16 ms·

No Spotify support. Spotify’s market share is probably so large that Apple will sell fever of this speakers because of that.

manmal 6y ago
They are a direct competitor with Spotify Connect.
- accrual 6y ago
  I wish there could be a better partnership between Apple and Spotify. I consider Spotify to be best in field for my music needs and a tighter integration would be a win-win for me as a consumer. Just the other day: > "Hey Siri, favorite this song on Spotify." > "Sorry, Spotify hasn't added support for that." (paraphrased)
  - andruby 6y ago
    According to Spotify, it’s Apple that’s making life hard for them [0]. And here is Apple’s rebuttal [1] [0] https://www.timetoplayfair.com/timeline/ https://www.timetoplayfair.com/timeline/ [1] https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/03/addressing-spotifys-claims/ https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/03/addressing-spotifys-c...
    - zepto 6y ago
      Spotify has to drag it’s heels and blame Apple now to support its legal case.
      - npunt 6y ago
        Exactly. Its a charade that's not in the best interest of customers of their service in order to get regulatory leverage on the 30% cut. I think people confuse the means (not support functionality that their customers want) with the ends (have a more level playing field against a competitor). I respect the ends they're trying to achieve but the means make me a dissatisfied customer.
    - imnotrick 6y ago
      All the third party apps have an even playing field according to the APIs Apple provides for media playback with Siri https://developer.apple.com/documentation/sirikit/media https://developer.apple.com/documentation/sirikit/media
Qerub 6y ago
AirPlay enables streaming from basically any source on iOS or macOS, including Spotify.
- pornel 6y ago
  AirPlay is garbage. It has a 2-second lag, and still regularly loses sync for me. Apple didn't even bother to update macOS to support stereo homepods over Airplay.
  - madeofpalk 6y ago
    For what it's worth, Airplay 2 addresses at lot of those issues, but it does require a rework and support from the host app.
    - alteria 6y ago
      Is Spotify on Airplay 1 still?
      - madeofpalk 6y ago
        It is.
kitsunesoba 6y ago
The APIs required for Spotify to support HomePod are available, but as usual Spotify has yet to take advantage of them.
- room500 6y ago
  That is an interesting reversal. You could also say that the SDK for Spotify is available [1], but HomePod is yet to take advantage of them. The Spotify SDK has been available for many, many years and is integrated into many devices already. There is a long history of Apple changing the rules on Spotify [2]. Given Apple's focus on promoting their streaming services, I would not be surprised if Apple is intentionally trying to pressure Spotify into a narrow lane as far as integration options. They wouldn't want to cannibalize their own streaming ecosystem. 1 : https://developer.spotify.com/use-cases/hardware/ https://developer.spotify.com/use-cases/hardware/ 2 : https://www.timetoplayfair.com/timeline/ https://www.timetoplayfair.com/timeline/
  - kitsunesoba 6y ago
    Apple historically has not shown much interest in integrating direct support for third-party services, even in spaces they aren't competing in. In the few instances it has, these integrations saw little maintenance and were eventually removed. This makes some amount of sense with how rocky third-party APIs can be[1][2]. Generally, it's easier for both ends when service providers write their own integration for a given platform. As an aside, the timeline given by Spotify is somewhat disingenuous because it doesn't include any of the times that APIs were opened up and is missing significant details about why rejections happened — for instance, early watchOS rejections (as far as I recall) had to do with the lack of a power efficient streaming API in watchOS. Once Apple had a streaming solution that was fit for public consumption (internal/private APIs almost always aren't and cleaning them up takes time), they added it to watchOS. Don't get me wrong, I think iOS would be better if it opened up a little, but Spotify is no saint and has a tendency to embellish the story. 1: https://jod.al/2016/02/18/guide-to-poor-api-management/ https://jod.al/2016/02/18/guide-to-poor-api-management/ 2: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/2/6/16979102/spotify-ends-support-speakers-receivers-pioneer-denon https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/2/6/16979102/sp...
Bud 6y ago
Not having Spotify is a feature.
suyash 6y ago
Apple Music over 3rd party music apps
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
adrr 6y ago
250mm MAU really cuts the market for these devices. I won’t get one till they support Spotify so my house is filled with Echos and Google smart speakers. While all my TVs have Apple TV because it supports Spotify. They also need one with a screen for kitchen use to see recipes.
KuhlMensch 6y ago
As in I can't play Spotify remotely at all?

