Apple Music was released in iOS 8.4, along with the newly redesigned app and iCloud Music Library. iCloud Music Library was a great concept – my music, plus all of Apple Music, in one place. Didn’t work out that way. I had too many problems. And that’s when I made a decision to backup and nuke my entire music library. Start fresh with Apple Music. And after looking at the new (and awesome) Music app in iOS 10, I’m glad I went all in.
If you’re like me, you like discovering songs, then adding them to your Library. Usually, I end up downloading them as well (I’ve got the space and 3G isn’t cheap in India). Usually, downloading a song is an extra step. But if you enable this one feature, every song you add to your Library, will also be downloaded.
How To Turn on Automatic Downloads
After you’ve signed in to your account in the Music app, go to the Settings app and select “Music“.
From here, you’ll first need to enable “iCloud Music Library“. None of this works without enabling this.
Once you do that, “Automatic Downloads” toggle will show up. Just turn it on.
Now Start Downloading
It’s time to start downloading stuff. You can do that for both albums and songs. Anywhere you see the “+” icon, just tap it to add it to your Library.
To do this from the Now Playing screen, tap the “+” icon in the bottom-left.
You’ll now see an animation for “Add to Library“.
Then the “+” icon will be replaced by a download progress bar. That means the song is downloading.
Accessing Only Downloaded Music
If you’re offline and only want to see all your downloaded music, go to the “Library” tab.
If you’re on the iPhone, you’ll see “Downloads” here as a button. Tap on it.
On the iPad, you’ll see a button called “Library” on top. Tap on it and from the popup, select “Downloads“.
Managing Downloaded Music
If you want to see how much space your downloads are taking and you want to quickly delete songs, you’ll need to go back to Settings.
From the “Music” section, tap on “Downloaded Music“. If you want to delete a song, swipe left on it and then tap “Delete“.
Your Favorite Music App Tips?
Do you use the Music app a lot? I love listening to Beats 1 when I’m writing. What are your favorite tips and tricks? Share with us in the comments below.
