With iOS 18.4, Apple introduced an exciting ambient music feature in Control Center. This feature offers a selection of ambient background music options at the touch of a button. It’s a fantastic beginning, and it would be wonderful to see Apple enhance this capability in future updates.
The iOS 18.4 version is currently in beta; however, Apple just rolled out the Release Candidate earlier this week, indicating a public launch is likely imminent.
How It Functions
Apple has included four distinct options for Ambient Music in Control Center: Chill, Productivity, Sleep, and Wellbeing.
Each setting plays a unique playlist tailored to its theme, allowing you to customize your listening experience further by choosing specific playlists when you select an option. Apple provides four selections for each theme, plus the ability to incorporate your own.
When enjoying ambient music through one of these settings, there’s a hidden ‘Ambient Music’ app accessible via Dynamic Island or Control Center. This app allows you to quickly view what’s playing, skip tracks, and stream to other devices using AirPlay.
Potential Upgrades
While the Ambient Music feature is a fantastic introduction, there’s definitely room for enhancement.
Currently, it’s exclusively available on iPhone and iPad, meaning Mac users can’t enjoy it just yet. There’s a similar feature in macOS called “Background Sounds,” but it lacks the comprehensive playlists found in iOS and iPadOS 18.4.
Additionally, I believe it would be beneficial if this feature were developed into a standalone app. There’s already a hidden interface that functions while using Ambient Music from Control Center, so having a dedicated app accessible from the Home Screen would be immensely advantageous.
This would create a smoother experience compared to cycling through multiple toggles in Control Center and make it easier to switch between various playlists. If Apple Music Classical can have its own app, it’s not unreasonable to think this could as well.
Overall, the introduction of the Ambient Music feature in iOS 18.4 is a delightful surprise. I’m quite pleased and optimistic for its expansion to the Mac, where I’d find it most useful. A dedicated app would simply enhance the experience.
If you haven’t yet subscribed to Apple Music, you can join for $10.99 per month and enjoy an expanding music library.
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