Apple Music is finally coming to Sonos Speakers in just two weeks. Techcrunch reports that it’s a collaboration that’s long been in the works–since June, in fact. Thanks to the new update, Apple Music features will now be directly available on the Sonos app.
Sonos is a different kind of speaker experience. For starters, their speakers operate with an internet connection. Once it’s connected to a home network, users can access the speaker through an app and play streaming music. Consumers can also play their own MP3 music, along with streamed songs through Spotify. But thanks to the new collaboration with Apple Music, users can now play high quality songs from their Apple subscription through their Sonos Speakers.
Apple Music is coming to Sonos. Beta starts on December 15. pic.twitter.com/kD3shDFt6R
— Sonos (@Sonos) November 30, 2015
For those that may not know about Sonos speakers, they aren’t like a typical bluetooth speaker. Since they connect to your network, they have much better range. Instead of having choppy sounds typical of bluetooth connectivity issues, consumers can control their Sonos speaker upstairs from the basement without a hitch. Those that have a subscription to Spotify, can sign into their account through the Sonos app and begin listening immediately.
This is how the new Apple Music partnership will likely work. Those that have a subscription will be able to sign in via the app and begin listening to high-quality music immediately.
The news is likely to cause many more purchases of Apple Music subscriptions. The Verge reports that Apple has only a third of the subscribers that Spotify does. Now, whether a significant number of consumers will jump the Spotify ship for Apple remains to be seen, and it’s further complicated when factoring in how many people even have Sonos Speakers.
Apple Music’s Sonos launch is more than another integration: https://t.co/TmV4dyM6Wd pic.twitter.com/sjdz4DsQ1O
— Fast Company (@FastCompany) November 30, 2015
Apple Music had about 15 million subscribers as of last October, with 8.5 million of them still on the free three-month trial. A month has passed since then, and the number of subscribers should be dissipating by now. They either ended the trial without a purchase, or decided to subscribe to Apple Music. The number of paying subscribers to Spotify sits at 20 million as of last June, along with 75 million total users. These other users are on free trials and other promotions. Both Apple Music and Spotify have a $9.99 monthly fee.
This news may or may not cause Spotify to lose subscribers–only time will tell. While this is exciting news, December 15 won’t bring a full version of the Apple Music partnership. It will instead be a beta version, with the full version expected to be released in early 2016.
Apple Music is coming to @Sonos . Join the beta now: https://t.co/0eorqzw89Q @AppleMusic 🎵👯🔊 pic.twitter.com/g6ofbGmFjF
— Product Hunt (@ProductHunt) December 1, 2015
For now, while using the app, consumers will be able to access Apple Music features “For You,” “New,” “Radio,” and “My Music.”
Marc Whitten, chief product officer at Sonos, had this to say about their partnership with Apple.
“Apple is very passionate about what makes a great user experience. Frankly, it’s just fun to have them in the room discussing that.”
It took Apple a while to get everything set for their launch with Sonos, but as stated before, they were just trying to make sure the partnership would be a great user experience. It’s a solid collaboration, as Sonos expects to hit $1 billion in sales this year.
Many believe the reason Apple Music hasn’t seriously made a run at Spotify is because they haven’t inked a partnership with Sonos yet. Thanks to the partnership with Sonos, Apple Music may make waves in the coming months, as their beta version goes live in 2016.
[Featured Image by Jesse Grant/Leigh Vogel/Getty Images]
