Microsoft seems ready to jump in the music streaming arena and take on Spotify and Pandora with their own Xbox Music service. Today Microsoft launched its Xbox Music service on iOS and Android, expanding the service to other devices almost a full year after its original release. Microsoft has also introduced free ad supported web-based streaming for all browsers, but mobile users will need an Xbox Music Pass to access the service, which costs $9.99 a month after a free 30-day trial. In addition to bringing free streaming to all web users, Xbox Music now lets Xbox Music Pass subscribers listen an access their collections and playlist on Android and iOS devices. The new apps are hitting the Google Play Store and iTunes App store now.
The Xbox Music iPhone app includes a number of iOS optimized features such as the ability to multitask with Xbox Music running in the background, artist-based radio stations and playlists that sync across all devices. Next month, Xbox Music continues its evolution with special music enhancement features within the Windows 8.1 update, scheduled for Oct. 18. According to Microsoft's website: "Xbox Music Pass on iPhone features: Stream ad-free music from a catalog of tens of millions of songs, add songs, albums, and playlists to your Xbox Music collection and access them from other devices, create playlists that sync across your phone, Xbox 360, PC, tablet, and the web, listen to music while using your iPhone, listen to artist-based radio stations and enjoy a rich visual experience for searching, viewing, and playing back music."
Jerry Johnson, Xbox Music general manager, told The Verge Microsoft plans to update the Xbox Music app every four to six weeks. One of the first updates will include support for offline mode. This launch lines up perfectly with the launch of the Xbox One system that will have this service on the next-generation console, which launches November 22.
Are you excited about the Xbox Music app?
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