The new Up Next feature in iTunes 11 lets you rock in the moment.
I wasn’t overly impressed with iTunes 11 when I first started using it, as I noted in “iTunes 11: I Want to Be More Impressed Than I Am,” but it’s growing on me. In particular, Apple’s new “Up Next” feature is fantastic. I’m starting to use it all the time. Why? It lets me create an instant playlist without seeming to work for it much. I can scan an existing playlist and cherry pick out the songs I want right now, or I can scroll through my whole library and snag songs for it.
Up Next is sort of undefined and fluid, and while it’s not hard to create a playlist, for some psychological reason I like that Up Next not really a solid creation — it’s all about being in the moment.
Using it is easy, too. Just click on the three horizontal bars at the top of iTunes and you’ll get a drop down window. Want to reorder the songs? Drag and drop in the list.
Want to add a song to Up Next from some other list or item view? Look for the little greater-than-symbol-in-a-circle icon to the right of song titles and click on it. The resulting pop-up menu gives you quick options.
