Spotify iOS beta gains ability to make Siri music requests

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iOS edited December 2019
Subscribers of Spotify will soon be able to ask Siri to play music using the iOS app, with the music streaming service testing out the function in the beta version of its app ahead of a release to the public.

(via The Verge)
(via The Verge)


Apple Music and Spotify have been fierce rivals, but on iOS at least, Apple Music has the benefit of being accessible from Siri, with the digital assistant accepting requests for music playback only through Apple's streaming service, with no option to change the music provider. In an update to the beta Spotify app, the competitor is finally making a move to enable that functionality for its own usage.

The latest beta allows users to make requests to play songs and playlists by the verbal "Hey Siri" prompt, reports The Verge. For the moment, users also have to specify "on Spotify" for Siri to search that specific service, as otherwise Siri will keep searching Apple Music.

There also appears to be some issue with searching podcasts on Spotify, with it not quite working as well in requests as similar ones for the default Podcasts app. Requests via the Apple Watch also do not work, but they do via AirPods.

While only being tested in beta, it is thought Spotify may bring the feature to the public release within a few weeks.

The addition of Siri support to Spotify is likely to have stemmed from the addition of new functionality in SiriKit, introduced as part of iOS 13 and iPadOS. Siri intents to play media and control playback within apps was made available to developers to use, enabling third-party music and other audio services to use the facility.

A complaint with the European Commission by Spotify claiming Apple is being anti-competitive included third-party access to technologies like Siri, HomePod, and Apple Watch as evidence. By changing SiriKit to enable third-party music apps to use the digital assistant, it may help diffuse part of Spotify's regulatory complaint.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 20
    agilealtitudeagilealtitude Posts: 165member
    Awesome. Now how about Shortcuts?
  • Reply 2 of 20
    ericesqueericesque Posts: 29member
    This is the last of the features I’ve been waiting forever for! I guess that means Apple and Spotify can just stop development after this.
    appleph
  • Reply 3 of 20
    aevaraevar Posts: 6member
    Does this mean I can ask Siri to play music via Spotify on my HomePod?
  • Reply 4 of 20
    CheeseFreezeCheeseFreeze Posts: 1,344member
    There is still anti competition going on by Apple. 
    They should be sued for having taken years to have third parties integrate Siri into music apps - a category they blocked.

    Secondly they should be sued for the fact you still need to say “on Spotify”, because leaving it out - the “default” - is still Apple Music. 

    iOS should include an option to set the defaults for music, navigation and other categories, so that Siri can take that setting as the ‘default’.
    ZepLepplinAppleExposed
  • Reply 5 of 20
    jedwards87jedwards87 Posts: 44member
    CheeseFreeze said:
    There is still anti competition going on by Apple. 
    They should be sued for having taken years to have third parties integrate Siri into music apps - a category they blocked.

    Secondly they should be sued for the fact you still need to say “on Spotify”, because leaving it out - the “default” - is still Apple Music. 

    iOS should include an option to set the defaults for music, navigation and other categories, so that Siri can take that setting as the ‘default’.
    Quit with the "they need to be sued" stuff. No they don't. You don't like their setup then move on to something else. Sounds like you need to move over to Android.
    fastasleepAppleExposedRayz2016watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 20
    the monkthe monk Posts: 93member
    There is still anti competition going on by Apple. 
    They should be sued for having taken years to have third parties integrate Siri into music apps - a category they blocked.

    Secondly they should be sued for the fact you still need to say “on Spotify”, because leaving it out - the “default” - is still Apple Music. 

    iOS should include an option to set the defaults for music, navigation and other categories, so that Siri can take that setting as the ‘default’.
    Apple had problems integrating Siri into its own apps as Siri feels like it’s been in beta for years. What makes you think it was ready for Spotify? Third party access to Apple features should only be granted only after Apple has time tested with users and with the code continuously rewritten. If Spotify was given access to Siri, Spotify would’ve sued Apple for giving them a product that wasn’t ready yet.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 20
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,453member
    CheeseFreeze said:
    There is still anti competition going on by Apple. 
    They should be sued for having taken years to have third parties integrate Siri into music apps - a category they blocked.

    Secondly they should be sued for the fact you still need to say “on Spotify”, because leaving it out - the “default” - is still Apple Music. 

    iOS should include an option to set the defaults for music, navigation and other categories, so that Siri can take that setting as the ‘default’.
    Have fun storming the castle!
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 20
    dororkedororke Posts: 6member
    Finally. Something I’ve been waiting for. The next extension I’d like to see is being able to download Spotify music to my Apple Watch. 
  • Reply 9 of 20
    CheeseFreezeCheeseFreeze Posts: 1,344member
    jedwards87 said:
    CheeseFreeze said:
    There is still anti competition going on by Apple. 
    They should be sued for having taken years to have third parties integrate Siri into music apps - a category they blocked.

