iOS 18 Rumored to Include Smart Song Transitions for Apple Music

With only a few days left for Apple’s major developer event, people have many expectations from iOS 18. While everyone focuses on AI features, the latest rumors suggest Apple Music will also get a playback-centric feature with iOS 18.

This feature is supposedly called Smart Song Transitions, and it will change how the crossfade mode works when moving from one song to another. However, the sources have not clarified what this transition feature is intended for.

It could be an option to modify how the crossfade mode works when you shift between songs, but this option is already available on iOS 17. We can expect some AI-centric features that improve this transition experience because Apple has also jumped onto the AI bandwagon, as made clear from the previous event.

However, the report from Apple Insider indicates that the feature would be different from Crossfade in that people can choose between 1 to 12 seconds as the time taken for the transition. On a related note, iOS 18 seems to focus on audio enhancements in general.

It is also rumored that the Apple Music and QuickTime player will get a Passthrough feature. While it is unclear which hardware would be supported, some sources suggest it is a mixture of Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos. It is dubbed as a rebranding similar to the one that Apple has continued for decades.

However, some suggest that it is the same Passthrough feature that is common in audio applications. In that sense, this feature would allow the highest-quality playback on your device. If this is the case, the power of Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos could be made available without an Apple Music subscription.

Sources have also hinted at the possibility of this feature coming to macOS. Regardless of how particular this feature works, we have reason to believe that iOS 18 will be a good update for music enthusiasts and media junkies.