Apple may let iPhone users play Spotify songs via Siri
Apple and Spotify are in talks about letting iPhone users play music from Spotify via voice assistant Siri. At least, that’s what The Information reports based on multiple sources.
The talks between Apple and Spotify, according to three people familiar with the matter, are reportedly about the ability for iPhone users to ask Siri to play songs, playlists and albums from the Spotify music service. If this is eventually implemented, Spotify would take advantage of the feature in iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 that would essentially put third-party apps on par with Apple Music when it comes to letting music play through Apple’s voice assistant Siri.
The Information reports that the Swedish music company previously stated on its site that Apple does not allow Spotify to come to the HomePod and that Apple certainly does not allow Spotify to connect to Siri for music playback. That was recently changed to a passage stating that Apple has announced that it will give Spotify access to Siri for playing music. According to Spotify, Apple has not mentioned the name of the competing music service and the HomePod will choose Apple Music by default with a voice command.
If this is eventually implemented for iPhone users, it would be a remarkable step because Apple Music and Spotify are each other’s competitors and because both parties blamed each other earlier this year. Spotify believes that with the terms of the App Store, Apple contributes to unfair competition, whereby Apple would favor its own Music service, including through the thirty percent turnover payment that Apple asks from developers of certain apps. The company has complained to the European Commission, which has reportedly launched an investigation. Apple has defended itself against the allegations, saying it finds them excessive, as the Cupertino company said there was no reason for Spotify to increase the price of Spotify Premium.
The arrival of this Siri option for Spotify users has not yet been officially confirmed and it is therefore unclear when this would be added. Competing voice assistants like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant do let users play Spotify music via voice commands.