If you were hoping for more collaboration between the music streaming rivals now that Apple Music playlists can be transferred to YouTube Music, you may have to keep waiting. Apple recently discontinued the technology that allowed iPhone users to control the volume of devices playing music through Spotify Connect using the physical volume buttons on their phone.
This information comes from an update on Spotify's support page. While Spotify claims they are working “with [Apple] As for the solution, there is already a workaround. When using Spotify Connect to play music on your smart TV, computer, smart speaker, or other devices, pressing the volume button on your iPhone within the Spotify app will bring up a volume slider that will allow you to make necessary adjustments.
Alternatively, you can change the volume via the Connect menu. And, if you press the volume button while Spotify is playing in the background, you'll get a notification asking if you “Would you like to change the volume?” Tapping that notification will take you to the volume slider—just make sure your Spotify app is up to date.
Spotify has clearly pointed the finger at Apple. According to a report by The Verge, the problem lies with Apple's technology that allows Apple Music to be played on third-party devices. This technology is not shared with Spotify, making the iPhone's physical switch unreliable on connected devices.
This change will go into effect on September 3, but some users have already noticed the impact.
So is Apple rotten or is Spotify out of tune?
There's no doubt that Spotify users on iPhone are and will continue to be frustrated, even if it means they'll no longer accidentally blast their speakers when trying to watch an Instagram Reel.
Spotify paints Apple as the villain, but the music streaming platform isn't entirely blameless either.
It’s easy to criticize Apple for locking down features rather than competing directly with Spotify. However, in that same Verge article, a quote from Spotify reveals a key detail:
“We have asked Apple to introduce a solution similar to the one they offer to HomePod and Apple TV users for app developers that control non-Apple media devices. Apple has told us that they require apps to integrate with the HomePod in order to access the technology that controls volume on iPhones.”
However, it's not an impossible task to play music from Apple's HomePod. Many third-party music services have already done it, you just need to adopt the necessary API (application programming interface). Spotify simply hasn't done it.
As is often the case, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. It would be beneficial for Apple to give iPhone users more autonomy, like Android phones, but Spotify has had plenty of time to implement the necessary API and has chosen not to. Playing the victim and blaming Apple seems like a tired narrative.
Whether you side with Apple, Spotify, or find fault with both, at least you know that those volume issues you're having weren't imagined, and will be resolved on September 3, even if the fix is a little more cumbersome.
