Apple has transformed the way music feels on the iPhone with its iOS 26 update for Apple Music. The update makes album covers come alive on the Lock Screen. When a song plays, you can tap the artwork to expand it and see the image move in real time. Controls appear as floating buttons on top of the moving artwork with a soft, see-through look. These changes reflect Apple’s new Liquid Glass design that adds layers and movement across iOS.
How Animated Album Art Works
When a track includes animated artwork, it shows on the full Lock Screen. As the song plays, the cover moves gently to match the music. Press play and watch shapes flow, or watch colors shift. The music controls stay in view, but they float on top of the art with a misty effect. This makes the screen feel alive and less flat.
Liquid Glass Design Across iOS
Liquid Glass is a new design style that Apple revealed at WWDC 2025. It gives a glass-like feel to app windows, buttons, and panels. The goal is to make the interface seem more like a living surface and less like a set of icons. You will see this look in Control Center widgets and background panels. The Lock Screen update for Apple Music is one part of this larger design change.
Which iPhones Support Animated Artwork
Animated album art requires an iPhone with A13 Bionic or newer. This means that iPhone 11 models will later work with the new feature. If you have an older device, the cover will remain static. Apple has also released tools that let other music apps add animated art later. For now, only Apple Music uses this effect, but developers can build on the new APIs in future updates.
Impact on User Experience
These changes will not alter how you listen to music, but they will change how it feels. The Lock Screen becomes more than a pause between tasks. It turns into a canvas that responds to your song. During quiet moments, you may glance at your phone twice as the artwork moves beneath the controls. The update aims to make the iPhone feel more ambient and intentional when music is all that is happening.
Battery and Settings
Some users may wonder about power use with moving artwork on the Lock Screen. Apple has not yet said if there will be a way to turn off the animation. Based on past features, a switch may arrive in a future beta. For now, the animation runs when you expand the cover on supported devices.
A New Stage for Music on iPhone
Music controls have lived on the Lock Screen for years, but they always felt like temporary overlays. iOS 26 treats them as part of the art itself. The screen adapts to your song, not just to the app icon. This makes listening on your phone feel more immersive and less utilitarian. Over time, these subtle shifts add up and change the way your device feels in the quiet moments when only your music is playing.
