Apple Music is on the verge of unveiling a new feature that harnesses artificial intelligence to generate personalized playlists based on user-defined text prompts. This exciting advance positions Apple Music alongside its streaming competitors, who have introduced similar technology in recent months.
Introducing Playlist Playground
The upcoming feature, dubbed Playlist Playground, has emerged in the beta version of iOS 26.4, which was released to developers on February 16. Information about this new tool was reported by Apple-focused outlets like MacRumors and Macworld.
How It Works
Users can start by entering prompts such as “morning coffee music,” “hip-hop party songs,” or “disco classics from the 1970s,” but are free to describe any mood, artist, or genre they have in mind. The AI generates a personalized playlist consisting of 25 songs, complete with a unique title. Additionally, users can further customize their playlists by providing additional text prompts, selecting cover art, and creating descriptions for their AI-generated playlists.
To access Playlist Playground, developers participating in the iOS 26.4 beta simply need to navigate to Apple Music, open the Library, and click the “+” button to initiate a new playlist, according to MacRumors.
Powered by Apple Intelligence
Playlist Playground seems to utilize Apple Intelligence, the company’s proprietary AI system. This feature is marked as such and mandates background downloads of Apple Intelligence models before use. Detailed specifications about the model architecture have yet to be revealed. Notably, Apple Music has previously integrated playlist generation with ChatGPT integration.
User Interface Enhancements
The latest beta version also includes updates to the interface of album and playlist pages, which now feature backgrounds that match the colors of artwork instead of a plain white background. Last year, Apple revamped the Music app’s design with the introduction of iOS 26.
Moreover, users will now be able to view upcoming concerts in their vicinity. This feature is reminiscent of a similar tool found in Shazam, which Apple owns; Shazam provides concert dates, venue details, and ticket information, along with the option to set reminders for performances.
Staying Competitive in the AI Landscape
With this update, Apple Music aligns itself with industry rivals that have introduced AI-driven playlist generation in recent years. Notably, YouTube Music launched its own AI-based playlist generator just last week.
Spotify also introduced text-based playlist creation in December after testing the feature in beta for over a year. Additionally, Amazon Music and Deezer were among the first platforms to adopt this feature, launching it in April and July of 2024, respectively.
As of now, Apple has not provided a specific release date for iOS 26.4.
Collaborations and New Features
In a related development, 9to5Mac recently reported on Apple Music’s collaboration with TikTok to test a new feature called “Play Full Song,” allowing TikTok users to stream complete songs through Apple Music without leaving the app. Another proposed feature, “Listening Party,” would enable groups of users to enjoy music together in real-time within TikTok.
Music Business Worldwide
