Apple Music: Crossfade songs and let them merge into one another

After upgrading to iOS 17 When you start the Apple Music app, you will see what new features there are for music playback. In addition to SharePlay for creating playlists together in the car, there is also a new function that allows crossfading between titles. Thanks to this, you can let individual songs merge into one another - with gradually adjustable crossfades from 1 second to 12 seconds. In this guide I'll tell you where to set this and which form of playback it doesn't work with.

Activate Apple Music title crossfade on the iPhone: Here's how!

You cannot set the transition from one song to another or the length of this mix directly in the Music app. Here the route once again leads via the iOS Settings app. A wide variety of options from different apps are waiting for you there, including those from Apple's music app. To activate the title crossfade on the iPhone, do this:

1. Opens the Settings on the Apple iPhone
2. Choose the point in it Music from
3. Activate under “Audio”. Fade-Counter
4. Use the slider activated to choose between 1 s and 12 s crossfade
5. Try out the new function and adjust the time depending on your taste

Crossfade tracks works in playlists, but not in albums

When trying out the new function, I noticed that it only works in playlists and with automatic music playback (in which the app determines the next tracks using an algorithm). If you play an album, the individual songs don't flow into each other. To be honest, I think that's a good thing, because bands and artists think about something when putting together their albums.

In some music albums, the songs flow into one another or a beat is carried from one song into the next. There are also concept albums or concert recordings in which the sequence and transition of the individual tracks represent a specific chronology. The crossfade would of course be disruptive.

But for songs in a playlist that are not from the same album, this potential disruptive factor does not exist. Personally, I think that the new function works quite well - especially with playlists with songs of the same genre (e.g. pop, rock or Eurodance). For a 90s pop playlist, 5 seconds of fade time came in handy. For other genres and playlists, other times might make more sense.

Johannes Domke

[On vacation] After graduating from high school, Johannes completed training as a business assistant specializing in foreign languages. But then he decided to research and write, which led to his independence. He has been working for Sir Apfelot, among others, for several years now. His articles include product introductions, news, instructions, video games, consoles and much more. He follows Apple keynotes live via stream.