Learn how to turn on the crossfade feature on your HomePod speaker for seamless transitions between Apple Music songs with no gaps or silence in between.
The crossfade feature has been available for Apple Music songs in the built-in Music app on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Android. With the latest OS 26 update, the crossfade feature is now available on the HomePod and HomePod mini speakers. With crossfade turned on, you’ll hear seamless transitions between songs instead of gaps of silence in between tracks.
Before you begin, make sure to update your iPhone to iOS 26 and HomePod to Software Version 26.
Crossfade Apple Music songs on HomePod
1) Open the Home app on your iPhone, tap the three-dotted menu in the top-left corner, and choose Home Settings.
2) Select a HomePod user in the People section.
3) Tap Apple Music under Connected Media.
4) Turn on the Crossfade switch, then drag the slider to set the crossfade timing anywhere from 1 second to 12 seconds.
The crossfade timing determines the duration of the transition. With this setting turned on, your HomePod or HomePod mini will seamlessly transition one song into another by gradually lowering the volume of the ending song while raising the volume of the upcoming song, mixing them both to achieve a seamless transition without any audio gaps between the tracks. Peruse our separate tutorial if you’d like to set up the crossfade feature on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Android phone.
Crossfade not working on HomePod? Read this.
Some caveats apply.
First and foremost, the crossfade option on the HomePod works when you play Apple Music songs, directly from the speaker itself. It doesn’t work when AirPlaying music from another device to the speaker or if you request music from another music service.
Also, crossfade won’t work when you play an album in order. However, shuffle-playing an album will trigger crossfade.
You may not see the crossfade option in the Home app if you link two HomePod speakers in a stereo-like configuration set as the default Apple TV audio output, but one of them is the original HomePod that doesn’t support crossfade. In that case, ungroup them and remove any incompatible speakers from the Home app.
Also, check out: How to use the new DJ-like AutoMix feature in Apple Music