Spotify

Spotify continues to add features, making listening to streaming music more versatile across the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Sometimes there's one track that doesn't fit into an album or radio station, or that you just can't stand to hear. Hiding the song will prevent Spotify from playing it automatically by skipping that track. Once a song is hidden, Spotify will ignore that song in the album, radio station, or daily mix where it was hidden.

Like many streaming services, Spotify continues to play music after your album or playlist ends. Tracks similar to the songs you've already heard are picked by Spotify's algorithms to provide nonstop listening. Sometimes the automatic selections match so well that listeners don't even notice the playlist has ended. Some Spotify users prefer to hear an album or playlist and enjoy the silence when it's over. Autoplay settings can be customized in the Spotify app.

Apple is reportedly discussing whether to allow the HomePod to directly stream third-party music services such as Spotify or Pandora. Currently Apple Music is the default streaming service. Playlists from other services can only be opened by connecting to the HomePod via AirPlay.

With Shazam linked to Spotify's massive library of content, playing tracks from Shazam is seamless. Another reason to link your Spotify account to Shazam is to keep a running playlist of the songs you've identified. Sometimes this feature doesn't work as expected, and the Spotify playlist My Shazam Tracks does not update properly.