For a second there it looked like Google Home was gearing up to partner with one of its major rivals in home audio and music streaming: Apple Music.
An iOS user noticed that Apple Music had joined the ranks of compatible music streaming services listed on the Google Home app, alongside Spotify, Deezer, Pandora, YouTube Music – and naturally, Google Play.
- Google Home review
- Check out the best smart speakers of 2019
- Apple Music vs Spotify: which streaming service beats the rest?
The Apple Music integration didn't seem to be functional yet, but the fact it was appearing on the iOS app suggested the launch was imminent.
However, we now have official word from Google about whether Apple Music is really coming to Google Home – and it's probably not happening.
As reported by Bloomberg, Google blamed the appearance of Apple's music service on the Google Home iOS app as a bug, caused by confusion with the Google Assistant AI – which does work with Apple Music (say through a smartphone) though not through the Google Home speaker itself.
Firing on all cylinders
While the likes of Google and Apple tend to prioritize their own music services on their respective smart speakers, manufacturers seem increasingly willing to play ball with their rivals.
Apple has specifically been fighting a slump in sales for its own HomePod smart speaker, and also brought Apple Music to Amazon Echo devices late last year.
We're not ruling out some sort of Google Home integration down the line, as the fact that the bug existed shows just how closely these services work already. For now though, you'll have to make do with other streaming services for playing music through your Google Home.
- Apple HomePod 2: rumors, news and release date
- Google Home Max: does that extra size make a difference?
Originally via MacRumors
