With all eyes on the launch of Apple Intelligence in Brazil and other markets, an almost overlooked feature in iOS 18.4 emerged: ambient music buttons right in the Control Center.
There are four options: Sleep, Chill, Productivity, and Wellbeing. They join the background sounds introduced in iOS 15 back in 2021, bolstering the arsenal for those overwhelmed by the noise of modern life. Thank you, Apple! 🙏
My excitement soon turned to frustration when I discovered that the Music app had to be installed for the iOS 18.4 ambient music feature to work. At first, I assumed this meant you needed an active Apple Music subscription—which, for me, is not the case.
I set that thought aside until I read this post showcasing the feature without any reference to Apple Music. Could it be that you don’t need a paid subscription for it? I downloaded the Music app and… indeed, you don’t need a subscription to enjoy the ambient music on iOS 18.4.
This discovery led me to another “issue”: having duplicate apps. I listen to music from *.mp3 files using the Doppi app. When I first embraced this lifestyle (believe me, it’s a lifestyle), I did check out the Music app, but I dismissed it for various reasons I can’t fully recall, aside from the fact that it won’t play *.flac files.
Returning to that point, the Music app still can’t handle *.flac files, though it does support ALAC, Apple’s lossless music format. I only have a few albums in *.flac—and you can probably guess where this is going.
I discovered two apps that can convert these files: XLD (macOS only) and Audio Converter (available for both macOS and Windows). Before resorting to a new app, I checked if ffmpeg—a command-line tool for converting media formats—could do the trick. Naturally, it could.
Further research led me to this script that converts files to *.m4a (the ALAC file format), preserving all metadata and even embedding an album cover image in the newly generated files.
Simply download the flac-to-alac.sh file, then run it like so:
$ ./flac-to-alac.sh /path/to/original/album /path/to/output
The script’s creator warns not to add a trailing slash (/) at the end of any path. “This is a primitive script so treat it so.” In its simplicity and quirks, it works beautifully.
Once the conversion is complete, just drag the songs into the macOS Music app, connect your iPhone via cable, and sync your library through Finder.
One extra step I took was logging out and disabling everything related to Apple Music and the iTunes Store. I may have sacrificed some conveniences, like wireless syncing (although I suspect that depends on having an Apple Music subscription), but given all the horror stories about Apple messing with users’ music files, I think using a cable to transfer music is totally worth the extra effort — it’s a rare occurrence for me, anyway.