Amazon adds Apple Music support to Echo devices in smart speaker fight against Google
While Amazon would probably love to convince more people to subscribe to its own Music Unlimited service, some wars are simply not worth fighting. For the e-commerce giant, it’s far more important to keep Google at bay in the smart speaker arena, where Alexa is facing tough digital assistant competition.
As far as music streaming is concerned, both the Echo lineup and Google Home family have embraced choice for their users, but Amazon is getting ready to pull off a major and largely unexpected coup by adding Apple Music support.
Currently, the world’s fastest-growing music streaming platform is exclusively available on Apple’s own HomePod, but in a new press release, Amazon has just announced Apple Music will expand to Echo devices “beginning the week of December 17.”
Echos have long supported Apple Music rivals like Spotify and Pandora, recently adding Tidal to a list that also includes Deezer or iHeartRadio. Most of these services work on Google Home smart speakers as well, but it’s unlikely that Apple Music will ever follow their suit.
Playing your favorite song from Apple’s 50 million strong library on an Echo device will soon be as simple as everything else Alexa is capable of doing. You’ll just have to enable the respective skill in the AI’s dedicated app and link your account to start listening.
You’ll obviously be able to control the service using just your voice, with hands-free commands accessing specific tracks, albums, and playlists, including those curated by experts and “editors from around the world.”
For Apple, this surprising partnership may be interpreted as another sign of smart speaker market hesitancy. Instead of fighting against Amazon, Cupertino is choosing to fight alongside the Seattle-based tech giant versus a common enemy.
As far as music streaming is concerned, both the Echo lineup and Google Home family have embraced choice for their users, but Amazon is getting ready to pull off a major and largely unexpected coup by adding Apple Music support.
Echos have long supported Apple Music rivals like Spotify and Pandora, recently adding Tidal to a list that also includes Deezer or iHeartRadio. Most of these services work on Google Home smart speakers as well, but it’s unlikely that Apple Music will ever follow their suit.
You’ll obviously be able to control the service using just your voice, with hands-free commands accessing specific tracks, albums, and playlists, including those curated by experts and “editors from around the world.”
For Apple, this surprising partnership may be interpreted as another sign of smart speaker market hesitancy. Instead of fighting against Amazon, Cupertino is choosing to fight alongside the Seattle-based tech giant versus a common enemy.
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