Guides

Radio, by voice.

Say the station's name and it plays. In the car you never have to look at the screen.

Since Macdio 2.7.7 Siri knows your stations. "Hey Siri, play Radio Paradise on Macdio" starts the stream on the iPhone, through AirPods, or from the voice button on the steering wheel. The phrases below are the ones Siri accepts, and the same list sits in the app under Settings, Siri, in your own language.

Say the station's name

Siri learns your favorites and the stations you played recently, about twenty in all, and it learns the short way people say them. BBC Radio 1 answers to "BBC 1". A stream listed as "Radio Paradise Main Mix 320k AAC" answers to "Radio Paradise". When the name you say matches exactly one station, it plays without a question. Two favorites with the same spoken name go to the first one in your list, and when Siri really cannot tell, it reads the choices out loud and you answer by voice.

Every phrase Siri understands

Start each one with "Hey Siri". The station goes where the brackets are.

"Play my favorites" starts the first favorite and queues the rest, so the skip buttons on your earphones or steering wheel move through the list.

Fourteen languages

Siri uses the phrase in whatever language it is set to, and Macdio ships the phrases in English, Arabic, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish and Turkish. A Turkish Siri hears "Macdio ile Radio Paradise çal", a German one "Spiele Radio Paradise auf Macdio", a Spanish one "Pon Radio Paradise en Macdio". Station names are the same in every language, so a Turkish listener with Spanish favorites is fine.

In the car

Hold the voice button on the steering wheel, or the Siri button on the CarPlay screen, and say the same phrase. Siri answers by voice, so a question like "which station?" never needs a glance at the display. It is the easiest way to change stations while driving, and it sits next to the preset buttons on the CarPlay screen.

Why the app's name is part of the phrase

Siri sends a phrase to an app only when the app is named in it. "Play Radio Paradise" alone goes to Apple Music, which has no such station. "Play Radio Paradise on Macdio" arrives at Macdio. Every phrase above ends with the name for that reason.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to say "on Macdio"?
Yes. Siri routes a phrase to an app by its name, so every command ends with Macdio. Without it Siri plays Apple Music or asks what you meant.
Which stations does Siri know?
Your favorites and the stations you played recently. Short forms work too, such as BBC 1 for BBC Radio 1, or Radio Paradise for a stream whose full name carries a bitrate.
What if two favorites have the same name?
Siri plays the first one in your favorites list. If it cannot decide at all, it reads the choices out loud and you answer by voice, in the car as well.
Which languages work?
Fourteen: English, Arabic, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish and Turkish. Siri uses the phrase in the language it is set to.
Does it work with AirPods?
Yes. Siri on the iPhone answers and AirPods hear it. Apple Watch and HomePod have no Macdio phrases.
Does Macdio listen through the microphone?
No. Siri does the listening and hands Macdio only the station name. The app has no microphone permission and never asks for one.

Try it

Get Macdio on the App Store, open it once so Siri learns your stations, then say the name of one. One purchase, every Apple device, no subscription.