Apple Music now offers intelligent sorting for alternate versions of albums

Apple Music has a lot going for it, with millions of paid subscribers using the service every day. But sometimes it can be pretty cluttered, too.

If you use the service then you know the “For You” section, for instance, can feel like a seemingly endless stream of album covers. And the same can be said for artist pages, too, especially with musicians and bands who have a lot of different album releases over the years. In an effort to help declutter those pages, Apple has introduced a new — old — feature to its streaming music service.

Apple is reintroducing the intelligent sorting feature that was once present in the now defunct Beats Music. (Which should happen more often, considering Beats Music morphed into Apple Music.) As noted by MacStories, this new intelligent sorting feature will make it easier for Apple Music users to quickly discover the alternate versions of an album in a more sorted way.

The change starts on the artist’s page. Now when you scroll down to the albums section there shouldn’t be a crazy amount of different versions of the same album present. Previously you could find a whole host of different options, including live versions, remasters, acoustic releases, and more, which could make trying to find other albums a bit difficult and potentially frustrating.

Now, with the change, there will be a stronger focus on the primary studio release on the artist page. And if you want to find the alternate versions of an album, just select it and scroll down to the “Albums” section. You’ll see “Other Versions” if there are alternate album releases.

It’s worth noting that while Apple Music is rolling out this change now, some artist pages have not been updated just yet. It will take some time before this new UI tweak is present across the entirety of Apple Music.

Still, it’s a noteworthy and welcomed change, right?

In related Apple Music news, the streaming service just made it possible to see your “Replay 2020” playlist and add it directly to your library.