Apple Music Voice has arrived with iOS 15.2: heres everything you need to know

Date:
Tue, 14 Dec 2021 16:22:30 +0000

Description:
Apple Music has a new, cheaper streaming plan that you can access with Siri.

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The Apple Music Voice plan is now available to iOS 15.2 users, giving music fans a new, cheaper way to access the music streaming service .

First announced at the Apple Unleashed event in October alongside the AirPods 3 , the Apple Music Voice plan costs just $4.99 / 4.99 / AU$5.99 per month, which is half the price of a standard Apple Music subscription, and a third
of the cost of the Family plan.

So, what do you actually get for that? Youll be able to stream music from the platform by asking Siri to play specific tracks and albums, as well as radio stations and playlists for different moods and genres. You do still get
access to the Apple Music app as well - and you can still search for music in the search bar - though the interface is specifically geared towards using your voice to play your music.

But, youre totally limited to having Siri act as your personal DJ - and we
all know that Apples voice assistant isnt the most reliable compared to the likes of Google Assistant and Alexa. (Image credit: Apple)

You also miss out on the features you get with a regular Apple Music subscription; you wont see lyrics on your device as you play music, you wont be able to download songs or radio shows for offline playback, and theres no support for Spatial Audio and Lossless playback. These are some of the things that make an Apple Music subscription worth having over a Spotify plan, so were not sure how popular the new plan will be.

Thats the tradeoff youre making for a subscription service thats half the price. But, if you tend to ask Siri to play tracks via your HomePod mini or AirPods anyway, that tradeoff may be well worth the savings youd make on your subscription plan.

For anyone that likes to painstakingly create playlists, the cheaper subscription plan probably wont be enough encouragement to make the switch - and no matter how good Apples own curated playlists. And, to be clear, you
can still use Siri with a regular subscription if you want the best of both worlds.

If you do want to try out the Apple Music Voice plan for yourself, heres everything you need to know to get started. How to use Apple Music Voice (Image credit: Apple)

Setting up Apple Music Voice is easy. Youll need a Siri-enabled speaker or pair of headphones and a device running iOS 15.2. It also works with CarPlay.

Non-subscribers can get Apple Music Voice just by asking Siri to start Apple Music Voice - or by asking Siri to play a song, after which Siri will ask you if youd like to start a seven-day trial of Apple Music Voice.

Once youve started your trial, you can ask Siri to play specific songs or playlists for different moods or situations. For example, if youre in the kitchen, you could say Hey Siri, play a playlist for cooking to your HomePod mini. Or, if youre on a run with your AirPods Pro , you could say Hey Siri, play a playlist for jogging.

You can still use the Apple Music app on your iPhone, but it will look a little different on the Voice Plan. For instance, the homepage shows a row of personalized music recommendation cards based on your listening habits, with each card coming with a suggestion of how to ask Siri to play it.

Theres also a section called Play It Again, which is a queue of your recently played tracks. You can click on these inside the app, or ask Siri to play
them with your voice.

As with a regular Apple Music subscription, you can type in the search bar to look through the platforms catalogue of songs - but you cant tap on these to play them. Again, youll need to ask Siri to do the honors. Read our guide to the best music streaming services



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/apple-music-voice-has-arrived-with-ios-152-here s-everything-you-need-to-know/


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