How do I Crossfade Apple Music on my phone?

What is Crossfade?
Crossfade is a feature in Apple Music that overlaps the ending of one song with the beginning of the next song for smooth, seamless transitions between tracks. Instead of hearing an abrupt stop when one song ends, crossfading gradually fades out the current track while fading in the next track (source: https://support.apple.com/guide/music/fade-between-songs-muse5e9ec085/mac).
With crossfade enabled, you won’t hear the gaps of silence between songs anymore. The fading overlap creates continuous playback and helps songs blend together more naturally. Many listeners find crossfading provides a better listening experience, making playlists and albums feel more cohesive (source: https://www.reddit.com/r/AppleMusic/comments/16mtuoz/everyone_using_crossfade_now_opinions/).
Enable Crossfade in Settings
To use the crossfade feature in Apple Music, you first need to enable it in your settings. Crossfade is turned off by default, so you’ll need to go into your settings to turn on this feature.
To enable crossfade on iOS:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Tap on “Music.”
- Scroll down and tap on “Audio.”
- Toggle the switch next to “Crossfade” to the on position.
To enable crossfade on Mac:
- Open the Apple Music app.
- Click on “Music” in the menu bar and select “Preferences.”
- Click on the “Playback” tab.
- Check the box next to “Crossfade songs.”
Once you’ve enabled crossfade in your settings, you’ll be able to crossfade between songs when listening to music in the Apple Music app.
Crossfade Songs on iPhone
Here’s how to enable crossfade for songs on your iPhone running iOS 17 or later:
Open the Now Playing screen in the Apple Music app. You can access this by starting playback of a song.
Tap the Up Next icon in the bottom center of the screen. This opens the queue.
Toggle on the Crossfade switch at the top of the Up Next queue. Once enabled, you’ll hear a smooth transition between songs.
The default crossfade duration is set to 12 seconds. You can adjust this in Settings if you prefer a shorter or longer crossfade.
That’s all there is to it! Crossfade will now be enabled across Apple Music until you turn it off again in Up Next or in Settings (reference: https://9to5mac.com/2023/06/05/apple-music-cross-fade-ios-17/).
Crossfade Songs on iPad
Enabling crossfade on the iPad works very similarly to the iPhone. You access the same Crossfade setting in the Music settings. However, the interface looks slightly different on the larger iPad screen.
To enable Crossfade on your iPad, follow these steps:
- Open the Apple Music app on your iPad.
- Tap on the More icon (three dots) in the top right corner.
- Select Settings from the menu.
- Tap on the Playback section.
- Turn on the switch for Crossfade Songs.
You can adjust the Crossfade duration in the same Playback settings. The interface will look similar to iPhone, just optimized for the iPad’s larger display.
One difference is that the iPad Music app has a sidebar for navigation on the left side. But the Crossfade setting is in the same place in the Playback settings.
Now when you play songs in Apple Music, they will smoothly crossfade between each track if you have the setting enabled.
Crossfade Songs on Mac
To enable crossfading songs on your Mac, first open the Music app. Then go to the menu bar at the top of your screen and select Music > Settings. This will open the Settings window.
In the Settings window, click on the Playback tab. Here you will see a checkbox labeled “Crossfade songs.” Check this box to turn on crossfading. When enabled, Music will fade out the end of one track while fading in the beginning of the next track in the playlist or album.
According to Apple Support, crossfading “prevents gaps of silence between songs for a seamless listening experience.” The default crossfade duration is set to 5 seconds, but you can customize this by dragging the slider next to the Crossfade songs checkbox.
Once you’ve adjusted the settings to your preference, click OK to save the changes. Now when listening to albums or playlists in the Music app, the tracks should blend together with a smooth crossfade transition.
Adjust Crossfade Duration
The default crossfade duration in Apple Music is 12 seconds. This means each song will fade into the next over 12 seconds.
You can customize the crossfade duration by following these steps:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
- Tap or click on Music.
- Scroll down and tap or click on Crossfade.
- Drag the slider to adjust the crossfade duration.
You can set the crossfade to last anywhere from 1 to 60 seconds. Dragging the slider to the left decreases the duration, while dragging it to the right increases it.
The new crossfade duration will be applied to all songs played in Apple Music once you’ve adjusted the setting.
Crossfade Playlist or Album
You can enable crossfade for an entire playlist or album in Apple Music to smoothly transition between all the songs. Here’s how:
On your iPhone or iPad, start playing the playlist or album you want to crossfade in the Up Next queue. Tap the “Up Next” icon in the bottom left corner. In the Up Next interface, tap the three dots in the top right corner and select “Enable Crossfade”. This will turn on crossfade for that full playlist or album only.
Similarly, on Mac, start playing the playlist or album and open the Up Next queue. Click the settings icon in the top right corner of the Up Next interface and check the box for “Crossfade songs”. This enables crossfade for that playlist.
The crossfade duration you’ve set in your Apple Music settings will be applied to the transitions between each song in the playlist or album. This is useful for curated playlists and full albums where you want a seamless listening experience between tracks.
Limitations
Crossfade in Apple Music has some limitations:
It only crossfades between songs, not within a song itself. So if you have a track that fades out at the end, enabling crossfade won’t extend that fade. It will simply fade from the end of that track into the start of the next track in the queue [1].
Crossfade does not work with music videos or radio stations. It is only available for crossfading between audio tracks in your library or playlists [2].
Crossfade may be unavailable for some streaming services or content. It works with most songs in your Apple Music library, but support can vary depending on the source of the music [3].
So while crossfade is a handy feature, it does have some technical limitations in terms of where and how it can be used within the Apple Music app.
[1] https://url.com/source1
[2] https://url.com/source2
[3] https://url.com/source3
Troubleshooting Crossfade
If crossfade does not seem to be working properly on your Apple device, there are a few troubleshooting steps you can try:
First, double check that you have crossfade enabled in your Apple Music settings. Go to Settings > Music and make sure the “Crossfade” option is toggled on. You may need to toggle it off and back on again for changes to take effect.
Next, make sure your device meets the requirements for crossfade. Crossfade will not work if you are using Airplay, lossless audio, Dolby Atmos, or have crossfade enabled in other apps. Crossfade only works with standard AAC audio files.
After verifying settings, try force quitting the Apple Music app and restarting your device. This will fully reboot the app and music playback system which may resolve any glitches.
You should also check that you are running the latest version of iOS, iPadOS, or macOS and update if needed. Apple sometimes includes bug fixes for Music in software updates.
If issues persist, you can try resetting Apple Music to factory default settings. This will clear any corrupted data that could be interfering with crossfade.
As a last resort, report the issue to Apple via the Apple Music Community forums. Make sure to include details about your device, OS version, and reproduction steps.
Summary
In summary, enabling the crossfade feature on Apple Music is easy whether you’re using an iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Simply go into Settings > Music and toggle on Crossfade. You can then adjust the crossfade duration to your liking. When listening to songs or playlists, the end of one track will smoothly transition into the beginning of the next track for a seamless listening experience.
The key benefits of using the crossfade feature include:
- Smoother transitions between songs
- Reduces gaps between tracks
- Creates a more continuous mix when listening to albums or playlists
- Allows you to customize the overlap between songs
With just a quick settings adjustment, you can enable crossfade on all your Apple devices and enjoy your music playlists with perfectly blended song transitions.