Apple Music is getting a new and more affordable Voice Plan that will let users access their playlists, songs, and radio stations using only their voice, but with a few concessions in tow. So far, Apple has offered two plans for its music streaming service. There's the Individual Apple Music plan priced at $9.99 per month, and a Family Plan that ups the monthly cost to $14.99 per month and allows up to 6 people to enjoy music on a single subscription.
The company does also offer a Student plan that includes all the perks of the Individual subscription, but at half the price. In addition, the student Apple Music tier also bundles an Apple TV+ subscription at no extra cost. Apple TV+ itself costs $4.99 per month, which is quite a bargain. The verification process for student eligibility happens via the UNiDAYS website, where students will need to confirm their enrollment in a supported college.
The latest subscription tier coming to Apple’s streaming service is the Apple Music Voice Plan. As the name suggests, it prioritizes access to music via voice commands and puts Siri front and center. The new plan offers access to over 90 million songs, thousands of playlists across different moods and activity genres, personalized mixes, and Apple Music Radio. The Apple Music Voice Plan is priced at $4.99 per month for a single subscriber. To sign up to the new tier, users can simply ask Siri to start their Apple Music Voice trial. There’s also an option to sign up for the new Voice Plan via the Apple Music app. The Apple Music Voice Plan will become available to users in Australia, Austria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States later this year.
Who Is Apple's New Voice Plan For?
The Apple Music Voice Plan sacrifices support for Spatial Audio which allows users to experience surround sound on devices such as the AirPods Pro and Max. Another major omission is lossless audio, which means a high-fidelity music listening experience is out of bounds. The last major limitation is that the new plan is limited to Apple’s own devices. In other words, the Apple Music Voice Plan is for those who aren’t necessarily invested in a high-res music listening experience, and simply want a more affordable plan that will mostly be used for playing music on Apple's own hardware, such as HomePod or AirPods.
Apple says that Voice Plan subscribers will get access to a customized in-app experience with suggestions based on the listener’s music preferences. In addition, a queue of recently played music courtesy of Siri will also be available. The Apple Music app is also getting a “Just Ask Siri” button that allows Voice Plan subscribers to learn tips that can better optimize the voice assistant for Apple’s music streaming service.
Source: Apple