manmal 6y ago

They are a direct competitor with Spotify Connect.

accrual 6y ago
I wish there could be a better partnership between Apple and Spotify. I consider Spotify to be best in field for my music needs and a tighter integration would be a win-win for me as a consumer. Just the other day: > "Hey Siri, favorite this song on Spotify." > "Sorry, Spotify hasn't added support for that." (paraphrased)
- andruby 6y ago
  According to Spotify, it’s Apple that’s making life hard for them [0]. And here is Apple’s rebuttal [1] [0] https://www.timetoplayfair.com/timeline/ https://www.timetoplayfair.com/timeline/ [1] https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/03/addressing-spotifys-claims/ https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2019/03/addressing-spotifys-c...
  - zepto 6y ago
    Spotify has to drag it’s heels and blame Apple now to support its legal case.
    - npunt 6y ago
      Exactly. Its a charade that's not in the best interest of customers of their service in order to get regulatory leverage on the 30% cut. I think people confuse the means (not support functionality that their customers want) with the ends (have a more level playing field against a competitor). I respect the ends they're trying to achieve but the means make me a dissatisfied customer.
  - imnotrick 6y ago
    All the third party apps have an even playing field according to the APIs Apple provides for media playback with Siri https://developer.apple.com/documentation/sirikit/media https://developer.apple.com/documentation/sirikit/media

Qerub 6y ago

AirPlay enables streaming from basically any source on iOS or macOS, including Spotify.

pornel 6y ago
AirPlay is garbage. It has a 2-second lag, and still regularly loses sync for me. Apple didn't even bother to update macOS to support stereo homepods over Airplay.
- madeofpalk 6y ago
  For what it's worth, Airplay 2 addresses at lot of those issues, but it does require a rework and support from the host app.
  - alteria 6y ago
    Is Spotify on Airplay 1 still?
    - madeofpalk 6y ago
      It is.

kitsunesoba 6y ago

The APIs required for Spotify to support HomePod are available, but as usual Spotify has yet to take advantage of them.

room500 6y ago
That is an interesting reversal. You could also say that the SDK for Spotify is available [1], but HomePod is yet to take advantage of them. The Spotify SDK has been available for many, many years and is integrated into many devices already. There is a long history of Apple changing the rules on Spotify [2]. Given Apple's focus on promoting their streaming services, I would not be surprised if Apple is intentionally trying to pressure Spotify into a narrow lane as far as integration options. They wouldn't want to cannibalize their own streaming ecosystem. 1 : https://developer.spotify.com/use-cases/hardware/ https://developer.spotify.com/use-cases/hardware/ 2 : https://www.timetoplayfair.com/timeline/ https://www.timetoplayfair.com/timeline/
- kitsunesoba 6y ago
  Apple historically has not shown much interest in integrating direct support for third-party services, even in spaces they aren't competing in. In the few instances it has, these integrations saw little maintenance and were eventually removed. This makes some amount of sense with how rocky third-party APIs can be[1][2]. Generally, it's easier for both ends when service providers write their own integration for a given platform. As an aside, the timeline given by Spotify is somewhat disingenuous because it doesn't include any of the times that APIs were opened up and is missing significant details about why rejections happened — for instance, early watchOS rejections (as far as I recall) had to do with the lack of a power efficient streaming API in watchOS. Once Apple had a streaming solution that was fit for public consumption (internal/private APIs almost always aren't and cleaning them up takes time), they added it to watchOS. Don't get me wrong, I think iOS would be better if it opened up a little, but Spotify is no saint and has a tendency to embellish the story. 1: https://jod.al/2016/02/18/guide-to-poor-api-management/ https://jod.al/2016/02/18/guide-to-poor-api-management/ 2: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/2/6/16979102/spotify-ends-support-speakers-receivers-pioneer-denon https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/2/6/16979102/sp...

Bud 6y ago

Not having Spotify is a feature.

suyash 6y ago

Apple Music over 3rd party music apps

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

adrr 6y ago

250mm MAU really cuts the market for these devices. I won’t get one till they support Spotify so my house is filled with Echos and Google smart speakers. While all my TVs have Apple TV because it supports Spotify. They also need one with a screen for kitchen use to see recipes.

KuhlMensch 6y ago

As in I can't play Spotify remotely at all?