Existing Xbox Music subscribers are doubtless pleased today, if they carry their subscriptions on iPhones and iPads. The iOS version of the jukebox service released an important update that allows cacheing of playlists to the device, for offline listening. Offline listening is a valuable and (arguably) necessary feature in a subscription service. Part of what you’re paying for is the ability to hear your music collection (which usually means playlists) when the device is offline, or when you don’t want to eat up a limited data plan. Flying is one common scenario.
It is always anticlimactic when a product or service announces a new feature which has been standard in competing products and services. Achieving parity with competitors might not lure customers away from those competitors, but it can help retain existing users.
Those existing users might be downloading the updated app and accessing the service in droves, as our testing indicated possible server crush. We could not review the new feature at the time of this post.
Spotify, Rhapsody, and other subscription platforms incorporate offline storage for paying members. Our check of the Google Play app store shows that the Xbox update is not available to Android users at this time.
