Apple Music Dark Mode Issue in iOS 26.4 Annoys Users, Here’s a Quick Fix

Apple Music’s new album and playlist design in iOS 26.4 has received praise for its dynamic look, but it has also created a real problem for users who prefer dark mode, especially at night when bright album artwork suddenly lights up the screen and breaks the dark interface experience that many rely on for comfort.

The redesign now adapts background colors based on album art, which means albums with white or light-colored covers can make the screen flash bright, and this becomes distracting during night usage when users expect a consistent dark interface that does not strain their eyes.

Users across online forums have raised concerns about this behavior, and while the change looks visually appealing during the day, it creates an uncomfortable experience in low-light conditions where dark mode should keep the interface dim and stable.

The updated design pulls dominant colors directly from album artwork, so when an album uses bright tones, the interface reflects those colors across the screen, and this removes the usual dark background that users expect when dark mode is active.

Apple has not added a dedicated toggle to limit this behavior in dark mode, so users currently have to rely on system settings to reduce the effect until a proper fix arrives.

How to fix it

You can reduce the brightness problem by enabling the Increase Contrast option, which keeps the background darker even when album art uses light colors.

Follow these steps:

1. Open Settings on your iPhone
2. Go to Accessibility
3. Tap Display & Text Size
4. Turn on Increase Contrast

If you want this change only for Apple Music, you can apply it per app:

1. Open Settings
2. Go to Accessibility
3. Tap Per-App Settings
4. Tap Add App and select Music
5. Enable Increase Contrast for Apple Music

This keeps the track list in a darker style while still allowing some visual effects at the top, which makes the app easier to use at night without completely disabling the new design.

Apple still needs to address this with a proper dark mode control, but for now, this workaround keeps the experience more consistent.