Spotify users are growing impatient with the music streaming giant over its lack of HomePod support, pushing several customers to the brink of canceling their subscriptions entirely and moving to alternative platforms, such as Apple Music.
More than a year ago, at the 2020 Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced that it would be adding third-party music service support to HomePod. A few months later, Apple highlighted some of the apps that would take advantage of the new feature, including Amazon Music, Pandora, and iHeartRadio. A notable exclusion from the list - Spotify.
Whether Spotify opted not to be part of the initial batch of third-party music providers with HomePod support or Apple didn’t ask remains unknown. Nonetheless, a feature request was posted to the Spotify Community forum a few weeks later, kindly requesting that Spotify add support for HomePod.
At the time in June of 2020, and more recently, Spotify said it plans to implement AirPlay 2 support into its iOS app. While AirPlay 2 support would allow users to play their Spotify content through their HomePod, it is not native HomePod support. Native HomePod support would allow users to use Siri to play Spotify content from their HomePod without opening the app and selecting the speaker manually.
Customers are not holding back their frustrations, with one user writing that Spotify is exhibiting "childish behavior," while another said, "this is a total joke - how can they still not be offering it… how many people have come here, seen this and then just canceled. Why does Spotify make it so hard to support them."
"This is absolutely pathetic Spotify," another user wrote. Users are poised to turn their frustrations into action, with many saying that they have activated Apple Music's three-month trial and will renew their subscription unless Spotify adopts HomePod support before the trial ends. "Month with no information about the integration...why should I pay for Spotify when other Services are more interested in integrations," another user wrote, with many others saying they've moved to Apple Music (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).
Spotify has labeled the idea a "Live Idea" but has not provided any updates on where it stands. Spotify spokespeople have also declined to respond to several emails by MacRumors over the last several months regarding HomePod support.
The reasoning behind Spotify's refusal to adopt HomePod support remains unknown. Spotify has in the past called Apple "anti-competitive," accusing the tech giant of making it harder for other services to compete with Apple Music. However, when given a chance to join a level playing field with Apple's service, Spotify seems less interested.
While the HomePod remained a rather niche product at the time third-party support was announced, the product has slowly grown more mainstream thanks to the smaller $99 HomePod mini which just recently launched in new colors.
Apple is offering new customers a free three-month trial to Apple Music, which does include native HomePod support. New Apple Music customers who own select AirPods and Beats model headphones can get six months of Apple Music for free. We'll update this article if Spotify provides new information concerning HomePod support.
Article Link: Spotify Users Growing Impatient and Canceling Subscriptions Over Lack of Native HomePod Support
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