Through the recent iOS 26 update, Apple added a slew of new features to its music streaming service Apple Music. Aiming especially at K-pop fan customers, Apple rolled out features such as automatic lyric translation with pronunciation and a karaoke mode. Attention is on whether Apple Music, which trails YouTube in Korea, can increase its domestic market share with this update.
On the morning of the 16th, Apple held a press briefing at a studio near the Seoul Arts Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul, to introduce Apple Music's new features. The briefing took place in a professional sound studio, and eight speakers were installed on-site to support Apple Music's spatial audio. The spatial audio feature refers to an effect that expresses instruments and chorus used in a track in three dimensions.
◇ AI teams with experts to roll out auto-translation feature… spreading K-pop worldwide
Among Apple Music's new features, the most eye-catching was the automatic lyric translation and pronunciation function. In addition to displaying lyrics in real time in sync with the song as before, Apple provides lyrics translated in collaboration with artificial intelligence (AI) and experts. It also added a feature that converts the pronunciation of Korean lyrics into English or Japanese katakana so overseas fans can easily sing along.
Apple said it first runs an AI pass, then reviews whether the AI's output is an appropriate translation and pronunciation together with experts well-versed in local culture and language. If artists later provide feedback on the results, it plans to incorporate it.
Apple explained that it developed the feature with K-pop fans around the world as a key customer base. At the briefing, aespa, a K-pop group that worked with Apple this year on the music video for the new song Dirty Work, appeared via video and drew attention. Apple's goal is to promote K-pop worldwide and grow together through the translation and pronunciation features.
Apple also introduced another new feature, Sing. The Sing feature is similar to karaoke. Using Sing on Apple Music, users can sing along to tracks. By lowering the singer's vocals, users can feel like they are at a karaoke room anytime, anywhere. If you sing using a registered iPhone device as a microphone, an echo effect is applied to the user's voice. If you register an additional iPhone, you can react to the song with emojis.
The Auto Mix feature Apple unveiled that day also stood out. The Auto Mix feature is like "my own DJ." Like a DJ, it smoothly connects sections when moving from one track to the next. On-site, they demonstrated Auto Mix by linking Golden, the theme song of the film K-pop Demon Hunters, and I AM by the K-pop group IVE.
According to Apple, the beats of tracks in its catalog are fully mapped. In addition, Auto Mix does not run on tracks such as classical where natural mixing is difficult.
◇ Apple Music trails YouTube in Korea… "delivering the best audio experience"
Apple first launched service in Korea in 2016, but it is losing out to cheaper YouTube and homegrown music platforms such as Melon and Genie. According to app retail analytics service Wiseapp Retail, in Korea this year, YouTube Music, tied to YouTube Premium, ranks No. 1 in market share among music streaming sites at 42%. Melon is No. 2, Spotify No. 3, GENIE MUSIC No. 4, and FLO No. 5.
Apple said it did not have any particular platform in mind when planning the new features. However, Apple also introduced Library Pins, a feature that makes it easy to move your Library, which captures user tastes, from YouTube Music or Spotify. The feature currently cannot be linked with domestic music platforms such as Melon or Genie.
The new features introduced that day are available not only on iOS 26 but also on the Apple Music app for Android. However, the Sing service that uses an iPhone like a microphone is limited.
Apple said it carried out the biggest update since the launch of Apple Music. It added that Apple Music has focused its development on delivering the best music experience to fans while enabling artists to share their music in the best possible condition.