In August 2021, Apple announced that it had acquired the classical music service Primephonic and promised that “famous classical music will appear on Apple Music.” Apple promised exclusive Primephonic content and playlists on Apple Music, as well as “special experiences” coming “in the coming months.”

That first part of that promise came true – Apple Music has a Primephonic category (although it’s certainly not well promoted) with some nice playlists. And, of course, Apple Music has its own Classics section with a nice catalog of spatial audio tracks, which isn’t too hyped either. But the second part, which many assumed would appear as a standalone app, never made its debut.

Of course, Apple didn’t buy Primephonic for it, right? None come close to qualifying as “dedicated experience” subscribers, which were supposed to provide “a better browsing and search experience by composer and repertoire, a detailed display of classical music metadata, and new features and benefits.” What we have now is the same as all the genres in Apple Music.

The Primephonic website has not been updated since the acquisition. It still contains only a statement about the closure of Primephonic and a promise of “an amazing new classical music experience from Apple next year.” This is this year, which is now almost over.

Back in September some reference code (posted by @aaronp613 on Twitter) seemed to mean that Apple was connecting Apple Music Classical to its background music servers. It’s strange that it would have taken more than a year, but let’s just say it’s been three months. Since then, we’ve had iOS 16, 16.1 and now 16.2 released.

There are three real opportunities for Primephonic fans and those looking forward to Apple Music Classical.

First, Apple may still be on the right track. The company has shipped some apps through the App Store and not as part of an OS update. Shazam, another company acquired by Apple, is still a downloadable app. Maybe it’s a Christmas surprise, launching in the App Store any day now?

Secondly, Apple has completely abandoned the idea of ​​a “dedicated experience”. What you see is what you get. Primephonic is curated by Apple Music, the app has a classic section – don’t expect more. Of course, don’t expect a separate product called Apple Music Classical.

Or, thirdly, Apple is simply late. The promised 2022 release will come and go, and Apple will release something in 2023. Perhaps as part of iOS 16.3 or during the spring event in March?

Of the three, it seems to me that the third is the most likely. Something called Apple Music Classical is coming in 2023. It can be a standalone app or a trusted section within Apple Music with a unique interface and navigation changes. But there is depressingly little evidence to back this up – it’s just a hunch based on the idea that Apple rarely makes such public purchases. many more than they did with Primephonic.