Personally I disagree entirely. I couldn't care less about streaming, and if every DAP out there was an Android bloatware slow thing, I'd end up not only hating the stuff, but also paying for a bunch of functionalities I'd never use. To each his own.
I much prefer manufacturers concentrate on SQ, battery life and speed and ease of use.
Fair enough... For the next, maybe, three or four years. Then you absolutely will care, guaranteed.
The first casualty of the streaming resolution war that's around the corner won't be one of the streaming services... It will be the high-resolution download market. Places like Acoustic Sounds and similar. Once the vast majority of people are streaming huge libraries of high-rez content, it will be very difficult for these places, especially with their limited libraries (and high prices) to stay in business. Streaming services, with few exceptions, will be the
only digital source for high-rez music.
When that happens, are you really going to be interested in a DAP ecosystem that requires you to create an offline playlist on your computer from whatever streaming service you subscribe to, save the playlist in a compatible file format, and slowly load it onto your device? Of course not. And that's assuming the Apple service (and/or whatever else ends up on top) will share Spotify's current attitude towards that, and (passively) allow it. Maybe they won't. From a business standpoint, it makes a lot more sense for them to put an end to conversions, honestly. In which case you'll find yourself with an expensive brick, only good for playing your old high-rez collection or CD rips. Bottom line, you'll want a device with native support for streaming services...