In an unexpected move, Apple has announced that starting in November, they will be discontinuing their Apple Music Voice plan. This plan, centered around voice interaction through Siri, seems to not align with the company’s vision for its music streaming service. Their vision focuses on providing a more comprehensive and robust musical experience, highlighting features such as immersive Spatial Audio, Apple Music Sing with real-time lyrics, and advanced content exploration and discovery functions.
Apple Music’s plan for Siri bids farewell
Launched in December 2021 as part of iOS 15.2, Apple Music’s Voice plan, priced at $4.99 per month, allowed users to access Apple Music’s entire library of over 100 million songs exclusively through Siri. The plan itself was primarily subscribed to via Siri, which also controlled music playback.
Despite offering full access to Apple Music’s catalog, it lacked some features of other plans, such as music downloads, Spatial Audio, and the Family Sharing option.
For current subscribers of the Voice plan, Apple has decided not to automatically renew these subscriptions. These users can continue to enjoy the service until the end of their last billing cycle. Given this situation, the question arises: what are the alternatives?
Apple offers several options. Users can choose to switch to another Apple Music plan, such as Individual, Student, or Family. Additionally, there’s the option to subscribe to Apple One, a bundle that includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, and other company services. It’s worth noting that all Apple Music plans are compatible with Siri, allowing users to enjoy an identical voice control experience while being richer in various other aspects.
As outlined in this Apple support document, for users in the free trial period of the Voice plan, the situation is similar. Upon the trial’s end, they can continue on their plan during the first billing cycle. Apple will send notifications with more information before the end of this period.
Nevertheless, Apple is moving users of this plan to the same level as other Apple Music subscribers and is focusing on enhancing the streaming service we are already familiar with. While some improvements are arriving in iOS 17.2 alongside the Journal app, others remain entirely unknown to us. What is clear is that Apple has significant plans for its services, and sooner or later, we can expect surprises.
