Can You Play An MP3 On Your iPhone?

If you’re wondering if you can play MP3 files on your iPhone, the good news is that you can. You can do this by connecting your iPhone to your computer with a USB cable, then opening iTunes, and clicking Summary. Next, select Manually manage music and videos. Then click on Music. Finally, drag and drop the MP3 into the iTunes window. This will transfer the file to your phone, so you can play it.

With as much music as there is out there, it’s no wonder people are trying to find the best way to fit as much music as they can on their iPhones. One of the best ways of doing that is to make sure you download your music as MP3s. They take up very little space on your iPhone, and they sound great. The question is, can you download MP3s on your iPhone? I’ll cover this and more in the article below.

Lossless vs. Lossy Compression Formats

Lossy compression removes parts of an audio recording that are silent or have little sound, making the file much smaller. In comparison, lossless or uncompressed files do not remove any information. If you’re someone who must need the highest audio quality for your music, don’t convert your audio to a lossy format. Most listeners can’t tell the difference between lossy and high-quality audio anyways, so it doesn’t matter too much. File size becomes an important factor when storing music on your iPhone instead of streaming it from the internet.

How To Play MP3 Files On My iPhone?

You have the ability to play MP3 files on your iPhone through either a downloaded application or iOS’s built-in file app. First, you need to connect your iPhone to your computer. After it is connected, go to the Music tab on iTunes’s main screen. Then select which type of file you want from the options: Selected playlists, artists, albums, etc., and click okay. MP3 files are automatically displayed as AAC or WAV files. To add an MP3 to your iPhone, open iTunes on your Mac and select the file you wish to transfer. If you have a more recent version of iTunes, drag and drop the file onto your iPhone. If not, don’t worry–you can still use iTunes to transfer MP3 files to your iPhone. You’ll need to purchase an Apple Music Subscription first, which you can do either online or over the phone. Next, open the Music app. On the iPhone, tap Add Songs to select the file you want to include. You can add as many MP3s as you please. As an alternative method, you can also use iCloud instead. If neither of those methods works for you, another option is adding them manually on iTunes and later syncing that data onto your iPhone. Related Reading

Other Formats That Can Be Played On The iPhone

The amount of different audio formats is not limited to just MP3. Here is a list of some of the more common audio formats that can be played on your iPhone:
  • AAC – A format that efficiently stores audio while still preserving most of the original quality. This format is ideal for streaming and doesn’t require high-fidelity sound.
  • MPEG-4 – Both versions of the format are lossy, meaning some data is lost in the compression. This isn’t a big deal for music streaming and internet radio, but it can affect software media players.
  • FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) – This program provides lossless compression of digital audio. This means that when the audio is decompressed, it will be identical to the original.
  • M4A – These files are compressed music files that sound just as good as FLAC files.
  • WAV – Audio CDs use this data format because it doesn’t compress the files. These files are large but high-quality.
  • AC3 Dolby Digital – MP3 is a lossy format that carries up to six channels of music.
  • Dolby Digital Plus – Dolby Digital Plus is an enhanced version of Dolby Digital that offers increased bitrates and support for more audio channels.

Four Ways To Add & Play MP3 Files On Your iPhone

Method #1: Using iTunes

  1. On your computer, open iTunes.
  2. Select, Summary.
  3. Click on Manually manage music and videos.
  4. Select, Music.
  5. With your iTunes window open, drag and drop your MP3 file into it.

Method #2: Using AirDrop

  1. Swipe down from the top of your screen to open up Control Center.
  2. Tap and hold down the Wi-Fi button. Then tap on the Airdrop Button to turn it on.
  1. Back on your computer, right-click the MP3 file, and select Share.
  2. Select your destination from the menu, then click Airdrop.
  3. Tap Done.
With your MP3 file now on your iPhone, open the Files app, and you can play your MP3 from there.

Method #3: Using VLC Media Player

VLC Media Player is an excellent audio player that can make listening to MP3s on our iPhone much more straightforward. You can download VLC Media Player here.
  1. Launch VLC Media Player.
  2. Tap Network, then tap on Sharing via Wi-Fi.
  3. Tap Sharing via Wi-Fi to copy the unique IP address that VLC Media Player will need to make this work properly.
  4. Paste the IP address you receive from VLC in the address bar of your computer browser.
  5. A Sharing via Wi-Fi window will pop up. Drag and drop your MP3 file into that window to upload it to your iPhone.
Once the MP3 file has been uploaded, you will be able to find it and play it in the VLC Media Player on your iPhone. I hope you enjoyed this article and learned something about playing MP3s on your iPhone. If you have any questions about MP3s or any other formats you can play on your iPhone, please leave a comment below.

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