It’s amazing to see how fast technology has advanced that now we are like “omg I can’t activate my speaker by voice to play music through my app of choice so I have to use AirPlay 
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How to Use Spotify With HomePod Through AirPlay
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Yeah. I know how to use a Bluetooth speaker
Apple's new HomePod smart speaker is designed primarily for Apple devices, and it's heavily tied to the Apple ecosystem. Natively, you can only stream music on the HomePod through an Apple Music subscription, iTunes purchases, or iTunes Match content uploaded to iCloud Music Library.
It might sound like you're out of luck if you subscribe to a third-party music service like Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Prime Music, Google Play Music, Tidal, or another option, but it's not impossible -- you can still play content from these services to HomePod, you'll just need to use AirPlay to do it.
With most music apps, you can start up a song and then choose a device to play to right from within the app. These instructions will be specific to Spotify.
Here's an alternative method that works with Spotify and all other music apps:
- Open Spotify and choose a track to play.
- On the main screen that shows song details, tap on "Devices Available."
- Choose "More Devices."
- Tap on the icon for your HomePod, and music will be streamed directly to it.
It will take a few seconds for the iPhone or iPad to connect to HomePod, but once it's connected, your music will be streamed to HomePod from your iPhone.
- Start a song in Spotify or another app.
- Open the Control Center on the iPhone or iPad.
- 3D Touch or long press on the music widget.
- Tap on the AirPlay icon in the upper right side of the widget.
- Select the HomePod icon.
You generally need an Apple device to stream music to the HomePod because it requires AirPlay functionality, but some HTC phones support AirPlay, and there are unofficial third-party Android apps that work with AirPlay, so these devices may also work with the HomePod. You can't, however, connect devices to the HomePod over a Bluetooth connection.
When streaming music to HomePod through AirPlay, you're not going to have full Siri support, but you can use Siri to play/pause music, change the volume, and change music tracks.
Article Link: How to Use Spotify With HomePod Through AirPlay
I have great sound with a Sonos One and alexa built in. And about half the cost.
Seems like the only logical option to me.
More like it plays music and thats all I need music for...to play it.
Apple music finds all the songs thats out. Thats all that matters
No it isn’t.
Thousands of new songs are released every week. If you want to find new stuff you love, it doesn’t get better than Spotify’s discovery options.
Don't think i've ever been desperate enough to get a song as soon as it's released. I've found all songs on the radio I can get on apple music. It works great with the W1 chip and syncs perfectly through all my devices.
Spotify is great no doubt about it but so is apple music. It gives me what I require and thats music. It's just an added bonus I get it free for 6 months.
Kind of sounds like a workaround :/
So, without Wifi/Internet this so called "speakers" actually can't play anything?
Not that I wouldn't have internet or wifi but the fact that the Homepod turns into a paperweight without those necessities is insane 0_o
If I find it 30 years from now in the attic and try to set it up again, I may face the problem that it doesn't support Airplay 15.2 or that apple music is no more, or that siri is no more, or siri becomes a better ai, but unfortunately, only on homepod 30 with A25 processor, and so on....
Maybe we find ways to jailbreak this thing but then again....these are speakers.
No Aux, no Bluetooth no open source streaming = no future
Hehe, maybe a bit far fetched but I guess this is where this is going.
People don't want to upgrade speakers on a regular basis, or do they?
So, without Wifi/Internet this so called "speakers" actually can't play anything?
Not that I wouldn't have internet or wifi but the fact that the Homepod turns into a paperweight without those necessities is insane 0_o
If I find it 30 years from now in the attic and try to set it up again, I may face the problem that it doesn't support Airplay 15.2 or that apple music is no more, or that siri is no more, or siri becomes a better ai, but unfortunately, only on homepod 30 with A25 processor, and so on....
Maybe we find ways to jailbreak this thing but then again....these are speakers.
No Aux, no Bluetooth no open source streaming = no future
Hehe, maybe a bit far fetched but I guess this is where this is going.
People don't want to upgrade speakers on a regular basis, or do they?
Oh yes Apple Music is oh so dreadful.
I’m laying on my couch thinking how critically important the choice of a music streaming service is to my existence.
Gee.. is it me? or am I weird that I’m more concerned about humanity that whether one streaming service offers 43 million songs versus 42 million...
Oh the horror of “Apple Music”...
Well, it depends if the one missing million is part of the other 41 million songs and genres I don't care about...
Maybe you are more concerned about it than you think after writing all that
Catalogue size isn’t even my issue, AM actually has more music than Spotify. The ugly piece of software called iTunes is though, and until they fix that mess or finally release a stand alone AM Mac app (or even a web player, anything is an improvement at this point), they’re not making me or tons of others switch.Well at least you can do a workaround.
I have been testing Spotify and Apple Music lately, and in my car I can’t use Siri because when I ask it play something, it try’s to dial random mobile numbers..... it’s utterly useless.
I have Ford Sync, so I have been trying them out to see if it will work with either service using the voice commands, I even asked in a thread if anyone knew Sync commands to use with Apple Music and tellingly I got no replies at all..
