Music is all about the mood and the timing. That is why we create playlists that may fit our current location or our sudden feelings. I have been messing around with the new iOS 8.4 Apple Music app for some time now and think that the “Up Next” feature might be even more convenient than a well-groomed playlist. It’s all about refining and adding on the fly and I’ll show you all you need to know about the feature.
How to use “Up Next” in iOS 8.4 Music
Adding Tracks and Music
With Up Next, you can add a new track at anytime. You can be listening to a playlist, album, random song from your library, or a current Up Next creation. To add a track or album to the Up Next queue, tap the More icon (three horizontal dots) and select “Add to Up Next.” Your selection(s) will be added to your Up Next playlist queue. You can also play your choice immediately, by choosing Play Next.
You can also add music by selecting the Up Next icon and adding music from the Up Next menu. Tap Add, and select your preference from all the musical categories.
You can check out your Up Next queue at anytime in the Now Playing section. Tap on the Up Next icon to view your current selections.
Playing Other Music While Using Up Next
When you are listening to your Up Next playlist, you may want to hear another song or album without adding it to your Up Next queue. Find the song you wish to play and tap the play button. A pop-up window will appear where you can choose to either “Keep Up Next” or “Clear Up Next.”
Choose “Keep Up Next” and your current Up Next queue will remain unchanged. You can return to your Up Next after the your external song has finished or any other time until you clear that Up Next queue.
Removing Your Up Next song list
If you choose “Clear Up Next” in the pop-up menu, your current Up Next queue will be deleted. You can also clear a playlist in the Up Next section. Just tap Clear in the top-right corner followed by Clear Up Next and your entire Up Next list will be cleared.
How to check your Up Next selections
Whenever you may be unsure about your Up Next playlist or just want to check out the next song, go to the Now Playing (tapping on the current song) section and tap on the Up Next icon to view your selections.
Editing Your Up Next Queue
If you wish to move songs around or organize them to your own liking, you can do so by simply dragging and dropping songs to wherever you see fit. Tap and hold the three horizontal lines and move the item.
Also, if you want to play any particular song out of the default order, tap the song within the Up Next list and it will immediately begin playing.
How to Remove a Song from Your queue
To remove a single song from your Up Next queue, swipe the song title to the left. You may have some difficulties getting the location right, but if you place your finger near the end of the song title and swipe, it should work more times than not.
Accessing your Up Next History
To find a song you recently played or in order to challenge a friend on an artist’s name, you can find previously played tracks in your Up Next history.
In the Up Next section, pull down to reveal the Up Next History. Here you will find your history. You can choose to play a song from your history, or tap the more icon to bring up the options menu.
Apple’s revamped music application is a great reason to update to iOS 8.4. With the three-month free trial you should have enough time to really test out all the app’s features. Up Next is a handy tool for creating agile playlists whenever the mood hits.
Let us know what you think of Up Next feature in the comment section.
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