iOS 12 Siri Shortcuts Might Allow Limited Support For Third-Party Apps Like Spotify

The recently-announced Siri Shortcuts app, which is set to be released with iOS 12, might finally let you use Siri to control third-party music streaming services.

Siri Shortcuts are a set of features centred around a new app that uses a combination of tools to predict what you want to do. It also lets you customize commands that run through a series of steps, like simultaneously launching a navigation app, texting your ETA, heating up your house, and playing your podcast.

Siri integrations with third-party apps are currently limited to 12 specific use cases, like scanning a QR code, hailing a ride, or sending a message. Onstage at WWDC, Apple executives demonstrated how Shortcuts will make it possible to, for example, find your lost keys with the Tile app, meditate with the Headspace app, and create a travel plan shortcut that shows your reservation in the Kayak app anytime you say “travel plans.”

According to a new report from TechCrunch, Shortcuts has a lot of potential for music streaming services like Spotify. At a WWDC developer session, Apple revealed a new “Play Media” option in Shortcuts that would allow users to invoke audio and video media from third-party apps directly through Siri. This opens up the possibility of controlling Spotify, for example, through Siri.

One can only imagine that these Siri Shortcuts integrations won’t be as seamless as it would be with Apple Music – don’t expect to be able to request a certain playlist or song in Spotify through the new feature.

It is, however, a great start. Hopefully, this new functionality catches on enough for Apple to improve its AI support with music streaming competitors as much as Google and Amazon have improved theirs.

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