2022-10-18
New users constantly encounter problems when downloading music to the iPhone. This procedure is not as obvious as with Android. Owners of "apple" devices have to resort to the help of iTunes Media Combine - which means searching for a cable, activating a PC, and waiting for synchronization to complete. Performing so many steps for the sake of enriching your playlist with a single song does not seem reasonable.
In this article we provide the traditional and alternative ways to listen to music on your iPhone, including those that do not require an internet connection.
How do I download music to my iPhone from my PC and listen to it?
We do not describe the procedure how to download music to iPhone from the PC using iTunes synchronization as this procedure has its own article on our website. Unfortunately only few users know that you can download music through the media player without filling the library and synchronization. How to do this?
Step 1 . Connect your iPhone to the PC, start iTunes.
Step 2 . Go to " Music " in the " Settings " iPhone and turn the " iCloud Music Library " radio button to the inactive position. In iTunes go to the Device Management menu - click on the button with the smartphone image.
Step 4 . In the menu " Settings " choose the tab " View ".
Step 5 . Scroll down to " Preferences ", look for " Manually process music and video " and tick the checkbox. Click " Apply ".
Step 7 . Drag and drop the folder with the audio /files you wish to download to your iPhone to the " My Device " area on the left.
Wait for the file update process to complete.
You will find that the music has downloaded to the device although it is not in " Media Library ".
This way of download is preferable to the traditional way, and here is why: The user can delete an obsolete song right on the phone without fear that it will reappear in the playlist the next time.
The built-in Music application is usually used to listen to songs downloaded from the PC. This application is quite simple and user-friendly, so few iPhone owners think about finding alternatives to it. At the same time, the AppStore offers numerous worthy audio players with broader functionality - here are just a few of them:
- Audissey, a free app that can adjust the sound to a specific headphone model.
- iMusic, a player with gesture support.
- FLAC Player +, a player capable of playing 24-bit sound.
For a detailed look at the pros and cons of these programs, see the article dedicated to audio players for iOS.
How to listen to music from "VKontakte" on iPhone?
In 2015, at the request of Apple, the section " Audio recordings " was removed from the mobile application "VKontakte". "Apple giant has always fought hard against the spread of illegal content, and the social network "VKontakte" is a treasure trove of such. The ban on listening to music through "VKontakte" caused a storm of indignation among iPhone and iPad users.
In mid-2016, Mail.ru Group (the owner of the social network) concluded agreements with the world's largest record companies. Thanks to this, music in the application "VKontakte" returned - in version 2.8.1 there was already a corresponding section. However, users were dissatisfied - for a number of reasons:
- It will not be possible to cache music in the updated application. To be able to listen to the songs offline you have to buy an additional $3 BOOM app.
- The music catalog has shrunk - now it only includes official songs. And no pirated songs.
- The application makes you listen to commercials.
In the past many iPhone owners used to use the cache, thanks to this they did not have to worry about the network and the sim card balance. Now it is impossible to listen to music from VK while driving in rural areas where there is "no signal".
How to listen to music on your iPhone without internet? To do this you can use applications from the AppStore which allow you to download songs from "VKontakte" and play them offline. The list of such applications includes:
- VKontakte music - a player equipped with an equalizer and allowing music lovers to acquaint themselves with the texts of songs. This application is software-demanding - it will not install on a device with iOS version lower than 9.0.
- VKontakte Music Offline is a downloader less demanding for iOS (version 8.0 is sufficient).
Applications to download music from the "VKontakte" social network are few - they "do not live long" in the AppStore. The two listed programs are current as of mid-2017 - probably, at the moment you are reading this article, they have already been "removed" too.
How to use Apple Music?
Apple Music is an official Apple service. On all iPhones with iOS version 8.4 or later, the service is integrated into the built-in Music application. The program has an extensive music database of over 30 million songs, lets you listen to songs online and download them to your mobile device. The social network Connect gives you the ability to track your favorite artists and connect with them.
Apple Music is a paid application; however, any iPhone user gets 3 free months to try it and enjoy all the benefits the application has to offer. After the trial period, he will have to pay 169 rubles per month - unless, of course, he gives up Apple Music.
Apple offers preferential conditions for the purchase of Apple Music subscription to students and families. Family subscription costs more - 269 rubles - but it can be used by 6 people at a time. A student can buy a subscription for 75 rubles per month for up to 4 years - but only after UNiDAYS verification service proves that the subscriber really studies. Instructions on how to purchase a student subscription can be found here.
How do I get access to Apple Music? To do this you will need to follow a number of simple steps:
Step 1 . Open the "Music" application and go to " For you ".
Step 2 . Click on the red button " Subscribe ".
Step 3 . On the next page, select your subscription type (individual, family).
Step 4 . If you have not connected a bank card to your Apple ID the following message appears on the iPhone screen:
Image: app.jalantikus.com
You should press the " Continue " and you should enter the payment information in the Apple ID settings. There's no need to worry about keeping your balance - Apple doesn't steal. Only 1 rouble will be deducted from your card as part of the validation of the data you entered.
