Apple Music is bringing its audio haptics feature to all users as part of iOS 18

Apple’s Music Haptics feature is now live, as part of the official release of iOS 18. This is the accessibility tool that includes Apple Music on iPhones. Simply put, it uses the phone’s speaker-based haptics system, which the company calls the Taptic Engine, to create “taps, textures and refined vibrations in the audio of a song.”

This is obviously aimed at those affected by hearing loss, allowing them to hear music. It works with Apple Music, but also Apple Music Classical and Shazam. The company says it will also integrate with other third-party apps, as long as the iPhone is connected to Wi-Fi or cellular.

To get started, just go into the accessibility settings menu and turn on “Music Haptics.” An easily visible logo will appear on the Now Playing screen in the Apple Music app once activated. Tapping this logo will stop the feature and tapping it again will turn it on again. 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 released a series of playlists that use haptic technology. These channels have names like Haptics Beats and Haptics Bass, so they are filled with songs that have a lot of potential for touch and vibration.

People are already trying this feature. Some users have suggested that it “feels like an Atari game” when the phone is placed in a case with Music Haptics turned on. I don’t agree, but listen to yourself.