Apple has given the HomePod Mini in India a significant update, which is now rolling out for all users, and this will allow you to set JioSaavn and Gaana as the default music streaming services on the smart speaker. And also be able to stream to the HomePod Mini from the apps installed on your Apple iPhone or iPad. You can now add these two music streaming services to the HomePod Mini using the Home app and use Siri to play music, podcasts and more from Apple Music, JioSaavn and Gaana. This update gives the HomePod Mini a new step up in battles against Amazon’s Alexa powered Echo speakers and also Google Nest smart speakers, which already offer the ability to add default music streaming services on their platforms.
JioSaavn has a catalogue of more than 60 million music tracks, across genres including Bollywood, Hindi pop and other regional Indian languages. JioSaavn offers a free subscription tier as well but that includes ads, while the Pro subscription priced at Rs 99 per month or Rs 399 per year removes ads and also brings along higher quality music streaming, ability to download unlimited music for offline listening and also opens up the option to stream to smart audio devices such as Sonos and Amazon’s Echo smart speakers.Gaana currently has a catalogue of around 45 million tracks available for streaming. Gaana also has a free subscription tier but the Gaana Plus plan for Rs 99 per month or Rs 399 per year removes ads and also allows unlimited music downloads for offline listening as well as streaming music in higher audio auality options. “With Gaana now available on HomePod mini, our users will have a more cohesive experience as they’ll now have seamless access to their personalised playlists and favorite songs no matter where they are in their homes,” says Sandeep Lodha, CEO, Gaana, in an official statement.
Globally, the ability to add music streaming services is also available for the Apple HomePod, the HomePod Mini’s elder and larger sibling. In India however, at this time, this feature is only rolling out for the HomePod Mini. The HomePod is not on sale in India, for the time being. In India, Apple Music subscriptions start at Rs 49 per month for the Student plan (that also bundles Apple TV+), Rs 99 per month for the Individual Apple Music plan and Rs 149 per month for the Apple Music Family plan. The HomePod Mini is priced at Rs 9,900 in India and you may or may not need additional subscriptions for JioSaavn and Gaana, depending on which tier you already are subscribed to at this time.
Apple has given the HomePod Mini in India a significant update, which is now rolling....
August 28, 2021