Now Spotify have recently dropped their Sync support.. so it seems either service will not allow you to us voice commands to control them whilst driving, so unless you want to be an idiot using your mobile whilst driving, BOTH platforms utterly fail on their safe use in car systems.
Of course you can buy a brand new car with Apple Play or Android Auto... yeah spend a few thousand to resolve the issue.
So I think any workaround you can get is better then nothing.
EDIT::
Had a play earlier and Sync voice commands do support Apple Music, so that’s the route I’ll take.
I have been testing Spotify and Apple Music lately, and in my car I can’t use Siri because when I ask it play something, it try’s to dial random mobile numbers..... it’s utterly useless.
I have Ford Sync, so I have been trying them out to see if it will work with either service using the voice commands, I even asked in a thread if anyone knew Sync commands to use with Apple Music and tellingly I got no replies at all..
Now Spotify have recently dropped their Sync support.. so it seems either service will not allow you to us voice commands to control them whilst driving, so unless you want to be an idiot using your mobile whilst driving, BOTH platforms utterly fail on their safe use in car systems.
Of course you can buy a brand new car with Apple Play or Android Auto... yeah spend a few thousand to resolve the issue.
So I think any workaround you can get is better then nothing.
EDIT::
Had a play earlier and Sync voice commands do support Apple Music, so that’s the route I’ll take.
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Man I don’t know why this is such a big deal, airplay is probably one of the easiest ways to cast media. Also, why is it such a big deal about spotify, I know a lot of people use it, a lot of people don’t, I have AM and Spotify, but prefer AM, I don’t know the HomePod is such a dealbreaker since it doesn’t natively work with Spotify through Siri, when not everybody uses Spotify. I think people don’t want to admit its a great sounding product.
I have a 2016 Chrysler 200, and Siri works fine with it. It does do the random dial thing, but the call never goes through... So whatever.
I drive for Lyft and I recently discovered I could tell Siri to shuffle the various playlist before passengers get in and it's been a HUGE convenience!
Don’t use sync commands, long press the sync button and you get to command Siri directly.
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Maybe you are more concerned about it than you think after writing all that
Who needs to use iTunes these days? I only ever use it when I upgrade phones as it’s quicker to take an encrypted backup between devices. For everything Hesse I use my iPhone, iPad or Apple TV.
A lot of my audio listening happens while I’m on desktop, why should I be forced to use a second device just because Apple is incapable of making a decent desktop app? Spotify for Mac has been top notch for many many years.
Meh, I had Spotify free for 6 months and it was a chore to use. Once I tried AM I never looked back. Guess your mileage may vary, probably helped that I was using iTunes Match so AM had a library of 10k songs of mine to help it create excellent suggestions. Each to their own though.
Don’t think that works in my car? I’ll give it a go today on my way to work. But as I said I can use Sync to control it, probably not as good as Siri but better then nothing.
Maybe you are more concerned about it than you think after writing all that
That’s funny. I don’t see Apple doing a dimes worth of direct marketing to encourage “switching” of any kind.
With all this “dreadfulness” of Apple Music, iTunes etc why o why are u even bothered by opposing or I guess in my case— supporting views?
Creative marketing is my game — while I’d love to think a company with a reported user base of 1.3 billion as of Feb 1 — overthinks interface layouts — I myself am not a fan of iTunes on the Mac — I get it that what I think of the interface is on average immaterial — as the consumer is king — and I’m perfectly and professionally ok that I can’t make the world operate on my clock — and that things like interfaces work off generalities — just like I’m fine with Apple Music and so are about 36 million others — meaning I’m not concerned about what’s wrong with Spotify for example — and getting in their forums to bemoan or deconstruct their game — who cares!
I’m a 30 year customer. Apples not Number 1 in volume at almost every product they make — but they are Number 1 in categories like profits as an example. If they aren’t Number 1 in streaming — again who cares?
When Apple Watch came out there were very very few who thought it would succeed — now it truly is Number 1 in its catergory - yet Androids — mainly Samsung — has failed miserably in wearables - and oddly that slips people’s minds when criticing everything Apple. The first time I listened to my new HomePod I thought - this thing is gonna take off as Apple unfolds it - and it’s got time...Watch. Pun intended.
Apple Music is not even two years old - at the rate Apples services business is increasing double digits a quarter I don’t they are sweating whether you are happy or not.
God made choice for a reason.
The direct access to Siri was added in Sync V2. It enabled a long press to talk to Siri directly, ‘Siri eyes free’.
It works MUCH better than sync does with music.
Nope don’t have that and Sync voice commands work with Apple Music anyway so that’ll do me.
The HomePod sounds terrible when AirPlaying Spotify compared to Apple Music - presumably because it gets EQ info from AM as Eddy Cue hinted at. Anyone subscribed to both services can try it and hear for themselves.
There is absolutely no reason to buy a HomePod if you don’t have Apple Music.
There is absolutely no reason to buy a HomePod if you don’t have Apple Music.