Spotify Downplays HomePod Support, But Promises to Add AirPlay 2 Yet Again

[NT1440]

This isn't about can/can't, this is about will/won't.

Oh no I’ve got that, I bet internally they’ve got a build that works fine.

Spotify is underhanded when it comes to their legal strategy. 3 years after complaining that they’re locked out of the HomePod they haven’t bothered…but those claims are still likely pending in a lawsuit somewhere.

 

[coolfactor]

I wasn't aware of the "Time to Play Fair" website. Now that I've seen that, I will -never- subscribe to Spotify. I just can't support companies that whine like a spoiled child.

 

[daanodinot]

Not supporting the HomePod is one thing, but still not supporting AirPlay 2 is an absolute embarrassment. It's a user-hostile move against openness and user choose - which Spotify professes to be for. It's thanks to AirPlay 2 that I can enjoy Apple Music on my third-party sound system.

 

[brofkand]

What is HomePod installed base? 0.5% of smart speakers?

 

[zach-coleman]

Last night I finally stopped my 5 month Spotify experiment and went back to AM. I got the new interface and I absolutely hate it. Pushing podcasts even more obnoxiously and having instagram story/netflix style autoplaying stuff on the home page. Awful. Them not supporting homepods was another part of my choice, though.

I hope that Apple improves their desktop app though. I think on mobile, AM has the better app. But on Desktop Spotify was the winner.

 

[zach-coleman]

What is HomePod installed base? 0.5% of smart speakers?

21%. Not a lot but not miniscule.

 

[DrPlantain]

Spotify has yet to implement native support for the HomePod and HomePod mini, despite Apple opening up the speakers to third-party streaming music services in 2020. As a result, Spotify cannot be controlled with Siri on the HomePod.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman touched on the matter in his newsletter this weekend, noting that Spotify told him there hasn't been a "significant volume" of complaints about the lack of HomePod support. A post on Spotify's community website advocating for native HomePod support has over 5,800 votes in favor of the idea since it was submitted in 2020, but Spotify has refused to budge despite Apple making the necessary APIs available.

In 2019, Spotify accused Apple of anticompetitive behavior in a complaint filed in the EU. Alongside the complaint, Spotify launched a "Time to Play Fair" website that lists alleged examples of Apple's unfair practices, including preventing Spotify from natively supporting the HomePod. Yet, nearly three years after Spotify has been able to support the HomePod without any further action from Apple, it has yet to follow through.

Spotify has repeatedly promised to update its iPhone and iPad app with AirPlay 2 support, but it has failed to deliver so far. AirPlay 2 launched in 2018 with enhancements to the original AirPlay protocol, including multi-room audio and improved buffering.

Spotify told Gurman that it "remains committed to supporting AirPlay 2 at some point in the future" and is "on a path towards making it happen eventually," but the company was unable to provide a definitive timeframe. Spotify has been promising to support AirPlay 2 since at least 2021, so subscribers have waited a long time.

Article Link: Spotify Downplays HomePod Support, But Promises to Add AirPlay 2 Yet Again

If Spotify didn’t have such a good recommendation algorithm, I would have jumped ship a long time ago.

 

[brofkand]

21%. Not a lot but not miniscule.

That’s way higher than I imagined it would be. How many of those 21% are spotify subscribers vs Apple Music?

 

[zach-coleman]

That’s way higher than I imagined it would be. How many of those 21% are spotify subscribers vs Apple Music?

Not sure if there is any way to find this out, as I'd imagine either Apple or Spotify would have to provide those numbers and I doubt either one of them would be very interested. Easier to track hardware sales than software subscriptions and where they are utilized.

The reason for the jump is almost entirely on the HomePod mini, which is apparently at closer to a killer price point for people. It also worked on me, for what it's worth. (Please one with a screen though! I'm jealous of my mom's Google Nest...)

 

[OnawaAfrica]

Spotify just mouthing a lot and never even doing what they say they will do. just big mouth and nothing to show.
They want apple to play fair, apple gives them what they asked for, and now Spotify don't even implement what they make such a big fuss about.

