Offline Playback And High Quality Video Coming To Sony’s Music Unlimited App For iOS

Sony’s Music Limited app for iPhone and iPad is about to get a new update that will introduce offline playback and high quality 320 Kbps music streaming. Subscription prices are also dropping to lure new customers to the service, and away from competitors like Rdio and Spotify.

The new features were introduced to the Android version of the app in January, but will be arriving shortly to iOS in the version 1.3 update. Just like for the Android version, iOS users can download to their device individual albums and tracks, as well as any playlists that have been created so they can be listened to even when there isn’t a cellular or Wi-Fi connection. Version 1.3 also lets you listen to your music in a crisp and clear 320Kbps AAC high fidelity audio while streaming.

Sony Entertainment detailed how you can listen to music offline:

  1. Select a playlist, song or album that you’d like to download.
  2. Tap the “Options” button on the right of the album, track or playlist you’d like to download
  3. Select “Download Album” from the pop up menu.
  4. Once you select the music for download, hit the all new “Menu” button on the top left of the app and you’ll see the “My Downloads” queue to check the progress of your downloading tracks.
  5. Once the tracks are finished downloading, you’ll immediately see the list of artists, albums, songs and playlists in the “My Downloads” tab. They are all available to hear while online or offline.
  6. To listen offline, simply set the “Offline Mode” switch to “ON” and you’ll be taken immediately to your download list where you can select tracks by Artists, Albums, or Songs, or by Playlists.

And activate HQ Audio:

  1. Select the “Menu” button, and then select the “Settings” option.
  2. Select “ON” where you see “High Quality Audio HQ Streaming”.
  3. Once HQ Audio is activated, you’ll see an “HQ” badge next to the right of the track information when you play a song.

If you’re new to the Music Unlimited service, it’s a great time to join up. For a limited time only, a 12 month Premium subscription will cost $41.99 for PS Plus members, which is a 65% discount from the regular monthly price. If you don’t have a PS+ membership, there’s still a special pricing of $59.99 for the 12 month Premium subscription.

As of right now, the app is still under review from Apple, but is expected to go live very soon in the App Store. Stay tuned!

Image Credit: AltSounds

Kaylie lives in Ottawa and got her first Mac in 2007 and is now a fan for life.