Google’s musical moves silence smart speakers

Google has become the latest company to be accused of effectively bricking smart speaker systems. Sonos angered consumers when it was accused of bricking ageing devices last year, but changes to the way Google handles music over its Home (since rebranded to Nest) speakers mean that users can’t even play their own music over working speakers unless they pay for a YouTube Premium subscription at £10 per month. “Google has been diabolical, I’ve spent hours on the phone, but there’s no way around it,” said Jon Stanton, a PC Proreader and web designer who flagged the issue. The issue relates to the closure of Google Play Music. As suggested by Google ahead of the closure, Stanton transferred his 7,000 tracks from Google Play Music to YouTube Music, where he hoped he’d have the…

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PC Pro (Digital) - 1 Issue, February 2021

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