Apple's HomePod and HomePod mini speakers have been in the market for years, but they are still not supported by every third-party streaming music app, particularly Spotify. Users are wondering if the day will come when Spotify can be controlled by the HomePod's "Hey Siri" feature but according to the latest report, that thought might stay as wishful thinking.
No Reason for HomePod Support According to Spotify
As reported by MacRumors, Spotify has no plans to provide HomePod support, at least not at the moment. This is according to the newsletter from Bloomberg resident analyst Mark Gurman, stating that Spotify does not see the need to add native HomePod support as there is no "significant volume" of public appeals compelling them to do so.
Spotify reportedly told Gurman that there are only 18 Reddit comments and 138 Twitter posts complaining about the lack of HomePod support from the app. However, iMore argued that the number of complaints should not be the basis to add HomePod support from Spotify. If that were to be the case, there is a comment on Spotify's community website posted in 2020 that requests the feature, and it has over 5,800 upvotes, which is huge enough to prove the general public's clamor for HomePod support.
Apple has reportedly added support to make the HomePod compatible with Spotify, but the latter does not appear interested to do the same. The Cupertino Big Tech even made the necessary APIs available for Spotify. Unfortunately, if the latest report is any indication, HomePod users should not expect the support to arrive anytime soon, or maybe at all.
However, Gurman also said that while HomePod support might be impossible, Spotify remains "committed" to updating the iOS version of the app to support AirPlay 2. Spotify currently has support for the original AirPlay, but the 2018 version which has less buffering and HomePod stereo pairing is still incompatible with the app.
Support has yet to give an exact timeframe on when the AirPlay 2 support could be made available, despite its claim that the company is "on a path towards making it happen eventually." Spotify users have been waiting for AirPlay 2 support since 2021.
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Feud Between Spotify and Apple Might Be the Reason for the Absence of HomePod, AirPlay 2 Support
Some people couldn't help but speculate the reason for Spotify's failure to provide HomePod and AirPlay 2 support. One of the speculations is that the rivalry between Spotify and Apple is blocking the possibility. The two companies have been vocal about their criticisms towards each other.
Spotify, in particular, filed a complaint against Apple in the EU, accusing the tech giant of monopolistic behavior. In addition to the complaint, Spotify also created a "Time to Play Fair" website that contains all of Apple's alleged unfair practices. On this website, Spotify blamed Apple for its inability to provide HomePod support.
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