 

[Nozuka]

I tried to switch to spotify once. Then i realized they don't have a service like "(iTunes) Match" and i would loose many songs from my library. Some of them are just older, some of them restricted by region etc....

So for me Spotify is not even a possible choice anymore, since i don't want to loose any songs from my library.

 

[R3k]

That’s way higher than I imagined it would be. How many of those 21% are spotify subscribers vs Apple Music?

Q3 2021 Global Market share of HomePod at 10.2%

HomePod Mini Helps Apple Nearly Double Its Market Share of Smart Speakers and Screens

Amazon continues to lead the market for smart speakers and smart screens with devices like the Echo Dot and Echo Show, but Apple has nearly doubled...

www.macrumors.com

Q2 US Market share of HomePod at 24.6%

HomePod sales get 180% boost, but new model may be needed - 9to5Mac

HomePod sales estimates appear to validate Apple's decision to launch the $99 HomePod mini before subsequently discontinuing the ...

9to5mac.com

All guestimated numbers im sure.

 

[J___o___h___n]

At this point, can’t Apple just make it work?

 

[Bawstun]

The fact that Spotify dominates a category where they are competing with Amazon, Google and Apple just goes to show what a great product it is.

Not surprised they don't think Homepod is worth the engineering time.

It really is the best music streaming experience by a mile. Their AI is so good.

 

[Wanted797]

Spotify and epic are one and the same. Just a bunch of whinges.

Make better products.

 

[Rob__Mac]

Yeah… I didn’t complain, I just left. They had me paying a subscription every month since 2009, but lost me after I got a HomePod.

 

[brofkand]

I get so frustrated with Siri I’d gladly replace Siri with Alexa on my iPhone if I could. There is no way I’d ever consider a HomePod. Each to their own.

 

[jamisonbaines]

i have 2 homepods and a google home mini. hey google play my discover weekly on spotify.
it’s good for discovery and i like controlling ps4 spotify with my phone but i subscibe to apple music.

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

Apple sold hardly any Homepods its probably not worth them bothering with. Why bother doing the work to support a platform that nobody uses?

 

[Mrkevinfinnerty]

Spotify and epic are one and the same. Just a bunch of whinges.

Make better products.

Theirs is the best in the category, more than double the amount of paying subscribers than Apple. The market has spoken.

 

[Kylo83]

Why would any apple user use Spotify anyways, it’s better to use the eco system

 

[genovelle]

Imagine being petty at the cost of customer satisfaction? What a stupid company lol glad I use Apple Music.

I think they had no intention of supporting it. Their sister company Epic by way of the Chinese company Tencent was hoping having another company on their side would get regulators to force Apple to give them the App Store and customer base free of charge.

Tencent has every thing to gain because they want to improve their chances of taking over Apple’s place in smartphones and app market.

 

[brilliantthings]

Apple Music Classical has pushed me to sign-up to Apple Music. Now I realise how great Airplay 2 is. I'll try Apple Music for the next month and then probably cancel Spotify. I just needed a push.

 

[crawfish963]

As much as I don't like Spotify for messing about on this I really can't agree that Apple Music is better, it's worse. Way worse than Spotify.

YMMV of course but Apple has nothing on Spotify and their interface, music selection, and more. It makes so much more sense for me to use Apple Music and I have tried many times. And I am in no way in the minority.

100 % agree. Their algorithm is just superior. One of the frustrations I had with Apple Music was my radio station looping the same tracks after about 40 or so songs. I feel like in this area alone Spotify just keeps playing music I like and not being repetitive.

 

[User 6502]

Imagine being petty at the cost of customer satisfaction? What a stupid company lol glad I use Apple Music.

That’s what apple does pretty much all the time. Or is there another reason why -for example- you can’t stream music to a HomePod via Bluetooth (let’s say from an android decide or a windows pc), or why you can’t send/receive iMessage texts from an android phone?