In iOS 18.4, Apple added a new ambient music feature to Control Center. It does exactly what it sounds like, and provides a variety of options to play some ambient background music with the tap of a button. Its a great start, and Id love to see Apple expand this feature in the future.iOS 18.4 is currently in beta, but Apple just released the RC earlier this week so itll likely release to the public in the very near future.How it worksApple provides four different options for Ambient Music in Control Center: Chill, Productivity, Sleep, and Wellbeing.Each toggle plays a unique playlist for that theme, though you can also customize which playlist you get when you press the toggle. Apple provides four options for each theme, but you can also add your own.Once youre playing some nice ambient music from one of these toggles, theres a hidden Ambient Music app that you can access from your Dynamic Island or Control Center. With this app, you can see whats playing at a glance, skip the song, and AirPlay to a speaker or other device.Improvements Id like to seeWhile this is a great start, and I love using it as is the Ambient Music feature could undoubtedly get better.For one, its only available on iPhone and iPad. Apples new Ambient Music feature isnt available on the Mac quite yet. macOS does offer an accessibility feature called Background Sounds, though it isnt nearly as robust as Ambient Music in iOS and iPadOS 18.4.On top of that, I think itd be great if this were available as a standalone app. Theres already a hidden app that runs when youre using Ambient Music from Control Center, and itd be immensely helpful if there were a dedicated app that you could access from your Home Screen. This would also allow for a more seamless experience than fiddling with a number of Control Center toggles, and itd be easier to switch between all of the provided playlists. If Apple Music Classical can be a dedicated app, I dont think itd be too much of a stretch for this to also be a standalone app.Overall, this feature was still a pleasant surprise in iOS 18.4. Im very happy with it, and really Id just like to see it expand to the Mac where Id use it a lot more. A dedicated app would just be a cherry on top.You can subscribe to Apple Music if you havent already for $10.99/month, and access Apples continuously growing music experience.My favorite Apple accessories on Amazon:Follow Michael:X/Twitter,Bluesky,InstagramAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel