[Wiverson]

Picked up my Denim Blue XC40 2022 Recharge Ultimate last weekend. So far it's been fantastic, one IHU reboot to fix Google Maps on the center console has been only issue. Coming off a 2019 XC60 T8 it's much, much more fun to drive. I had a lot of first world annoyances with the 2019 Senus system, and so far the Android Automotive OS seems to be a better long term direction. AAOS certainly boots faster than Senus and CarPlay.
My default music platform for the last few years has been Apple Music. I used to use Google Play Music when I had various Android devices, but I switched over to iOS a few years ago. I used Soundliz.com to transfer my library and it worked fine.
When I first heard about Volvo adopting Android, I thought that all of the apps available via Android Auto would be available. Alas, of course, it turns out that apps have to be specifically adapted to Android Automotive, and this in turn means a much smaller suite of available apps.
So, this week I wound up downloading and testing the following:

• Spotify
• iHeartRadio
• TIDAL
• Amazon Prime Music
• YouTube Music (Premium)

I used Soundliz to move my Apple Music songs and playlists to each of the platforms. All seemed to migrate fine. The only annoyance was that YouTube Music dumped all my playlists into my regular YouTube account, which meant going back and clearing them out by hand.
I was disappointed to find that all five services had no mechanism to download playlists directly to the car. All seemed to rely on the LTE radio to stream music. Living in the greater Seattle area I haven't had any significant issues with signal. That said, I would much rather download my music library to the car's SSD (perhaps in the background over an evening via WiFi) than rely exclusively on streaming.
One (very mild) annoyance - tapping on a playlist in every audio app gives you a list of tracks. There is no "play on shuffle" button, so the only way to play a shuffled playlist is to tap a track, make sure the shuffle is on, and then hit next track.
I've mostly been using Spotify, as it seems to work reasonably well. YouTube Music (on every platform) seems to have a very poor user experience, which is frustrating considering how much better Google Play Music worked on Android phones. The other three (iHeart, TIDAL, and Amazon) all seem to be just a bit less mature than the Spotify app. The one obvious difference is TIDAL's more expensive options for (theoretically) higher quality audio. Given that all of the music has to be streamed anyways, and I can't personally tell any difference between the audio quality, I'm not sure if TIDAL has a great pitch (ahem). TIDAL of all of the apps should make downloading in advance an option.
It appears that all of the audio streaming apps seem to be based on a common Google reference app, as they have very similar icons and features. I would be curious to know what the biggest roadblock is for audio apps supporting download in advance - is there no reference implementation in the Google AAOS base template app? Is Google not enabling it on AAOS for some reason?
For podcasts, I've been very happy using PocketCasts for years on Android and iOS devices. The AAOS version of PocketCasts app works great, with the same apparent issue as all the other audio apps regarding the inability to download podcasts in advance.
As a final comment, I'm surprised there is no Audible app. This is the only thing that "hurts" right now - the only way to stream an Audible book is via BlueTooth. Works fine, of course, but it's the biggest omission compared with, say, Senus and CarPlay.
At this point I'll likely cancel the trials for the other services and stick with Spotify. If anyone has any questions about any of the apps in the next few days let me know!

 

[BuzzyBud]

Picked up my Denim Blue XC40 2022 Recharge Ultimate last weekend. So far it's been fantastic, one IHU reboot to fix Google Maps on the center console has been only issue. Coming off a 2019 XC60 T8 it's much, much more fun to drive. I had a lot of first world annoyances with the 2019 Senus system, and so far the Android Automotive OS seems to be a better long term direction. AAOS certainly boots faster than Senus and CarPlay.
My default music platform for the last few years has been Apple Music. I used to use Google Play Music when I had various Android devices, but I switched over to iOS a few years ago. I used Soundliz.com to transfer my library and it worked fine.
When I first heard about Volvo adopting Android, I thought that all of the apps available via Android Auto would be available. Alas, of course, it turns out that apps have to be specifically adapted to Android Automotive, and this in turn means a much smaller suite of available apps.
So, this week I wound up downloading and testing the following:

• Spotify
• iHeartRadio
• TIDAL
• Amazon Prime Music
• YouTube Music (Premium)

I used Soundliz to move my Apple Music songs and playlists to each of the platforms. All seemed to migrate fine. The only annoyance was that YouTube Music dumped all my playlists into my regular YouTube account, which meant going back and clearing them out by hand.
I was disappointed to find that all five services had no mechanism to download playlists directly to the car. All seemed to rely on the LTE radio to stream music. Living in the greater Seattle area I haven't had any significant issues with signal. That said, I would much rather download my music library to the car's SSD (perhaps in the background over an evening via WiFi) than rely exclusively on streaming.
One (very mild) annoyance - tapping on a playlist in every audio app gives you a list of tracks. There is no "play on shuffle" button, so the only way to play a shuffled playlist is to tap a track, make sure the shuffle is on, and then hit next track.
I've mostly been using Spotify, as it seems to work reasonably well. YouTube Music (on every platform) seems to have a very poor user experience, which is frustrating considering how much better Google Play Music worked on Android phones. The other three (iHeart, TIDAL, and Amazon) all seem to be just a bit less mature than the Spotify app. The one obvious difference is TIDAL's more expensive options for (theoretically) higher quality audio. Given that all of the music has to be streamed anyways, and I can't personally tell any difference between the audio quality, I'm not sure if TIDAL has a great pitch (ahem). TIDAL of all of the apps should make downloading in advance an option.
It appears that all of the audio streaming apps seem to be based on a common Google reference app, as they have very similar icons and features. I would be curious to know what the biggest roadblock is for audio apps supporting download in advance - is there no reference implementation in the Google AAOS base template app? Is Google not enabling it on AAOS for some reason?
For podcasts, I've been very happy using PocketCasts for years on Android and iOS devices. The AAOS version of PocketCasts app works great, with the same apparent issue as all the other audio apps regarding the inability to download podcasts in advance.
As a final comment, I'm surprised there is no Audible app. This is the only thing that "hurts" right now - the only way to stream an Audible book is via BlueTooth. Works fine, of course, but it's the biggest omission compared with, say, Senus and CarPlay.
At this point I'll likely cancel the trials for the other services and stick with Spotify. If anyone has any questions about any of the apps in the next few days let me know!

