With the release of iOS 14.5, Apple introduced a feature that lets users select a specific music service to use with Siri, with the options including third-party services like Spotify in addition to Apple Music.

siri choose audio apps
When this feature first came to light in beta versions of iOS 14.5, many early reports interpreted it as Apple allowing users to select a default streaming service, similar to the way it allows email apps other than Apple's native Mail client to be selected as the system default.

However, Apple has since clarified that there isn't actually any option to choose a music service that will be selected on every occasion. More accurately, the feature in question uses ‌Siri‌ intelligence to learn from your listening habits and improve the music selection process over time.

In fact, by occasionally asking which service to use, ‌Siri‌ learns your preferences for all types of audio content rather than just music. For example, it will let you open podcasts in Apple Podcasts or a third-party podcasts app, and let you choose a specific audiobook app if you listen to audiobooks. Here's how it works.

  1. Ask ‌Siri‌ to play an artist, song, or album with a request like "Hey ‌Siri‌, play The Beatles."
  2. ‌Siri‌ will display a list of all music apps you have installed and will ask "Which app would you like to use?"
  3. Choose your preferred music app from the list.
    siri

  4. If asked, confirm that ‌Siri‌ can access data from your music app.
  5. From there, ‌Siri‌ will play the music in your app of choice. If you chose Spotify, for example, the music content will play in Spotify.

In past versions of iOS, it's been possible to play music from other services by clarifying which service you want ‌‌Siri‌‌ to use, such as "Hey ‌‌Siri‌‌, play music on Spotify," but the change implemented in iOS 14.5 makes it more likely that ‌‌Siri‌‌ will remember your music app of choice, so a simple command like "Hey ‌‌Siri‌‌ play music" will use your favorite app rather than defaulting to ‌‌Apple Music‌‌.

Top Rated Comments

Einkoro Avatar
34 months ago
“Sorry, something’s gone wrong. Please try again.”

Seems to work about as well as the rest of Siri.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MallardDuck Avatar
34 months ago
We still need a 'I own my music, stop looking at services' option....
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
applicious84 Avatar
34 months ago
I feel like being able to manually choose default apps would be way more helpful
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hagar Avatar
34 months ago

Why not just do this by default, but add a submenu for which one to play which type of content by default?

I don’t really understand the point either. If I want to listen to music I’ll say play music and the chosen default app would ideally be used. If I want to listen to a podcast I’d say play podcasts and again the default podcast app would be used. Or the only thing I use a lot of is audiobooks and I’d obviously ask Siri to play my audiobook.

They’re overthinking this one.
They clearly don’t want to you to set a default player for all your music. So they came up with this. We all know it will never work because Siri and learning are not two words that should ever be used in the same sentence.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cory S Avatar
34 months ago
Why not just do this by default, but add a submenu for which one to play which type of content by default?

I don’t really understand the point either. If I want to listen to music I’ll say play music and the chosen default app would ideally be used. If I want to listen to a podcast I’d say play podcasts and again the default podcast app would be used. Or the only thing I use a lot of is audiobooks and I’d obviously ask Siri to play my audiobook.

They’re overthinking this one.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chriscl Avatar
34 months ago
It just feels like Apple has begrudgingly added this option.

Why can there not be a simple option to select the default Music service to be used every single time ?

I use Spotify, I don't use any other service. I just want Spotify as the default for all music playback. How Hard can it be?

(and don’t get me started on the lack of native Spotify support on HomePod - but that’s down to Spotify, not Apple).
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17

iOS 17.2 Will Add These 12 New Features to Your iPhone

Friday December 1, 2023 12:19 pm PST by
iOS 17.2 has been in beta testing for over a month, and it should be released to all users in a few more weeks. The software update includes many new features and changes for iPhones, including the dozen that we have highlighted below. iOS 17.2 is expected to be released to the public in mid-December. To learn about even more features coming in the update, check out our full list. Journal ...
iOS 16 4 Web Push

Apple Confirms Governments Using Push Notifications to Surveil Users

Wednesday December 6, 2023 5:06 am PST by
Unidentified governments are surveilling smartphone users by tracking push notifications that move through Google's and Apple's servers, a US senator warned on Wednesday (via Reuters). In a letter to the Department of Justice, Senator Ron Wyden said foreign officials were demanding the data from the tech giants to track smartphones. The traffic flowing from apps that send push notifications...
airpods pro 2 pink

Apple Releases New AirPods Pro 2 Firmware

Tuesday December 5, 2023 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware update for both the Lightning and USB-C versions of the AirPods Pro 2. The new firmware is version 6B34, up from the 6B32 firmware introduced in November. Apple does not provide details on what features might be included in the refreshed firmware beyond "bug fixes and other improvements," so it is unclear what's new in the update, but prior software releases ...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue

'All-Screen' iPhone Under-Display Camera Enters Development

Wednesday December 6, 2023 2:03 am PST by
Apple's Korean suppliers have begun developing smartphone under-display cameras (UDC), paving the way for the first iPhone with a true "all-screen" appearance. According to The Elec, LG Innotek has entered the preliminary development of the UDC, which sits under the display and does not result in a visible hole in the panel when the camera is not in use. A UDC differs from a typical front ...
magsafe blue 2

iOS 17.2 Brings Qi2 Support to iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 Models

Tuesday December 5, 2023 11:04 am PST by
The iOS 17.2 update that Apple is set to release to the public in the near future will bring support for the next-generation Qi2 wireless charging standard to the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 models. Qi2 was mentioned in the release notes for the RC version of the update that came out today. With the addition of support for the new standard, iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 models will work with Qi2...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 May Reuse Existing iPhone 14 Battery

Wednesday December 6, 2023 1:17 pm PST by
Recently, MacRumors has received details on the battery currently being tested on the upcoming fourth-generation iPhone SE, and the information corroborates previous findings in relation to the device. The iPhone SE 4, known by its device identifier D59, is expected to use the exact same battery found in the base model iPhone 14. Partially assembled prototypes of the next iPhone SE have been ...
airpods pro bulbs

Black Friday Prices Return for AirPods Pro 2 With USB-C, iPad, and More

Tuesday December 5, 2023 7:30 am PST by
Today we're tracking a collection of deals that are matching - or nearly matching - the same all-time low discounts we saw during Black Friday. This includes the AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C, 9th generation iPad, and M1 MacBook Air. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the ...
instagram messenger

Instagram and Facebook Messenger Chats to Disconnect This Month

Tuesday December 5, 2023 1:57 am PST by
Meta has revealed plans to end Instagram users' ability to chat with Facebook accounts later this month, rolling back a feature that it introduced over three years ago. In September 2020, Meta (then Facebook) announced it was merging its Facebook Messenger service with Instagram direct messaging, allowing Instagram users to chat with Facebook users and vice versa using the same platform....