Apple Music's New Playlist Feature Has Users Excited For A Big Reason

Before the internet, one of the most romantic and thoughtful things that people ever did was to make mixtapes. Often, each song was meticulously crafted to create a story and meant to represent the feelings of the person making it.

These days, making playlists and sharing music can be as easy as forwarding a YouTube link or a clip from Instagram. However, there's still something compelling about being able to convey a story with songs, especially when it's something you build together.

Whether it's to commemorate a certain time in your relationship or to prepare for an road trip with your old friends, creating playlists can be fun. In its upcoming IOS update, Apple adds one new feature that brings this tradition back to life: collaborative playlists.

Although both Spotify and YouTube have been letting users co-create playlists for years, Apple will be the only one offering seamless integration. Through Apple Music, the collaborative playlist feature will be available for both the iPhone and iPad, with options to stream them via Apple Watch, Mac, and Apple TV.

After you've successfully updated your iPhone to iOS 17.2 (currently in beta), here's how you can make use of Apple's new collaborative playlist feature on Apple Music.

Although the final details of Apple Music's collaborative playlist haven't been released yet, like if subscription plans are necessary for users to be able to manage them, here's what we know so far.

To create an Apple Music collaborative playlist, according to BGR, you'll want to open Apple Music on your iPhone. At the bottom of the screen, tap Library and proceed to either select a playlist or create a whole new one. Afterward, tap the three dots icon in the top-right corner of the screen and select Start Collaboration to invite co-creators to your playlist.

If you want to add a friend or two more to collaborate, you can click the three dots icon again and tap Manage Collaboration. Then, you'll be given an option to either share a link or QR code with a friend or family member, which will work for up to seven days. Once you have sent your co-creators the invitation to collaborate, you'll be able to see the additional songs and the names of the people who suggested them on the list.

Unfortunately, we're not all blessed with good taste in music. So, if you come to regret adding people to your playlist once you know what they actually listen to, Apple Music also lets you remove collaborators. To remove playlist collaborators, tap the icon of two people in the top right corner of your screen and select Stop the collaboration.

Additionally, to make sure that random people who get ahold of your playlist link won't be able to make changes, you can toggle on the button next to Approve Collaborators. With this, they'll need to be approved first before they can make any suggestions that might not fit the vibe your playlist is going for.

While not available in the current iOS update, BGR shares that Apple Music will also be able to react to songs used in collaborative playlists through emojis in the future.