Comparative Usability Testing:

APPLE MUSIC & SPOTIFY

Persona

Young Adults

To run our UX research test on Spotify & Apple Music, we observed 5 participants, specifically targeting the demographic of college students.

During the session, they completed multiple tasks on both mobile apps while recording results and reactions.

Objectives:

  1. Test the Apple Music and Spotify apps among young adults

  2. Discover revealed points of confusion when completing tasks.

  3. Identify navigation issues and feature preferences within both music apps.

  4. Compare navigation issues and feature preferences between Spotify and Apple Music

  5. What Changes could overall improve Apple Music and Spotify’s user experience

Methodology

Pre Test Questions:

  1. How often do you listen to music?

  2. Do you use any streaming Services, and if so, which one do you use

  3. Do you use any other methods to listen to MusicCreate a new playlist, name it, and add a song to said playlist

Overview

My team and I conducted a usability test to evaluate how easily users navigate Apple Music and Spotify on mobile and desktop platforms. Participants were asked to complete tasks such as creating/finding a playlist and locating song lyrics.

Spotify – Key Findings

  • Lyrics Access: Easy to find on mobile, the majority of users located the icon immediately.

  • Interface Design: Users felt the main interface felt cluttered and confusing.

  • Playlist Creation: Spotify offered ample song suggestions that felt curated to the user’s music preferences.

Apple Music – Key Findings

  • Navigation: Most users found the interface intuitive and well-organized.

  • Icons & Features: Some icons and functions were unclear to a few participants.

  • Unique Features: Karaoke mode was well-received, though users wanted more curated music suggestions.

Apple Music vs. Spotify – Summary Comparison

  • Apple Music excels in organized UI, intuitive playlist tools, and unique features like karaoke, but falls short in automatic music discovery and browsing

  • Spotify excels in personalized music recommendations and visual design, but suffers from a cluttered interface and difficulty browsing new genres

Tasks:

  • Create a new playlist, give it a name, and add a song to it.

  • Find a pre-made Hip-Hop playlist, then save and download it for offline listening.

  • Locate the playlist you created earlier and play the song you added.

  • Play a song of your choice and find where the lyrics are displayed within the app.

Follow-up Questions:

  • If you haven’t used Spotify before, would you consider trying it? Why or why not?

  • What factors would motivate you to switch from your current music platform to Spotify?

  • Why do you currently use Apple Music instead of other streaming platforms?

More content coming soon…