Google might have just announced they plan to bring Google Play Music All Access to iOS in a matter of weeks, but that doesn't mean you can't try the service out right now. Independent offering, gMusic, was recently updated to support Google's new streaming service, and then updated again to remove some of the bugs. In lieu of having an official app yet, and with an All Access subscription burning a hole in my ears, lets see if gMusic hits the right note.
gMusic is a fully featured music player that connects to your Google cloud account. The music player controls are fully integrated with the on-board lockscreen controls, and has AirPlay support built in. It also supports offline caching of music to listen to instead of streaming, playlist management, creating radio stations, and a whole lot more. Simply put; gMusic is presently the best way of getting your Google Music on iOS.
The All Access part of Google Play Music is accessed by way of the "web search" menu item. It's that easy; search for what you want to find and gMusic will find it, let you play it, add it to your playlists and so on. The added feature fits within the existing app seamlessly, it doesn't feel tacked on which is important.
What gMusic does lack, though not necessarily the fault of the developer, is All Access' recommendations. The most recent update to the app fixed some bugs too, the biggest of which was stuttering playback. Strangely, Google's own web-app on the desktop seems to suffer from this too from time to time, but so far the gMusic update has cured these issues.
gMusic is available to download from the iOS App Store for iPhone and iPad for $1.99. A Google Play Music All Access subscription will cost $9.99 a month, though if you sign up before June 30 that drops down to $7.99. There's also a 30-day free trial available to give the service a thorough run through before parting with your cash. I'm pretty happy with it, how about you guys?
- $1.99 - Download Now (opens in new tab)