It is good to hear you are enjoying Spotify. That will be my choice when my C40 is delivered. Although I have used Audible for audio books, I prefer Google Play Books. I believe AAOS will support Play Books. An option to consider.

 

[Les]

With Spotify just on Android Automotive, you cannot ask to play a song even if you have Premium. It says you need Premium even though you may have it. I wrote to Spotify and they said that you need to hook it up with another device - your phone - and then you can ask for particular songs. I have also been told that if I have Spotify Family that may work. Anyone figure this out?

 

[Speed_Bump]

With Spotify just on Android Automotive, you cannot ask to play a song even if you have Premium. It says you need Premium even though you may have it. I wrote to Spotify and they said that you need to hook it up with another device - your phone - and then you can ask for particular songs. I have also been told that if I have Spotify Family that may work. Anyone figure this out?

When the car gets home this evening I'll try the voice with spotify family plan and let you know.

 

[santellavision]

Download Audiowagon. It's a USB drive file player. Play MP3 as well has high-res Wave 24bit/96kHz files.

 

[HighNoon]

With Spotify just on Android Automotive, you cannot ask to play a song even if you have Premium. It says you need Premium even though you may have it. I wrote to Spotify and they said that you need to hook it up with another device - your phone - and then you can ask for particular songs. I have also been told that if I have Spotify Family that may work. Anyone figure this out?

What Spotify told you isn’t correct. I can ask the AAOS Spotify app to play a specific song or album or playlist and it will. I do it all the time. It doesn’t need to be hooked up to my phone. My phone doesn’t even need to be present for it to work.

I have an individual Spotify premium acct, not family. It’s never been a problem from the get go…just logged into Spotify on the car and it works. I can ask Google “Hey Google, play XXXX on Spotify” or do it in the Spotify app itself.

 

[Les]

What Spotify told you isn’t correct. I can ask the AAOS Spotify app to play a specific song or album or playlist and it will. I do it all the time. It doesn’t need to be hooked up to my phone. My phone doesn’t even need to be present for it to work.

I have an individual Spotify premium acct, not family. It’s never been a problem from the get go…just logged into Spotify on the car and it works. I can ask Google “Hey Google, play XXXX on Spotify” or do it in the Spotify app itself.

Thanks for taking the trouble to reply. I suspect I am caught in that madness loop that I once used spotify on an account that was free and now, even though I set up Premium for the car, it still for some unknown reason, says I don't have premium. I think that's the issue !

 

[JT Rock]

It might be worth clearing both the cache & data for the Spotify app in the car android app settings.

 

[cinnamontoast]

With Spotify just on Android Automotive, you cannot ask to play a song even if you have Premium. It says you need Premium even though you may have it. I wrote to Spotify and they said that you need to hook it up with another device - your phone - and then you can ask for particular songs. I have also been told that if I have Spotify Family that may work. Anyone figure this out?

That can't be true, I do it all the time. "Play <song title> by <artist> on Spotify" and Google responds with "Playing <song title> on Spotify" and off it goes.

 

[Les]

Must be a problem for my car. I cancelled Spotify Premium and then signed up in a new name and credit card but same message "Choosing a song is only available to Spotify Premium".

Any suggestions? How do I clear the cache? Can't see that setting. I am in Sydney, Australia and don't have any music choice but Spotify for Android Automotive.















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Any suggestifromons

 

[BainbridgeIsland]

Any suggestifromons

Yes, a couple suggestions:

1) Make sure you've added your Spotify Account to Settings > Profile > Accounts in your Volvo center display settings.

2) Try not to include 4 pages of blank lines in your replies

 

[improvius]

Yes, a couple suggestions:

1) Make sure you've added your Spotify Account to Settings > Profile > Accounts in your Volvo center display settings.

2) Try not to include 4 pages of blank lines in your replies

So glad we have that "back to the top" arrow over on the right.

 

[Les]

So glad we have that "back to the top" arrow over on the right.

Apologies. Didn't realise I had done that. I will give it try. Thanks.

 

[Les]

Apologies. Didn't realise I had done that. I will give it try. Thanks.

It is already connected but the problem could be that the Spotify account is not in the same name as the Profile. I really don't know but will live without asking for songs as I love the car anyway!

 

[Les]

It is already connected but the problem could be that the Spotify account is not in the same name as the Profile. I really don't know but will live without asking for songs as I love the car anyway!

I finally figured it out. I opened a new Spotify Premium account in the name of my Profile. I then cleared the cache and it now works.

 

[B-mtrd]

Question about the Spotify car app.
I have a few playlists the I play with shuffle enabled. I’ve noticed that instead of playing the whole list it plays 10 or so songs.
Anyone has the same issue? Any way to fix it do I don’t need to keep listening to the same 10 or do songs?
Note that the playlist in question has around 80-90 songs.

 

[cinnamontoast]

Question about the Spotify car app.
I have a few playlists the I play with shuffle enabled. I’ve noticed that instead of playing the whole list it plays 10 or so songs.
Anyone has the same issue? Any way to fix it do I don’t need to keep listening to the same 10 or do songs?
Note that the playlist in question has around 80-90 songs.

My experience is that when Spotify doesn't play an entire playlist, it's because the cellular connection has dropped... which of course is one of the fine features of this car.