A new feature in iOS 17 finally frees Spotify: it lets you use the voice assistant to start your Spotify session right on your HomePod, hands-free.
The capacity (seen by 9to5Mac) allows you to start an AirPlay session from your phone using a Siri command. Now you can say, “Hey Siri, play The National on Spotify” into your HomePod, and Siri will direct the command through your phone and start streaming Spotify to the smart speaker.
It’s a workaround, but it works. When The edgeDan Seifert tried, Siri on the HomePod responded, “To use Spotify, I’ll need AirPlay from your iPhone,” but it just proceeded to do so, no action needed. Sometimes this message appeared; other times, Siri would simply respond with “on that.”
Your iPhone and HomePod should be running iOS 17 and software version 17, respectively, and the Spotify app should probably be on the latest version: 8.8.72, as of this writing.
Before this, you could only play Spotify on a HomePod manually using AirPlaying from the app on an iOS device or Mac. This is because Spotify has not opted in to the HomePod Siri Music API. This is also why you can’t stream Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and other services directly from Apple’s smart speaker. Deezer, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn are the only services that currently support direct Siri control on HomePods.
Apple announced on new API at WWDC 2023 earlier this year, allowing third-party apps to sync with the SiriKit API to control them through Siri, whether you ask Siri on your phone or on your HomePod. As mentioned, it routes the Siri command through your phone, so you need to be on the same Wi-Fi network.
This workaround also applies to any audio app that uses the new API: any music service, podcast app, radio, or audiobook service. We hope Audible is next.
