Photo Credit: Apple
Apple Music has announced a voice-only plan aimed at HomePod users.
The Apple Music Voice Plan will cost $4.99/month, but must be activated using Siri voice commands only. This tier of Apple Music will have no access to the standard Apple Music app on either iOS or Android.
Users can subscribe to the Apple Music Voice Plan through Siri by saying, “Hey Siri, start my Apple Music Voice trial,” or by signing up in the Apple Music app. Once subscribed to the Apple Music Voice plan, users can request music from all of their Siri-enabled devices including HomePod mini, AirPods, iPhone, or any other Apple device.
Apple says it is also adding hundreds of new mood and activity playlists optimized just for voice. Commands like “Play the dinner party playlist,” or “Play something chill” or even “Play more like this” are supported. The new playlists are available to every Apple Music plan.
The Apple Music Voice plan will be available in 17 countries at launch.
Those countries inclue Australia, Austria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
What is the Apple Music Voice Plan?
- New voice-activated Apple Music Plan that costs $4.99/month.
- Access to Apple Music’s global catalog of over 90 million songs through Siri.
- Subscribers have full playback controls including unlimited song-skipping through Siri.
- Access to hundreds of brand new stations and playlists for every mood and activity.
- Access across any Siri-enabled device in the Apple ecosystem.
- Apple Music Voice Plan Trial is a seven-day free preview with no auto-renewal offered to non-subscribers who request music through Siri.
The voice-activated plan doesn’t include access to spatial audio or lossless audio content, lyrics, music videos, or anything else Apple dubs its Premium offerings. Subscribers will need to switch to Apple Music’s individual plan for $9.99 a month to access the app where those features are available.
Apple is aiming to compete directly with Amazon’s lower-priced Prime Music plan. It’s an interesting strategy that will likely help Apple’s smart speaker ecosystem continue to grow and eat into Amazon Alexa’s dominant market share.