Apple Music has long allowed users to create and customize playlists, but playlist artwork has always been a different story. Your only option was to download an image from the internet and use it as artwork. Or use your own photos.
Now, in iOS 18, Apple is going to allow users to create their own playlist artwork using generative AI and Apple Intelligence.
When editing a playlist in iOS 18, there will be a new “Create Image” button, according to code discovered by 9to5Mac in the latest developer beta. Tapping the button will open Image Playground, a new feature of Apple Intelligence that allows users to create, manipulate and modify images using a text command.
For playlist artwork, users will be able to indicate what they want the artwork to look like, and Image Playground will offer a few different options. There will be three different styles of artwork available – animation, illustration, and sketch – but the images won’t be photorealistic.
It’s a cool idea, especially since many artists tend to release album art for their singles that look nothing like the album art of the full album. And it should make creating a new playlist a little more fun in iOS 18.
As with all Apple Intelligence features, this one is likely still in development and isn’t available to beta users yet. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported earlier this month that Apple was planning to delay the release of many of its new AI features until 2025.