Apple Music will receive updates later this year that improve the app’s performance on iOS 18 and macOS 15, according to a report. Upcoming updates to the company’s operating system are expected to bring revamped versions of Apple Music and QuickTime, the company’s audio and video playback applications. Apple Music could improve support for its existing crossfade feature. Meanwhile, the iPhone maker is also reportedly testing a new ‘Passthrough’ that will be available on supported devices later this year.
An AppleInsider report, citing people familiar with the company’s plans, says that new versions of the Apple Music and QuickTime apps are currently being tested internally. These apps are said to offer improvements in media playback and are expected to be introduced later this year when the company releases its software updates for iOS 18 and macOS 15 on eligible iPhone models and Mac computers.
The first feature reportedly coming to Apple Music with iOS 18 and macOS 15 is called “smart song transitions.” It’s said to be an improved version of Apple Music’s existing crossfade feature that lowers a song’s volume a few seconds before it ends, while starting the next song and boosting the volume so there’s no track silence between them.
The ‘smart’ transitions feature on Apple Music
Photo credit: AppleInsider
While users can already adjust the crossfade setting on Apple Music to a higher or lower value (in seconds) to increase or decrease the time spent seamlessly transitioning between songs, smart song transitions could dynamically adjust the transition time between songs. A screenshot of the alleged feature on Apple Music for iOS also shows a new “Smart” transition option above the existing audio scrolling slider that offers up to 12 seconds to seamlessly transition to the next track.
The “Passthrough” feature said to be coming to iOS 18 and macOS 18 will only be available on certain models, according to the report. While there’s no word on what the feature does or if it’s a rebrand of an existing feature like Spatial Audio or Transparency mode, the publication states that it “will only be available on supported hardware.”
We can expect to hear more about Apple’s upcoming software features at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2024), which is set to begin on June 10. This year, the company is reportedly working on integrating several AI features into its iOS, iPadOS, and macOS operating systems for iPhone, iPad, and Mac computers.
