Apple is discontinuing a Voice plan for Apple Music that allowed people to use Siri to select songs for $5 per month — less than half the cost of the regular plan.
The tech giant introduced its most affordable Apple Music plan in 2021, but on Wednesday announced it order on its website that it ends the ability to register immediately.
Current Voice for Apple Music customers can use the service until the end of their billing period. The auto-renew function has been turned off.
Apple is encouraging those on a Voice plan to switch to Individual, Student, or Family, or consider signing up for Apple One, a plan that includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, and more.
It’s not clear why Apple discontinued Voice, but it’s possible its use wasn’t as big as expected.
Siri-powered Sound Levels are useful for those who primarily listen to music in the car or on a HomePod where they just call up songs, where the library or visual interface isn’t as important.
However, Voice comes with many limitations, which may frustrate some customers. For example, it has a simplified visual interface without access to lyrics or music videos. You can’t even create playlists. Downloading for offline listening isn’t possible either, and if you navigate through the interface and select a song, it’ll only play a preview of it – to play the full song you’ll have to ask Siri. Voice also lacks features like Spatial Audio for a premium listening experience.
But remember, whether you’re an Apple Music subscriber or not, you can still ask Siri to play certain songs, so the feature is still available for those who want to use it. It’s just that to access Apple’s complete music library, you now have to pay at least $11 per month, or $6 if you’re a student.
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