As the wait for Spotify Wrapped continues, Apple Music has beaten its rival to the punch by launching its own year-end feature, Apple Music Replay 2024. This Spotify Wrapped-like feature provides users with a personalized look back at their music listening habits over the past year, highlighting their top songs, artists, and albums.

Replay 2024 includes several new features, such as "listening streaks" that showcase the longest consecutive number of days users have listened to music on the streaming service. Additionally, users can discover the date they first listened to their top song, artist, and album of the year. The feature also offers a month-by-month breakdown of users' top songs, artists, and albums throughout the year, as well as "top artist streaks" to show if they've had an artist as their #1 artist of the month for multiple consecutive months.

Another notable addition to Replay 2024 is the expansion of its "top listener" categories. Previously, users could see if they were among the top 100 listeners of an artist or genre. This year, Apple is introducing two new categories, allowing users to see if they're among the top 500 or 1,000 listeners. This provides a more nuanced understanding of their listening habits and how they compare to others.

After exploring their music highlights, users can listen to their most-played songs in a custom Replay 2024 playlist. This feature is now accessible directly within the Apple Music app for users on iOS 18.1 or later, making it more convenient than ever to relive their favorite musical moments from the past year. Those on older operating systems or Android devices can still access their Replay via the web on mobile or desktop.

In a move that's likely to appeal to artists, Apple Music is also introducing a Replay feature specifically designed for them. This feature, similar to Spotify's Artist Wrapped, provides artists with insights into their listenership, including the total number of minutes Apple Music users have listened to their music over the past year. Artists can also see how many listeners they've gained, the cities where their music is most popular, and which song of theirs was discovered through Shazam the most.

The launch of Apple Music's Replay 2024 comes just a week after YouTube unveiled its 2024 Recaps, and ahead of Spotify's highly anticipated Wrapped feature. This strategic move is likely an attempt by Apple Music to capitalize on the social media buzz surrounding year-end music features, encouraging users to share their personalized playlists and music highlights on social media.

As the music streaming landscape continues to evolve, Apple Music's Replay 2024 is a significant development that underscores the company's commitment to providing users with a more personalized and engaging music experience. With its expanded features and mobile app access, Replay 2024 is poised to become a major player in the year-end music feature space.