On November 1st (local time), it was reported by IT media outlet MacMagazine that the service of ‘Apple Music Voice,’ one of the subscription plans of Apple Music, is expected to be discontinued.
‘Apple Music Voice’ is no longer listed in the subscription plans on the official Apple website. Apple Music Voice was a subscription plan where Apple’s AI voice assistant, Siri, recognized the user’s voice and played music. It was also the cheapest subscription plan. It was not available in South Korea.
Apple did not disclose the reason for discontinuing the subscription plan. Some argue that the plan was abolished to maximize the revenue of Apple Music.
Apple Music Voice, a Siri-exclusive subscription plan
MacRumors
Apple Music Voice, launched in 2021, was the cheapest subscription plan released in some countries, including Canada, Italy, Japan, and New Zealand, at a monthly cost of $5. Users could play music by giving voice commands to Siri.
At the time of the subscription plan’s introduction, IT media outlet AppleInsider described Apple Music Voice as a subscription plan for Apple Music users who enjoy music through HomePod Mini or AirPods.
Apple Music Voice supports all songs, playlists, albums, and other content in the Apple Music app. For example, if you asked Siri to ‘play the playlist for the evening party’ or ‘play music similar to this’ by voice, Siri would carry out the command. However, it did not support spatial audio, lossless quality audio, downloads available for offline use, or basic lyrics functions.
Searching for music through voice commands was not always easy. Jules Wang, an editor from IT media outlet AndroidPolice, explained that you had to describe the exact words to Siri to listen to the music you wanted.
‘Apple Music Voice’ officially discontinued
Apple has officially declared the discontinuation of the Apple Music Voice subscription plan through the official Apple support forum.
The service will not be available after November. However, even if this subscription plan is discontinued, voice service is possible, as other Apple Music subscription plans already include support for Siri.
Finally, Apple explained that existing Apple Music Voice subscribers will receive a notification containing more information before the final billing is completed.
Before the official announcement, a code hinting at the discontinuation of the Apple Music Voice subscription plan was discovered. Apple-specialized media outlet 9to5Mac reported that it found a code indicating the discontinuation of the subscription plan in Apple’s iOS 17.1 beta.
The subscription plan is no longer available for subscription. Users who have been subscribing to Apple Music Voice are likely to have their subscriptions canceled soon. Apple suggested re-subscribing to the ▲student ▲individual ▲family subscription plans or Apple One, which offers various Apple services as a bundle, including Apple Music.
The student subscription plan available in the overseas Apple Music app is not supported in South Korea. In South Korea, only individual and family subscription plans are available in the Apple Music app.
Unclear reasons for discontinuation… Is Apple maximizing profits?
Apple did not explain why it discontinued the Apple Music Voice subscription plan. Some have suggested that Apple discontinued the app’s cheapest subscription plan to maximize profits.
Various music streaming services have raised prices several times over the past year. Another music streaming platform, a competitor of Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Spotify, raised their subscription prices in October last year and again in July this year.
In July of this year, YouTube Music raised its price for U.S. users from $9.99 to $10.99. In the same month, Spotify raised the prices of several subscription plans by $1 to $2 for the first time in 12 years. Neither platform raised domestic prices.
Apple also followed suit by raising the prices of Apple Music app subscription plans twice last year. In June, it raised the price of the student subscription plan, and in October, it raised the prices of individual and family subscription plans. The domestic Apple Music app’s individual subscription plan rose by $1 to $11, and the family subscription plan rose by $2 to $17.
9to5Mac reported that although the exact reason is unknown, the discontinuation of the Apple Music Voice subscription plan would have been a big disappointment to users who enjoyed the Apple Music app through Siri.
By. Choi Hyun Jung
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