According to code concealed in the YouTube Music app that was found by software miner @aaronp613, YouTube Music may soon be accessible directly on the HomePod and the HomePod mini through Siri integration.
The YouTube Music app contains a section titled “Connect With HomePod,” which raises the possibility that integration will happen in the future. Since Apple has been supporting a few independent music services on HomePod for the past few years, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Deezer, and TuneIn Radio already offer this feature.
Even though Apple made the SiriKit Media function available in iOS 14, music services like Spotify haven’t integrated it, thus its use is still restricted. When prompted to play content on the HomePod, Siri will play music from the third-party service that has been configured as the default option by users using the direct play feature.
If the HomePod playback feature is added to YouTube Music, it might entice more Apple consumers to subscribe to the streaming service.