What seemed like one of the most exciting features of iOS 14.5 turns out to work a little differently than it originally looked.
Last month, Redditors discovered that iOS 14.5 beta introduced a new menu when a user asked Siri to play music. This menu offered alternative apps for playing music, including Spotify, instead of postponing Apple Music. In some cases, Siri would play music on the same app that didn’t belong on Apple Music the next time I asked for it, though not every time.
With Gizmodo reported at the time, sometimes Siri played the song on Spotify, for example, if requested, but sometimes on Apple Music. Other times, Siri would display the same menu again to select an application. It looked like it could be a new, if not wrong, feature to select a different default music app, as Apple recently allowed users change its default value browser and email apps on iOS 14. But now that doesn’t seem to be the case.
TechCrunch reported On Thursday, Apple clarified that the new menu is actually a Siri feature to learn your habits and improve your experience over time. Citing Apple, TechCrunch reported that the app you select will not become your new default, as suspected, which explains why the same menu will continue to appear occasionally during testing, even after you have selected an app that not from Apple Music.
The feature that Siri learns your listening preferences also explains why podcast apps also appeared in this menu. Since there was no option in the menu settings to set an alternative default music app, as is the case for browsers and email clients, it is logical that the new menu should be more broadly focused on understanding the your listening habits.
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Apple confirmed the functionality of the Siri feature. Spotify didn’t return immediately a request for comment.
Interestingly, the menu that appeared in the original iOS 14.5 public beta it seemed to have disappeared in public beta 2 before returning to public beta 3. Again, however, there is no option to officially change the music app to the settings, so while you can sometimes save a step to the listeners who do not belong to Apple Music, is not a safe solution to prevent Apple music service if you use Siri commands to play your songs.
Sorry, Spotify users. Looks like we’re still hooked on Apple Music.
Apple confirmation added.