The new Music Haptics accessibility feature in iOS 18 adds another dimension to audio: vibration. Taking advantage of the incredible precision of the iPhone’s Taptic Engine, the feature brings to life a specially recorded track of rhythmic vibrations and buzzing patterns timed to certain Apple Music songs.
Switch it on, and you can hold your iPhone in your hands and feel your music in a whole new way. Keep reading to see how the feature works (or watch our video that explains it all).
Feel your music with Music Haptics on iPhone
You don’t need to go to a disturbingly loud concert to feel the music. (In fact, your Apple devices will likely scream at you if you do.) While Apple designed Music Haptics for people with auditory problems, the feature lets anyone “experience music on iPhone with taps, textures, and refined vibrations that are synchronized with a song’s audio,” the company says.
Note: The Music Haptics feature requires a subscription to Apple Music. You can get Apple Music for $10.99 per month individually, $5.99 per month if you’re a student, $16.99 per month to share with up to six people in your family or bundled alongside other Apple services in an Apple One bundle. (Since there’s an API for developers to use, third-party apps might add support for Music Haptics in the future.)
Also, Music Haptics only works with iPhone 12 or later. iPads do not come with a Taptic Engine strong enough to make the feature work.
Table of contents: Feel your music with Music Haptics on iPhone
- Enable Music Haptics
- Play a compatible song on Apple Music
- Toggle it on and off from the Now Playing screen
- More Apple Music features
Enable Music Haptics
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
To turn on the feature, open Settings > Accessibility. Scroll down to the Hearing section and tap Music Haptics, then enable Music Haptics. Tap Play Sample to get a taste of the feature.
You’ll also see a list of compatible apps — likely just Apple Music, Apple Music Classical and Shazam. Support is not yet available in Spotify.
Play a compatible song on Apple Music
Screenshot: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
Open the Music app to browse for songs. Most popular hits and all-time greats are likely to support it. However, not every song in the catalog works with the feature. Bring up one of your favorites and start playing.
Toggle it on and off from the Now Playing screen
If the feature is available, you’ll see a little Music Haptics button underneath the progress bar in the Music app. Tap it to turn the feature on.
You also can add a button to Control Center. Tap the + in the upper left corner, then tap Add a Control at the bottom. Type in “music haptics” to the search field, then tap on it to add a Control Center button.
If, after noodling around with it for a while, you decide you don’t like it, you can turn it off. Go back to Settings > Accessibility > Music Haptics and toggle it off.
Does Spotify have Music Haptics?
Unfortunately, no. Spotify does not currently support the feature.
More Apple Music features
Learn about the other great features that come with an Apple Music subscription:
