I know this topic has been discussed to death, but I really question why they even separated Xbox Music from the OS.
The stated rationale was that by doing so, they could update the app more often, without having to go through the carriers. Great, but it's a music player. How often would it need to be updated? Just get it right the first time, and any updates can wait for the next OS update.
Why were time and resources spent re-coding an entirely new app that still isn't as good as the existing one? They could have used that time and those resources to add gapless playback, wireless sync, ability to choose artist background images, fix metadata issues, add Last.fm/social media integration, and tweak the UI in the existing music player, and simply included it in WP 8.1. Xbox Music would've been complete, mission accomplished, and it would be out RIGHT NOW.
Instead, they started from scratch again, it's slower now because it's not native, and we're sitting around waiting for updates in the hope that the app will claw its way back to being as good as it was in WP7, almost 4 years ago. And for what? A music player doesn't need biweekly updates, it just needs to work and look beautiful.
The stated rationale was that by doing so, they could update the app more often, without having to go through the carriers. Great, but it's a music player. How often would it need to be updated? Just get it right the first time, and any updates can wait for the next OS update.
Why were time and resources spent re-coding an entirely new app that still isn't as good as the existing one? They could have used that time and those resources to add gapless playback, wireless sync, ability to choose artist background images, fix metadata issues, add Last.fm/social media integration, and tweak the UI in the existing music player, and simply included it in WP 8.1. Xbox Music would've been complete, mission accomplished, and it would be out RIGHT NOW.
Instead, they started from scratch again, it's slower now because it's not native, and we're sitting around waiting for updates in the hope that the app will claw its way back to being as good as it was in WP7, almost 4 years ago. And for what? A music player doesn't need biweekly updates, it just needs to work and look beautiful.