The popular streaming app Spotify recently received an update that brought some interesting changes. But hidden in the code is a completely new feature: "Hey Spotify."
Reverse engineering specialist Jane Manchun Wong is known, among other things, for discovering unreleased app features during their testing phase revealedAfter Facebook and Instagram, Spotify is now following suit. According to the report, they have discovered evidence of a function called "Hey Spotify." This feature would allow users to issue commands similar to those used with Siri in Apple Music. This means the "Hey Spotify" command could open specific songs, albums, playlists, and more. But there's a catch. The function can only be accessed within the app; if the application is only running in the background, the user must access it manually.
Is the “Hey Spotify” feature intended for new hardware?
The latest discovery seems a bit strange because of the way it works. But this of course leaves a lot of room for speculation and at the same time ties in with a contribution by Financial Times About a year ago, the company reported that Spotify was working on its own hardware for cars, which would also have voice control.
Spotify has a new target as it makes a breakthrough for device independence from Apple, Google and Amazon: the car dashboard. The music streaming pioneer plans to launch a voice-controlled in-car music player later this year, according to people familiar with its plans, marking its first foray into hardware.
The Spotify device will sync with car stereos via a Bluetooth connection and will have preset buttons that correspond to Spotify playlists, according to people briefed on the plans. The device would also allow the player to be controlled by voice, these people said.
Financial Times
This makes the whole thing seem much more sensible than a simple voice control that can only be activated when the app is open. Since the corresponding code is now in the app, the new Spotify device could soon be introduced. (Photo by Denys Prykhodov / Bigstockphoto)
