Apple Music is preparing to officially launch in Pakistan with locally priced subscription plans that are already accepting payments from Pakistani cardholders, marking the first time Apple has enabled a paid subscription service with functional local payment processing in the country. The rollout was spotted during Apple’s ongoing iOS 27 beta cycle. Rumor also has it that Apple Pay may soon follow.
Pakistani users can already see and activate the subscription plans inside the Apple Music app on their iOS devices. An individual plan costs Rs. 379 per month, while the family plan runs Rs. 649 per month, and both include a one-month free trial before automatic monthly renewal kicks in. Users have confirmed successful transactions through PayPak cards, with Apple expected to add other card networks as the launch expands. The fact that transactions are completing successfully means Apple has activated a fully operational subscription system, not simply a display placeholder.
The pricing positions Apple Music aggressively against its competitors in Pakistan’s growing music streaming market. Spotify Premium currently charges Rs. 349 per month for individuals in Pakistan, making Apple Music only Rs. 30 more expensive. YouTube Premium, which bundles YouTube Music with ad-free video, charges Rs. 379 per month at the individual tier, putting it at exact parity with Apple Music. For that additional Rs. 30 over Spotify, Apple Music delivers lossless audio quality up to 24-bit/192kHz and Dolby Atmos spatial audio at no extra cost, features that Spotify still does not offer in any market globally.
The Apple Pay angle carries potentially more significance than the music launch itself for Pakistan’s broader digital payments ecosystem. Apple has embedded PayPak into its backend code, and beta testers are following a community-shared guide: join the iOS Beta Program, set the Wallet region, and check the “Add Card” option after each update. If Apple launches Apple Pay alongside or shortly after Apple Music, Pakistani iPhone users would gain tap-to-pay functionality at NFC-enabled terminals, direct banking app integration, and person-to-person transfers within the Apple ecosystem.
Apple has not issued a formal public announcement specifically about Pakistan, and the company previously offered Apple Music on Android devices in Pakistan but never enabled iOS-based local payment processing until now. The iOS 27 update also introduces new Apple Music features globally, including a redesigned AutoMix experience, landscape support, and updated artist pages.
Independent TechJuice research also verified that although the price range and plans are listed, many users are still not seeing anything beyond that. You can still not play any music, or browse anything. Even the Charts tab at the bottom of the home page gives an error. All this means there is still some time before Paksitan can vibe with Apple Music.
If Reddit is to be believed, there might be a launch next month. On r/PakistanTech, someone wrote:
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Others also shared their excitement:
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For Pakistani iPhone users, the launch fills a gap that persisted for years while competitors built their subscriber bases freely. Spotify has operated in Pakistan since 2021, and YouTube Music arrived even earlier. Apple enters a market where streaming habits are already established, but its deep ecosystem integration with AirPods, HomePod, Apple Watch, and CarPlay gives it a distribution advantage that standalone music apps simply cannot replicate.
