Apple appears to have pulled the plug on Apple Music Voice, a cheaper, Siri-only alternative to its standard streaming music plans.
Brazillian website MacMagazine (by way of 9to5Mac) was the first to notice that all references to the $4.99-a-month Apple Music Voice plan had been pulled from Apple’s website (although the press release that initially announced the tier is still live).
Apple hasn’t given a reason for nixing the Apple Music Voice plan, which first debuted in October 2021, and it’s not clear whether those currently subscribed to the plan will be able to remain on it.
This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best streaming music services.
Available in more than a dozen countries (including Australia, Austria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States), Apple Music Voice was unusual in that it only allowed you to stream tunes using Siri voice commands. The service worked on any Siri-enabled device, including AirPods, iPhones, HomePods, Macs, and through CarPlay.
Your $4.99 a month got you Apple Music playback with unlimited skips, along with hundreds of “hand-picked” mood and activity playlists that were “fully optimized just for voice.” That means you could ask Siri to “play the dinner party playlist,” “play something chill,” or “play more like this.”
But while Apple Music Voice subscribers had the run of the entire Apple Music catalog, they didn’t get access to lossless or high-resolution tracks. Other missing features included spatial audio, real-time lyrics, and music videos.
At $4.99 a month, Apple Music Voice was the cheapest Apple Music plan. Apple Music Student costs $5.99 a month, while an individual Apple Music plan goes for $10.99/month. An Apple Music Family plan costs $16.99 a month.
In our review of Apple Music Voice, we praised the “cost-efficient” with “well-curated playlists” that will “make less-demanding listeners happy.” But we noted that Siri voice search could be “frustrating” if you didn’t know the exact music you wanted to play, and besides the lack of access to lossless tracks and spatial audio, we also complained that Apple Music Voice users couldn’t create playlists.
It could be that too many other music lovers agreed that a Siri-only Apple Music plan wasn’t worth the hassle—and thus, happy trails, Apple Music Voice.
Author: Ben Patterson, Senior Writer
Ben has been writing about technology and consumer electronics for more than 20 years. A PCWorld contributor since 2014, Ben joined TechHive in 2019, where he covers smart speakers, soundbars, and other smart and home-theater devices. You can follow Ben on Twitter.