Apple’s latest updates, including iOS 15.2, iPadOS 15.2, macOS Monterey, and HomePod 15.2 introduce support for the Apple Music Voice Plan, a…<\/b>
\nApple’s latest updates, including iOS 15.2, iPadOS 15.2, macOS Monterey, and HomePod 15.2 introduce support for the Apple Music Voice Plan, a cheaper version of \u200cApple Music\u200c that’s only able to be activated through Siri. If you’re not already an \u200cApple Music\u200c subscriber, signing up for the voice plan is as simple as saying «Hey \u200cSiri\u200c, start my \u200cApple Music\u200c Voice Plan,» or activating it through an iOS device or Mac. Those who are new to \u200cApple Music\u200c will get the first seven days of access free to try it out, but if you turn on auto-renewal and sign up to pay a monthly fee, you can get a three-month free trial. That seven day option is if you don’t sign up and don’t allow it to renew after you test it out, and you won’t be automatically billed. The $4.99 per month \u200cApple Music\u200c Voice Plan is entirely separate from the $9.99 per month full \u200cApple Music\u200c subscription, which already includes all of the features of the \u200cApple Music\u200c Voice Plan. If you already subscribe to \u200cApple Music\u200c, you have full \u200cSiri\u200c access and won’t also need the \u200cApple Music\u200c Voice Plan. Apple designed the \u200cApple Music\u200c Voice Plan as a more limited version of the standard \u200cApple Music\u200c subscription. It’s primarily designed to allow you to ask for songs and albums from the \u200cApple Music\u200c catalog by \u200cSiri\u200c request rather than through the \u200cApple Music\u200c app interface. So to find music, you’d just go ahead and ask \u200cSiri\u200c to play something instead of looking it up in the \u200cApple Music\u200c app. You do need to have \u200cSiri\u200c enabled on your devices, and \u200cApple Music\u200c Voice works well on all devices that support \u200cSiri\u200c — iPhone, iPad, Mac, and \u200cHomePod\u200c. It’s particularly useful with CarPlay in the car and on the \u200cHomePod\u200c where the natural inclination is to use voice control. \u200cApple Music\u200c Voice Plan has a limited interface in the \u200cApple Music\u200c app, but it does offer full access to Apple’s song catalog and radio stations, as well as playlist suggestions. You can actually search for artists, albums, and songs using the \u200cApple Music\u200c app, and you can listen to previews of songs, but not the full song. If you find a song in \u200cApple Music\u200c that you want to play after hearing the preview from tapping it, you’ll need to ask \u200cSiri\u200c to play the full version. With the \u200cApple Music\u200c Voice Plan, there is no option to add songs or albums to the Library, nor can you create playlists or save music for offline listening. If you want those features, you need to upgrade to the full \u200cApple Music\u200c subscription. Playing a song on an iOS device will give you the standard playback controls for playing, pausing, and skipping to the next track, plus you can also use features like AirPlay. It does use the continuous play option, so if you ask \u200cSiri\u200c to play one song, \u200cSiri\u200c will keep the music going with similar songs. There is no support for Spatial Audio or Lossless Audio, both features that require the $9.99 per month \u200cApple Music\u200c plan, nor is there an option to view lyrics, watch music videos, or see what friends are listening to. All in all, it’s not a bad idea to choose \u200cApple Music\u200c Voice if you’re going to use \u200cSiri\u200c exclusively on something like a \u200cHomePod\u200c and want to save some money, but there are a lot of additional features that you get with the extra $5 for the full $9.99 per month \u200cApple Music\u200c plan.<\/p>\n