Out of all the new iOS 26 functions that were unveiled at WWDC 2025, Apple Music’s AutoMix was the stand-out – a new tool that uses AI to blend songs together in the style of a DJ.
It took the internet by storm and received an overwhelmingly positive response, but now that iOS 26 has fully rolled out, users have picked up on some setbacks that could tarnish AutoMix’s reputation – and it’s all to do with its limited compatibility.
As it stands, AutoMix can only be used on iPhone, iPad, and Mac models that are Apple silicon-supported. Outside of this, AutoMix isn’t compatible, which has rubbed subscribers the wrong way.
The main issue that disappointed users have raised is AutoMix’s incompatibility with AirPlay, which allows you to stream music from your Apple Music account to a compatible device such as a speaker or a smart TV. It’s essentially Apple Music’s equivalent to Spotify Connect, but why is it such a big issue for users?
It’s official | AutoMix is only available on iPhone, iPad, and a Mac with Apple silicon from r/AppleMusic
“That 100% feels like an artificial limitation”
What got people so excited about AutoMix was its effortless and smart audio-mixing capability, taking the classic crossfade feature to a new level. Users saw this as a perfect addition to bring life to social gatherings – until they noticed that AirPlay doesn’t support it.
Although you can still use AutoMix when connected to a Bluetooth device, AirPlay is an integral part of Apple’s audio ecosystem, so the lack of support here is quite odd. One user on Reddit (see below) explained that their main use case was to stream AutoMix via AirPlay on a Sonos speaker, which several others appeared to agree with.
With that said, a handful of users pointed out that when AutoMix first rolled out in iOS 26 beta, AirPlay was in fact working, but was so buggy to the point where users disabled it. Some are optimistic that Apple is currently fixing this bug and will roll out AirPlay compatibility in a next software update, but others beg to differ.
Are there other limitations?
It turns out that in addition to AirPlay compatibility, there are other limitations that users are frustrated with. Apple TV and HomePod are the next biggest issues, but some believe AutoMix could come to the HomePod 2 if it’s ever released.
Apple Watch and Android users are also missing out on the AutoMix hype, as are those who are currently using Intel-Based Macs and the Apple Music app for Windows.
While there’s a community of Apple Music fans who are still very much enjoying what AutoMix is bringing to the table, others aren’t so pleased with its limitations given that the feature has been so highly praised. The only thing that we can do now is hope that these setbacks are only temporary, and that improvements to AutoMix’s compatibility will be made in near-future software updates. Perhaps iOS 26.1 will be the one.
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rowan.davies@futurenet.com (Rowan Davies)
