I love creating playlists, particularly for specific occasions. My viking chant/Mongolian throat singing gym mix has got me through some tough times. But sometimes it’s nice to let someone else take over, which is why I’ve recently been leaning on Spotify’s AI-powered DJ more often. And soon, Apple Music users will have a new outlet for inspiration too.
Spotted in the iOS 26.4 developer beta by MacRumors, a new feature called Playlist Playground will let you generate a full Apple Music playlist using nothing more than a short text prompt.
Type in something like “morning coffee music”, “hip-hop party songs”, or (potentially) “melancholy instrumental music to stare into the void and have an existential crisis”, and Apple Music will automatically create a playlist of 25 tracks, complete with a custom title.
How to use Apple Music Playlist Playground
Once iOS 26.4 becomes publicly available, you’ll find Playlist Playground inside the Apple Music app. Open Apple Music, head to Library, tap the “+” button to create a new playlist, and the Playlist Playground option should appear.
From there, you’ll be able to type in a prompt describing a mood, idea, or theme, and Apple Music will generate a 25-song playlist, along with a suggested playlist title, and the option to refine results with additional prompts
You’ll also be able to customise the cover image and add a description, just like any standard playlist. Created playlists can also be shared and displayed on your Apple Music profile in the usual way.
Right now, iOS 26.4 is limited to developers in beta testing. A public beta is expected soon though, with a wider consumer release likely in the spring.
How it’ll compete with rival playlist features remains to be seen, and I’ve yet to test it out myself. I’m hoping it’ll be an opportunity to discover new tracks, in addition to peppering in songs it knows I like – and the option to tweak and refine with further prompts sounds like a handy feature too.
While some users will likely want to stick to their tried and tested manual methods, if you regularly create new playlists for gym sessions, dinner parties, or long drives, this could be a useful tool for curating music, without the hassle.
