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In 2025, Apple still makes it hard to play your own MP3s, so I wrote my own app | Oleg Pustovit – Technical Leadership & MVP Development for Startups

nexo.sh · 2,997 words · saved by 1 readers

In 2025, playing your own music on an iPhone is surprisingly hard, unless you pay Apple or navigate a maze of limitations. So I built my own player from scratch, with full text search, iCloud support, and a local-first experience. GitHub link Like many people, I’ve picked up too many subscriptions, some through Apple (iCloud, Apple Music), others got lost in random platforms (like Netflix, which I forgot I was still paying for). I actually used Apple Music regularly (and previously Spotify), but the streaming turned out to be more convenience than necessity. With a curated local library, I didn’t lose much, just the lock-in. Initially I thought, I’d just keep using iCloud Music Library for cross-device music synchronization, but once I cancelled the Apple Music subscription, the sync stopped working. Turns out this feature is behind a paywall. You can technically get it back via iTunes Match ($24.99/year). Match just stores 256-kbps AAC copies online; your original files stay put unles

In 2025, playing your own music on an iPhone is surprisingly hard , unless you pay Apple or navigate a maze of limitations. So I built my own player from scratch, with full text search , iCloud support , and a local-first experience . GitHub link Why I Built My Own Audio Player Like many people, I've picked up too many subscriptions, some through Apple (iCloud, Apple Music), others got lost in random platforms (like Netflix, which I forgot I was still paying for). I actually used Apple Music regularly (and previously Spotify), but the streaming turned out to be more convenience than necessity.

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