There are many valid criticisms to be had of Apple Music, but the worst part of the streaming service is by far the Connect tab.
Connect was intended to be a mini-social network in Apple Music for artists to communicate with fans. It hasn't managed to live up to that promise.
Apple is expected to introduce a design overhaul of Apple Music this summer that's more intuitive, according to Bloomberg. That's good news. But now 9to5Mac is reporting that the Connect tab "will remain mostly unchanged in this year’s revamp."
I've been reporting on Apple Music — and its many issues — since shortly after the service first debuted last summer. While the way Connect worked wasn't technically a bug, the tab was confusing to use and presented no real value. Some artists shared (and continue to share) photographs from tours and their music videos, but there's not enough compelling content to warrant the feature's prominent placement in the app.
Simply put: it just gets in the way.
It's unfortunate that Apple apparently isn't going to redesign Connect in the upcoming refresh. Connect could be a great way for artists to actually connect with fans, but for now it feels just as bad as Apple's last social network attempt, the now defunct Ping.
