Translate to en: Apple’s smart speaker, the HomePod, has always been a standout choice for music enthusiasts. Thanks to Apple’s integration, we can enjoy Pandora, iHeartRadio, and several other services, but not Spotify. The Norwegian company has never made its application compatible with the HomePod, despite Apple providing the necessary tools years ago. Given the situation, Apple has decided to do Spotify’s job and ensure that Siri takes care of making Spotify work on the HomePod in iOS 17.
Apple doing developers’ work
Apple’s decision to enable Siri integration for Spotify on the HomePod was discussed during a WWDC 2023 session. Apple explained that as long as an iOS app supports the SiriKit API, which allows users to control the app through Siri, the streaming app will work on the HomePod. “Once the HomePod processes a request, a SiriKit intent is sent to the iPhone, where Siri launches the app and sends the content back to the speaker via AirPlay,” Apple explained.
In other words, instead of having to rely on the iPhone to open the app and play content through AirPlay, the HomePod will take care of these steps for us. While this solution may not be as ideal as having services like Spotify natively support the HomePod, as it still relies on AirPlay for playback, it is certainly good news.
This new integration will work with music apps, audiobooks, podcasts, radio, and even meditation apps. If an app is well integrated with SiriKit, we may even be able to interact with it beyond playback, such as marking a song as a favorite. Apple clearly states that “everything the app can do on iOS today [via Siri] will work on the HomePod.”
As an added benefit, Siri’s voice recognition will know which person, among several registered in the Home app, is requesting the music, so it will refer to their iPhone and not someone else’s in the family. Undoubtedly, this represents a significant change for HomePod and Spotify users. While Apple shouldn’t have to do Spotify’s work, it will undoubtedly allow for a much more convenient interaction.
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