Apple corrects faulty assumption about Siri and the iOS 14.5 update

Apple iPhone users who installed one of the iOS 14.5 Developer Preview versions discovered something interesting; when they asked Siri to play music, the virtual assistant (via a pop-up) asked which streaming music service to use from a list of possible titles. Originally, it was thought that Siri was allowing iOS users to go through the list of streaming music apps to select a new default music player. After all, Apple recently allowed iOS users to select default browser and email apps.

But according to TechCrunch, Apple has made it clear that when Siri asks which music service you want to use, it is not for the purposes of setting a new default player. There is no default music player setting in iOS. What Siri is doing, according to Apple, is using its intelligence-based feature to learn your listening habits including which streaming music player you prefer to use for certain types of music. Even though Siri will eventually connect the genre of songs you listen to with specific music streaming apps, Apple says it is not the same thing as creating a default streamer for iOS.

Apple is making it clear that Siri is not setting a default streaming music app so as not to confuse iPhone users who might think that Siri is helping them choose a new default streaming music player although this is not the case. In fact, Apple notes that Siri might ask the user multiple times to make a selection as part of the assistant's intelligence gathering program. Just because you might use one streaming service to listen to Jazz and another to stream Pop, it doesn't mean that you are stuck with those preferences. You could, for example, say something like, "Hey Siri, play Pop Music using Pandora." If you originally chose Apple Music or Spotify to play Pop and then asked for Pandora, the next time you request music from Siri without naming a particular service, you might be asked to select one again.

Apple is expected to release the final version of iOS 14.5 sometime during the spring.