Despite the fact that the Xbox Series X and Series S are almost two years old, and Apple Music has been around for even longer, you couldn’t use Apple Music on the Xbox. There were workarounds for this, using third-party apps on your iPhone and from the Microsoft Store, but you can finally ditch those in favor of official support.
Back in October 2022, Microsoft made a surprise announcement stating that it was bringing Apple Music to Xbox owners. This includes being able to just have music playing, complete with time-synchronized lyrics and access to the millions of songs that Apple Music has to offer. Microsoft also confirmed that you can use Apple Music on Xbox with the following console editions:
Xbox One
Xbox Series S
Xbox Series X
Going even further, if you aren’t already an Apple Music subscriber, you can sign up for a one-month free trial. The only caveat here is that in order to redeem the free trial, you must be a new subscriber. This means that if you’ve previously signed up for Apple Music or received a free trial, you will have to sign up for the service. That being said, here’s how to use Apple Music on Xbox:
Power on your compatible Xbox console.
Navigate to, and open, the Microsoft Store.
Select the Search box on the Store’s main screen. (Note: This should be the first selection when you open the Store. However, you can also use your controller to navigate to the sidebar where another Search option is available.)
Search for Apple Music.
Using your controller, highlight and select Apple Music in the Search results.
Click the Install button.
Once installed, click the Launch App button.
Click the Start Listening button.
If you are already an Apple Music subscriber, use your controller to highlight and select Already a subscriber? button. If not, select the Try It free button.
Follow the on-screen prompts to sign into your Apple account.
Going through the sign-in process has been made pretty easy. You can use your phone’s camera to scan the QR code that is displayed on your Xbox, or you can navigate to the Sign In website and enter the code provided. If neither of those options suits you, you can also just sign into your Apple Music account using your Xbox controller.
Once you are signed in, you are presented with a familiar Apple Music interface, complete with the following options at the top of the screen:
Listen Now
Browse
Videos
Radio Library
Now Playing
Search
Settings
From there, just find a song, artist, playlist, or album that you want to listen to and fire it up! And thanks to Apple’s implementation of this feature, you can start listening to music, close the Apple Music app, and play your favorite Xbox games while the music keeps playing in the background.
Andrew is a freelance writer based on the East Coast of the US.
He has written for a variety of sites over the years, including iMore, Android Central, Phandroid, and a few others. Now, he spends his days working for an HVAC company, while moonlighting as a freelance writer at night.
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