Apple Music has received several noteworthy features in iOS 26. Designed to spice up your music listening game, these new add-ons are worth having a go at, especially if you are a music lover. Whether it’s a DJ-like transition or organizing playlists, or pinning your favorites for instant access, the music app has gotten better in many aspects. Here are the 9 new Apple Music features in iOS 26 you must know.
1. Pretty Sleek Liquid Glass Design
Apple Music app’s new liquid glass design brings a sleek, modern look with smooth transparency and fluid blur effects that blend seamlessly with your wallpaper and system theme. This design creates a sense of depth, making menus, playlists, and controls feel more dynamic and immersive while maintaining a clean and minimal interface that enhances the overall listening experience.
2. Playlist Folders
Playlist management gets an upgrade with the addition of folders. This feature, previously limited to the Mac, is now available on iOS, allowing you to better organize your collections. So, you can take full advantage of this all-new feature to keep all your playlists perfectly organized.
- Launch the Apple Music app on your device > Library tab > Playlists section > hit the “+” button at the top > Create a folder > give a suitable name to your folder and save it.
- Now, whenever you wish to move a playlist into a folder, long-press the playlist in question > Move > and choose the folder where you want to move the playlist.
3. AutoMix
AutoMix builds on the crossfade feature, delivering smoother song transitions by using time stretching and beat matching. The result is a DJ-like flow where tracks shift seamlessly at the perfect moment, based on the key and tempo of the music.
AutoMix can be activated when opening Apple Music for the first time after upgrading to iOS 26. While it works better with some genres than others, Apple is continuing to refine it. The feature isn’t powered by Apple Intelligence but does require an Apple Music subscription.
- While playing a song, hit the triple-line icon at the bottom > then tap on the tiny AutoMix icon to activate it.
Need more help to get the most out of this all-new add-on? This video is for you!
4. Lyric Translation
For international music, Apple Music now offers real-time lyric translations. When viewing lyrics, users can see both the original text and its translation, making it easier to follow songs in different languages.
5. Lyric Pronunciation
In addition to translations, Apple Music provides a phonetic pronunciation guide for foreign-language tracks. This makes it easier to sing along—especially when using the Apple Music Sing karaoke feature.
6. Pinned Favorites
You can now pin up to six playlists, albums, artists, or songs directly to the top of your Apple Music library for quick access. Simply, long-press your favorite playlist and choose “Pin playlist” in the menu, and you are all set.
7. Karaoke Microphone
With iOS 26 and tvOS 26, iPhones can function as wireless microphones for Apple Music Sing on Apple TV. Multiple participants can join in, queue up songs, and even share emoji reactions in real time.
If you wish to find out how this feature works in real-time, watch this video:
8. Home Screen Widgets
New Apple Music widgets can be added to the Home Screen, showcasing pinned content. Options include a medium and large widget for favorites, as well as a large Live Radio widget.
9. Animated Lock Screen Artwork
When music is playing, the Now Playing widget on the Lock Screen displays full-screen animated artwork, adding more visual flair to the listening experience.
For more help, check out this hands-on video:
Wrapping up..!
There you have it, folks! With iOS 26, Apple Music continues to evolve into more than just a streaming app—it’s becoming a richer, more interactive platform for music lovers.
The combination of design improvements, smarter playback features, and added personalization makes the experience more enjoyable than ever. If you’re running iOS 26, exploring these cool new features is a must to get the most out of Apple Music.
Just in case you want everything at your fingertips, here is the complete walk-through of the features that have graced Apple Music.