    Secondly they should be sued for the fact you still need to say “on Spotify”, because leaving it out - the “default” - is still Apple Music. 

    iOS should include an option to set the defaults for music, navigation and other categories, so that Siri can take that setting as the ‘default’.
    Quit with the "they need to be sued" stuff. No they don't. You don't like their setup then move on to something else. Sounds like you need to move over to Android.
    Really. I should move to a different ecosystem and sell all my 9 apple devices because of a strong opinion about a very particular thing?
    What’s next? You yelling “Intel Outside!”?
  • Reply 10 of 20
    CheeseFreezeCheeseFreeze Posts: 1,344member
    the monk said:
    There is still anti competition going on by Apple. 
    They should be sued for having taken years to have third parties integrate Siri into music apps - a category they blocked.

    Secondly they should be sued for the fact you still need to say “on Spotify”, because leaving it out - the “default” - is still Apple Music. 

    iOS should include an option to set the defaults for music, navigation and other categories, so that Siri can take that setting as the ‘default’.
    Apple had problems integrating Siri into its own apps as Siri feels like it’s been in beta for years. What makes you think it was ready for Spotify?
    Because most all the other categories were available early on. When you develop software like Siri you don’t hardcode the Apple Music service into Siri’s music voice intents. You abstract the idea of services, so when that concept is developed and you hook for one particular service, others are relatively easy after that because these integrations happen at a different level (not Siri at the core level). I’m not saying it’s a trivial task, but it’s clearly not “many-years” development effort.

    It just happened to be very convenient that they’d take their time to open up music. Of course they do that so they can take their time to catch up with Spotify by promoting Apple Music heavily and making the integration seamless, as opposed to Spotify who doesn’t have that same level of control on iOS.
  • Reply 11 of 20
    AppleExposedAppleExposed Posts: 1,805unconfirmed, member
    CheeseFreeze said:
    There is still anti competition going on by Apple. 
    They should be sued for having taken years to have third parties integrate Siri into music apps - a category they blocked.

    Secondly they should be sued for the fact you still need to say “on Spotify”, because leaving it out - the “default” - is still Apple Music. 

    iOS should include an option to set the defaults for music, navigation and other categories, so that Siri can take that setting as the ‘default’.

    Apple could do whatever the F they want with their products and inventions. Spotify should be grateful Apple even allowed them into the Siri ecosystem.

    If you don't like it, code a Siri knockoff for Spotify and hope it's successful.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 20
    uraharaurahara Posts: 733member
    CheeseFreeze said:
    There is still anti competition going on by Apple. 
    They should be sued for having taken years to have third parties integrate Siri into music apps - a category they blocked.

    Secondly they should be sued for the fact you still need to say “on Spotify”, because leaving it out - the “default” - is still Apple Music. 

    iOS should include an option to set the defaults for music, navigation and other categories, so that Siri can take that setting as the ‘default’.
    And iPhone should let me bake my own Pizza and not just use those delivering apps.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 20
    boltsfan17boltsfan17 Posts: 2,294member
    CheeseFreeze said:
    There is still anti competition going on by Apple. 
    They should be sued for having taken years to have third parties integrate Siri into music apps - a category they blocked.

    Secondly they should be sued for the fact you still need to say “on Spotify”, because leaving it out - the “default” - is still Apple Music. 

    iOS should include an option to set the defaults for music, navigation and other categories, so that Siri can take that setting as the ‘default’.
    I completely agree. Apple should be sued for users having to say two extra words to use Spotify. How dare they!
    Rayz2016watto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 20
    applephappleph Posts: 11member
    This battle reminds me of the browser issue on Windows in the past. I could only speculate in their defense that they didn't really intend to limit competition, but rather it's just not their priority to develop the feature, which is fair argument imo. But now that it's coming, I'm happy because I am only using apple music due to lack of choice.
     
  • Reply 15 of 20
    applephappleph Posts: 11member
    Hey AI, I love your site and Apple but do you think we need the trolls making <adjective_here> comments every time somebody voices their critical opinion?

    Example:
    > Apple could do whatever the F they want with their products and inventions. Spotify should be grateful Apple even allowed them into the Siri ecosystem.

    > If you don't like it, code a Siri knockoff for Spotify and hope it's successful.

    >     And iPhone should let me bake my own Pizza and not just use those delivering apps.
  • Reply 16 of 20
    EsquireCatsEsquireCats Posts: 1,268member
    CheeseFreeze said:
    There is still anti competition going on by Apple. 
    They should be sued for having taken years to have third parties integrate Siri into music apps - a category they blocked.

    Secondly they should be sued for the fact you still need to say “on Spotify”, because leaving it out - the “default” - is still Apple Music. 

    iOS should include an option to set the defaults for music, navigation and other categories, so that Siri can take that setting as the ‘default’.
    This fails the definition of anti-competitive business practices. Perceived inconvenience on its own is not proof of anticompetitive behaviour.
    Apple's ecosystem is not the music market (calling it a market is already a stretch), rather it is another option in the market, of which there are ample competitors and choice. Anti-competitive behaviour means that Apple deliberately make consistent efforts to stifle the market.

    Additionally Apple and their devices make up a minority of the device market and using an Apple product doesn't prevent you from using other services or products, thus Apple's market impact is limited. Just because x service doesn't work on y device doesn't mean that anti-competitive business practices are going on. Such thinking falsely assumes that making two devices work together is automatic and the devices not working together is due to it being intentionally blocked, rather than the reality that functionality is specifically coded/tested/deployed.

