Apple launches £4.99 Spotify rival – but there’s a HUGE catch

APPLE has announced a cheap new music plan to rival Spotify – with a huge catch.

The Apple Music Voice plan costs $4.99/£4.99 a month, but can only be controlled using your voice.

AppleYou can enjoy the Apple Music Voice Plan on a range of devices – including iPhone and HomePod Mini[/caption]

That’s cheaper than the $9.99/£9.99 fee for Apple Music proper.

And it’s also far cheaper than a $9.99/£9.99 Spotify subscription.

You get access to the entire Apple Music catalogue – including 90million songs and “tens of thousands” of playlists.

But the catch is that you can only access the songs through Siri, Apple’s digital voice assistant.

You can start a trial by saying “Hey Siri, start my Apple Music Voice trial” on pretty much any Apple device.

“Apple Music and Siri are natural partners and already work seamlessly together,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s music boss.

“With Siri actively used on hundreds of millions of devices worldwide, we are thrilled to add this new plan.

“[It] delivers an effortless music experience just by using your voice and makes Apple Music accessible to even more people around the world.”

You have full playback controls including unlimited song-skipping through Siri, and you can access it across multiple devices.

The system works across iPhone, AirPods, HomePod Mini and more – as well as Apple CarPlay in your motor.

There’s a single-use 7-day free trial that doesn’t have auto-renewal.

This is offered to non-subscribers who ask for music through Siri.

Apple says the Music Voice Plan will launch “later this fall” in 17 countries – including the USA and UK.

The tech giant also announced new colour options for the HomePod Mini, including yellow, orange and blue.

AppleThere are now three different pricing tiers for Apple Music[/caption]

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