Even if it is “morally” wrong, how many of you have so far benefited from the Premium services of the Spotify music streaming app by installing modded versions on your device? For a few weeks now, the gravy train has ended with a definitive stop to the possibility of using even the most basic functions of Spotify via non-original apks. In reality, some daredevils still manage to use the Premium functions, and I stress daredevils because in reality, almost every week, they find themselves having to install a new modified version because the other one stops working.
But then how can you enjoy a complete and free music listening experience in a legal way? The solution comes from a free YouTube Music client called SimpMusic, an almost definitive solution that offers access to a practically infinite music library, exploiting the power of YouTube Music to search and listen to songs of all genres, at no cost. The application is also compatible with Android Auto, making it an ideal solution for listening to music without interruptions during trips, whether for pleasure or work.
The interface is designed for intuitive and fast use, even by those who are new to the wonderful world of music streaming. But let's see how to install it on an Android device enjoying the free features offered, without signing up for expensive subscriptions. First of all, however, I remind you that to proceed with the installation of apks not present on the official Google store (Play Store) you must manually enable the permissions and to do so you must proceed as follows (the procedure may vary depending on the device used):
- go to the phone's settings menu
- scroll down the menu to the Apps item
- Now find the item apps with special access
- enter the relevant menu and scroll down to the Install unknown apps item
- if you use Chrome (which is 99% likely), click on the icon that identifies the app and then click on the button that appears, after the words Allow from this source
Once these necessary steps have been completed, you must go with the Chrome browser (or the one you use on the smartphone to which you have granted permissions) to the following address: https://github.com/maxrave-dev/SimpMusic/releases
The site from which to download the correct apk will open and once downloaded it will be ready to be installed. There are different versions including arm64-v84 for 64-bit smartphones, armeabi-v7 for 32-bit ones, x86 for Intel devices and universal-release which is compatible with all architectures, although it is more prone to probable lag. The version present on GitHub may not be the latest release and therefore once you have installed the apk downloaded from the site and started the SimpMusic application, you may be asked to update with a new version. Do not worry and proceed with the new available update.
Now you are finally ready to use SimpMusic and all its totally free functions. The application shows 3 macro sections: START, SEARCH and LIBRARY. The start item includes a bit of news, the most viewed music videos, popular playlists, new releases etc.. also ranging based on some specific tags such as music for sleeping, relaxation, energy etc.. but you can choose to also search based on the musical genre or the mood you are looking for at that moment. Always from the START screen, at the top right you will find a clock-shaped icon, from which you can view what you have recently listened to, and then the gear-shaped icon that allows you to access the settings with which to customize the interface, music playback, audio, enable ADBlock, manage playback quality and set the YouTube account if we want to access the saved playlists.
The SEARCH section leaves no doubt about how it works. From here, in the top bar you can enter the name of the author, song, playlist you want to listen to. The search will return results related to videos, songs, artists or entire dedicated playlists. By clicking on the single song you can add it to a playlist, share the link of the track, view the title of the album that contains the track but also download it. ATTENTION, downloading does not refer to the fact of transferring the music file locally to your device, but to being able to listen to the downloaded track offline, therefore in the absence of data, ideal if you are planning a trip and you know that for a certain stretch/period you will not have an internet connection.
Finally we have the LIBRARY section, where we will find the downloaded files that I told you about in the previous paragraph, but also create a personal playlist, collecting your favorite songs. However, we can find the playlists saved in YouTube.
As for listening to music, the vast list offered by YouTube Music allows you to range in genres and artists. In my test, which has been going on for at least two weeks, I have never encountered quality problems, rather what can happen is that if the music video uploaded to YouTube contains audio clips not related to the music (for example the video of Supercafone by Piotta), they will be played just as if you were viewing the video but without video. Great though that compared to the standard version of YouTube Music, here you can also not access directly but above all listen to music even with the screen off, which on YouTube Music only happens in Premium mode.
Downloaded but already has problems, it keeps crashing with the message "timeout check internet connection" and I have no idea what the problem is. Does this happen to others?