Apple's Music Haptics feature is now available as part of the official iOS 18 release. It's an accessibility tool that integrates with Apple Music on iPhones. Simply put, it uses the phone's speaker-based haptic system, which the company calls the Taptic Engine, to create “refined taps, textures, and vibrations in the song's audio.”
It's obviously aimed at people with hearing loss, as it allows them to feel the music. It works with Apple Music, but also Apple Music Classical and Shazam. The company says it will also integrate with some third-party apps, as long as the iPhone is connected to a Wi-Fi or cellular network.
To get started, simply go to the Accessibility settings menu and turn on Music Haptics. When enabled, an easily identifiable logo will appear on the Now Playing screen in the Apple Music app. Tapping this logo will pause the feature, and tapping it again will turn it back on. Music Haptics is supported worldwide on iPhone 12 and later, as long as the device is updated to iOS 18.
To commemorate the launch, Apple Music has launched a series of playlists that take advantage of haptic technology. These channels have names like Haptics Beats and Haptics Bass, so they're packed with songs with plenty of tap and vibration possibilities.
People have already been experimenting with this feature. Some users have suggested that it “sounds like an Atari game” when a phone is placed on a box with Music Haptics enabled. I don’t agree, but oh well, Listen to yourself.
