Apple Music is coming to Google Home speakers after all, and the surprise was blown because of a bug in the rollout

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Apple Music is coming to Google Home speakers after all, and the surprise was blown because of a bug in the rollout

Tim Cook

AP

Apple CEO Tim Cook.

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  • Apple Music will be available on Google Home devices after all.
  • A source familiar with the matter confirmed with Business Insider that "it was a bug in a rollout" that allowed Google Home users to see Apple Music as option to sync with their smart speakers.
  • Previously, it was reported that the pairing option was due to a general "software bug," but we now know the mixup was related to a botched rollout plan between Apple and Google.
  • For Apple, bringing its music streaming service to Google Home devices makes sense, as the company appears to be doubling down on its service offerings, like music, video, and news streaming.

It looks like Apple Music will be available on Google Home devices after all.

After a series of confusing events over the past two days, a source familiar with the matter confirmed with Business Insider that "it was a bug in a rollout" that allowed Google Home users to see Apple Music as an option to sync with the smart speakers.

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Previously, it was reported that the surprise pairing option appeared because of a "software bug," but we now know the mixup was specifically due to a botched rollout plan between Apple and Google.

MacRumors first discovered on Monday that Google Home users were able to see Apple Music as a pairing option. The option seemed strange, however, given that there was no formal announcement by either company.

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Google Home

Screenshot / Business Insider

By Tuesday afternoon, Apple Music was no longer available within the Google Home app, and its appearance was reportedly, just a "bug."At the time, it was not immediately clear how a bug would have resulted in the Apple Music name and logo showing up in the Google Home app.

Read more: It looked like Apple Music was coming to Google Home speakers, but Google says it was only a glitch

We know now the integration between Google's smart speakers and Apple Music is coming, and the confusion over the last two days was due to a rollout plan gone awry.

For Apple, bringing its music streaming service to Google Home devices makes sense. As iPhone sales have tapered off, the company's focus may need to shift towards new product innovation and on doubling down on service offerings like music, video, and news streaming.

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Last December, Apple announced a deal with Amazon, making Apple Music available on smart speakers with Amazon's Alexa voice assistant built in. Apple Music is also available on the company's own HomePod smart speaker, which doesn't support any other music streaming service apart from its own.

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