Apple Music launches new app for Xbox consoles

• Apple has launched a new Xbox app for its Apple Music streaming service.
• The Xbox app brings long-awaited support for the service to Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Series S, with background playback, among other features.

A new Apple Music app has appeared on Xbox consoles, expanding the music-streaming service to Microsoft’s gaming platform. Once a long-standing holdout, Apple Music has quietly appeared on the console’s store with native Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Series S support.

The Apple Music app for Xbox mirrors similar experiences on other game consoles and smart TVs, scaling up the service for the big screen. The app hooks into the music subscription with playback across the complete library, including support for videos, radio, and other signatures of the service. The app, most crucially, supports background playback, allowing users to listen to music while gaming.

The new app addresses Apple Music’s absence on Xbox, which previously barred subscribers from accessing the service on the consoles. Despite similar PlayStation and smart TV apps, Xbox owners had to resort to workarounds involving third-party software. Apple Music marks the last major music-streaming service to hit the Xbox store, joining Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pandora.