Amazon Music: Songs & Podcasts

What the app is

One download, three different services. Anyone can open Amazon Music and stream for free with adverts, drawing on stations, playlists and a vast podcast catalogue without entering a card. Prime members get the music ad-free in shuffle mode and ad-free podcasts. The Unlimited subscription is the full product: on-demand access to a hundred million tracks, unlimited skips, downloads for offline play, spatial audio and one Audible audiobook each month.

Whatever tier you land on, recommendations build from your listening, playlists can be imported from other services, and any MP3 purchased from Amazon, or any CD or vinyl eligible for AutoRip, appears in your library for nothing.

How it works day to day

On the free tier a day with it means picking a station or a mood playlist and accepting ads between songs; skipping is limited and the queue follows its own order. Prime members get a similar shape without the ads. Unlimited subscribers use it like any on-demand service: search a song, play it, download an album for the flight.

The Apple Watch app changes the gym routine, since playlists can be stored on the watch and streamed without a phone. The podcast side works the same across all three tiers.

Why people look for it

Prime members search for it to find out what their existing subscription already includes, which is often more than they expected. Shoppers who bought CDs or MP3s from Amazon over the years find their library is waiting here. A 4.7 rating from over a million reviewers reflects a mature streaming app with few surprises.

Look and feel

The five screenshots will presumably show the familiar streaming layout: a home feed of playlists and stations, a now-playing screen with large artwork, and the podcast browser, in Amazon's dark Music & Audio styling. Expect tier prompts to appear in the free version, since upselling is part of the design. Otherwise it's conventional and easy to find your way around.

Updates and upkeep

A version string of 26.39.0 is consistent with weekly or near-weekly releases from a large engineering team, and AMZN Mobile LLC is Amazon's own app publisher. More than a million ratings make it one of the most-reviewed apps in the batch. This page links to the App Store alone. The listing doesn't give dates, but neglect is not a realistic concern.

Good for

• Prime members already paying

  Ad-free shuffle play and podcasts are included in a subscription many people already have.

• Old Amazon purchases

  MP3s and AutoRip CDs bought years ago sit in the library at no extra cost.

• Phone-free workouts

  The watch app downloads playlists so the phone can stay in the locker.

Before you install

Rated 12+ and free to download, with the free tier carrying ads and no card needed. Full on-demand play, skips, offline listening and spatial audio require Amazon Music Unlimited, and the middle tier requires Prime; prices aren't listed in the description. An Amazon account is needed. Streaming needs a connection, with downloads reserved for Unlimited. Storage for downloads isn't specified, and catalogue availability likely varies by country, though the listing doesn't say.