Further references to “Apple Music Classical” uncovered in the iOS 16.4 beta suggest that the classical music app Apple first mentioned when it acquired the Primephonic service may be released shortly.
According to the code in the beta, users will need to download the default Apple Music app to access Apple Music Classical. The MusicKit framework contains a statement that states, “To listen to Apple Music Classical, you’ll need to install Apple Music.”
Apple Music Classical is not present in iOS 16.4, but it doesn’t mean it won’t be in a subsequent beta or at the time of the release of iOS 16.4.
Although Apple previously stated in 2021 that Apple Music Classical would be released “next year,” i.e., in 2022, this did not occur. The new classical music experience did not debut in 2022, and Apple has yet to update us on when we may anticipate seeing the new app.
This makes it clear that the Apple Music Classical app will also require Apple Music to be installed, despite Apple’s claim that Apple Music Classical will be a dedicated classical music app independent from Apple Music.
This is not the first iOS 16 update that mentions Apple Music Classical. For instance, the “Open in Apple Music Classical” phrasing was added to iOS 16.3, and the capability has also been mentioned in the backend code on Apple’s website.
Why Apple suddenly released an Apple Music Classical app is a mystery. Even while we keep spotting hints of it, it still needs to be determined whether it’ll appear in iOS 16.4, a subsequent iOS 16 update, or iOS 17.