With Spotify Connect, for example, you can use your smartphone to listen to music on another device remotely. However, you will no longer be able to change the volume via the iPhone. The background.
If you want to stream Spotify content via speakers or smart TV, you can use Spotify Connect. This turns your smartphone into a remote control for Spotify, for example.
However, anyone who uses an iPhone will have to be prepared for a restriction in the future. As of September 3, 2024, the volume on Spotify Connect can no longer be changed using the buttons on the iPhone, as Spotify writes on its help page.
Spotify Connect volume can no longer be controlled via iPhone
Of course, you can still adjust the volume on an external speaker using Spotify Connect on your iPhone. However, this is no longer possible using the volume controls on the iPhone itself.
Users who use this button to adjust the volume on Spotify Connect will now receive a push notification from Spotify, prompting them to adjust the volume using the slider directly in the app.
Spotify itself says the reason for this change is that Apple has “discontinued the technology.” “While we work with Apple on a solution, you can easily adjust the volume of the connected device using the Spotify app,” the statement says.
Spotify: How to adjust the volume
If you press the volume button on your iPhone, you will receive a push notification from Spotify. This will ask you if you want to change the volume. If you tap the push notification, the Spotify app will open and display a volume control. Here you can adjust the volume.
If you don't receive a push notification in this case, check whether you have Spotify push notifications enabled in your settings. Your app should also be up to date for this to work properly.
However, if you have already opened the app and press one of the volume buttons on your iPhone, Spotify will immediately show you the slider at the bottom of the screen.
Is Apple violating the DMA?
However, Spotify is not the only service affected by this change. iPhone users can no longer use the volume buttons in the Sonos app either.
Spotify sees Apple as responsible here, as The Verge reported. According to the report, the streaming service does not have access to the technology that allows Apple Music to be played on devices from other providers.
The volume control on the iPhone has become “unstable”. There were volume peaks during playback and other errors. Spotify therefore wants to switch to a “consistent, high-quality” volume control with the change.
According to Spotify, Apple's practice could violate the EU's Digital Markets Act, which states that large tech companies and gatekeepers must make their technologies equally available to all third-party providers. From Spotify's point of view, however, this is not the case here.
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Source: https://www.basicthinking.de/blog/2024/09/03/spotify-connect-lautstaerke-iphone/
