- Apple Music lists several updates in iOS 24.6, but the most notable is a new AI playlist creation tool, Playlist Playground
- It is currently in beta testing and is expected to arrive in spring.
- Unlike other benefits, Playlist Playground will be available on devices that do not support Apple Intelligence.
Apple released the first beta for iOS 26.4, and with it comes a host of new updates for Apple Music, but it’s this new Spotify-like AI playlist tool that caught everyone’s attention.
The new ‘Playlist Playground’ tool, which borrows its name from Apple’s photo creation feature ‘Image Playground’, lets you create playlists by entering text prompts or using Apple’s preset ideas. Using AI (probably Apple Intelligence), it will generate a new playlist of 25 songs with a custom title.
Similar to Spotify’s flagship AI playlist tool, and also its Requested Playlist feature, Playlist Playground survives with descriptive text messages that you can enter to create playlists with specific sounds. You can ask him to create genre-specific playlists, based on a particular vibe (for example, “morning coffee music”), or ask him to compile 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 cut and change your message, edit the title, and manually add or remove songs before finalizing it, but that’s not the only feature Apple Music is borrowing from Spotify.
One of Spotify’s most valuable features is the live events hub, a single overview of all the upcoming concerts in your area, and it looks like Apple Music is developing its own version.
In the MacWorld report, the outlet highlights that when you open Apple Music after installing the iOS 24.6 update, a pop-up window will appear telling you that you will be able to see upcoming live events from the app. We don’t know yet how this will work or look on Apple Music, 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 try Playlist Playground by going to the Apple Music app and tapping the new ‘+’ button in your Library, but a full release isn’t expected to arrive until spring, which isn’t a long wait. But I know what you’re thinking: “What if I don’t have an Apple Intelligence phone?” Turns out you don’t have to miss Playlist Playground after all.
‘I’m on the iPhone 13 Pro and it works for me’
Apple’s flagship artificial intelligence service is a tricky thing to parse. The long-awaited AI-powered Siri voice is still missing, and despite its availability on devices compatible with macOS 15 Sequoia, iOS 18, and iPadOS 18, it doesn’t mean all products will 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 launched; 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 removes a huge restriction, as well as a huge burden of concern, from a handful of Apple Music listeners without an Apple Intelligence-enabled device. With this in mind, it should work similarly to last year’s AutoMix feature, which can be used on any Apple device as long as it supports iOS 18 and above.
Not only does it welcome a new way to create personal playlists, but it also offers a new 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. In my opinion, it’s a win-win situation.
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