One of the highlight features of smart speakers like the Amazon Echo and Google Home is their ability to stream music using just your voice. Both of those speakers offer support for a variety of streaming services, and today they both gained a new, free way to enjoy some tunes.
Both the Amazon Echo and Google Home speakers can now play free ad-supported music using Amazon and Google's respective music streaming services. On the Amazon side of things, you can now listen to a selection of top playlists and stations for free through Amazon Music on compatible Alexa-enabled devices. You can say things like "Alexa, play 80s music" or "Alexa, play the Imagine Dragons" station to get music going.
Meanwhile, Google today announced that YouTube Music is now offering a free streaming music option on Google Home speakers. Just ask YouTube Music to play music for a moment or mood and YouTube Music will begin playing a station based on your request.
Both of these services have their limitations. They both include ads, and since you're not a paying Amazon Music Unlimited or YouTube Music subscriber, you can't do things like request specific songs or albums. While these free streaming options are more limited than the paid versions, they offer a nice way for a person just getting a smart speaker to try out using their voice to play music and enjoy some music without having to pay $10 to do it.