I just got Airpods. I had to sign up for Apple Music yesterday because offline support (when the watch isn't in bluetooth range of the phone) wasn't available with Spotify.
Not sure if this is simply a feature Spotify decided not to implement, or if they can't implement it due to Apple Watch restrictions.
I have similar questions with the Hulu Apple TV app. Results for content in Hulu aren't always included in Apple TV wide search, while content from other apps is.
Apple has done a lot of good things, but they went a little over the top with creating such a strict walled garden. (Another example is their blocking of 3rd party billing system - that's a clear example of Apple hurting the user experience to boost their profits)
> Results for content in Hulu aren't always included in Apple TV wide search, while content from other apps is.
I'm unclear if Apple needs to add support or if the third party needs to offer it in a specific format. I do often see Hulu, Netflix, and other third parties show up. Often they pop up before Apple. But other services like Hoopla and Kanopy don't show up. To be fair, searching across services is a mess all around. Third party websites have popped up, but seem to be missing a lot of data or stop working after a few months.
> offline support (when the watch isn't in bluetooth range of the phone) wasn't available with Spotify.
That seems to be up for debate. This article calls out other apps that do this without issue...but it may not be fair to compare it to Overcast, which doesn't have any contractual restrictions on storing it locally in an encrypted format or any other hoops Spotify might need to address.
Perhaps one reason they don't choose to do so is that some subscribers have different levels of access depending on the subscription tier. At least that's my guess.
Not sure if this is simply a feature Spotify decided not to implement, or if they can't implement it due to Apple Watch restrictions.
I have similar questions with the Hulu Apple TV app. Results for content in Hulu aren't always included in Apple TV wide search, while content from other apps is.
Apple has done a lot of good things, but they went a little over the top with creating such a strict walled garden. (Another example is their blocking of 3rd party billing system - that's a clear example of Apple hurting the user experience to boost their profits)