Why Is Apple Music Automix Not Working On All Songs And Can I Use It On My Own Playlists?

If you’re still listening to the awkward two-second silence between songs, you’re doing it wrong. With the release of iOS 26, Apple Music has officially moved past the basic “crossfade” into the era of Automix. It’s essentially a personal AI DJ living in your pocket, but like any artist, it has some specific demands before it will perform.

Here is everything you need to know about why Automix works, why it occasionally “quits,” and how to force it to play nice with your custom playlists.

What is Automix and How Does it Actually Work?

Introduced as a headline feature of iOS 26, Automix is a machine-learning-driven transition engine. Unlike traditional crossfading—which just lowers the volume of one song while raising the other—Automix analyzes the BPM (beats per minute), rhythmic structure, and harmonic key of your music.

When it detects a match, it uses “time-stretching” to subtly align the tempos of two songs, blending them seamlessly. In some cases, it will even skip long, quiet intros or outros to keep the energy of a “set” moving.

[!NOTE]

To use Automix, you generally need an iPhone 11 or newer running iOS 26 or a Mac with Apple Silicon. It is currently not supported on Intel Macs, Apple TV, or HomePods.

The “VIP Room”: Which Songs Does it Work With?

Automix doesn’t just “turn on” for every file in your library. It is designed to work exclusively with the Apple Music streaming catalog.

• Genre Matters: It shines with EDM, House, Pop, and Hip-Hop. These genres have “mappable” digital beats that the AI can easily sync.
• The “Vibe” Check: If you transition from a 70 BPM acoustic ballad to a 140 BPM techno track, Automix will likely default to a standard fade. The “math” simply doesn’t allow for a beat-matched blend without making one song sound like a chipmunk.
• Catalog Only: If you are playing “Local Files” (songs you ripped from a CD or bought on iTunes 10 years ago), Automix will not work. It requires the metadata and analysis provided by the streaming version of the track.

Why Is Automix Skipping My Favorite Tracks?

If you notice Automix working for three songs and then stopping abruptly, you’ve likely hit one of these “No-Fly Zones”:

1. Album Integrity: By default, Automix is disabled when you play an album in its original order. Apple assumes you want to hear the record exactly as the artist sequenced it.
2. Spatial Audio Conflict: Curiously, Dolby Atmos/Spatial Audio can sometimes interfere with the AI’s ability to time-stretch. If you find the transitions are clunky, try disabling Dolby Atmos in your Music Settings.
3. Manual Scrubbing: If you skip to the very end of a song manually, you might “break” the AI’s preparation phase. It needs a few seconds of lead time to calculate the transition.
4. Sequential Track Numbers: If your playlist contains songs that were originally tracks 1, 2, and 3 on the same album, the app may treat them as a “suite” and skip the DJ effects.

How to Make It Work on Your Own Playlist

Yes, you can absolutely use Automix on your personal playlists! To ensure the best “club” experience, follow these steps:

• Clean Your Library: Ensure every song in the playlist is the “Apple Music” version. If you see a cloud icon with an arrow, download the streaming version instead of using your matched local file.
• Enable the Feature: Go to Settings > Music > Song Transitions and ensure Automix is checked.
• The “Shuffle” Trick: Don’t just hit play. If you want to force transitions on an album or a specific list, hit Shuffle. This breaks the “sequential order” rule and signals the AI to start mixing.
• The Up Next Toggle: While music is playing, open the Queue (the three-line icon). You should see the Automix icon (two overlapping circles) next to the shuffle button. Make sure it’s highlighted.