The new music app is abysmal.

[wickoo]

I can see why they renamed it to "Music" from "iPod". It's completely unusable for podcasts or audiobooks anymore.

1. You can't resort the bottom tab bar, so you must always click "More" to get to podcasts/audiobooks
2. They removed the ability to display lyrics, which is where most podcasts put their show notes
3. You can't see which episodes are unplayed anymore, so if you have a podcast with tons of episodes, good luck remembering which ones you already listened to
4. They removed the play speed options so you can only listen at 1x speed (and some people only at 1/2x speed, but that seems to be a bug and not an intended "feature")
5. They removed the ability to display chapters and to jump to a specific chapter
6. They removed the "Get more episodes" option, so you must go to the iTunes store to manually search for your podcast to download more episodes without a PC

I don't know how the new app is for music since I don't listen to music on my iPad, but for podcasts it's completely ruined. I wonder if someone makes a music app that mimics the old interface if Apple will approve it (I won't hold my breath).

So! I guess Apple found a way for iPods to stay on the market now didn't it. God I hate their behavior.

 

[ryan2714]

On the iPad

agreed, I am not a fan of the album cover views for playlists. give us an option I how we want to view it. I must say though that I am so happy that this new music app doesn't put the album artwork full screen when you go to play a song by default, that drove me nuts!

 

[blairh]

Are you sure you checked on an iPad and not an iPhone or something else?

You are correct. I was referring to my iPhone. I was unaware that he was referring to his iPad.

I don't use the music app on my iPad (I use it on my iPhone) so I was unaware of the changes. Furthermore these changes sound awful and I feel sympathy for the iPad users who use their devices for podcasts.

 

[dan8379]

That's actually the only minor problem I've had since downloading iOS5, iCloud etc..

All my album artwork was gone in iTunes, but the majority of it reappeared today.

I just loaded 5.0 yesterday and ALL of my cover art is now gone. Are you saying that it might reappear on its own in a day or two? Or is there something I can do to bring it back? (should mention that I am referring to the iphone 4, not Ipad)

 

[LizKat]

Sent. Seriously, I can't believe how much Apple dicked this up. I don't mind the layout too much, but am just mad they took lyrics out. It's little features like this that are a given nowadays, and for Apple to omit it is just crazy.

I too have been hoping Apple would get lyrics option into the iPad music functions. All that extra real estate makes it worth the effort to put the lyrics in there. I'm still hoping it's on the to-do list, and I would be willing to concede that its priority is lower than, say, making sure the right song plays when I click on it.

Rolling out the same functions in a new operating system compared to capabilities of a previous one is not as simple as it might sound. As a given system gets features installed and functions tweaked over time, the code may become more complex than it actually needs to be, and untangling the overall sense of what was added from what was already there becomes more difficult. And, a particular function in one operating system may be more difficult to implement under the control of the new OS. Not that it can't be done, just that it needs to work without breaking other stuff. Sometimes delay is better than the old "cut it big and kick it in place" approach to the carpentry of software!

But now that I'm done half-excusing Apple for this possibly temporary extension of the omission of iPad lyrics capability, excuse me while I go give them my feedback

 

[Roofy.]

I can't believe so many people are making a big deal over a music app. It plays your music, who cares. the fact that I can now delete albums/ songs from it now is a big plus.

 

[Tones2]

I can't believe so many people are making a big deal over a music app. It plays your music, who cares. the fact that I can now delete albums/ songs from it now is a big plus.

Well, losing lyrics display is a pretty big deal. So is taking twice as long to make a music selection. And most top buttons on the play screen are smaller that my finger width so hard to hit. And this display of what's actually playing is smaller than on even the iPhone, and usually has to scroll.

Ridiculous and irritating AND a BIG deal. A 10-year could design a better interface in about 10 minutes. It would take me only 5.

Tony

 

[GodzillaMor]

I can't believe so many people are making a big deal over a music app. It plays your music, who cares. the fact that I can now delete albums/ songs from it now is a big plus.

The one feature that makes the purchase of an iPad sensible is the comparatively large screen for a mobile device. This makes it better than the iPod touch or iPhone for viewing MUSIC videos. Sorry wrong tense. This used to make it better. But since I downgraded my iPad with iOS 5 I can't watch the videos I want because I can't find them. I have 700 music videos and iTunesU. Previously I could organise them in playlists but now they are all dumped in Videos. They are titled in Thai, Lao and Roman alphabets so you may understand my problem.

They do remain in their playlists and hence organised in Music but can be played only as audio tracks. What genius thought that would be the best use for an iPad with a large screen while leaving the facility to view MUSIC videos in the Music app on an iPod touch?

Looks like Apple has really screwed up this time. Someone at Apple must really believe the Photo app is good and tried to reproduce its functionality for music videos.

 

[Roofy.]

Well, losing lyrics display is a pretty big deal. So is taking twice as long to make a music selection. And most top buttons on the play screen are smaller that my finger width so hard to hit. And this display of what's actually playing is smaller than on even the iPhone, and usually has to scroll.

Ridiculous and irritating AND a BIG deal. A 10-year could design a better interface in about 10 minutes. It would take me only 5.

Tony

I find the interface to be better. I don't see how it takes twice as long to look for music. Maybe its because I actually have all of the correct album art for my artists. I find it easier to track down artists because I remember album art by artists. I like the visual way better. I also like the new blacked out layout and how you can swipe to the next track.

The only thing I DONT like is that there is no shuffle button when viewing all songs. That does annoy me. I always put my music on shuffle, so now I have to choose a song to play first before I shuffle. The whole point of shuffle is to play random songs because you DONT know what to play.

 

[Tones2]

I find the interface to be better. I don't see how it takes twice as long to look for music. Maybe its because I actually have all of the correct album art for my artists. I find it easier to track down artists because I remember album art by artists. I like the visual way better. I also like the new blacked out layout and how you can swipe to the next track.

Wow - Really? You're like the only one who likes the new interface better. And you think it's easier to find an ARTIST by album art rather than by NAME? Boy you must have like 10 albums. I have about 1500 albums and it's impossible to memorize and find instantly those album covers. Plus I have a lot of single one-hit wonder songs that I have no idea what the album cover looks like.

There's nothing easy than a list of names sorted alphabetically for choosing long lists. This might not be everyone's preference, but I'm sure it the larger majority, so we need to at least have multiple view options that include a list view.

The only thing I DO like is the swpie to next track. That's TRULY the only thing I do like. Absolutely not one other thing about the entire interface.

Tony

 

[gentlefury]

Couldn't you do that before as well?

This is the first time you can remove anything from the phone without syncing. You can also make albums on the phone now too!

 

[Taustin Powers]

There's nothing easy than a list of names sorted alphabetically for choosing long lists. This might not be everyone's preference, but I'm sure it the larger majority, so we need to at least have multiple view options that include a list view.

Well said! I can't believe they didn't give us any view options!

 

[IronWaffle]

This is the first time you can remove anything from the phone without syncing. You can also make albums on the phone now too!

Mostly true. You could delete podcasts, though.

 

[iPaddy]

Can't say I'm overly impressed about iPod being music and video, especially on the iPad.

 

[Benbikeman]

my Sony stereo on my car seems to have stopped recognising my iPhone thanks to the iOS5 update.

You just need to wait for Sony to issue a firmware update.