Apple Music Connect social network to be demoted in iOS 10 overhaul

Apple Music Connect, a social interaction feature between artists and listeners that was a cornerstone of the Apple Music launch last summer, will be demoted in an iOS 10 overhaul this fall. Apple Music Connect was designed as a major component of the Apple Music service that would spur usage by allowing artists to share photos, videos, and audio while on tour in addition to allowing Apple Music listeners to comment and like posts. Instead, the feature has been lightly used in comparison to other Apple Music features, and some users have even discovered ways to disable the Connect feature.

In the iOS 10 Apple Music redesign, the Connect feature will follow Ping’s lead and will be demoted. Apple Music Connect currently exists as its own tab across the Apple Music interface, but multiple sources say that the feature will lose its tab and become integrated into the “For You” recommendations page. Connect will still exist within applicable artist pages as it does today, but its demotion from the set of Apple Music tabs indicates that the feature has not lived up to Apple’s expectations from last year. Along with the demotion, Connect is unlikely to see notable new features this year.

As we reported earlier this week, Apple plans to debut the new version of Apple Music at its Worldwide Developers Conference in mid-June and release it this fall across all Apple platforms, including iOS, OS X, and tvOS. The new Apple Music design adds some new features such as lyrics support, and focuses on a cleaner look with more black and white elements, Apple’s San Francisco typeface, larger album artwork in song lists, a new Browse tab, and an updated For You page to spur usage of recommended playlists. Apple has been working on the new Apple Music design since February, according to sources.