Apple has rolled out the first beta for iOS 26.4, and with that comes an exciting slew of new upgrades for Apple Music — but it’s this new Spotify-like AI playlist tool that’s caught everyone’s attention.
The new ‘Playlist Playground’ tool, which borrows its name from Apple’s photo-creation function ‘Image Playground’, allows you to create playlists by entering text prompts, or by using Apple’s pre-set ideas. Using AI (likely Apple Intelligence) it will generate a fresh playlist of 25 songs with a custom title.
Similarly to Spotify’s flagship AI playlist tool, and also its Prompted Playlist feature, Playlist Playground survives on descriptive text prompts which you can enter to create specific-sounding playlists. You can ask it to create genre-specific playlists, ones based on a particular vibe (for example ‘morning coffee music’), or ask it to gather songs from a certain time period.
MacRumors has provided an image of the new tool (see above), and according to MacWorld, Playlist Playground can also generate playlists based on a selection of ‘at least 10 different songs’. It also gives you the freedom to chop and change your prompt, edit the title, and manually add or remove songs before finalizing it — but that’s not the only feature that Apple Music is borrowing from Spotify.
One of the most valuable Spotify features is the Live Events hub, a one-stop overview of all the upcoming gigs in your area, and it seems that Apple Music is developing its own version.
In MacWorld’s report, the outlet highlights that when you open Apple Music after installing the iOS 24.6 update, you’ll be met with a pop-up stating that you’ll be able to view upcoming live events from the app. We don’t know how this will work or look in Apple Music yet, but MacWorld predicts it will be similar to Shazam’s own tool (which is owned by Apple).
If you have access to the iOS 24.6 beta, you can test out Playlist Playground by going to the Apple Music app and tapping the new ‘+’ button in your Library, but a full rollout isn’t expected to land until spring, which isn’t a long wait at all. But I know what you’re thinking, ‘what if I don’t have an Apple Intelligence phone?’. It turns out you don’t have to miss out on Playlist Playground after all.
‘I’m on iPhone 13 Pro and it works for me’
Apple’s flagship AI service is a tricky thing to dissect. It’s still missing the long-awaited AI-powered Siri voice and, despite its availability across macOS 15 Sequoia, iOS 18, and iPadOS 18-supported devices, it doesn’t mean that all products have Apple Intelligence features (the iPhone 16 is the first model designed for it).
But not in the case of Playlist Playground. It turns out that even if you’re not on a non-Apple Intelligence mobile device, you’ll still be able to create AI playlists in Apple Music once Playlist Playground has rolled out — at least, that’s what beta testers have confirmed online (see below).
General Note: AI Generated Playlists DO Work on Non Apple Intelligence iPhones from r/AppleMusic
This lifts a huge restriction, as well as the heavy weight of concern, off a handful of Apple Music listeners without an Apple Intelligence-compatible device. That in mind, it must function similarly to the AutoMix function from last year, which can be used on any Apple device so long as it supports iOS 18 and above.
It doesn’t just welcome a new way to create personal playlists, it also invites a fresh way for music fans to discover new albums, songs, and artists to add to their Library, and tailor their in-app experiences to suit evolving music tastes. It’s a win-win situation, if you ask me.
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