Spotify For Apple Watch App Gets Siri Support

Spotify has finally updated its app so that Apple Watch users can ask Siri to play their favorite music. This comes months after the company updated its app to work with Siri on iOS 13.

According to Spotify, “Version 1.0 of Spotify via Siri on Apple Watch (watchOS 6+) is [now] available.” The feature can be used simply by updating the app on the Apple Watch either automatically or manually. Those who have updated Spotify on their Apple Watches can simply say “Hey Siri, play music on Spotify” to get the digital assistant to play music from the platform.

Spotify noted that users can also ask Siri to play specific music from certain artists simply by adding “on Spotify” at the end of their queries. This is important as Siri will always default to Apple's own music streaming service, Apple Music, unless specified.

Siri integration for the Apple Watch has offered Apple's music streaming platform an advantage “since it's the easiest to reach by voice,” The Verge noted. Users who want to get Siri to play tracks and albums on Spotify will need to specify that every time they make a query.

The Verge said this is not how it works with Android devices. Android device users have the option to set their preferred music streaming service. Once that is set, the voice assistant will automatically play music from the specified service every time it is asked.

Apple Watch users, on the other hand, will need to keep telling Siri to play music “on Spotify.” That said, this is still a big improvement for Siri considering how Apple and Spotify had several issues in the past.

Last year, Spotify accused Apple of having unfair practices that give its apps an advantage against third-party apps in the App Store. The company also accused Apple of taking more money than it should from third-party app developers and customers, Apple Insider reported. The music streaming company reportedly filed complaints and is working with the government regarding these issues.

While there's no clear result as to the squabbles between the two, it's interesting to see that Siri is now working to let Apple Watch users play music on Spotify. This is a welcome development on its own.