The Venn diagram of HomePod owners and YouTube Music subscribers probably doesn't have a lot of overlap. However, those who use both Apple's speakers and Google's music streaming service may be pleased to learn that the two now play more nicely together. YouTube Music is now available natively on HomePod, meaning that you can ask Siri to play tracks from the service even if your iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch aren't close by. It's now possible to set YouTube Music as the default music service on HomePod. That means you won't have to add "on YouTube Music" when you bark a command at Siri.

It turns out that Apple's iOS 14.5 update won't actually let you change your default music service that you use with Siri. Beta users had originally noticed that it appeared as if early versions of the update might allow you to change the default service that launches when you ask Siri to play a song. This meant that rather than specifying a third-party music app with each request, Siri would remember your preference and launch with the service you had originally specified. While all that still seems to be the case, TechCrunch reports that Apple has apparently "clarified" that it "doesn't consider this feature the equivalent to'setting a default.'" That's because the feature relies on "Siri intelligence," which can track your music-listening habits over time and predict which app you're more likely to want at that moment.

Amazon Alexa can read you the latest headlines, give you the forecast, and help you manage your smart home, but can Alexa play Spotify? Whether you recently signed up for Spotify or have been using the music streaming service for a while, you'll be happy to know that yes, it's possible to connect Spotify to Alexa. Not sure how to go about setting it all up? Then these simple instructions of how to connect Alexa to Spotify will be music to your ears. It only takes a few taps to connect Spotify with Alexa.

That's a conclusion many shoppers will reach when spotting the JBL Link 300, the mid-range of JBL's Google Assistant-powered Link smart speaker lineup. Its $250 price tag makes for a reasonable port of entry for anyone looking to build a voice-activated, multi-room audio and home-control system on a miserly budget. And since this speaker also supports Google's Chromecast audio technology, the Link 300--and any of its bigger or smaller siblings--can be paired with any other speaker that supports Chromecast. Delivering JBL's signature "California studio monitor" sound--a warm, realistically fleshed out soundstage and presence with soul and the stamina to crank--the Link 300 outperformed the vaunted Sonos One in many of my listening tests. Side Effects), to the rich soloing sonorities of Yo-Yo Ma (Six Evolutions--Bach: Cello Suites) and the elegantly spare acoustic jazz sessions (think Sarah Vaughan, Hank Garland, Bobby Timmons, and Melody Gardot) that are stock-in-trade on TSF Jazz--Paris, my favorite compare/contrast streaming channel. The JBL Link 300 has a much larger footprint its rival smart speaker, the Sonos One, but that extra girth results in bigger bass response.

Siri had a good run, but its time in the spotlight is over. Alexa has arrived, and it's way smarter than Siri. Alexa, of course, is the voice-activated "smart" assistant lurking inside the Amazon Echo, Amazon Echo Dot and Amazon Tap products. If you own one of these gadgets, you probably know the basics by now--you can ask Alexa for today's weather forecast, a daily news briefing, an oven timer or a favorite playlist. But as the Echo family of products has grown, so has the ecosystem that surrounds it.