YouTube Music is expected to soon be available directly on the HomePod and HomePod mini via Siri, according to information gleaned from the YouTube Music app code. This information comes from software miner @aaronp613.
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There's a section in the YouTube Music app that says "Connect to HomePod." This suggests that integration could be added in the future. Apple has been supporting a few third-party music services on the HomePod for the past couple of years. So, this feature is already available through Pandora, iHeartRadio, Deezer, and TuneIn Radio.
Although music services like Spotify haven't adopted this option, Apple has made the SiriKit Media feature available in iOS 14. However, the limitations remain. With the Direct Play feature, users can set a third-party service as the default choice for music. When Siri on HomePod is asked to play content, it will play music from the selected service
If YouTube Music actually adds support for playing music directly to the HomePod, it would make the streaming service more attractive to Apple users
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The feature is implemented by the app's settings and not by Apple's settings. For example, the integration of Pandora with HomePod must be configured by the app and cannot be detected by the user anywhere else.
Once a service like YouTube Music or Pandora, it appears as a media option in the Home app in a user's account settings. From here, users can set a service as the default, meaning Siri commands will select that service instead of Apple Music.
Siri will play audio from non-default sources with the correct command. If the default is set to Apple Music, the user can say, “Siri, play my bedtime playlist on YouTube Music.” The “on YouTube Music” is not necessary if YouTube Music is the default.
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Once implemented, YouTube Music users will have another use for the HomePod or HomePod mini. We hope other services like Spotify will take this integration into account and follow suit.
