If you have a Amazon smart speaker you should know that you can play podcasts from both Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Or almost, because this last service is currently only available to users in the United States. Even so, it is interesting to know it for when the option is activated in other countries.
Smart speakers and podcasts
Smart speakers have a multitude of uses, but there is where all manufacturers still need to work more. We mean integrating as many services as possible. In the end, choosing between a speaker with Alexa, Google Assistant, or the HomePod with Siri is a matter of functionality. If you use a service that is not in any of them, you discard it.
For this reason, it would be interesting if this, which now reaches the Amazon Echo, for example, was the usual week after week. But hey, for now we will have to continue to have some patience, because it is understood that they play partly with it to give value to their product.
At the moment, perhaps, Alexa is the most balanced assistant in terms of integration with any operating system and services. In recent days Amazon announced that they have added support for new Podcasts services. For this reason, we are going to see how to ask Alexa to play podcasts from Spotify or Apple Podcasts, the two main sources.
How to listen to Apple Podcasts programs from the Amazon Echo
Before continuing, you should know that this function is currently only available to users in the United States. It is supposed that little by little it will reach the rest of the countries, but there is no exact information on when it will happen. Therefore, if you live in another country like Spain, it is interesting information for the future.
Well, now that you know this, in order to integrate Apple Podcasts into Amazon speakers, all you have to do is go to the Alexa app of your smartphone and sign in with your Apple ID. From that moment you will be giving permission to Alexa to access your programs. The exact sequence of steps:
- Activate the skill by Alexa here
- Open the Alexa app
- In Settings look for Music and Podcasts
- Link new account and sign in with your Apple ID
- Select podcast and set Apple Podcasts as the default service
From then on you can tell Alexa to play the podcasts you want just by saying “Alexa, play podcasts X on Apple Podcasts”
How to listen to Spotify podcasts on the Amazon Echo with Alexa
In the case that you use Spotify as a platform to play podcasts, the operation is very similar and practically as simple.
- Activate the skill by Alexa here
- Open the Alexa app on your smartphone
- Settings then Music & Podcasts
- Link with your Spotify account
- Select Spotify and follow the steps indicated
- Select Spotify as default application
Done, now the same as before, you just have to ask Alexa to play the podcasts you want on Spotify and it will do it.