With iOS 26, Apple is finally loosening the reins on one of its flashiest music features. Animated album artwork—previously reserved for Apple Music—will soon be available to third-party apps like Spotify and others, thanks to a new developer API.
The update, which is part of the latest iOS 26 beta, introduces a redesigned music playback screen on the iPhone lock screen. When music is playing, the lock screen now shows full-screen animated artwork behind a glassy playback control interface. It’s a sleek, visually rich change that Apple Music users can try right now by playing a song with animated art and then locking the screen.
But what’s different this time is that Apple’s not keeping the feature to itself. The newly released MPMediaItemAnimatedArtwork API allows third-party apps to display their own animated media artwork on the lock screen. The API supports not only high-quality video loops as artwork but also placeholder images to show while media is loading. This change potentially brings the same dynamic visual treatment to apps like Spotify, Audible, Pocket Casts, and more.
Of course, users will have to wait for the public release of iOS 26 this fall to see these features in action outside Apple’s ecosystem. While the developer tools are already available in the SDK, App Store apps won’t be able to implement the new functionality until iOS 26 exits beta.
It remains to be seen whether Spotify—Apple Music’s most vocal competitor—will take the leap. Despite frequent criticism of Apple’s platform policies, Spotify has been slow to adopt new iOS features, skipping over things like AirPlay 2 and native HomePod integration. Whether animated lock screen art finally breaks that pattern is still unknown.
Notably, this API isn’t limited strictly to music. Any audio app—whether it’s streaming radio, podcasts, or audiobooks—could, in theory, take advantage of the animation support to enhance the lock screen experience.
For iPhone users, it means the next update to iOS could bring a more visually immersive experience no matter which audio app you prefer. And for developers, Apple’s move signals a rare opening in the walled garden—one that might just make your lock screen look a lot cooler this fall.