Step 5 . Decide on your music preference. You will see pink circles with genre names.
Image: macworld.co.uk
If you just like a genre , click on the respective circle; if you very much like it, click twice. You can remove the unloved genre by clicking on the circle and continuing to hold your finger on it until it disappears from the list.
Step 6 . Select your favourite artists in the same way.
Picture: a.36krcnd.com
Step 7 . Press " Done ". This completes the registration process for Apple Music.
After that, under " For you ", the music selections available to you will be chosen by Apple experts according to your personal preferences.
How can I listen to music on my iPhone for free using streaming services?
Apple Music is probably the most convenient streaming service for listening to music on your iPhone. But it's not the only one - there are plenty of alternatives in the AppStore. Here are the song-listening apps worthy of the music lover's attention:
- Google Play Music. The Google application boasts a "gigantic" database with more than 50 million tracks - in this sense, it "gives a head start" to Apple Music. However, the trial period for Google Play Music is significantly shorter - only 30 days. A subscription costs around 150 rubles.
- Yandex.Music. Yandex also offers iPhone owners 1 month of free use of its streaming service. After the trial period, the musician will have to pay 229 rubles per month. Yandex.Music is more expensive than services from Google and Apple, although it has no significant advantages in comparison with them.
- Zvooq. This service offers modern music in excellent quality - 320 kbps. A user of Zvooq can download his favorite songs to the memory of his mobile device in order to come back to listen to them even in the absence of Internet. Solid plus of the program is its low cost - only 169 rubles.
Users who do not want to pay for music and update "operating systems" of their devices to iOS 8.4, will not be able to find a suitable streaming service. Almost all such programs require iOS version higher than 8.2. Music lovers are offered free access to any of the streaming services for a short trial period only - then they have to "pay".
How to listen to music in FLAC format on my phone?
FLAC is a method of compressing audio data without loss of quality. A song in FLAC format sounds in your headphones as if the music band is playing right in front of you. That is why many music lovers prefer it - some of them even compile FLAC libraries.
Recent societies often say that it is impossible to play a FLAC-format file on the iPhone. This opinion is erroneous: anyone who adheres to it simply has not found an appropriate player. The most famous player capable of working with FLAC is VLC for Mobile . This program is completely free and does not annoy you with advertisements.
How to play FLAC /files via VLC?
Step 1 . After having installed VLC, connect your gadget to the PC, start iTunes and in the media player navigate to the device management menu.
Step 2 . From the " Settings " menu, select " Programs ".
Step 3 . Scroll down the page and locate the " General Files " block.
Step 4 . From the list of programs, select VLC and drag and drop the FLAC /files in " Files ".
You can also use the button " Add file... " and load the tracks in " Files ".
Step 5 . Press " Sync ". This will start the procedure to copy FLAC audio /files to your iPhone.
Step 6 . Once the synchronization is completed, launch the VLC player on your mobile device and select " Media Library " in " All Files ".
You will find the FLAC songs you have downloaded via iTunes are present in the list and playable.
Besides VLC, there are other players that are known to be FLAC compatible:
- FLAC Player +. FLAC Player+ is free and does not require any software: it is installed on iOS devices with iOS 8.0 or later. You will learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of this player in our article dedicated to music players for the iPhone.
- Amazing Quality Equalizer. You will have to pay 379 rubles to download this application but it is well worth it. The program has 17 presets and several graphic equalizers with different numbers of sliders. Amazing Quality Equalizer is a great option for audiophiles who enjoy the process of adjusting sound.
- Vox. This is another paid player ($4) that boasts multiformat support. Vox is cheaper than Amazing Quality Equalizer, but poorer on settings. The user of Vox will not be able to adjust the equalizer himself - he is only able to select presets from the ready-made ones.
Fans of quality sound can also resort to converting music from FLAC to ALAC. The conversion to the ALAC format is done without any loss of quality, however ALAC /files are readable by apple devices and appear in the "Music" app. You can convert from FLAC to WAV with fre:ac, which encodes FLAC to WAV. The conversion of WAV to ALAC is done via iTunes with Apple's Loseless encoder.
All conversions will slightly degrade the sound quality. Therefore the best option for iPhone owners is to find their favorite song immediately in ALAC format.
Conclusion
While the " Audio Recordings " section in VKontakte app for iPhone has been returned, users still feel deprived of the opportunity to save songs to cache for offline listening. Now the owners of "Apple" devices have to download favorite songs .
We, however, methods of downloading music on iPhone quite a lot - and it is not necessary to refer to iTunes! It is possible to download songs directly from the social network "Vkontakte" using one of the applications-downloaders. Service Apple Music also allows you to listen to your favorite songs off-line - and during the first 3 months completely free. So music lovers have no reason to be pessimistic.
