Adding a Feature to the Apple Music App
Speculative Project
Case Study
THE PROBLEM
Bethany listens to music everywhere — her commute, her runs, making dinner. Sometimes it’s her favorite new album. Sometimes it’s a playlist she shares with her boyfriend. And sometimes it’s an Apple Music Radio station. She can pin the album. She can pin the playlist. But the station she loves? She has to go searching for it, every time.
She’s not alone — lots of Apple Music users have the same problem. Albums and playlists can be saved in a tap — but no matter how many times users want to come back to a station, they’ve got to start over.
THE GOAL
To make it possible for Apple Music users to save their favorite stations so they can easily return to them on their phone, tablet, computer, or CarPlay, while still giving them the experience they’re used to in the Apple ecosystem.
THE WORK
UX/UI Designer (End-to-end)
Idea Conception // UX Research & User Interviews // Feature Design & Implementation // Prototyping // Usability Testing // Handoff
3 months: Q4 2025 - Q1 2026
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Apple Music users wanted the ability to save their favorite Radio stations so they could return to them without searching every time. The challenge was implementing this feature in a way that met users’ expectations while still fitting seamlessly into Apple’s design system. The result was a “Pin Station” feature that lets users easily access their favorite Radio stations whenever they want.
DOES ANYONE WANT TO SAVE STATIONS?
Research Phase
1 week
Would Apple Music users like a feature like this?
If so, how would they like to have a feature like this implemented?
Interviews and competitive analysis suggested that Apple Music users didn’t just want this feature — they thought they already had it.
RESEARCH METHODS
Interviews
I interviewed Apple Music users to better understand the problem they were having and how adding this feature might actually help them.
Competitive Analysis
I also looked at how competing music apps handled saving stations (or didn’t) — some had something close, but nothing built specifically for radio stations.
KEY FINDINGS: Why Can’t I Get Back There? It’s Frustrating…
Interviews
- Users found it difficult to return to stations they liked and wanted to listen to again.
- Users were frustrated by not being able to see their favorite stations on their music Home or Radio pages.
- Users wanted to be able to save AND organize their favorite stations, much like they are able to do so with other music in the Apple Music app.
- Users found it especially difficult to navigate to their favorite stations when using CarPlay.
Competitive Analysis
- None of Apple Music’s competitors offered a feature that allowed users to save their favorite stations.
- Some competitors did offer a way to group favorite stations, but not a dedicated way to save and organize them.
Research Wrap-up
After considering the research, it was clear: users expected to be able to save and organize their stations. And they were frustrated that they couldn’t.
A PROBLEM THAT DOESN’T NEED TO BE A PROBLEM
Define Phase
1 week
At this point, research had confirmed that users wanted this feature — even though they didn’t know it was missing. Creating affinity maps, points of view, how-might-we questions, and a persona helped me figure out exactly what to design and build.
AFFINITY MAPPING: Add That Feature, But Make It Fit With What I’m Used To
Creating an affinity map from the interviews allowed me to identify three key takeaways:
- Ease of Use: Users want to be able to quickly save Radio stations so they can easily return to them later.
- Seamless Integration: Users want the implementation of a feature that allows them to save Radio stations to be simple and fit into the way they already use the Apple Music app.
- Familiar UX: Users want the process of saving a Radio station to feel just like using the rest of the Apple Music app.
POVs & HMWs: How Can We Make This Feel Like It’s Been There All Along?
POVs and HMW questions allowed me to think openly and optimistically about potential solutions without yet worrying about feasibility.
POVs: Two challenges kept coming up…
Apple Music users struggle to easily/quickly access or return to their favorite Apple Music Radio stations.
Apple Music users who like to listen to Radio stations while using CarPlay need an easier and safer way to access them.
HMWs: The real questions were…
How might we make it easier / faster for users to return to their favorite Apple Music Radio stations?
How might we make it safer for Apple Music users to access their favorite Radio stations while using CarPlay?
PERSONAS: Who Would Use This Feature?
After synthesizing my research findings with my POVs and HMWs, I was able to create a distinct persona. This persona allowed me to further empathize with the needs, goals, expectations, and mindset of users as I entered the design phase.
Bethany
Loves the curated feel of Apple Music stations, but wishes she could get back to them easily when she hops in the car or goes for a run.
ISN’T THIS ALREADY
A FEATURE?
During the interview phase, multiple people said some version of “Wait, I can’t do that already?” This told me that users expected this feature to exist in Apple Music. Weirdly, that actually raised the bar for the ideation phase… whatever I designed really had to feel like it had been there all along.
HOW CAN THIS FIT IN APPLE’S DESIGN SYSTEM?
Ideation Phase
4 weeks
With my research completed, I began to work on solutions that balanced what users wanted, what the business needed, and the technical constraints of working within an app that already existed. Finding that balance shaped the user flows and the direction of this new feature.
