Apple has been flip-flopping on the ability to rate songs with stars in iTunes and the iOS Music app. An early beta of macOS Sierra removed star ratings from iTunes, and star ratings have been missing in iOS 10 since the first beta release.
iOS 10 is to be officially released today, and star ratings are gone. You cannot view the ratings of your songs, and you cannot rate your tracks from the iOS Music app. You used to be able to rate songs by tapping the album artwork, which would switch to a display with five stars; you would tap one of them to rate the track. If you had already rated it, you would see the rating heer.
If you tap the artwork now, nothing displays. If you tap the … button at the bottom of the Music app’s player screen, you see this screen. The only rating options are Love and Dislike.
But there is a way to rate tracks on an iOS device; unfortunately, it’s the wrong way. Tell Siri “Rate this song five stars,” for example.
The problem with this is that invoking Siri pauses playback, and you cannot quietly rate your tracks. So if you’re on a bus, for example, and you’re listening to some new music and want to rate it, you might not want to talk to your iPhone. You could rate tracks with Love ratings, then adjust those in iTunes when you get home, applying star ratings, but that’s annoying.
This is unfortunate, because many people use star ratings to organize their iTunes libraries, and, by extension, the music they listen to on their iOS devices. They create smart playlists with music grouped by star ratings, or playlists of their favorite songs by specific artists, perhaps all those tracks rated four or five stars.
Also, nothing has been gained by removing this feature. Tapping the artwork now does nothing, so the rating feature hasn’t been removed to make room for something else that might display in its place.
In a quest to simplify the interface of an app, you can go too far and remove useful features.
Want to know more about the iOS 10 Music app? Check out these articles:
- How to Find the Shuffle and Repeat Buttons in the iOS 10 Music App
- Use Optimize Storage in iOS 10 to Automatically Clear Unplayed Music
- hidden delete button in the iOS 10 Music app
- How to Sort Songs in the iOS 10 Music App by Title
- Star Ratings Are Indeed Gone in iOS 10 Music App; But There’s Still a Way to Rate Your Songs
- How to Use Up Next in the iOS 10 Music App
- How to Shuffle Only Your Music in the iOS 10 Music App
- iOS 10 Music App Only Displays Lyrics for Apple Music Songs
- No More Genius in the iOS 10 Music App
- Control Music Playback from Control Center on iOS 10
- Apple Seems to Have Forgotten the Play Button in the iOS 10 Music App
And learn What’s New in iTunes 12.5.
Today I’ve contacted the developer of the music app Cesium that allows to set stars on your local music library. However just like with the Music Rating Widget Cesium can’t do anything about it bringing rating to you iCloud library because Apple doesn’t allow that. Here you can find a more detailed explanation from the Cesium developer Mike Clay
In my tests, they are being applied to iCloud Music Library.
Today I’ve contacted the developer of the music app Cesium that allows to set stars on your local music library. However just like with the Music Rating Widget Cesium can’t do anything about it bringing rating to you iCloud library because Apple doesn’t allow that. Here you can find a more detailed explanation from the Cesium developer Mike Clay
In my tests, they are being applied to iCloud Music Library.
Removing the rating system makes no sense. I rely on it to create my playlists. Maybe time to move on to Android as I see change for change sake with no interest in the user.
Removing the rating system makes no sense. I rely on it to create my playlists. Maybe time to move on to Android as I see change for change sake with no interest in the user.
I just “lurved” all my rated tracks, i.e. selected all that were rated 3 stars or above (easy as I already had a smart playlist set up to play those) and batch-clicked the cheesy little hearts so they all turned red. It’s a kind of insurance against suddenly finding the stars gone and all my ratings with them after a system update. Or maybe I’m just capitulating to Apple’s masterplan, as I have had to do with so many of its “courageous” initiatives over the years. Anyone out there want to buy my Firewire audio box? Or my 2TB desktop hard drive (also firewire)? I can throw in a bag full of firewire cables with it. Now we choose what we want to listen to according to whether we “lurve” it or dislike it. Dumbing down or what?!
I just “lurved” all my rated tracks, i.e. selected all that were rated 3 stars or above (easy as I already had a smart playlist set up to play those) and batch-clicked the cheesy little hearts so they all turned red. It’s a kind of insurance against suddenly finding the stars gone and all my ratings with them after a system update. Or maybe I’m just capitulating to Apple’s masterplan, as I have had to do with so many of its “courageous” initiatives over the years. Anyone out there want to buy my Firewire audio box? Or my 2TB desktop hard drive (also firewire)? I can throw in a bag full of firewire cables with it. Now we choose what we want to listen to according to whether we “lurve” it or dislike it. Dumbing down or what?!
I’ve used star ratings for decades to organize & maintain organization in my iTunes library, & I’ve spent thousands in the iTunes Store. This is really a disappointing kick in the teeth 🙁
I’ve used star ratings for decades to organize & maintain organization in my iTunes library, & I’ve spent thousands in the iTunes Store. This is really a disappointing kick in the teeth 🙁
First, let me say a giant THANK YOU for letting everyone know how to rate songs post Apple’s stupidity changes.
Second, rating your music this way, compared to the way ratings were done previously, is a pain in the butt since you are constantly going in & out of the Music app. However, I’m just glad that there is still a way to do it.
Third, I really wish Apple would stop removing/changing things that a large portion of their customers like and use! I depend on my ratings. I use them to sort my music when I’m creating new playlists. I guess it’s against Apple’s Company Policy to actually think about their customers prior to making changes!
Personally I think that it is ridiculous that they removed the way ratings were done since they didn’t actually replace the way it was done with something else. Now when you click on the artwork nothing happens, comes up or directs you somewhere else. At least if they would have put something in its place, it would be a little more understandable.
First, let me say a giant THANK YOU for letting everyone know how to rate songs post Apple’s stupidity changes.
Second, rating your music this way, compared to the way ratings were done previously, is a pain in the butt since you are constantly going in & out of the Music app. However, I’m just glad that there is still a way to do it.
Third, I really wish Apple would stop removing/changing things that a large portion of their customers like and use! I depend on my ratings. I use them to sort my music when I’m creating new playlists. I guess it’s against Apple’s Company Policy to actually think about their customers prior to making changes!
Personally I think that it is ridiculous that they removed the way ratings were done since they didn’t actually replace the way it was done with something else. Now when you click on the artwork nothing happens, comes up or directs you somewhere else. At least if they would have put something in its place, it would be a little more understandable.
every time apple makes a change it makes things worse. soon the music app will just be a play button in the middle of the screen. maybe if we are lucky there might even be a pause or skip button too but they will take that away in the following updates…
every time apple makes a change it makes things worse. soon the music app will just be a play button in the middle of the screen. maybe if we are lucky there might even be a pause or skip button too but they will take that away in the following updates…