What does the infinity symbol mean on Apple Music?

Whether you’ve always used Apple Music or just switched to Apple Music from Spotify, it’s easy to spend hours in the app organizing playlists and listening to great tunes. But when that last piece ends, sometimes the music continues. This flow of seemingly random melodies is animated by a small, sometimes overlooked icon: the infinity symbol. In the Apple Music app, this figure-eight loop represents the autoplay feature. If it’s highlighted, it’s enabled and actively running in the background. When you tap the infinity symbol, Apple Music autoplays to avoid awkward silences by playing songs similar to your chosen album or playlist after it’s finished.

The goal is to let Apple’s algorithm take the reins of your music listening journey. It analyzes the genre, tempo and mood of the most recently played tracks, giving you a sort of radio experience with tracks that Apple is sure you’ll like. Autoplay is a fantastic way to discover new artists or keep a party going without needing to be the DJ. However, this eternal flow is not suitable for every person or every scenario. Coming to a screeching halt is a good thing if you’re trying to wind down for the night, and so is enjoying “Disintegration” the way The Cure intended, from the opening note to the final fade-out.

Autoplay can also have other unintended negative side effects. For example, you might notice an increase in your phone’s data usage if autoplay does its job when you’re not connected to Wi-Fi. Understanding how to handle this little symbol ensures that the algorithm never exceeds its limits.

Regaining control of the queue on your device only takes a few quick clicks. Whether you’re using an iPhone, iPad, or Android device, the Apple Music app keeps the autoplay toggle hidden in the current playback screen. So start by opening the application and tapping the mini-player at the bottom of the screen. This will expand the view to show album art and playback controls for the current song. From there, locate the Play next in the lower right corner and tap it.

This will reveal your next song queue. At the top right of this list, next to the shuffle and repeat icons, is the infinite autoplay symbol. If the symbol is highlighted, autoplay is activated and ready to play other songs. All you have to do at this point to turn it off is simply tap the infinity icon and voila! The highlight will disappear and Apple Music’s playlist expansion algorithm will no longer exist (unless you want to re-enable it at some point, in which case you’ll just need to tap to highlight the infinity button).

It’s also worth noting that this feature syncs across all your Apple gadgets using the same Apple ID. Disabling Autoplay on an iPhone will simultaneously disable it on any other device signed in to the same Apple ID, like your iPad or MacBook. This makes it easier to keep everything you’re listening to instead of wandering through Apple Music’s catalog, although it is among the music streaming services with the best audio quality.

Listening to Apple Music on a desktop computer offers a slightly different interface, but the app’s autoplay mechanics remain the same. If you use a Mac to provide the soundtrack to your workday, stopping the endless loop of algorithmic suggestions is just as easy. Simply launch the Apple Music app on the computer and look towards the upper right corner of the window. There, next to the volume slider and lyrics button, is the familiar Play next icon, represented by the same three lines as those seen on the mobile version.

Clicking this button opens a drop-down menu that displays the current song and anything scheduled for next playback. At the top of this queue panel is the autoplay button, with the same infinity symbol. Again, if the button is highlighted, the autoplay feature is enabled. Simply click the infinity symbol once to turn it off. The background highlight will disappear, telling you that playback stops completely at the end of the last programmed song. If you want to re-enable it via desktop in the future, simply click on it once more to highlight it again.

Understanding how this little setting works and all that it offers can transform your listening experience, no matter what device you’re using Apple Music on. It can prevent unexpected music from blaring through your speakers after your chosen album is finished or, alternatively, continue the party by playing similar songs and genres. It’s a useful feature and we can’t wait to see what other new Apple Music features arrive in the next iOS update.