Like the rest of us, you probably have mixed feelings for Siri – Apple’s once market-leading digital assistant which, over time, doesn’t appear to have progressed in lockstep with its rivals. Now, the Cupertino giant is betting that you’ll be willing to subscribe to an entry-level Music subscription with the caveat that you can only access your tunes through the digital assistant itself.
Apple Music’s Voice subscription, which will be available for $5 USD in the United States, enables consumers to use Siri to listen to music aboard their iPhone, iPad, AirPods, or through CarPlay – without access to the traditional user interface and experience offered through the native Music app.
Think of it as the iPod Shuffle of the Apple Music subscription range.
Apple clarified that it has a team of human editors working to create thousands of playlists designed for voice control and intend for the selection to be sorted by mood as well as genre.
Naturally, features such as lossless and spatial audio are not supported on the Voice subscription tier – you’ll need to insert more coins into the Apple vending machine for that.
In a statement to the press, Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and Beats, added that “…with Siri actively used on hundreds of millions of devices worldwide, we are thrilled to add this new plan that delivers an effortless music experience just by using your voice and makes Apple Music accessible to even more people around the world.”
