Apple Music Voice Control via Alexa Announcement

  • 5 December 2018
  • 12 replies
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https://blog.aboutamazon.com/devices/alexa-play-bebe-rexha-on-apple-music

This recent announcement from Amazon seems to indicate that they are going to be rolling out an Apple Music skill for Alexa users so they can access the Apple Music DSP natively with voice commands.

Interestingly it does state that this is for Echo user/devices though and no mention of partner speakers such as Sonos.

If this is a new Alexa Skill, will this not mean that Sonos users will by default be able to access AM via native voice commands on Sonos One's, Beam etc too? ...Or is this wishful thinking!!!

Either way, it is an interesting development and hopefully this news means we will have Apple Music native voice integration on Sonos units at some point sooner rather than later!

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12 replies

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I have a new echo dot. It plays Apple Music on itself just fine. It also plays Amazon Music and Sirius XM and TuneIn channels on my sonos speakers in whatever room I tell it to. But when I try to play Apple Music on a Sonos speaker (even though both skills are enabled and otherwise working fine) it says “this device does not support Apple Music.” Lame.
I have a new echo dot. It plays Apple Music on itself just fine. It also plays Amazon Music and Sirius XM and TuneIn channels on my sonos speakers in whatever room I tell it to. But when I try to play Apple Music on a Sonos speaker (even though both skills are enabled and otherwise working fine) it says “this device does not support Apple Music.” Lame.

Lame? Amazon hasn't made it available to third parties. Go whine on Amazon forums.
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Hmm. It works for other third parties, as I mentioned. And I didn’t know they had trolls on the Sonos forum?
Hmm. It works for other third parties, as I mentioned. And I didn’t know they had trolls on the Sonos forum?

On which third party hardware does Alexa currently control Apple Music? None. Amazon only allows it on its own hardware right now.
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That would have been a nice response the first time. Thanks.
I recently bought a Sonos One with Alexa built in because Sonos said that Apple Music would work on it AND that I could access all my music via voice control. Kind of misleading, I'd say. Nice sound from the speaker, but very disappointed that Alexa won't access my Apple music. 😞
I recently bought a Sonos One with Alexa built in because Sonos said that Apple Music would work on it AND that I could access all my music via voice control. Kind of misleading, I'd say. Nice sound from the speaker, but very disappointed that Alexa won't access my Apple music. :(

Where did you see "Sonos said that Apple Music would work on it"? Because the official Sonos Alexa FAQ says:

Music services need to be added to both Sonos and the Alexa app. The following services are currently supported:

Amazon Music*
Spotify
TuneIn Radio
Deezer
Audible
Pandora (Not available in the UK, Canada, or Australia)
iHeartRadio (Not available in the UK or Canada)
SiriusXM (Not available in the UK or Australia)


https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3514?language=en_US
Here are the sales pitches that are confusing. "Beam and One allow you to start and control your music with your voice – Amazon Alexa is built right in." Well, MY MUSIC is on Apple Music.
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My Sonos Alexa Skill works fine with Apple Music, and most other Sonos-supported music services. I don't need Amazon to support the music service, I just need Sonos to. (Requires English-speaking account and iOS or Windows companion app).
Here are the sales pitches that are confusing. "Beam and One allow you to start and control your music with your voice – Amazon Alexa is built right in." Well, MY MUSIC is on Apple Music.

And if you click the "Learn More" button, you are brought to here:



Where it shows what music services are supported by Alexa on Sonos.
So much for transparency in clear advertising. Click here to learn more.
So much for transparency in clear advertising. Click here to learn more.

Are you incapable of clicking more? It is clearly marked, and is it that unreasonable to assume any detailed description of what is supported would be behind a 'More" button. It is also clearly spelled out in their Alexa FAQ, and the announcement of new features on Alexa for Sonos.