Apple may be infamous for its walled-garden approach when it comes to hardware and software, but its services are actually far more open than you may think. Take Apple Music for example; Apple actually wants to make it easy for you to choose it’s streaming service big players like Spotify, YouTube Music, and Amazon Music. And that’s great news if you like Apple Music but don’t want to splash out on a pricey HomePod speaker. In this post, we’ll take a look at how to play Apple Music on a Google Nest audio device.
How to play Apple Music on Google Home devices & speakers
Apple Music is compatible with Google’s entire range of Nest smart home products including the Nest Audio, Nest Mini, Nest Hub, and Nest Hub Max. You will also need the Google Home app to make the link.
If you’re living outside of the US or Canada, you might not be able to link your Apple Music account to your Google Nest device due to country restrictions. Based on Google’s past announcements, Apple Music support is only limited to the US, Canada, UK, Australia, France, Germany, India, Japan, Mexico, and South Korea. If you have any active VPN app running, disconnect it before performing the steps below.
Linking Your Apple Music Account
The following steps apply to Google Home 3.9.1.6 for Android and Google Home 3.10.103 for iOS. Future app updates may change the app design so if you need any help in linking (or we’ve fallen behind in updating this post), leave a comment.
Launch the Google Home app and accept any app permission requests if prompted. Login to your Google account if needed.
On the main Google Home page, tap the “Settings” tab on the bottom bar and scroll down a bit until you see ‘Services, then choose “Music” under the “Services” category. Under “More music services” look for “Apple Music” then tap “Continue.”
Review Google’s data safety information and tap “Agree and continue” to launch the Apple ID login page where you’ll need to enter your Apple ID login details. Once linked, Google Nest devices linked to your Google Home account can stream Apple Music.
Streaming Content from Apple Music
Playing Apple Music content on your Google Nest is as simple as calling up your Google Nest device with your voice (Hey Google!), then asking for the song, album, or artist you want Apple Music to play and end the command with “on Apple Music.” Apple Music offers other voice commands as well to enhance your Apple Music playback experience.
Shortening the Command
Not happy with adding the “on Apple Music” phrase after each command? Set Apple Music as your default provider. Just go back to the list of music services on the Music section and select “Apple Music” as the default audio service.
Working with Playlists
The Apple Music integration on your Google Nest device can recognize the names of Apple Music playlists. Just say its name such as “Play New Music Daily” and Apple Music will play that corresponding playlist.
You can also favourite songs while you listen to them. Use the phrase, “Hey G – I like this song” or “OK G – Thumbs up” while Apple Music is playing the track and Apple Music will add it to your song library. Once you have added a few songs, ask your Google Nest to “Play my songs” or “Play my library” and Apple Music will queue up those tracks. You may also randomize the order of any playlist by saying “Shuffle” instead of “Play.”
Controlling the Flow
While you are listening to Apple Music, you can also control its flow with a few basic commands. Use the “Skip forward # seconds” command to skip the track the exact number of seconds you specify. If you wish to go to the previous or next song in a playlist, use the “Back” or “Previous” commands. The “Play this song again” command can also repeat the song. Finally, if there’s a track you don’t like on Apple Music, use the “Thumbs down” comment.
Get your smart home working for you
As long as your Apple Music account remains linked to your Google Home account, you shouldn’t encounter any issues playing back Apple Music. However, you must understand that Google will always treat Apple Music as a second-class citizen since it encourages Google owners to use YouTube Music. This means you could expect some bugs and quirks when using this integration. If you ever encounter such issues, try unlinking your Apple Music account and relinking it.
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