iOS 18 is chock full of new features and changes: some Apple advertised, while others, not so much. Hidden and “under the radar” features always pique my interest, and iOS 18’s are no exception. My personal favorite this year? Music Haptics.
The feature is pretty simple: When enabled on iPhone 12 or newer, iOS will play haptic vibrations to the beat of whatever songs you’re listening to. It works with just about every genre of music I’ve tried. Rock, rap, classical, jazz: If it has a discernible beat, your iPhone will vibrate to it.
These aren’t annoying, uniform buzzes, either. Because the feature uses haptic vibrations powered by your iPhone’s Taptic Engine, iOS can employ a variety of different taps and vibrations, from subtle staccatos to full, sustained reverberations. This all happens on the fly, too, and is, to me, pretty novel. It’s tough to adequately describe: You have to try the feature out for yourself to really understand why it’s fun.
Apple actually announced Music Haptics back in May, as part of a larger story on upcoming accessibility features. The feature is designed for users who are deaf or hard of hearing, to make it easier to follow along to the beat of Apple Music tracks, as well as music from supported third-party platforms. (Apple hasn’t said what these platforms are, however.) At the time of announcement, the company didn’t actually say these features would ship with iOS 18, although it seemed evident they would.
How to enable Music Haptics for Apple Music
When you open the New tab in Apple Music after updating to iOS 18, you’ll see a new “Feel the Music” section, sporting four playlists designed for the new feature. Apple went to the trouble of curating songs for each playlist that show off the new vibrations, but, curiously, doesn’t actually tell you how to enable the feature in the first place.
To get started, open Settings, then head to Accessibility. Scroll down to the HEARING section, then tap Music Haptics. Enable the toggle to turn on the feature. Now, go to Apple Music, and try playing a song. If the track supports the feature, you’ll see a Music Haptics button appear below the playback bar. Enjoy the haptic feedback!
Credit: Jake Peterson
You can tap this button at any time to pause these haptics. You’ll also find a new Music Haptics option in Control Center after enabling the feature, if you prefer to pause and unpause from there. Mine appears in the second Control Center menu, but you can manually add the tile to any page you want, as part of iOS 18’s new Control Center customizability options.
