Smart Shuffle vs Interlude Music
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Smart Shuffle
This music player brings back the classic album shuffle experience, playing songs in their intended order within randomly selected albums. It offers extensive customization for album selection and playback control, including CarPlay and Apple Watch integration.
- Album shuffle playback
- CarPlay integration
- Siri Shortcuts
- Cloud album access
- Enhanced album selection & filtering
- Apple Watch interface
- Sleep mode timer
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Do you miss the old "Album Shuffle" on your Apple device? Here at Spudfish Software, we did, so we did something about it! Smart Shuffle: The Album-Centric Music Player Smart Shuffle brings album shuffle back to you, randomly shuffling your music and playing it back one album at a time with songs selected in the order that the artist intended. If you love albums, Smart Shuffle is the only music player you need! Version 4.0 also includes a host of new features to help you further take charge of your album collection! CARPLAY COMPATIBLE!!! - Tell Smart Shuffle to re-shuffle, play next album, play previous album, or view the next albums in your queue from our new CarPlay interface! SIRI SHORTCUTS - train Siri to tell Smart Shuffle to Shuffle Albums, Play Next Album or Play Previous Album PLAY ALBUMS FROM THE CLOUD - Smart Shuffle can now access your albums in the cloud, seamlessly adding them to your selection list. Have a bad data plan or spotty internet connectivity? Just turn off this feature from the Settings app for Smart Shuffle. ENHANCED ALBUM SELECTION - Sort your albums by Title, Artist, Genre, Composer, or Release Date - Filter the selection list to refine your selections. You can create an album playlist to match your mood by filtering on any combination of: - Artist - Genre - Grouping - Composer - Rating - Play Count - Date Added - Decade Released - Minimum Song Count - Inclusion in one of your Playlists - Cloud Availability - Filter by Selected to see only the albums you have currently selected for shuffling, or those that you haven't selected yet. - Start Album: Select the first album to play, then pick random albums thereafter. - Split Multi-Disc Albums: treat each volume of a multi-disc set individually APPLE WATCH INTERFACE - Control the playback of your album selections on your Apple Watch. Play or pause the current album, skip to the next album, or re-play the previous album. SLEEP MODE - Touch and hold the play/pause button for a second to request Sleep Mode - Smart Shuffle will automatically pause after 30 minutes, an hour, or after the current album. You'll get lulled to sleep listening to your favorite albums without missing a bunch of them while asleep! ANNOUNCEMENT AND DELAY - Smart Shuffle now comes with settings to announce each new album before it is played, and to delay for up to 30 seconds between albums to let you cleanse your musical palate. RESPONSIVE TO TOUCH EVENTS - Double tap the screen to play/pause music - Swipe left/right on the album art to skip to the next/previous album - Swipe left/right on the now playing information to skip to the next/previous song - Swipe down in the pull-tab to show your entire shuffled album queue. Swipe up to view the currently playing album art. - Touch the progress bar to change songs - Touch the time remaining to show the time of day that the currently playing album will end. Touch again to return to time remaining. - Touch and hold the progress bar to get a list of songs to choose from - From the Selection Screen, touch and hold an album to play it first in your shuffled list REMOTE CONTROL EVENTS - In addition to the usual remote control events (play/pause, next song, previous song), Smart Shuffle can now skip to the next/previous album using the "skimming" remote control events. Double-click and hold the remote control on headphones, or touch and hold the forward arrow on the remote control panel on your lock screen. If you quit the application, your music keeps playing. Open the Music app, and your Smart Shuffle mix is retained. Pop right back into Smart Shuffle to skip albums or select new albums to mix. Happy Shuffling! See our website for additional information, FAQ's and contact us to report bugs or request new features. http://spudfish.com/smartshuffle
Interlude Music
Stream your personal music collection from your Plex server. Enjoy offline playback, dark mode, and AirPlay support. Discover recently played and newly uploaded tracks easily.
- Stream Plex music libraries
- Offline listening with smart caching
- Dark mode support
- AirPlay compatibility
- Recently played and new music tabs
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Your Plex music library deserves a player that feels at home on iPhone. Interlude is a focused, cover-led player for the music you own. Sign in with your Plex account, connect to your self-hosted Plex Media Server, and start listening—without rebuilding your library somewhere else. YOUR LIBRARY, BEAUTIFULLY PRESENTED • Connect to the Plex music libraries already on your server. • Browse albums, artists, newly added music, recently played music, and playlists. • Search across your library and jump straight to what you want to hear. • Enjoy artwork-first browsing and a Cover Flow Now Playing experience. • Build and sync regular or smart playlists with Plex. LISTEN ANYWHERE • Smart offline caching keeps previously played audio close and reduces repeat traffic to your server. • CarPlay brings your library, playlists, and queue to the road. • AirPlay sends music to compatible speakers and receivers. • Lock Screen controls and Now Playing keep playback within reach. BUILT FOR IPHONE • Home Screen widgets keep your current music visible. • Dark Mode follows your device. • Queue controls, shuffle, repeat, ratings, and favorites help shape every session. • No ads and no developer data collection. WHAT YOU NEED Interlude requires a Plex account and access to a Plex Media Server with a music library. Interlude is an independent app and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Plex, Inc.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Interlude Music at Free against Smart Shuffle's $1.99. Interlude Music also leads on rating (4.3 vs 3.8) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months). Smart Shuffle's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and device support (3 vs 1). On ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Interlude Music is free to download; Smart Shuffle costs $1.99 up front. Interlude Music sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Smart Shuffle asks for nothing beyond the download.
Interlude Music holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 36 and 20 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of Smart Shuffle's written reviews are positive against 76% of Interlude Music's.
Smart Shuffle ships an update every 2 months, Interlude Music every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 4, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Smart Shuffle | Interlude Music |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.8 (36 ratings) | 4.3 (20 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 67.8% of reviews | 76.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 36 — better | 20 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 16 MB | 28 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Spudfish Software | Aire Atelier LLC |
Customer experience
Smart Shuffle
Interlude Music
In-app purchases
Smart Shuffle
No in-app purchases
Interlude Music
- Playlist Creation — Lifetime$4.99
Questions
Is Smart Shuffle free?
Is Interlude Music free?
Which has better reviews, Smart Shuffle or Interlude Music?
Do Smart Shuffle or Interlude Music have ads?
Which is updated more often, Smart Shuffle or Interlude Music?
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