Apple Music Drops Siri-Only Voice Plan
In a surprising move, Apple has bid farewell to its Voice Plan, the subscription tier that provided an exclusive Siri-only experience. Launched in 2021 at an enticing $5 per month, this plan allowed users to interact with Apple Music solely through voice commands, where you could request songs, genres, albums, or artists, and Siri would deliver the musical magic.
While Apple didn’t make a grand announcement regarding the plan’s discontinuation, a visit to its support page reveals the following statement:
‘Beginning in November, Apple will discontinue the Apple Music Voice plan. We are focused on delivering the best, most robust music experience possible for our customers, with features like immersive Spatial Audio, Apple Music Sing with real-time lyrics, intuitive browse and discovery features, and so much more.’
The signs of the Voice Plan’s demise surfaced when 9to5Mac stumbled upon code references in the iOS 17.1 beta, hinting at Apple’s plans to pull the plug.
The question on everyone’s mind is, why did Apple make this move? While the company hasn’t offered a clear explanation, it’s safe to assume that the Voice Plan didn’t gain as much traction as expected. Perhaps the restrictions of the plan, which lacked real-time lyrics and the ability to customize playlists or add songs to your library, deterred potential users. Furthermore, the Voice Plan was only accessible in a limited number of countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Australia, Austria, Canada, Mexico, China, France, Germany, Spain, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and Taiwan.
But don’t fret if you were a fan of the Siri-only experience. Apple reassures users that all other Apple Music plans, including Individual ($11/month), Student ($6/month), Family ($17/month), and Apple One, continue to support Siri. You can still use Siri, including the Type to Siri feature, to play your favorite songs, albums, playlists, or radio stations.
As of today, the Voice Plan has officially vanished from Apple’s website. However, existing Voice Plan subscribers can continue using the plan until the end of their current billing cycle, although auto-renewal has been disabled.