iOS 18 is full of new features. Still, it doesn’t seem like Apple Music is getting a lot of attention. Recently, BGR found five new Apple Music features coming in iOS 18, many of which you probably had no idea were going to be available this fall.
With that in mind, there is one more secret Apple Music feature coming in iOS 18 that no one is talking about: Smart Crossfade. At the moment, Apple has yet to add a new button to activate the feature or an explanation of how it works, but it’s there.
If you recall, Apple added crossfade between Apple Music songs in iOS 17. Now, the company is expanding this feature to make it even more seamless. For example, when a song is about to finish, Apple might mix it with the upcoming song, so it creates a very interesting transition.
While not every song will have a cool transition, some of them start right after the last word is sung. A mix between two different tunes is also possible. Thankfully, Apple Music is careful not to create a transition that doesn’t exist when you’re listening to The Beatles‘ Abbey Road side B, for example, so you can have the true experience as if you’re listening to the LP.
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Currently, it looks like the smart crossfade feature works if you turn on crossfade in the Music app’s settings. Apple also lets you choose the crossfade length from one to 12 seconds, although I noticed that even when selecting a single second, the transition might start earlier.
Besides this hidden Apple Music feature in iOS 18, Apple is also bringing the following additions to its streaming service:
- Music Haptics: Apple Music has a breakthrough feature coming in iOS 18. With Music Haptics, Apple brings a new way for users who are deaf or hard of hearing to experience music on iPhone. The company explains: “With this feature enabled, the Taptic Engine in iPhone plays taps, textures, and refined vibrations to the audio of the music.”
- InSight on Apple TV+: This feature displays timely information about actors, characters, and music from Apple TV+ movies and shows onscreen in real-time. Users can select an actor to view their background and filmography page or quickly view the song playing in a scene and add it to an Apple Music playlist.
Below, you can learn more about the new features coming to Apple Music in iOS 18.
