How-To

Using the Apple Music Widget in Standby Mode on Your iPhone

By Jeff Butts

Published April 16, 2024

If you play music from your iPhone when it’s in Standby mode, you should learn how to get to the Apple Music widget. Here’s how.

One great feature of the iPhone is Standby mode, which turns your device into a smart display while it’s charging. You can display a clock and the weather or several other bits of information. One great feature of the iPhone’s Standby mode is something I only recently discovered — the Apple Music widget. Let’s dig into how you can use it to control your music playback without ever picking up your device.

Accessing the Apple Music Widget in iOS Standby Mode

The Apple Music widget for Standby mode shows up when you start playing music before plugging your iPhone in and placing it in landscape mode on your charging stand. The thing is, you might not immediately recognize what it is or what you can do with it.

The icon for the Apple Music widget will also look different depending on how you’re playing music. If you’re just playing music through the iPhone’s speakers, you’ll see a stylized waveform that shrinks and expands to the rhythm of the music playing. If you tap that icon, Standby mode changes to show your Apple Music widget in full screen.

On the other hand, if you’re using AirPlay to send the tunes to your HomePod, the icon changes. Instead, you’ll see a small depiction of a HomePod. Again, tapping the icon will open the Apple Music widget so you can adjust playback, volume, and more.

What Can I Do with the Apple Music Widget in My iPhone’s Standby Mode?

Once you access the widget, there are a few things you can do to control your music playback. You can pause, play, go backward a track, or skip to the next track. You can also move your finger along the playback slider to skip forward or backward in the track playing.

In addition, you can change the volume or playback device from this widget.

How to Change the Volume from the iOS Standby Apple Music Widget

If you want to turn the volume up or down, it’s easy to do.

1. Access the Apple Music widget as described earlier.
2. Tap the Volume icon.
   
3. Drag the volume slider up or down to adjust how loud the music is playing.

Changing Playback Devices Straight from the Widget

If your tunes are playing through your iPhone’s speakers but you’d rather use AirPlay, you can make that change without needing to pick up your phone at all.

1. Bring up the Apple Music widget.
2. Tap the AirPlay icon, which may look instead like your HomePod.
   
3. From the AirPlay menu, choose the speaker or device you want to hear your music through.

Getting Back to the Main iOS Standby Display

Once you’ve got your music playing the way you want, you’ll likely want your iPhone to go back to displaying your clock and other configured information. This is simple.

Swipe the short horizontal line at the bottom of the widget upwards, and your iPhone will revert to its normal Standby display.

There you have it, one more way Apple has made the iPhone easy to use even when you aren’t holding it in your hand.