Were you waiting for an economical Apple Music plan? Well, Apple has finally listened and unleashed the Apple Music Voice Plan. The special voice-only plan will cost just $4.99/month and allow access to all Apple Music content. However, there’s a catch, or shall I say, a “Siri clause.”
Wait, what? Check out everything you need to know about the Apple Music Voice Plan and whether it’s worth the price tag or not.
Note: Apple discontinued the Apple Music Voice Plan in November 2023.
What is the Voice plan for Apple Music?
During Apple’s 2021 fall event, Unleashed, Apple introduced a new subscription tier for Apple Music. Dubbed as Voice Plan, it will harness the power of Siri and operate only with voice. That’s right, only with voice.
While the $4.99 price excites my heart, ear, and wallet, the voice-only clause is somewhat a curveball. So, I have decided to dig a bit deep, weigh all the perks and flaws, and discover the worthiness of this plan.
What does Apple’s Voice plan offer?
A lot! Users can subscribe by simply instructing the voice assistant, “Hey Siri, start my Apple Music Voice trial,” or via the Apple music app. After the subscription, you can ask Siri to play your favorite song, playlist, radio, and more. Here’s everything up for grab in the plan:
- Over 90 million songs – Oh la la!
Apple Music’s global catalog will be at your fingertips, from the latest releases to old classics. Subscribers will have full playback controls. So you can play, pause, skip songs unlimited times, however, only through Siri.
- Playlists, genre stations, and radio
With the Voice plan, you’ll also have access to endless playlists curated by Apple experts, all genre stations, and Apple Music Radio. Moreover, complete access to Apple’s latest mood and activity playlists.
Simply ask Siri to play some party music, calming or focus-oriented music, etc. You can even ask Siri to play similar songs, and it will do that.
- Support across devices
As long as it’s a Siri-enabled device, subscribers can get unhindered access to Apple Music, whether iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, AirPods, CarPlay, Apple TV, or HomePod mini.
- Personalization
Voice plan also promises a truly personalized music experience. Subscribers can explore suggestions based on recently played music and preferences in the Music app. Additionally, a dedicated “Just Ask Siri” section will help them explore and optimize Siri for Apple Music.
What you don’t get in the Voice plan?
Unfortunately, this list is not as small I would have hoped. You’ll be missing:
- Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio
- Lyrics
- Music Videos
These premium features are limited to the individual plan for $9.99 per month or the family plan for $14.99 per month.
I understand that Apple wants to temp users to have a more expensive plan, and thus, reserving spatial and lossless makes sense. But even stopping lyrics is a bit much, Spotify offers it for free.
When and where will the Apple Music Voice plan be available?
Scheduled to launch later this fall, the new subscription plan will initially be available to 17 countries/regions. Check out the complete list below.
Should you purchase the voice-only plan?
Pros
- Access to Apple Music’s library, including playlists
- Supports all Apple devices and Siri
- Unlimited skips
- 7-day free preview
Cons
- Controlled by voice
- Lyrics are blocked
Ironically Apple Music Voice Plan’s strength is also its weakness. While it’s great that you can access Apple Music through Siri, but just through Siri can get a bit typical. What if you are commuting? You’ll be sharing which song you want next with Siri as well as fellow passengers.
On the flip side, you are getting access to the entire Apple Music library at just $4.99, which is a bargain. As of now, I feel that the Apple Music Voice plan is a bit odd. And you might have to take Apple on the 7-day preview and see if you can get accustomed to the voice-only platform.
What are your thoughts on Apple Music’s latest Voice plan? Share them in the comments below.
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