3 reasons to use Apple Music on Android – especially if you have iOS 26 envy

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ZDNET’s key takeaways:

• Apple Music on Android now allows you to pin your favorite albums, artists, and playlists for quick and easy access.
• The Android app is also getting the Lyrics Translation & Pronunciation feature.
• The new AutoMix feature remains exclusive to Apple devices.

Apple announced a slew of new features for Apple Music on iOS 26 at its WWDC 2025 event in June. They are not only available on the new iPhone 17 series and iPhone Air, but also rolling out to Apple Music users on Android. 

Apple Music 5.0 for Android is now available in a stable build, following the iOS 26 rollout last week. It brings three new iOS 26 features. One of them will save you a lot of swiping time, while the other will help you understand lyrics and sing along across languages. However, the much-talked-about and enjoyable AutoMix feature remains an iPhone-exclusive. 

Also: iOS 26 just solved one of my biggest pain points with Apple Music

Starting with the new Pin button, you can now pin your favorite albums, artists, and playlists for quick and easy access. The button is located at the top of various three-dot menus throughout the updated Apple Music app on Android. This access will save you a lot of swipes as your favorite pinned items will appear at the top of your music library, and you won’t have to look for them in your messy library.

Second, Apple Music is also rolling out the Lyrics Translation & Pronunciation feature to its Android app. This feature translates lyrics in songs across languages, so you can understand the words and sing along. You can find the feature under the Display Options for the Lyrics menu, which also lets you adjust the positioning of the Lyrics of Pronunciation when both (translated and original lyrics) are displayed.

Third, Apple Music on Android is also updating the Replay experience to refresh the look of stats for your streaming habits. 

Also: Apple Music lets subscribers transfer playlists to (and later on, from) YouTube Music

While some buttons in Apple Music on Android have shifted from rectangular elements to more rounded pills, they haven’t incorporated the Liquid Glass interface. 

Moreover, Apple isn’t adding the AutoMix feature to the Android app. For the unaware, AutoMix utilizes AI to seamlessly transition from one song to the next, much like a DJ would when mixing tracks. Spotify rolled out a similar but more customizable and personalized Mix feature last month. So, if you’re a Spotify Premium subscriber, you can access this AI DJ feature on the Apple Music rival app.