What's New in Apple Music in iOS 27: AutoMix Upgrade, Landscape Now Playing, and Siri AI
Apple Music gets smarter transitions, a redesigned artist page, and a Now Playing screen that finally works in landscape - a clear hint at what's coming with iPhone Ultra this fall.
iOS 27 Apple Music adds several changes across playback, discovery, and design. AutoMix gets smarter transitions. Artist pages are redesigned. Now Playing works in landscape for the first time. Apple TV users gain hi-res lossless audio. Siri AI integration adds natural conversation playback. All of it ships this fall alongside every other iOS 27 system app update.
AutoMix Gets Smarter Transitions
AutoMix, Apple Music's AI-powered track transition feature, gets a new algorithm in iOS 27. Transitions now match more musical details between songs - key, tempo, and energy level - to produce more natural segues between tracks. AutoMix was previously iPhone and iPad only; iOS 27 brings it to Apple TV and HomePod for the first time. The original Crossfade option stays available for users who prefer a simpler, consistent fade between songs.
Redesigned Artist Pages
Artist pages in Apple Music get a visual refresh in iOS 27, with a more prominent shuffle play button, updated artist name display, and smaller layout changes throughout. Album pages were also noted as updated in Apple's announcement, though changes to album pages were not visible in the first iOS 27 beta. Expect further refinements as betas continue through summer.
Landscape Now Playing and Hi-Res Lossless on Apple TV
Now Playing in iOS 27 supports both portrait and landscape orientations. Previously it was portrait only - a limitation that became more visible as iPhone screens grew. Landscape support is a natural fit for a foldable iPhone with a wide-open display, and Apple is preparing for that before the hardware arrives. What's new in Maps in iOS 27 covers another app update shipping alongside Music this fall.
Apple TV gains hi-res lossless playback in iOS 27, matching a quality tier that was previously available only on AirPods and select headphones with the right cable. Apple TV connected to a lossless-capable receiver now streams at up to 24-bit/192kHz.
Siri AI Playback Control
Apple Music integrates with the new Siri AI system in iOS 27. Users can ask Siri about an artist in a conversation, then follow up with natural commands - "play one of her new singles" or "shuffle her most recent album" - without restarting the request. Siri carries context from the question into the playback command, so there is no need to repeat the artist name. Apple's natural language approach extends to other apps in iOS 27 too - Calendar in iOS 27 gets the same kind of on-device intelligence for event creation.
Performance Improvements
Apple says iOS 27 Apple Music loads the Now Playing view faster and starts streaming more quickly from a cold launch. Apple also mentions improved "reliability of streaming," which likely refers to fewer pauses and hitches on mobile data or weak Wi-Fi connections. No specific technical details were given.
