The addition of Playlist Radio opens up iHeartRadio’s over 1,000 existing playlists to a wider audience. Instead, the songs will play in their given order, though you can skip up to six songs per hour within a playlist – the same as free users have when they’re listening to iHeartRadio’s artist stations.

However, because it’s still “radio” you can’t do some of the things you could with the premium product’s playlists – like reorganizing tracks, adding or removing songs, or playing a particular song in the playlist on-demand. That means there isn’t an algorithm deciding what to play next – you’re listening to a selection of songs an actual person has put together. Instead, the songs it plays are curated and programmed by radio DJs and other iHeartRadio staff. Like most playlists, Playlist Radio isn’t a random assortment of songs.

Today, the company is adding a new feature for all users – both free and paid – that blurs the lines between streaming radio and the typically premium-only option of using playlists: Playlist Radio. Everyone else will be better off with an Amazon Echo or a Google Nest Audio.IHeartRadio is best known for its free service offering thousands of live, streaming AM and FM radio stations and its ability to create your own custom station, similar to Pandora. Even if you don't subscribe to Apple Music, you have options. If you're in the Apple ecosystem the HomePod Mini is a very good smart speaker. The HomePod Mini does support Bluetooth, but not for audio, so you can't use it as a target for music from any device this way. For starters, you need an iOS device to even set the HomePod Mini up in the first place. If you don't own an iOS device or a Mac you're not going to want a HomePod Mini at all. You can use Siri to interact with the music by issuing the relevant commands, such as 'Hey Siri, next track'. This way, Handoff will automatically transfer it between the devices. You can share the audio manually to the HomePod Mini using AirPlay or hold your device to the top of the speaker. The good news on that front is that Apple makes it incredibly easy to do. The kicker is that you have to initiate playback from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. However, thanks to the tight-knit integration with the rest of Apple's hardware you can play music from any unsupported service fairly easily.

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