Apple Music Voice has arrived with iOS 15.2: here’s everything you need to know

Apple Music Vocalisation has arrived with iOS 15.2: here's everything yous demand to know

the apple music app on a smartphone next to some airpods

(Image credit: Shutterstock.com / nikkimeel)

The Apple Music Voice programme is now available to iOS 15.ii users, giving music fans a new, cheaper mode to access the music streaming service.

First appear at the Apple Unleashed event in Oct alongside the AirPods 3, the Apple Music Voice plan costs merely $iv.99 / £4.99 / AU$5.99 per month, which is half the price of a standard Apple Music subscription, and a third of the cost of the Family unit plan.

So, what exercise you really get for that? Y'all'll be able to stream music from the platform past request Siri to play specific tracks and albums, every bit well as radio stations and playlists for unlike moods and genres. Yous do all the same get access to the Apple Music app equally well - and you tin can still search for music in the search bar - though the interface is specifically geared towards using your vocalism to play your music.

But, y'all're totally express to having Siri human action as your personal DJ - and we all know that Apple's voice assistant isn't the most reliable compared to the likes of Google Banana and Alexa.

List of price plans for Apple Music — (Image credit: Apple tree)

You also miss out on the features yous become with a regular Apple tree Music subscription; you lot won't see lyrics on your device equally you lot play music, you won't be able to download songs or radio shows for offline playback, and there's no support for Spatial Audio and Lossless playback. These are some of the things that make an Apple Music subscription worth having over a Spotify plan, and so we're non sure how popular the new plan will exist.

That's the tradeoff you lot're making for a subscription service that's half the toll. But, if you tend to ask Siri to play tracks via your HomePod mini or AirPods anyway, that tradeoff may be well worth the savings you'd brand on your subscription program.

For anyone that likes to painstakingly create playlists, the cheaper subscription plan probably won't exist enough encouragement to brand the switch - and no matter how good Apple's own curated playlists. And, to exist clear, you tin can nonetheless use Siri with a regular subscription if you desire the best of both worlds.

If yous do want to try out the Apple Music Vocalism programme for yourself, here's everything you need to know to go started.

How to use Apple Music Voice

An image of Apple Music being controlled with Siri — (Image credit: Apple)

Setting upwards Apple Music Voice is easy. Yous'll need a Siri-enabled speaker or pair of headphones and a device running iOS 15.ii. It besides works with CarPlay.

Non-subscribers can go Apple Music Voice only by request Siri to 'offset Apple Music Vocalisation' - or by request Siri to play a song, later which Siri volition inquire you if you'd similar to start a 7-mean solar day trial of Apple Music Voice.

Once yous've started your trial, you lot can ask Siri to play specific songs or playlists for unlike moods or situations. For instance, if you're in the kitchen, you could say 'Hey Siri, play a playlist for cooking' to your HomePod mini. Or, if you lot're on a run with your AirPods Pro, you could say 'Hey Siri, play a playlist for jogging'.

You can all the same use the Apple Music app on your iPhone, but it will look a trivial different on the Voice Plan. For example, the homepage shows a row of personalized music recommendation 'cards' based on your listening habits, with each carte coming with a proffer of how to inquire Siri to play it.

There's also a section called Play It Again, which is a queue of your recently played tracks. Yous can click on these inside the app, or ask Siri to play them with your voice.

As with a regular Apple Music subscription, you can blazon in the search bar to look through the platform's catalogue of songs - but you can't tap on these to play them. Again, you'll demand to inquire Siri to practice the honors.

Read our guide to the best music streaming services

Olivia is TechRadar's Audio & Music Editor, covering everything from headphones to music streaming services. Based in TechRadar'south London offices, she'southward a popular music graduate who worked in the music manufacture earlier finding her calling in journalism. She's previously been interviewed on BBC Radio five Live on the subject of multi-room audio, chaired panel discussions on diverseness in music festival lineups, and her bylines include T3, Stereoboard, Height Ten Reviews, Creative Bloq, and Croco Magazine. In her spare time Olivia likes gardening, painting, and hanging with her cat Ethel and gilt retriever Dora.