trajectory points towards reducing friction and barriers between platforms in the future.