Apple Music Introduces Animated Playlist Artwork in iOS 14 Beta - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Music Introduces Animated Playlist Artwork in iOS 14 Beta

by

Apple Music will receive a number of design changes in iOS 14, including a new "Listen Now" tab, improved search, and Autoplay. Another small design update is larger playlist artwork, and today Benjamin Mayo with 9to5Mac shared how some of these designs now include animated art.

musicappios14
On the new Listen Now tab, a "Top Picks" section includes oversized icons for playlists, radio stations, albums, and more, all of which ‌Apple Music‌ thinks you'll like. This week on the iOS 14 developer beta, some of these playlists have now received animated artwork, which you can see in the video below.

This appears to mainly be focused on Apple's own curated playlists, like "Party Starters," as well as your personally curated Mixes. The animations are short and appear similar to live wallpapers on iOS, showcasing brief and colorful sequences that apparently loop infinitely.

Besides ‌Apple Music‌, there will be numerous changes in iOS 14. You can read up on all of the updates that have been announced and discovered in our full iOS 14 roundup.

Related Forum: iOS 14

Top Rated Comments

blueslothking Avatar
79 months ago
Oversized icons for playlists = can only see one icon at a time. This is less user friendly.

I would love for their to be at least one tab in Music that is customizable.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
andrewmdunne Avatar
79 months ago
If the recommendations are as bad in 'Listen Now' as they are in 'For You', does it matter how well they dress it up?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AngerDanger Avatar
79 months ago

Oversized icons for playlists = can only see one icon at a time. This is less user friendly.

I would love for their to be at least one tab in Music that is customizable.

What would be really nice is if Apple allowed me to see more than three tiles of music selection. I don't need animations, I don't need lyrics, so disappointed with Music. I want to see music choices!
I wholeheartedly agree; it seems with each new release of iOS, Apple Music eats up more space in the already crammed music player.

If you just want to play your own music, you now have two tabs at the bottom and an extra three you'll only ever use if you mistakenly tap on.

Older is not always better, but damn do I miss when there were independent tabs for Songs, Playlists, Artists, Albums, and you could rearrange them:



Attachment Image
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Waterndirt Avatar
79 months ago
What would be really nice is if Apple allowed me to see more than three tiles of music selection. I don't need animations, I don't need lyrics, so disappointed with Music. I want to see music choices!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adampk17 Avatar
79 months ago
I would be happy if Apple Music just stopped frequently mixing country songs in with my metal stations. I feel like I'm paying a subscription fee each month so I can get trolled.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
79 months ago
All I want is better sound resolution. Please Apple give us 16 / 44.1 ALAC with a choice to use it or stay with 256 kbps AAC for those that don’t care.

Fancy graphics don’t do it for me. CD quality resolution and decent album artwork is all I need.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

apple music

Apple Music Now Costs $11.99 as Apple Increases Subscription Prices

Friday July 17, 2026 11:25 am PDT by
Apple today increased the price of Apple Music and some Apple One subscription bundles. An individual Apple Music subscription is now $1 more expensive in the United States, going from $10.99 to $11.99 per month. Pricing on the Apple Music Family plan increased by $3, increasing from $16.99 to $19.99. Student pricing is up $1, with the plan now priced at $6.99. The price of the individual ...
iPhone 18 Pro Deep Red Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching in Two Months With These 12 New Features

Friday July 17, 2026 10:39 am PDT by
It is now mid-July, and that means the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are now just two months away. The devices are expected to look similar to the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, but there will still be many year-over-year changes, with rumored features including a smaller Dynamic Island, 5G via satellite, and more. Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, ...
Apple AppleCare One Feature

'AppleCare One' is Now Even More Valuable

Saturday July 18, 2026 6:25 am PDT by
While the monthly and annual prices of AppleCare+ plans for Macs and iPads received a slight increase this week, AppleCare One continues to start at $19.99 per month in the U.S., making the multi-device plan even more valuable. Launched in July 2025, AppleCare One allows you to cover up to three devices as part of a single subscription for $19.99 per month, and additional devices can be...