- Apple Music is rolling out five new features in iOS 24.6, including the new Playlist Playground and Concerts Near You functions
- It’s also getting a new UI design for albums and playlists
- Despite its new look, it’s divided users who have called out Apple for its lack of accessibility features
Apple will unveil its next slew of new products in a couple of weeks at its March 4 event, but it’s already teasing some of the new upgrades coming to Apple Music in iOS 24.6 — and there’s no doubt they’ll breathe new life into one of the best music streaming services.
If you’re enrolled in the iOS 24.6 beta, there’s a chance you’ve already caught a glimpse of the new Apple Music features that are expected to roll out widely in the coming weeks. Unlike Spotify, it’s not in Apple Music’s character to churn out one new feature after the next, so the fact that it’s bringing five new upgrades at once is big news.
As we’ve recently covered, Playlist Playground is one of the stand-out new features coming to Apple Music — if you’re familiar with Spotify’s AI playlist tool, Playlist Playground isn’t all that different.
It works very similarly, in that you enter a text prompt or select an idea preset, and it will then generate a playlist of songs based on your request. It’s Apple Music’s second AI music-streaming tool, followin g the launch of its clever AutoMix beat-matching feature.
It’s clear that Apple Music has had its eyes on what’s working over at Spotify, and similar to Spotify’s Live Events hub, Apple Music is introducing a ‘Concerts Near You’ feature. While we don’t know how this looks in the app yet, we know that it’s on the way, and it’ll be refreshing to see Apple Music connect its subscribers with live concerts — I’m surprised it didn’t do this sooner.
Additionally, Apple Music is finally lifting a tedious playlist restriction, by letting you add a song to multiple playlists at once — a freedom that subscribers of other platforms have always had. And, building on last year’s Ambient Music feature, Apple is making this available as a new Home Screen widget in different sizes, giving those who frequent the app a new shortcut.
So this Apple Music upgrade is quite significant, but it doesn’t stop there. Its album and playlist interfaces are getting a facelift —and while it puts Spotify’s cluttered app to shame, not everyone is pleased with the result.
Apple Music’s UI upgrades are polished and striking, but it’s abandoned accessibility
Although Spotify has all the fun features, its messy interface bears attracts constant user backlash, and now that Apple Music has given its albums and playlists a facelift, many Spotify users are calling for the same.
Previously, Apple Music’s playlist and album pages featured a large, and sometimes immersive, graphic with the tracklist against a plain white background underneath. In iOS 24.6, the album/ playlist artwork is now used for the entire page, so now the tracklist will be placed against the artwork’s most prominent color. One user shared a comparison image on Reddit (see below).
During my time trialing Apple Music while taking a break from Spotify, its clean layout was one of my favorite parts of the UX, and it highlighted everything I disliked about Spotify’s design. There’s no doubt that Apple Music is leaps and bounds ahead here; however, users have been quick to point out Apple’s disregard for accessibility and I can see why.
The Liquid Glass redesign is still dividing iPhone users as it is, and while I enjoy some aspects of its glow-up, Apple Music’s new UI is quite difficult to read in places, and I much prefer the clear separation between the colorful artwork and tracklist. And yes, the option to disable Liquid Glass is there along with other accessibility features, but the default could be more accommodating for those with reading issues.
Does this change how I feel about Spotify’s cluttered UI? Not at all — I still think it could take some notes from Apple Music. That said, I have a feeling Apple isn’t quite finished with expanding its new aesthetic throughout every area of its music streaming app — it’s an overkill waiting to happen.
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rowan.davies@futurenet.com (Rowan Davies)
