No more smart playlists on iOS?

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decafjava

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Wow, I was wondering why my smart playlists were blank on my 13 Pro Max on iOS 17.1.1 then I saw this article:

How to Make Smart Playlists in iTunes or Apple Music

Now my playlists (of ripped or purchased music from iTunes) work fine on my iMac and I can use regular playlists and songs on my phone, not smart playlists anymore.

Anyone else see this??
 

cjmnews

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The playlists being blank is a long term issue where occasionally, a smart playlist needs to be edited and saved to have content again. I see this every 3-5 years or so.

I currently have dozens of smart playlists on iOS 16.7.2 on my iPhone. They continue to work.

Another article on this from Feb 2023 shows smart playlists being created on iOS: https://www.guidingtech.com/how-to-create-smart-playlists-in-apple-music-on-iphone-ipad-and-mac/

So unless the iOS update removed this feature (this will make me remove all my music and stop using Apple Music for anything) I think it still works, you would just need to sync the smart playlists to the iPhone.

At this time, I am unwilling to update to iOS 17 to find out. Other dependencies are making me hesitate on the upgrade.
 

decafjava

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Ok, thanks I removed all music from my iPhone until I can get it fixed. It works fine on my iMac as I said so I will just sync the playlists to my phone again. Oh and thanks for always being here to help. I enjoy the site even if the forum section is rather quiet.
 

cjmnews

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So, syncing smart playlist to iOS 17 does not fix it?

I am considering upgrading a device just to see this.
 

cjmnews

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I am in process of upgrading an iPad for testing. I don't see complaints about missing smart playlists on Mac Rumors so I think they will still work.

There are some caveats to smart playlists on devices.

1. The source data has to be on the device for the smart play list to truly work. This means that if you have a smart playlist that has a rule has not been played in the last 2 days and song is not in the Exclusion playlist. The Exclusion playlist has to be on the device. Otherwise the smart playlist becomes static, until it is synced again. This can be worked around using a "source" playlist. For example, if I wanted a car radio of 4 and 5 star songs that are not in the exclusion playlist (audiobooks, podcasts, kids music) then make a Car Radio Source with rules like Stars is greater than 3, not in Exclusion playlist. Then the Car Radio smart playlist has the rules Not Played in the last 2 days, in the Car Radio Source playlist. This allows the Car Radio playlist to be smart, and the Car Radio Source playlist to be static. Usually the Exclusion playlist is too big for the device.

2. Rules usually are evaluated when you leave and enter a smart playlist on a device. iOS never really handled "smart" properly. It only looks at the rules when you enter a smart playlist, so even though you have a not played in the last 2 days rule, the song will stay in the playlist until you change playlists and return to the smart one. Then the played tracks will drop out. They will come back in 3 days if you switch playlists again.
 

cjmnews

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Confirmed. Smart playlist on iOS 17.1.1 are static until the next sync with iTunes.

This ruins my pool lap swimming playlist as all the track will remain unchanged until the next sync, same with my car radio playlist, but in the car there are enough tracks I probably don't care.

I won't buy much more music from Apple since they seem to just keep breaking their useful features. Surprised that no one else has complained about it. It is bad enough t

Caveat 2 has changed now. Rules are ONLY updated when the iOS device syncs with iTunes.
 

decafjava

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I had the same result oh well it seems everyone wants to push streaming. I do subscribe to Apple Music but I have this large library of ripped music I wish to listen to when I travel or fly. Good job Apple.
 

Yana_Koba

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Раніше я користувався Apple Music, потім скасував підписку та перейшов на SoundCloud. Тепер я повернувся до Apple Music, але моєї старої музики більше немає. Чи можу я повернути його?

I used to use Apple Music, then canceled my subscription and switched to SoundCloud. Now I'm back on Apple Music, but my old music is gone. Can I get it back?
 
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cjmnews

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If it was your own music from before the Apple Music subscription, and was not in the Apple Music database, then no. You would have had to restore a backup from before the Apple Music subscription after you cancelled the Apple Music subscription, then uploaded the music back to Apple Music after starting the subscription again.

Now if Apple Music has those tracks in their database, you should be able to find them.
 

Yana_Koba

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If it was your own music from before the Apple Music subscription, and was not in the Apple Music database, then no. You would have had to restore a backup from before the Apple Music subscription after you cancelled the Apple Music subscription, then uploaded the music back to Apple Music after starting the subscription again.

Now if Apple Music has those tracks in their database, you should be able to find them.
Thank you
 
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