Apple Music can now be streamed on Amazon Echo speakers via Alexa in the United States, a few days ahead of schedule.
As spotted by 9to5Mac, it is now possible to link Apple Music with your Amazon account in the Alexa app for iPhone and use Alexa voice commands to control playback of songs, playlists, and Beats 1 on Apple Music on Amazon Echo speakers.
To access this feature, simply use a voice command such as "Alexa, play music by Ed Sheeran on Apple Music" or "Alexa, play today's hits on Apple Music." Apple Music can also be set as the default music service in the Alexa app, so that "Apple Music" does not need to be specified each time.
Other streaming music services supported on Echo speakers include Spotify, Deezer, Vevo, SiriusXM, Tidal, and Pandora.
Apple and Amazon announced this new partnership in late November, with Amazon saying it is "committed to offering great music providers to our customers," and referring to Apple Music as "one of the most popular music services."
Apple Music playback on Amazon Echo speakers is currently limited to the United States.
Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie.
The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...
Monday December 16, 2024 10:06 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3 updates to developers for testing purposes, with the software coming a week after Apple released iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2.
iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3 can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software update.
There's no word yet on what's included in iOS 18.3 and iPadOS 18.3, ...
Sunday December 15, 2024 8:43 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple is working on a redesigned Magic Mouse that will address some "longstanding complaints," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said Apple in recent months has been working on a "full overhaul" of the Magic Mouse with a design that "better fits the modern era." However, he does not expect the new Magic Mouse to be released in the "next 12 to 18...
Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by Joe Rossignol
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year.
Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
Sunday December 15, 2024 2:57 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to release a second-generation AirTag next year with "considerably" longer range for item tracking, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the new AirTag will use Apple's second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, or equivalent technology. The chip debuted last year in the iPhone 15 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2, and Apple said it offers up...
Tuesday December 17, 2024 6:25 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple on Monday seeded the first tvOS 18.3 beta to developers for testing. The update will likely be released in January. So far, there are only minor changes for the Apple TV, with one new feature and a few code changes discovered.
Below, we outline what is new in tvOS 18.3 so far.
Robot Vacuum Support in Home App
First, tvOS 18.3 will add robot vacuum support to the Home app on the...
The people buying a cheap amazon echo or google home device are not in the market for a HomePod. Likewise, the people willing to pay for a HomePod have shown that they value sound quality first and foremost and are willing to pay a premium for it, hence an echo or home device is not going to appeal to them.
It’s possible that Apple is doing this to prevent users from defecting from Apple Music. I am actually a bit confused on the motivation though. Apple Music isn’t profitable any more than Spotify is, so this doesn’t feel like a push to chase revenue. Could Apple be chasing music streaming subscribers to retain influence with record labels, and to possibly push its video streaming and news service next year (easier to sell a bundle when your users are already using one of them)?[emoji848]
Not sure I 100% agree with this.
Buy a Amazon Alexa Dot, connect it to $300 of proper stereo speakers and Apple music sub, and you have a music player that's vastly superior to a HomePod for audio quality, and at the same time vastly better AI / Smart home integration.
