The number one music streaming subscription service in the face of the planet is apparently tinkering around with the idea of introducing its own native voice search feature. This should be welcome news to Spotify users who are already comfortable with interacting with voice driven digital assistants like Siri or Alexa -- pretty soon they can just bark “Play Our Lady Peace” or “Show Elliott Smith” and the Spotify mobile app would readily comply with searching.
Spotify’s test was first noticed by Hunter Owens, who went on to tweet about it. It appears only a very limited number of the music streaming giant’s subscribers can gain access to the voice search feature. On top of that, a spokesperson for Spotify has since revealed to TechCrunch that additional details about the experimental feature should be made public soon.
It goes without saying that a voice search or voice control feature would be a really cool addition to Spotify’s already polished app interface. Such a functionality would certainly be more useful to those always on the go, or those who always find themselves with their hands busy doing something else (like working out, or maybe even washing the dishes).
Also, it is easy to get lost in whatever search results are being displayed when looking for a particular artist or track. But when you are commanding Spotify to play, say, classic rock songs from the 1970s, you can stay focused on that specific search parameter, as opposed to getting distracted with other suggestions or related songs, genres, or artists.
As for Spotify, developing its own voice control feature should also serve as a good first step if it should seriously consider entering into the smart speaker business later on. With the current set up right now, the music streaming app is relying on other voice driven interfaces, such as Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, or Google Assistant. It is interesting to note that all of these three have their own respective music streaming offerings that actually compete with Spotify. But if Spotify has its own voice search tool, it should be able to enjoy better control of things. So far, the company has only joined forces with other hardware manufacturers in adopting its Spotify Connect features into boom boxes and home stereo systems. Perhaps it is high time for the brand to start developing its own hardware, and it should have the advantage of already making some progress with regards to the accompanying voice control feature.
