Live radio station streams accessible on HomePod ahead of iOS 13 launch

Live radio streams, a feature set to arrive with iOS 13 as well as the HomePod this fall, is seemingly already available to use for a small number stations in Germany under iOS 12, seemingly indicating the feature is practically ready for launch.

At WWDC, Apple revealed iOS 13 would include support for live radio, with over 100,000 different stations around the world available for listening, with additional support for iHeartRadio, TuneIn, and Radio.com. Users would be able to ask Siri to listen to their selected station, with the feature also set to arrive on HomePod at the same time.

According to Macerkopf, some users in Germany are currently able to listen to a set of 12 german-language radio stations from their iOS devices and HomePods. Furthermore, the hardware isn't running the current betas for the milestone versions, but instead are using the publicly-available releases.

German radio stations listed within Apple Music's Radio tab [via Macerkopf]

One user advising of being able to hear stations including Antennes Bayern and NRJ on HomePod and iOS claimed he was using iOS 12.3.1 and version 12.3 for HomePod. Later testing by the publication discovered the same stations could be heard, though many others were not able to be requested.

In some cases, it was possible to bring up the stations under the Radio tab of Apple Music, alongside the native Beats 1.

Attempts by AppleInsider on a UK iPad and a U.S. HomePod did not bring up alternative stations at all, suggesting this may be a limited test or an accidental pre-launch slip by Apple. Either way, it shows the feature is partially functional, and should arrive as scheduled this fall.

8 Comments

applefanboynumber1 10 comments · 6 Years

About 5 years ago

That’s really strange that this is being presented as a new feature. My primary use for HomePod has been listening to NPR stations. And that’s worked since the day it came out and I bought it. “Hey Siri play KQED” or KALW or WNYC has always worked.

I’m very happy that Apple’s radio streaming doesn’t come with a pre-roll add like it does with Google Home, which sources it’s radio from TuneIn apparently. I hope that never changes.

matrix077 868 comments · 9 Years

So we are gonna get a 100,000 radio stations in Apple Music?

wattouk 50 comments · 5 Years

Well I've been listening to a UK station on my HomePod since I signed up to iOS 13 beta, the only annoying thing is that I have to say "Play (insert station) on the radio" instead of just the station name.

stageofhistory 57 comments · 11 Years

June's keynote was the first I've missed in a decade, so I apologise if this was covered then or elsewhere - Are we expecting BBC radio stations to be available on iOS13 as well? That would be the last hurdle in convicing my wife that we need one!

mobird 758 comments · 20 Years

I don't know if this is related to this article. I am running the latest 12.4 beta. I do not use iHeart Radio and only use Apple Music or Tidal. I asked Siri to play a radio station here in the Memphis area on my HomePods. Siri began to play the requested station and informed me that it was playing the station via iHeart Radio. Is this one of the new features being discussed?