This is the part of the process I enjoy the most — when I get to translate what I’ve learned into design decisions, with a focus on usability, innovation, and visual appeal. Working within the constraints provided by the research, the needs of the business, and, in this case, the already existing Apple design ecosystem, is always a good challenge.
PROJECT GOALS
Deciding how best to implement this feature meant weighing what users wanted, what the business needed, and what was technically feasible, all so that it felt like it had been there all along.
Key features included:
- The ability for users to save their favorite stations.
- The ability to organize their saved stations by preference.
- The ability to easily see their saved stations.
- Familiar UI design, in line with Apple’s existing system.
FEATURE PRIORITIZATION
Thanks to my research, I determined which features were most important to implement now and which could wait for future improvements. This gave me a clear path forward as the design process began.
USER FLOWS: To Pin Or Not To Pin?
Next, I mapped out two user flows — pinning a station and reordering pinned stations — to see how this feature would actually work once it lived inside Apple’s ecosystem.
WIREFRAMES: Integrating Seamlessly Into Apple’s Design System
Given the task of integrating this new feature into Apple’s design system, I used low-fidelity wireframes to explore where this feature would feel most natural.
Pinning A Station From The Home Page
Pinning A Station From The Now Playing Page
Unpinning A Station
Ideation Wrap-up
The biggest open question at this stage was where the pinned stations should actually live once they were pinned. I explored a few placements before deciding on a dedicated section on the Radio page. It appears only after a station’s been pinned, so it doesn’t disrupt the layout for anyone who hasn’t pinned anything yet.
PIN IT, UNPIN IT, ORGANIZE IT
Testing Phase
2 weeks
With the placement of the Pin Station feature settled, it was time to put it in front of real Apple Music users. Overall, the core function worked and was well received by users; there was, however, one small gesture that called for a second look.
PROTOTYPING
Coming into this phase, I knew that each prototype had to achieve two things: work the way I intended, and look like it belonged in Apple Music. So I followed Apple’s design system guidance, paying attention to the smallest details so as not to give away that this was, in fact, not designed by Apple.
USABILITY TESTING: Can You Pin This For Me?
Would the Pin Station feature function as intended and feel like it belonged? That was the question I hoped to answer when I brought it to a real group of Apple Music users for usability testing.
Target Users:
- Five participants
- Primary age range: 30-60
- Apple Music users who regularly use the Radio stations features of the app.
Success Rates:
Users completed the flow without questions:
- Task 1 - 100% // Task 2 - 100% // Task 3 - 100%
Users experienced no pain points in completing the flow:
- Task 1 - 100% // Task 2 - 100% // Task 3 - 90%
Users completed the flow in a reasonable amount of time:
- Task 1 - 100% // Task 2 - 100% // Task 3 - 100%
Users were satisfied with their experience once they completed the flow:
- Task 1 - 100% // Task 2 - 100% // Task 3 - 100%
Testing Wrap-up
User feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with only personal preference suggestions made. The only soft spot — that 90% in Task 3 — came from one user who struggled with the hard press to bring up the pop-up menu. As with the user interviews, multiple people mentioned surprise that this was not an already existing feature.
IT WORKS, JUST MAKE IT CLEARER… AND MORE ACCESSIBLE
Iteration Phase
1 week
With the core feature working the way I intended, most of the feedback I collected during usability testing pointed to small fixes. I added a “Pinned/Unpinned” confirmation pop-up, addressed possible accessibility issues around color and contrast, and replaced some artwork to make for a more polished feel.
ITERATION: Sprucing Things Up
There was no major cleanup needed here — just the kind of small tweaks based on pain points that show up when real users begin clicking around.
Original
Updated
HANDOFF
With small tweaks completed, it was now time to finalize the designs for handoff to the developer.
CONCLUSION
Uncovering the need for a new feature in a product that’s used by so many people was a great experience. It was also fun and challenging to work within an already existing design system.
I found working within Apple’s design system to be both freeing and restricting in different ways. It was freeing in that it allowed me to focus solely on the UX without having to worry about building the UI design from the ground up. However, it was also limiting in that it placed restrictions on creating solutions to the user problem I was trying to address.
On balance, what I ultimately found is that friction forced me to find creative ways to implement ideas and address feedback while also staying consistent with what users have come to expect in Apple products.
Creating the new design elements I needed to add the feature, but designing them to fit Apple’s existing system, was a fun exercise as well. In retrospect, deciding where the pinned stations should live was the hardest decision of the project. I’m glad I tested it before committing to an approach. In the future, it might also be nice to add the pinned station tiles to the app’s Library so users can access their pinned stations in multiple places.
As with my other projects, following a disciplined design process and trusting each phase to do its job helped me balance the challenges that came with designing a feature to fit in a pre-existing design system. In the end, I think I was able to add a worthwhile feature that fits seamlessly into Apple’s design system and addresses the frustration that users were encountering.
Now Apple Music users can pin their favorite Radio stations so they can easily return to them later…