Apple Music For Android Update: Adds User Profiles And Voice Support Now
Apple is updating its Apple Music app for Android with new features that are also debuting on its latest mobile operating system, the iOS 11. Apple Music fans who use Android devices can now see their friends' listening habits along with a new voice search feature, widget, and shortcuts.
It seems that Apple really puts in some extra work to optimize Apple Music for the Android platform. Perhaps the biggest of the update's newest feature is the addition of Social Profiles. Similar to Spotify, it allows users to have it publicly show friends what they're listening to.
The new version also incorporates support for "OK Google" voice commands which can be used to ask their Android smartphone to play a song, artist, or Beats 1 radio. Issuing a voice command will automatically open Apple Music and start streaming.
A "Recently Played" widget was also added that joins the previous one for playback controls allowing users to listen to recently played songs right from their home screen. Apple also appears to be testing shortcuts, recently having added a long-press shortcut for Beats 1 as the last new bit of this update.
Most of these updates appear to have been added with convenience in mind allowing users to listen to music without the need to launch the app itself. With this update, most of the announcements made at this year's Apple Worldwide Developers Conference have already become reality.
In other news, Google is also making sure to leave its footprints on Apple's iOS 11 with a number of upgrades destined to its Google Assistant incorporated in the Google Search app. The cooperation between the two rival companies seems to be going smoothly which might even herald a number of cross-platform apps being developed for the Android and the iOS in the future.