Photo Credit: Apple
An upcoming iOS 18.4 update directly adds an Ambient Music feature to the iPhone Control Center. But how will this work, exactly?
The new iOS update is currently in beta, due to be released to the general public sometime next week. As a result, the new Ambient Music feature is not widely available yet. But to get a head start on Ambient Music before the update drops next week, here’s how to use it.
On iOS 18.4, open the Control Center and tap on the plus sign in the top-left corner. Next, tap on “Add a Control” at the bottom of the screen, and scroll down to the Ambient Music section. There, you can add one or more of the controls.
Apple describes the four Ambient Music themes as follows:
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- Sleep: Music for a restful sleep.
- Chill: Music for relaxation.
- Productivity: Music for focusing on tasks.
- Wellbeing: Music for meditation and self-care.
Four playlists are available for each theme, but you can also set your own. To change the playlist, open the Control Center and tap on the plus sign. Then, tap on an Ambient Music control you added previously, and tap on the playlist name. A drop-down menu will show additional options:
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- Sleep: Sleep Sounds, Bedtime Beats, Sound Bath, Piano Sleep.
- Chill: Piano Chill, Ambient Chill, Lo-Fi Jazz, Pure Chill.
- Productivity: BEATstrumentals, Binaural Frequencies, Pure Focus, Classical Concentration.
- Wellbeing: Pure Meditation, Spa, Beats & Breath, Pure Calm.
While the Ambient Music feature is turned on, music controls will appear on screen, and newer iPhones also get Dynamic Island integration. The feature is free to use, with no Apple Music subscription required or additional app to download.
Apple has also recently announced that after the iOS 18.4 update, AirPods Max with a USB-C port will gain support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio. The Apple Music catalog consists of over 100 million songs that will benefit from lossless audio — though some experts say the functionality offers “no major improvement” over AAC encoding.
Once the update is released, to update your iPhone to iOS 18.4, open the Settings app and select General, then Software Update.
Content shared from www.digitalmusicnews.com.