Apple Music Replay is getting a new free update that shows your monthly listening habits

Apple Music Replay on a MacBook and iPhone

(Image credit: Apple)

If you're an Apple Music user, listen up because your music streaming experience is about to get an upgrade. Apple Music has unveiled a new feature that offers its subscribers a monthly Replay playlist, which will be a curated selection of their favorite tracks, artists and albums month-on-month.

This monthly version is in addition to the existing yearly Replay playlist and it will capture the vibe of each month, based on play count and time spent listening, offering a personalized snapshot of your listening habits.

Like the annual Replay playlist, access to this monthly feature is only available via the web. Users who want to take a look at their musical journey over the past month can visit replay.music.apple.com and log in with their Apple ID to discover their most-played tracks, albums, and artists. You'll also find insights into your personal listening habits, like your monthly listening time and preferences for specific artists.

Beyond offering a look back at each month's musical favorites, Apple Music's Replay allows users to share their insights and revisit past playlists and listening habits, with Apple archiving all of your data for end-of-year comparisons.

Why is Apple Music adding monthly Replay playlists?

The introduction of monthly Replay playlists points to Apple's ongoing commitment to enhance the user experience on the best music streaming service, and make it more personalized.

It's also likely that it's been launched in a bid to remain competitive with Spotify. Although Spotify doesn't currently offer a monthly recap playlist, it's long been renowned for its annual Wrapped and recommended playlists, and innovative features, like the AI DJ and, my personal favorite, Daylist, which offers a constantly-updating playlist to reflect your music tastes at certain times on certain days.

It'll be interesting to see whether Apple Music will continue to expand its playlist offerings to continue to compete with Spotify. I also wonder whether Spotify will respond by introducing its own version of a monthly summary playlist.

Becca is a contributor to TechRadar, a freelance journalist and author. She’s been writing about consumer tech and popular science for more than ten years, covering all kinds of topics, including why robots have eyes and whether we’ll experience the overview effect one day. She’s particularly interested in VR/AR, wearables, digital health, space tech and chatting to experts and academics about the future. She’s contributed to TechRadar, T3, Wired, New Scientist, The Guardian, Inverse and many more. Her first book, Screen Time, came out in January 2021 with Bonnier Books. She loves science-fiction, brutalist architecture, and spending too much time floating through space in virtual reality.