If there’s one thing I’ve been waiting for in the tech world for the past few years, it’s got to be a full-fledged Apple Music app on Windows. While Apple completely shut down iTunes on Macs with the announcement of macOS Catalina at WWDC 2019, the Cupertino giant has shown no interest in launching a dedicated Apple Music app for Windows. While we hoped that Apple would bring Apple Music to the Microsoft Store just in time for the release of Windows 11, that didn’t happen. Fortunately, now that Windows 11 supports Android apps, we can install Apple Music in a few steps.
Install Apple Music on Windows 11 (2021)
If you are looking for the best ways to download music offline using Apple Music on your Windows PC, we are at your side. You will need to use the Android app or iTunes. We’ve also detailed how to use Apple Music’s official web player and third-party Electron app to stream music on your Windows 11 PC. Now that you know what to expect, we can get straight to the point.
Method 1: Sideload Apple Music Android App on Windows 11
We assume you are familiar with one of the best new features of Windows 11 – Windows Subsystem for Android. If not, check out our guide on how to install and run Android apps in Windows 11. Also, check out our detailed guide on how to sideload Android apps to get your WSA setup ready. After doing both of these steps, follow the steps to install Apple Music Android app on Windows 11.
1. We will get the Apple Music APK file from APKMirror. Visit the Apple Music playlist right here and download the latest version of the app. Here I will download the universal nodpi version of Apple Music 3.7.1. If you’re reading this at a later date, you can browse the site for newer versions of the app.
2. Open the Downloads folder and find the Apple Music APK. Now right click on the APK file and Select ‘Copy as path’ to copy the full path (file location) to the clipboard.
3. Open a Command prompt window at the root of your ADB installation. You can do this by typing cmd in the address bar in File Explorer as shown below.
4. Then copy and paste the following command in the CMD window in the following format:
adb install <app_path.apk>
5. In a few seconds, you will see a confirmation prompt that you have successfully installed the application. Now you can go to the Windows 11 Start Menu to open the Apple Music Android app.
Install Apple Music Android App on Windows 11
1. Press the Windows key to open the Windows 11 Start Menu and select Apple Music from the Recommended section. If you’ve hidden the Recommended section, type ‘Apple Music’ to find and open the app.
2. The Apple Music Android app will open and you can log in with your Apple ID credentials to start using the app on Windows 11.
3. After logging in, you get the full-fledged Apple Music experience you expect from the mobile app. Since this is Android app, you can access Listen Now, Browse, Radio, Library and Search options from the bottom navigation bar.
Download Tracks Offline Using Apple Music on Windows 11
But the best part is you can download tracks offline Using the Apple Music Android app on your Windows 11 machine.
1. To download a song in Apple Music, right-click any track and choose ‘Download’.
2. You will find your offline songs in the Downloads section under the Library, just like in the Android app. In summary, if you’ve used Apple Music on Android, you shouldn’t have any problems getting started here.
As a side note, we tried enabling lossless audio here and it shows the ‘Lossless’ label on the Now Playing screen. However, we did not test the bitrates to make sure the output is truly lossless.
Method 2: Install Apple Music Web Player on Windows 11 PC
In September 2019, Apple launched the Apple Music web player to bring the streaming service directly to your web browser. If you don’t plan to install and run Android apps on Windows 11, you might consider using Apple Music web instead. But the downside is that you cannot download offline music here. Here’s how to access the Apple Music web player:
1. Visit Apple Music web player using the link here and sign in with your Apple ID.
2. If all you want is a functional player that you can use from the browser tab, you are ready. However, if you are looking for a special window and icon to access Apple Music, you can create a shortcut to the web player. To do this, click on the vertical ellipsis icon in the upper right and More tools -> Create shortcut in Chrome.
3. Check the ‘Open as window’ checkbox and click ‘Create’ To get Apple Music web player shortcut in Windows 11. Now you can easily access Apple Music from desktop or Start Menu.
Method 3: Install Apple Music Electron App on Windows 11
Developed as an open source alternative to iTunes, Apple Music Electron is a community-supported project based on Electron 15. Apart from Windows, you can also use it on macOS and Linux. Here’s how to download and use Apple Music Electron:
1. Visit Apple Music Electron’s GitHub download page and download the latest EXE from the “Assets” section. You can then install the EXE file by double-clicking the file in the Downloads folder.
2. After installing the Apple Music Electron app, Click the “Sign in” button and sign in with your Apple ID credentials to start using the service. Apple Music Electron’s interface is closer to what you get in the macOS app.
3. You have a bunch customization features including themes, sound quality selection, incognito mode and even Discord Rich Presence are available here. If you want to use a dedicated app for Apple Music, Apple Music Electron is worth checking out. However, you do not get offline download support as it is based on the web player.
Method 4: Use iTunes to Access Apple Music on Windows 11
Despite being old, iTunes is still a functional Apple Music client if you’re keen on using the streaming service on Windows 11 but don’t want to use any of the aforementioned methods. You also get offline music downloads in iTunes as opposed to the web player.
1. Download iTunes from Apple Support here or directly from the Microsoft Store using the link here.
2. After installing iTunes, sign in with your Apple ID and password to access all your Apple Music playlists directly from iTunes.
3. Now you can access your Apple Music account from your Windows 11 PC and even download songs offline if you want.
Use Apple Music Easily on Windows 11!
It’s really surprising that Apple delayed a revamped native Apple Music app for Windows. Until Apple decides to release a dedicated app, the web player and Android app will help you experience Apple Music without relying on the source-hungry iTunes app. If you want to replace iTunes and get file transfer capabilities between your iPhone and PC, check out our list of best iTunes alternatives. So, what is your preferred method to access Apple Music on Windows? Let us know in the comments below.
