Apple Music isn't the only app on the block, after all. Of course, another alternative to Cider is to use a different streaming service for music. You could just play music in the background and never touch the app or interact with it. If you don't care about the interface of your music app, I suppose iTunes is serviceable. The only thing iTunes has going for it is that Apple Music does work on it. Apple couldn't even manage to update iTunes to render text cleanly. It would be shocking if Apple didn't have such a bad track record of delivering apps on Windows.įrom installation to general use, iTunes is a ringing endorsement for any app that attempts to replace it. I haven't used iTunes for years, so I thought the memes and jokes about it being so poor may have been an exaggeration. The primary alternative to Cider is iTunes, which is almost a win for Cider by default. I found myself diving deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole of customization the more I explored the app. You can tweak audio settings, pick your own themes, and even snag themes for the app off GitHub. One of the strengths of Cider is its level of customization. The disastrous state of iTunes on Windows makes any alternative worth looking at. Cider is in the alpha stage of development and is already ahead of iTunes in several areas. It's just embarrassing that Apple hasn't released a better alternative on Windows. In my testing, iTunes was clunky, slow, and didn't even render text well in some cases. As I wrote this review, I often popped open Cider and iTunes to double-check my comparison.

Speaking of which, the biggest endorsement of Cider may be that it is not iTunes. You can also hover over the app in the Taskbar to control audio, but that's an option on just about any app, including iTunes. This is relatively standard on well-developed music apps but isn't an option on Apple's apps. Cider also makes it easier to find your favorite songs and other audio with a customized home page.Ī compact mode allows you to pop the music player into a tiny window with controls. Apple Music has an extensive library of content, so it should be easy to find most artists and songs. The app has a home page and several sections for finding and browsing through music. Source: Windows Central (Image credit: Source: Windows Central)Ĭider features an attractive interface that's easy to use and navigate.

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