Cesium (Cs Music Pro) vs Refrain
Cs Music Pro is a classic-iPod interface over your Apple Music library. Refrain is a standalone player for files you import. The difference is where the library comes from.
Cesium — renamed Cs Music Pro after a legal threat over the name — is a deliberately old-fashioned player, around $2.99 one-time, built to look and behave like the iPod music app before Apple filled it with recommendations. It reads your Apple Music library and can sit alongside locally stored files. Refrain is standalone: it has its own library, built from files you import, and never touches the Music app.
The real question is where your music currently is. Cs plays what the Music app knows about. Refrain plays what you put into it.
Side by side
| Cs Music Pro (Cesium) | Refrain | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ~$2.99 one-time | Free, no in-app purchases |
| Library source | Apple Music / Music app library | Its own, from files you import |
| Works without Apple Music | Yes, for local library content | Yes, entirely |
| Interface | Classic iPod | Modern, dark, understated |
| Editing artist/album/artwork | No | Yes, any selection at once |
| Synced lyrics | No | .lrc / .srt / embedded, plus presentation mode |
| Visualizers | No | Eight |
| Equalizer | System | Ten-band, 32 Hz–16 kHz |
| Wi-Fi transfer from a browser | No | Yes |
| Account required | Apple ID for Music library | No |
Cs Music Pro details checked 7 August 2026. The rename from Cesium is real and catches people searching — both names refer to the same app.
Where Refrain wins
Getting files in without a computer. This is the practical gap. Putting your own MP3s into the Music app library means a Mac and a cable, or an Apple Music subscription with Sync Library turned on. Refrain takes files straight from Files, iCloud, Dropbox, or a browser over Wi-Fi.
Fixing what arrived wrong. Cs shows you the tags the Music app has. Refrain lets you set artist, album and artwork across any selection.
Synced lyrics and presentation mode. Neither exists in Cs.
It is free.
When Cs Music Pro is the better pick
Your music is already in the Music app and you are happy with it there. Cs is a nicer front end for that library and costs three dollars once. Refrain would mean importing everything again.
You subscribe to Apple Music and want one app for streaming and your own files. Refrain does not touch Apple Music at all.
You want the iPod interface. That is a legitimate reason to buy an app and Cs does it better than anyone.
Moving your library across
If your music is in the Music app because you synced it from a Mac, the original files are still on that Mac. Import them into Refrain from there — Add → Choose a folder, or Wi-Fi transfer.
If they only exist inside the Music app on the phone, get them from wherever you originally bought or made them. Refrain cannot read the Music app's library and does not try to.
Related
Last updated 7 August 2026