Is there still a Samsung Music app?
Brief History of Samsung Music
The Samsung Music app, originally known as Samsung Music Hub, first launched in July 2012. It was preloaded on Samsung Galaxy smartphones and tablets as the default music player app. The app allowed users to play locally stored music files as well as stream from the Samsung Music Hub catalog of over 19 million songs (1).
Over the years, Samsung Music gained popularity among Samsung device owners for its intuitive interface, stylish design, and integration with other Samsung services like Milk Music. By 2014, it had over 50 million monthly active users (2). The app underwent several redesigns and new features like offline listening support, dynamic lyrics view, and personalized stations to keep up with competing services.
In 2015, Samsung partnered with Spotify to replace Milk Music and eventually rebranded Samsung Music Hub to Samsung Music. The rebuilt app focused on providing quick access to both personal music collections and streaming integration. However, the app started losing steam after Spotify became the default music provider on Samsung phones (3).
Sources:
(2) https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/mobile-devices/samsung-music-app/
(3) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sec.android.app.music&hl=en_US&gl=US
Shut Down of the Standalone App
In September 2020, Samsung made the announcement that it would discontinue the standalone Samsung Music app in favor of switching to YouTube Music as the default music player on Samsung devices going forward. This decision was first revealed through a support page on Samsung’s website (source).
Samsung cited wanting to provide a more consistent and streamlined music experience across its Galaxy ecosystem as the primary reason behind retiring the Samsung Music standalone player. By partnering with YouTube Music, Samsung devices could leverage Google’s vast music catalog and service. This allowed Samsung to focus less on developing and maintaining its own proprietary music app. The move also gave Samsung users direct access to YouTube Music’s features like customized stations, playlists, and music recommendations.
The shutting down of Samsung Music was met with mixed reactions from users. Some welcomed the integration with YouTube Music for its larger library and AI-powered recommendations. However, other longtime Samsung Music users were disappointed to lose the app’s unique features like its clean interface, lock screen controls, and the ability to play local music files. There was particular criticism over the loss of support for certain file formats that the old Samsung Music app handled better.
Transition to YouTube Music
In 2019, Samsung partnered with YouTube to make YouTube Music the default music app on new Galaxy devices (Samsung). This transition marked the end of the standalone Samsung Music app that had been preinstalled on Galaxy phones for years.
With the partnership, new Samsung device owners get free access to YouTube Music Premium for 4 months (Zawya). After the trial period, users must pay for a YouTube Music subscription to keep ad-free listening and downloading abilities.
YouTube Music provides access to YouTube’s catalog of official songs, albums, playlists and music videos. However, some features that were available in the previous Samsung Music app are now gone. This includes the ability to play local music files, an equalizer, and lock screen controls.
Alternatives for Samsung Users
When the standalone Samsung Music app was discontinued in 2020, it left many Samsung device owners searching for good alternatives to play and manage music. Thankfully, there are plenty of options for Samsung users looking to replace Samsung Music.
One of the most popular alternatives is downloading third-party music apps from the Google Play store. Apps like Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, and Amazon Music are all available for download on Samsung devices. These streaming services allow you to access vast music libraries and create playlists. Many also let you download songs for offline listening.
Another option is to use alternative music player apps. Apps like Poweramp, BlackPlayer, and JetAudio offer robust music management and listening options. You can customize the look and feel, support a variety of audio formats, and enhance the audio quality. Many also allow organizing music stored locally on your device.
For Samsung users with large personal music libraries stored locally, apps like MediaMonkey and Neutron Music Player are great options. They make it easy to browse, organize, listen to, and back up audio files stored on your device and SD card.
With the shutdown of Samsung Music, device owners have to employ new solutions. Thankfully, the Google Play store offers many fully-featured music apps with customizable options to suit different needs and preferences. Samsung users have several solid alternatives to consider moving forward.
Accessing Music Files
With the shutdown of Samsung Music, managing and playing music files on Samsung devices requires using some other apps. By default, files can be accessed through the My Files app, which allows browsing folders and files on the device storage. To transfer music onto device storage, users can connect to a computer via USB and drag and drop tracks, or use wireless transfer methods like Samsung Smart Switch.
For playing local music files, Samsung devices now default to using YouTube Music. However, there are limitations to the features available in this app for local files versus streamed songs. Some alternatives users recommend include Phonograph, Poweramp, and the open source Vanilla Music player, which all allow creating playlists, equalizers, themes, and more robust local music management.
Special Features Lost
With the discontinuation of the standalone Samsung Music app, users lost access to certain special features that were not available in YouTube Music, impacting the user experience for some loyal Samsung Music fans.
One of the most missed features is the ability to play music files stored locally on the device (according to https://www.samsung.com/uk/support/mobile-devices/samsung-music-app/). YouTube Music currently does not allow playing locally stored music files, requiring users to stream everything from the cloud. This has received negative feedback from users with large local music libraries.
Additional useful features no longer available include customizable equalizer presets, lyrics support, and lock screen and notification controls (per https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sec.android.app.music&hl=en_US&gl=US). The loss of these special settings and controls has impacted the experience for power users.
While the transition to YouTube Music provides a more robust streaming catalog, the discontinuation of locally stored playback and other advanced features has been met with disappointment from loyal Samsung Music users. The feedback indicates a demand for local library support and customization options in any future iterations.
Future Developments
There has been speculation around the future of Samsung Music as a standalone app given its shut down in later versions of One UI. While Samsung has transitioned to promoting YouTube Music as the default music service on Galaxy devices, there are still possibilities for Samsung Music integration and a potential return as a standalone app.
Some Reddit users have created concept designs for what a revamped Samsung Music app could look like, with improved widgets and visual designs (Source). There seems to be demand among Galaxy users for Samsung to improve its first-party music offering.
While Samsung is heavily invested in YouTube Music for now, they may decide to revive Samsung Music to better compete against Apple Music on iOS. Integrating or bundling Samsung Music into YouTube Music could also be an option. There are also rumors that Samsung Music could return as a basic music player app without a streaming catalog, focused solely on playing local files.
Overall, the evolution of music services on Galaxy devices remains an open-ended question. Samsung is likely evaluating user feedback and market demand to determine the best strategy going forward. While YouTube Music is the focus today, Samsung Music still retains brand equity and could potentially fill a niche as streaming services become crowded.
YouTube Music Tips and Tricks
YouTube Music has many useful features and customizations for getting the most out of the app. Here are some tips:
You can customize your home screen by toggling options like “Hotlist” and “New releases” on and off (Source: https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/09/05/seven-tips-and-tricks-for-youtube-music-on-android/). This allows you to customize the content you see when you first open the app.
Enable the “Downloads only” option to restrict music playback to just songs saved offline, which helps reduce mobile data usage (Source: https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/09/05/seven-tips-and-tricks-for-youtube-music-on-android/).
YouTube Music has unique auto-generated playlists like “Discover Mix” and “New Release Mix” that are personalized recommendations. Check these regularly for new music suggestions (Source: https://www.androidpolice.com/youtube-music-explainer-setup-tips/).
The service is deeply integrated with YouTube, so you can easily switch between a song’s music video or live performance on YouTube. YouTube Music subscriptions also include ad-free YouTube watching.
Top Alternatives
There are a few top alternative music apps that Samsung users can consider instead of the now defunct Samsung Music app:
Spotify – Spotify is one of the most popular music streaming services. Key features include access to over 70 million songs, personalized recommendations, playlists, podcasts, and more. Pros are its huge music library, social features, syncing across devices. Cons are ads in the free version, less focus on owning music files. (Source)
Apple Music – Apple’s music app connects to their streaming service. It provides access to over 90 million songs, expert-curated playlists, Beats 1 radio station, and more. Pros are human curation of music, integration with Apple devices. Cons are more expensive, Android versions lack some iOS features. (Source)
YouTube Music – Google’s music app gives access to official songs, albums, playlists and more on YouTube. Features include intelligent search, personalized recommendations, and background play. Pros are vast catalog, connection with YouTube videos. Cons are ads with free version, some user interface issues. (Source)
There are other great options as well like SoundCloud, Amazon Music, Tidal and more that each have their own strengths. Testing different apps is recommended to find the best fit for each user’s preferences and listening habits.
Conclusion
In summary, Samsung decided to discontinue its proprietary Samsung Music app in 2019. This was likely done as a cost-saving measure, allowing the company to avoid duplicating features and maintaining its own music app codebase. Samsung struck a deal with Google to transition its users over to YouTube Music instead.
While this transition has worked well for many, some Samsung users miss the special features and simplicity the old Samsung Music app provided. The loss of lock screen and notification controls, an equalizer, and offline playlists have been disappointing. However, solutions and alternatives do exist for those wanting a better ad-free music experience.
Looking ahead, it seems unlikely Samsung will bring back its own music app. The company seems committed to its partnership with Google and YouTube Music. However, Samsung may be able to negotiate bringing back some of the lost features like the equalizer. And third party apps will continue working to fill the gaps. With time, Samsung users will likely adjust to the new normal of having YouTube Music pre-installed rather than Samsung Music.
