Why is it so difficult to create a playlist from MP3 files on iPhone? If you did not load these onto the iPhone via the Music App, the Finder (Mac) or iTunes (PC), but via direct download or via AirDrop, you can only implement the automatic playback in the desired order via detours. Or am I doing something wrong? Maybe you can leave me a simple solution as a comment. Until then, I'll present you my work-around for listening to an audio book that a friend recorded and made available to me as an MP3. I used the Documents app from Readdle for this.
Chapter in this post:
How to Not Make an MP3 Playlist on iPhone
A friend of mine read a book as a hobby project and saved the resulting recordings as MP3 files - each chapter as a file. I was able to load them onto my MacBook via a cloud service. From there I chose the shortest route to the iPhone: AirDrop. The individual files ended up in the files app of the Apple smartphone via wireless technology. And then? I had to play them individually. Because although there is a file list in the built-in (and very minimalistic) player of the Files app of iOS, it does not serve as a playlist / playlist.
After trying things out on the music app and looking at the settings, I finally asked DuckDuckGo. With different searches like Create MP3 playlist on iPhone and How to create mp3 playlist on iphone or iPhone MP3 files played as a playlist I've slowly given up believing in a native solution. Because all I found were guides and instructions on how to transfer MP3 files from Mac or PC to iPhone. But I had already done that. The individual sources were silent about the next step, namely the proper reproduction.
How to Make MP3 Playlist on iPhone
Now you can come to terms with the native solution and name the successive files for proper sorting (Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc.) and always select the next one from the folder list after playing a file. But if you are doing housework, jogging or walking, doing a craft or puzzle or just don't want to look at your smartphone, then that's not a good solution. What you need is an MP3 playlist on the iPhone, which automatically skips to the next track when the previous one is over. I found a provisional solution in Readdle's Documents App.
Yes, I also checked the VLC Player App for the possibility of an MP3 playlist. But either the VLC app on iOS is limited to the music or iTunes library as well as own downloads or I'm too stupid to use it. So I turned to Documents, an app that we Already presented in 2017 had. At that time primarily for handling ZIP folders on the iPhone and iPad. But you can do even more with the Documents app from Readdle: for example, open and edit PDF files and various audio files (aac, .aif, .aifc, .aiff, .amr, .au, .l16, .m3u, .m4a, .m4b, .m4p, .mp3, .pcm, .wav and .flac).
The Pro version, which should be turned on when you start the app for the first time, can safely be ignored. Simply select the first tab "My files", tap on "Files" and search for the folder in which the desired MP3 files are located. Now you can choose one of them and play it back. If you repeat these steps and select the next title (for me chapter 2), it will be added to the playlist - and so on. This is cumbersome, but in the end you created an MP3 playlist on the iPhone. This remains when you exit and restart the app. Unfortunately, it cannot be saved as a playlist file.
Readdle Documents Download: Free in the Apple App Store
Which iPhone app to use to create MP3 playlists from the files?
The above work-around was sufficient for my purposes. I wanted to assemble an audiobook from different chapters and then listen to it without having to re-select each title for playback. But what if I want to save the MP3 playlist on the iPhone, give it a name and maybe also a picture? Do you know a solution for that? How do you bypass the very annoying restricted Apple ecosystem for using files on the iPhone? Or is there only the way via the music app and the synchronization of the files as part of the music library? Feel free to leave your experiences as a comment! :)
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After graduating from high school, Johannes completed an apprenticeship as a business assistant specializing in foreign languages. But then he decided to research and write, which resulted in his independence. For several years he has been working for Sir Apfelot, among others. His articles include product introductions, news, manuals, video games, consoles, and more. He follows Apple keynotes live via stream.
Maybe not the complete solution, but room to experiment: pineplayer exports playlists in .ppl format. I only have one playlist in iTunes, but pineplayer either displays it directly or I can export it and import it again under “My Playlists”.
Hi Peter! Thanks for your food for thought and the workaround! : D
Can you create an m3u playlist file on the Mac and then use it in Documents if the mp3 files are in the same folder?
Or can you even create this file with Documents? Basically nothing more than a txt file.
Hello Denis! The music player in Documents takes the contents of a folder as a playlist, so we recommend creating folders for music or other audio files - this can help you better organize the files in the app and arrange them into playlists. For example, you can create a Travel Music folder for the music you like to listen to when you travel.
Files in folders are sorted by name (A to Z) by default and played in that order. However, there are three ways to arrange the queue:
1. Organize files by name, date, or size
Open the required folder in Documents.
At the top, tap….
Choose the preferred option and enjoy the music.
2. Mix audio files
Documents allows you to mix audio files in a folder so that they play in a random order. To play audio files in random order, do the following:
Open the required folder in Documents.
Tap any title to activate the media player.
Tap the Player tab at the bottom, then tap the Shuffle button.
3. Queue files
You can also manually queue songs based on your mood and create temporary “playlists” (the queue persists until the player is closed). To arrange the queue, do the following:
Tap any title to activate the media player.
At the bottom, tap the Player tab.
Select the next track at the bottom of the player.
Drag the three lines next to a song to the desired position in your queue.
Hello Nikita, thanks for the tips. They will surely help others as well. 🙂
It is very convenient to create playlists on iPhone with CopyTrans Manager from PC. The program is free and has garnered many good reviews on the net!
https://www.copytrans.de/copytransmanager/
The program can also be used to add the songs to iPhone.
Here is a guide on how to add playlists: https://www.copytrans.de/support/erstelle-wiedergabelisten-iphone-ipad-ipod-touch/
That's right, but the article here has deliberately limited itself to finding a solution that only works with the iPhone - without an additional Mac or PC.
The way I do it is that I put all my songs in Wondershare Filmora, create and save them as Mp3, then transfer from PC Mac to iphone to files : )))))