    Also understand that even if Apple made a 'default' music/web/etc preference panel, there is no automatic way to make 3rd party apps work with it.  As demonstrated by Spotify needing to write code to interface with Siri. In time it may be possible to select a default destination for certain domains of Siri commands, but that is a technical problem, since Apple's own apps are titled things like "music". The "On Spotify" suffix isn't there to stifle the user, it's a small addition to ensure that the command is carried out correctly.

    With the argument presented you might also need to argue that Spotify should be able to access your Apple Music playlists and vice versa. This goes back to the argument that perceived inconvenience is not anticompetitive behaviour.

    Finally, Spotify does themselves no favours, they don't deploy on all available platforms and are slow to implement these 3rd party interfaces, such as Siri.
    fastasleepwatto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 20
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 8,021member
    There is still anti competition going on by Apple. 
    They should be sued for having taken years to have third parties integrate Siri into music apps - a category they blocked.

    Secondly they should be sued for the fact you still need to say “on Spotify”, because leaving it out - the “default” - is still Apple Music. 

    iOS should include an option to set the defaults for music, navigation and other categories, so that Siri can take that setting as the ‘default’.

    Apple could do whatever the F they want with their products and inventions. Spotify should be grateful Apple even allowed them into the Siri ecosystem.

    If you don't like it, code a Siri knockoff for Spotify and hope it's successful.
    This isn't correct. As a large scale platform provider and content provider, Apple has to tread a very fine line or find itself in hot water.

    It definitely can't do 'whatever it wants' especially if that could be construed as anti competitive behaviour.

    If definitely shouldn't be necessary to stipulate Spotify on every request. 
    edited September 2019 CheeseFreeze
  • Reply 18 of 20
    michelb76michelb76 Posts: 698member
    aevar said:
    Does this mean I can ask Siri to play music via Spotify on my HomePod?
    Probably not. Pandora can already use SiriKit audio APIs and HomePod doesn't support it, not even using Personal Requests. Unclear if this will ever be the case.
  • Reply 19 of 20
    CheeseFreezeCheeseFreeze Posts: 1,344member
    boltsfan17 said:
    CheeseFreeze said:
    There is still anti competition going on by Apple. 
    They should be sued for having taken years to have third parties integrate Siri into music apps - a category they blocked.

    Secondly they should be sued for the fact you still need to say “on Spotify”, because leaving it out - the “default” - is still Apple Music. 

    iOS should include an option to set the defaults for music, navigation and other categories, so that Siri can take that setting as the ‘default’.
    I completely agree. Apple should be sued for users having to say two extra words to use Spotify. How dare they!
    I recommend you going back to the many prosecutions involving Microsoft and Google on similar things, e.g the order of which Microsoft showed the browser options for new Windows installations. They put their own browser front and center, which is unfair to the rest.
    When you grow big enough and you own a whole dominant ecosystem, and you monetize they, the rules should change and protect the developers relying on that ecosystem. 
  • Reply 20 of 20
    CheeseFreezeCheeseFreeze Posts: 1,344member
    EsquireCats said:
    CheeseFreeze said:
    There is still anti competition going on by Apple. 
    They should be sued for having taken years to have third parties integrate Siri into music apps - a category they blocked.

    Secondly they should be sued for the fact you still need to say “on Spotify”, because leaving it out - the “default” - is still Apple Music. 

    iOS should include an option to set the defaults for music, navigation and other categories, so that Siri can take that setting as the ‘default’.
    This fails the definition of anti-competitive business practices. Perceived inconvenience on its own is not proof of anticompetitive behaviour.
    Apple's ecosystem is not the music market (calling it a market is already a stretch), rather it is another option in the market, of which there are ample competitors and choice. Anti-competitive behaviour means that Apple deliberately make consistent efforts to stifle the market.

    Additionally Apple and their devices make up a minority of the device market and using an Apple product doesn't prevent you from using other services or products, thus Apple's market impact is limited. Just because x service doesn't work on y device doesn't mean that anti-competitive business practices are going on. Such thinking falsely assumes that making two devices work together is automatic and the devices not working together is due to it being intentionally blocked, rather than the reality that functionality is specifically coded/tested/deployed.

    Also understand that even if Apple made a 'default' music/web/etc preference panel, there is no automatic way to make 3rd party apps work with it.  As demonstrated by Spotify needing to write code to interface with Siri. In time it may be possible to select a default destination for certain domains of Siri commands, but that is a technical problem, since Apple's own apps are titled things like "music". The "On Spotify" suffix isn't there to stifle the user, it's a small addition to ensure that the command is carried out correctly.

    With the argument presented you might also need to argue that Spotify should be able to access your Apple Music playlists and vice versa. This goes back to the argument that perceived inconvenience is not anticompetitive behaviour.

    Finally, Spotify does themselves no favours, they don't deploy on all available platforms and are slow to implement these 3rd party interfaces, such as Siri.
    Thank you for a thoughtful, well written response. Even though I don’t necessarily agree with what you write, you back up your words with good arguments and don’t attack me for my opinion. 
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