Great to hear!
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Music playing at home on HomePod for dog while I'm out working and streaming Apple Music in the car...
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HomePod Now Counts Toward Apple Music Device Streaming Limits for Single Memberships, Apple Encouraging Family Upgrades
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Great to hear!
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Music playing at home on HomePod for dog while I'm out working and streaming Apple Music in the car...
Yep, the Amazon $8 individual music plan does the same thing. Also Netfix. Their cheap $8 plan (don’t know cost nowadays) used to allow 4 simultaneous tvs/devices. Now it is 2. You have to upgrade to the $14 4k plan to get 4 simultaneous devices.
They all do it.
They all do it.
So what are the limits on the family plan? I can stream Apple Music on my user account on HomePod, iPhone, iPad and MacBook Pro all at the same time. I tested this by specifically choosing songs which were not in my iTunes Match or had been downloaded or previously played on my devices.
The difference here is the DEFAULT is 2, not a single stream, at least with Netflix. The Amazon Plan is cheaper ($8 v. $10).
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I'm not sure the Family Plan has any "limits" per say.
What you described is the literal definition of “family” plan. If you were planning on using a single subscription for your family to enjoy, you’d be breaking the TOS.
Great decision Apple. Add more limitations to your already limited services. This will definitely make people want to add more crazy expensive products. I have a lot of computers and devices and a family Apple Music account. I can't even authorize all my computers. Even if I don't use them at the same time. Idiotic. Im still one user. So Apple makes me not wanting to add more computers. Great decision.
Netflix doesn’t have a family plan. But they do delineate on number of simultaneous streams. They also lowered the number of streams and bumped up the price. Everyone limits streams to some degree.
I think your argument is a bit odd. On the one hand you say the affected number of people would be so small, this can't be about revenue, while on the other hand you say that greedy record companies noticed that people sometimes stream two songs at once and they want the revenue. Hmmm. I would say the current evidence suggests that Apple indeed is equally greedy and wants revenue. Heck, I just yesterday got a pop-up on my phone to join Apple Music. Never got that before. And the insane price increases surely don't suggest "costumer interest" at the heart of Apples decisions.
Was still thinking about getting one, but not sure... expensive and siri is not great...
At least this time Apple presents a convincing argument; homepod removed from my purchase-watchlist.
This is ridiculous.
Glad I don't use HomePod as it's intended...mine is used as a speaker for my Apple TV and when I want music I just stream to it from my phone.
Seriously...Siri is off. It's a great speaker but it isn't good at anything else.
Glad I don't use HomePod as it's intended...mine is used as a speaker for my Apple TV and when I want music I just stream to it from my phone.
Seriously...Siri is off. It's a great speaker but it isn't good at anything else.
I am effected by this so it sucks that I now have to pay more for something. However I agree this is only in line with other streaming services. In fact Apple Music is still better than Spotify, google play music and amazon unlimited on the individual plan because at least you can still play the same song on two different devices. The others it’s one song on one device on the individual plan.
I love my HomePod's and have a family membership, so it doesn't necessarily rub me the wrong way, but I don't think it's a good move to make this change after the fact. At the same time, this is how all streaming services work so I guess I can't really blame Apple - it just should have been this way from the beginning. If my fiance was listening to our HomePod at home and I couldn't stream while on the road, that would be super frustrating.
Effed up what?
First, you can stream to as many devices as you want. What you can't do is stream to multiple devices at the same time. For that you need a family plan.
Second, Apple never promised you that you can stream to multiple devices at the same time. The terms of service for Apple Music have always stated:
- You can use an Individual Apple Music membership on up to 10 devices (only five of which can be computers).
- An Individual Apple Music membership allows you to stream on a single device at a time; a Family membership allows you or your Family members to stream on up to six devices at a time.
Nothing has changed other than the fact that for whatever reason, the HomePod was not being counted as a stream, which means you were getting something that was not promised and that you were not entitled to.
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Again, there is no change. It was never permitted to have multiple streams without a family account.
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How are you "effected" [SIC} ? Are you personally listening to two different songs on two devices at the exact same time?
Funny thing how much does Google pay Apple to be the default search on Apple devices?
$12 Billion
http://fortune.com/2018/09/29/google-apple-safari-search-engine/
Apple counts that as "services"
But then you’ miss gems like the guy wanting to play music for his dog.
Explains why my roommates were using my HomePod and kept pausing iTunes on my Mac. Bit of a joke that it worked as a separate entity for a year and then they cut it off and now charge you $5 extra a year.
You are most likely spot-on correct.
I will throw out a potentially common scenario, though, that makes this less of a 'good' conclusion: Consider I have a HomePod that my wife and I use. Only one of us cares about Apple Music (me), but we both enjoy the HomePod. Now consider that I go out of town on business... and, of course, take my phone with me. Apple is now telling me that my wife and I can't both stream.
Good? Nope. Bad? Perhaps. Annoying? Absolutely.
Now, for the record, I don't own a HomePod. I've invested in the far superior performing (though less musically appealing) Amazon ecosystem. My subscription to Amazon Music let's us address that exact scenario.
Comment to Apple: I can appreciate the nuance of subscriptions and do not expect things for free. However, given your high-price barrier to the Apple ecosystem, I do expect things to work. In the scenario above, if my Apple ID is primary on 3 devices - which I've paid $$$ for, they are MY devices and I expect to be able to play music on all of them. If my wife wants to also play music on HER devices, I need to subscribe to a family plan. Simple.
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That would be true IF the HomePod recognized users by voice and switched Apple ID's as needed.
I have home pods for home and multiple in the office; so if I have jazz playing when I leave the house and I get to work and tell Siri to start playing something, the one in my kitchen or bedrooms all kick off? That sucks, I like walking into music playing and other ppl in the house coming and going being able to enjoy the ambience as well.
I had paid for Amazon music single user license for a year on a good deal at the beginning of 2018 and dealt with Amazon music's one stream limit across several echo devices. The HomePod came along and I tried it. It doesn't get near the use that the Echo devices to because of how many there are in the house and patterns we've learned. But streaming music could be a pain with the household, and I had already grew tired of sharing the single Apple Music plan with my family so with the new Amazon Echo integration with Apple Music, I can get multiple streams across multiple echo devices, nearly one in every room and I don't have to worry about conflicts. And now I can cancel the Amazon music plan and rely on Apple Music in my car, on MacBook Pro, really anywhere I want it. If you can afford the family plan, go for it. I also suggest buying iTunes gift cards at discounts if you can prepay, then you save up to 20%. I may still buy HomePods in the future based on sound quality difference, but premium music isn't needed in every room.
Apple is just like any other corporation. I am always shocked when ppl are surprised that one: Corporations like Apple say that if you give them corporate welfare, it will trickle down. But it doesn’t. And two: When companies like Apple nickel and dime you death. And customers are shocked that they do that.
In this case your dog is a second user and you should be on a family plan. Plan and simple.
So my HomePod and Apple TV won’t stream independently and simultaneously anymore?
Wtf, gonna have to test this out when I go home.
But I remember when Apple TV used to account for stream limit, but was disabled when HomePod came out, but now it’s back??? Boo, it’s annoying how Sonos can do this with Apple Music.
Wtf, gonna have to test this out when I go home.
But I remember when Apple TV used to account for stream limit, but was disabled when HomePod came out, but now it’s back??? Boo, it’s annoying how Sonos can do this with Apple Music.