The Apple Music Voice plan is now available for iOS 15.2 users, giving music fans a new and 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. Price of a standard Apple Music subscription and a third of the cost of the family plan.
So what do you really get for it? You'll be able to stream music from the platform by having Siri play specific tracks and albums, as well as radio stations and playlists for different moods and genres. You also have access to the Apple Music app, and you can still search for music in the search bar, although the interface is specifically designed to use your voice to play your music.
But, you're totally limited to Siri being your personal DJ, and we all know that Apple's voice assistant isn't the most reliable compared to Google Assistant and Alexa.
You're also missing out on the features you get with a regular Apple Music subscription; You won't see lyrics on your device while listening to music, you won't be able to download songs or radio shows for offline playback, and there's no support for spatial and lossless audio playback. These are some of the things that make it worthwhile to have an Apple Music subscription on a Spotify plan, so we don't know how popular the new plan will be.
It is the compensation you make for a subscription service at half price. But, if you tend to have Siri play tracks through your HomePod mini or AirPods anyway, that tradeoff may be worth the savings you would make on your subscription plan.
For anyone who likes to painstakingly create playlists, the cheapest subscription plan probably won't be enough of an incentive to make the switch, and no matter how good the playlists Apple selects are. And to be clear, you can still use Siri with a regular subscription if you want the best of both worlds.
If you want to try the Apple Music Voice plan for yourself, here's everything you need to know to get started.
How to use Apple Music Voice
Setting up Apple Music Voice is easy. You will need a Siri compatible speaker or headset and a device with iOS 15.2. It also works with CarPlay.
Non-subscribers can get Apple Music Voice simply by asking Siri to "launch Apple Music Voice," or by asking Siri to play a song, after which Siri will ask if you'd like to start a seven-day trial of Apple Music. Voice .
Once you've started your test, you can ask Siri to play specific songs or playlists for different moods or situations. For example, if you're in the kitchen, you can say "Hey Siri, play a cooking playlist" into your HomePod mini. Or, if you're running with your AirPods Pro, you can say, "Hey Siri, play a running playlist."
You can still use the Apple Music app on your iPhone, but it will be a little different vocally. For example, the home page displays a row of personalized music recommendation "cards" based on your listening habits, with each card containing a suggestion on how to ask Siri to play it.
There is also a section called Play It Again, which is a queue of recently played tracks. You can click them in the app or have Siri read them with your voice.
As with a regular Apple Music subscription, you can type in the search bar to browse the platform's catalog of songs, but you can't touch it to play them. Again, you'll have to ask Siri to do the honors.
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