When I first heard about AutoMix and saw tech bloggers posting about it on social media, I was excited to try the new feature. I’ve had Crossfade enabled since it was introduced and thought AutoMix would be a great way to enjoy my playlists—especially those with a variety of genres.
However, after using it for a while, I decided to switch back to Crossfade and have no plans to turn AutoMix on again anytime soon.
What is AutoMix?
AutoMix was first introduced at WWDC 2025 as a new feature for Apple Music users in iOS 26. It was added as another song transition option alongside the existing Crossfade feature, allowing the beginnings and endings of songs to blend seamlessly.
Unlike Crossfade, which transitions songs from one to another over a set duration—typically between 1 and 12 seconds—AutoMix transitions songs at specific moments based on the key and tempo of the current and upcoming tracks. Since it intelligently mixes from one song to another based on those metrics, there is no set duration for when the song changes.
Think of the transition as what you’d hear from a DJ mixing tracks; blending two songs by matching the right tempo to smoothly lead the current song into the next one in the queue.
You’ll know AutoMix is active when the area that usually displays the Lossless or Dolby Atmos logo changes to “Mixing,” with the letters animated in a flowing, glowing motion. In addition, the album artwork will smoothly morph from one cover to the next, rather than switching abruptly when the new song begins.
Unlike Crossfade, which doesn’t require an Apple Music subscription, AutoMix does and is available exclusively to Apple Music subscribers.
The feature is available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, as well as when AirPlaying music to a compatible device. However, it’s not available on Apple TV boxes, HomePods (unless music is AirPlayed to them), the Apple Music app on Android or Windows, or on Intel-based Macs.
The issue with AutoMix
When I first started using AutoMix back in August during the iOS 26 beta releases, I really enjoyed it. I loved how the music transitioned smoothly into the next song and kept the energy going when the vibe was right.
However, the more I used the feature, the more I noticed its bugs and shortcomings—things I hadn’t picked up on at first. Once I did, it became impossible not to notice them whenever they happened afterward.
For one, the feature doesn’t always happen or work. Unlike Crossfade, which works with any song—whether it’s from Apple Music or ripped from a CD—AutoMix only functions with songs streamed directly from Apple Music, even if the same track exists in the catalog.
For example, I bought Lady Gaga’s most recent album, Mayhem, on physical CD because it included an extra song. When I added it to my iCloud Music Library, Apple Music recognized all the tracks and even converted them to Dolby Atmos or Lossless if available. However, when I added them to a playlist, AutoMix wouldn’t work with them, no matter what I tried.
But the issue isn’t just that it doesn’t work with imported songs—the mixing transition doesn’t always occur when switching between tracks. With Crossfade, I could always rely on the transition happening at the exact time I set. With AutoMix, though, it often fails to trigger when expected, even between two songs that should blend perfectly.
On the other hand, when the feature did work, it sometimes glitched by suddenly blasting the following song over the one still playing, overpowering it before correcting itself a second or two later. At other times, it would randomly stutter or screech like a broken record.
These bugs definitely killed the vibe when I was expecting a seamless transition between songs. I assumed this would be fixed in a future iOS 26 update, but so far, none of the released updates have addressed it.
Yet one of the most significant issues I ran into with the feature was how often it chopped out parts of songs during transitions, which impacted either the end of the current track or the beginning of the next. AutoMix would occasionally skip over as much as a full minute while trying to align tempos between songs, removing sections I’d still love to hear.
While the transitions were often smooth, the trade-off of losing large portions of songs wasn’t always worth it. I sometimes wanted to hear a song’s ending or beginning, moments that either wrap up the track or set the tone for the next one. But AutoMix would skip over them.
I understand that this can happen when a DJ mixes songs, but with AutoMix, it became excessive. At times, I only heard one minute of a three-minute song because the transition started too early and ended too late.
How to turn off AutoMix
If you’re like me and want to turn off AutoMix, it’s simple. Just follow the same steps you used to enable the feature in the first place.
Go to Settings, then scroll all the way down to Apps, which is the last option in the list. From there, find the Music app in your list of downloaded apps on your device.
Once you find it and open its menu, scroll down and tap “Song Transitions” under the “Audio” section. In there, you’ll see the options to turn off song transitions entirely or pick which transition style you want.
If you don’t want any transitions between songs, turn the feature off entirely. However, if you prefer, you can select “Crossfade” as your transition style. This will let your songs transition that way instead of using AutoMix.
After you’ve made the change, there’s nothing else you need to do, and it will take effect automatically when you start listening to music again. However, you must change the setting on each device individually; disabling it on your iPhone won’t turn it off on your iPad if it’s enabled there as well.
AutoMix is not a bad feature by any means; I enjoyed using it when it worked correctly and when the transitions felt right. However, like any new feature, it has bugs and issues that need to be addressed before it can become a nearly flawless addition.
With future updates, hopefully, the feature will be fine-tuned. For now, though, it will remain off until I see—or hear—that the issues I’ve mentioned have been resolved.
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