How to Disable or Enable Autoplay in Apple Music and Other Tips

iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 have significantly improved how Apple Music works. The new Listen Now tab has better recommendations, the search is significantly improved, and the overall user interface looks a lot more refined. On the iPad, Apple Music now offers superior navigation thanks to the inclusion of a dedicated sidebar.

That said, there are also various updates and improvements to how Apple Music works by design. One big and noticeable change is the way Apple Music continues to automatically play related tracks after an album or playlist ends. You may like this feature or not. For those who are patiently waiting, Apple is expected to release iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 in the fall, which means around the fourth week of September this year.

Disable or enable autoplay in Apple Music

By default, Apple Music’s autoplay feature starts after the last song in an album or playlist. It will then continue to play random selections inside or outside your music library. This means the music never stops! Best of all, it also helps you discover new avenues. If that bothers you, however, it’s pretty easy to turn off autoplay in Apple Music.

On the iPhone, first display the Now Playing screen – tap the currently playing song to do this. Then tap on the Next icon in the lower right corner of the screen.

Now just tap the autoplay icon (which looks like an infinite loop) next to Play Next. This should prevent Apple Music from automatically playing the tracks.

You only need to do this once – you don’t have to turn off the feature for each album or playlist multiple times. When you want to activate the feature, tap the autoplay icon again in the Next screen.

On iPad, turning AutoPlay off or on in Apple Music is the same as on iPhone.

Go to the Now Playing screen, move to the Next list, and then tap the AutoPlay icon to turn the feature off or on.

Other Apple Music Tips and Settings

In iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, Apple Music comes with many other improvements. Before we finish, let’s take a look at a few features and settings you might not be familiar with.

Add Apple Music Widget to Home Screen

The iPhone has received updated, detailed widgets that you can easily add anywhere on the Home screen. Apple Music has one too: it displays recently played albums and playlists that serve as quick shortcuts to the Music app.

Dive into the widget gallery – shake the home screen and tap the plus icon in the top left corner of the screen to access it. Select the Apple Music widget, choose a size (small, medium, or large) and tap Add Widget. You can then drag the widget anywhere you like on the home screen.

Note: You cannot add widgets to the Home screen on iPad.

Swipe down to search

Despite the many filters on the Library tab, finding your music can often be a problem. In iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, Apple Music makes things easier with the addition of a search bar – it’s just hidden by default.

Start by tapping on one of the categories in the library: albums, artists, playlists, etc. Then slide your finger down to display the search bar.

Disable motion in poster cover

Apple Music’s Listen Now tab features redesigned posters, some featuring color gradients and shifting animations. If you prefer static posters, deactivate the corresponding setting.

Start by going to iPhone / iPad Settings> Music. Tap Motion, then tap Off. You can also select Wi-Fi Only to restrict poster artwork animations when connected to Wi-Fi, which should help you conserve cellular data.

Boost audio with headphone slots

Starting with iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, you can use an accessibility setting called Headphone Accommodation to boost audio on supported Apple and Beats headphones, such as AirPods 2 and AirPods Pro.

This is not a feature related to Apple Music – it applies to all audio outputs in general. But if you have a hearing impairment, you should find it very useful when listening to music.

Go to iPhone Settings> Accessibility> Audio / Visual> Headset adaptations. After enabling the function, you can use the various controls listed in the screen to increase the audio output as you want.

Love it or hate it

Apple Music keeps growing (with almost 70 million subscribers at the time of writing), so expect more additions and improvements over time. Of course, you may or may not like them all, but Apple’s music streaming service, in general, has improved a lot from what it was a while ago. That said, Apple Music still has a long way to go if it wants to catch up with Spotify.