Google Play Music All Access
Google is finally set to launch a Google Play Music app for iPhone and iPad some time this month, according to a recent report.
Google Play Music has been around in some form since November 2011, when it was essentially launched as Google's answer to iTunes - with the additional ability to upload 20,000 of your own songs to the cloud for free. Perhaps fittingly, only Android owners received a native app at the time.
Now, according to Engadget's sources, a Google Play Music app could finally be on its way to iOS. The search giant is apparently testing the application internally (there are still a few bugs), and will launch it to the public by the end of October.
That will still have been two years on from the launch of the Google Play Music service, of course, during which time iPhone and iPad owners have only been able to access the service through a web app.
There have been a couple of mitigating factors. For one thing, Flash was listed as a necessary DRM measure when Google Play Music All Access was launched back in May. Apple's iOS devices, of course, don't do Flash, so Google has had to find a work-around.
Then there's that Google Play Music All Access element itself. Put simply, Google Play Music has only really existed as a finished, complete app for a relatively short time with the addition of the aforementioned feature.
Google Play Music All Access adds a Spotify-like music subscription service that enables unlimited music streaming for £9.99 per month.
iOS owners may be late to the Google Play Music party, but at least they're arriving when it's in full swing. Of course, with iTunes Radio now available through iOS 7, there's another party to choose from. And this one's free to get into.
Next, read our iTunes Radio vs Spotify comparison feature.
