Users of Google Assistant-enable smart speakers and displays are in for a holiday treat: it’s now possible to ask the Assistant to play something from their Apple Music libraries.
The development, announced by Google in a blog post yesterday, comes 5 years since the launch of the popular music streaming service and its first availability on the Android platform, where Google’s Assistant is mostly the go-to smart assistant.
On Android smartphones and tablets, it has been possible to request the Assistant to play one’s music if they have the Apple Music app installed for a while now. That hadn’t been the case on smart speakers and displays, which are slowly becoming commonplace as they have exploded in usage over the years.
Starting yesterday, Apple Music is rolling out to Google Assistant-enabled devices like Nest Audio, Nest Hub Max, Nest Mini “and more”.
At this point, it is not clear the extent of the “more” being referred to but it is safe to assume that all those Google Assistant-powered smart speakers from JBL and others and smart displays from the likes of Lenovo, are in the mix. Given that this is rolling out to users in select countries (the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Japan) at first, it is hard to make any confirmations since all my smart speakers and displays can’t access the same at this time.
“To play music from Apple Music, first link your Apple Music account in the Google Home app. You can also select Apple Music as your default music streaming service. Then, all you have to do is say, “Hey Google, play New Music Daily playlist,” or “Hey Google, play Rap Life playlist.”
“You can ask Google Assistant to play any specific song, artist or playlist available on Apple Music, and you can play music based on genre, mood, or activity. You can also play your liked songs from your Apple Music library by saying, “Hey Google, play my songs” or “Hey Google, play my library.”
For users, like yours truly, with multiple smart speakers and/or displays, the multi-room control feature (accessed via the Google Home app), on compatible devices, should be of some help.
