Apple Music’s monthly fee has increased by one dollar.
Regardless of where you live in the globe, Apple Music’s 50% discount for students appears to be coming to an end. MacRumors(opens in new tab) reported in May that costs were rising in countries like Australia, South Africa, and India, and it now looks that the price increase has spread to the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom as well.
As far as we can determine, Apple has not publicly publicized the change or contacted users who had previously enjoyed the former pricing. When it was initially observed on Twitter(opens in new tab) between June 22 and June 24, Apple Music for students in the United States and Canada went up to $5.99 a month in the U.S. and £5.99 a month in the United Kingdom.
For those curious, a trip back in time to June 21 (opens in new tab) reveals the previous pricing intact, prior to the 20 percent increase. Even while Apple sent out emails confirming the change in other countries in May (opens in new tab), we haven’t heard of anybody receiving them in the United States, United Kingdom, or Canada yet.
As a reminder, this only affects student accounts, not the $9.99 Individual or $14.99 Family plans. As a result, it may be time for students to search elsewhere for their money.
Time to switch streamers?
If you’re willing to pay an extra $1 per month, you can save $12 per year by switching streaming providers.
This is a significant advantage for Spotify in the struggle between Apple Music and its rival. If you’re a student, Hulu (ad-supported) and Showtime are included in your $4.99 monthly membership. If you’re still on the fence, you can try it out for free for a month.
The $1 price increase may seem like a no-brainer, but if sound quality is your primary concern, you may have to swallow the extra cost. Spotify’s long-promised HiFi update has failed to go live, in contrast to Apple Music’s Spatial Audio and lossless songs.
It’s worth considering an Apple One account if you’re an iPhone user, as most of those who subscribe to Apple Music do, as it combines the likes of Music, Arcade and TV Plus into one reduced monthly membership cost with additional cloud storage. Despite the lack of a student discount, $14.99 per month isn’t too terrible if you make good use of all the features available.