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Spotify Launches First Native In-Car App With Audi

Spotify launched its first fully native in-car app on Android Automotive, starting with select Audi models and working without phone projection, The Verge reported.

AI News Feed · 2026-10-21 22:21

The app is launching today in select Audi models, including the electric A6 e-tron and Q6 e-tron as well as the gasoline-powered A5, Q5 and A6, according to The Verge. Spotify said 34 percent of its monthly active users and 77 percent of its Premium subscribers stream music in their cars. Jonathan Tarlton, Spotify’s automotive business development lead, said the app had been in development for a little more than a year and was meant to give users a more inviting experience controlled entirely by Spotify.

Spotify’s standard Android Automotive app was a “headless” integration: Spotify supplied backend data, playlists and the music catalog, while Google’s templates dictated the onscreen interface. The new Audi app is “headful,” allowing Spotify to draw and render its own native interface on the vehicle’s screens. “We’re drawing all the pixels,” Tarlton said. “We own the user experience. So we’re not in a template or a framework. It’s 100 percent Spotify.”

Tarlton said Spotify remains “heavily invested” in phone projection through Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, even as the native app is positioned to compete with phone mirroring. He said Spotify wants to give users choice and to be available whether they use iOS or Android phones. The Verge reported that wireless CarPlay connections can be unreliable depending on the vehicle; Tarlton said the native app is intended to reduce headaches such as a cold start in the morning. “You’re not having to wait to boot. You’re not having to wait for a screen to load. You’re not having to plug your phone in,” he said.

The native app also adds features that phone projection does not provide. Passengers can scan a QR code on the screen to join a wireless “Spotify Jam” session and add songs to the queue from their smartphones. On vehicles with a dedicated secondary passenger display, front passengers can browse music, view lyrics and watch video without disturbing the driver. When the vehicle is parked or charging, motion graphics such as video podcasts and lyrics move to the central display. Tarlton said the app could help bring passengers in the cabin together again. “I’m excited that we can bring joy to the cabin again,” he said. “It’s not just technology.”

The rollout will focus on cars with Android-based operating systems, Tarlton said, allowing Spotify to avoid building separate apps for every automaker. The company plans to use a standard Android Automotive APK distributed through multiple app stores, including the Google Play Store and proprietary stores such as the Audi Application Store. Tarlton said Spotify’s main goal was to prevent fragmentation, not only for Spotify but for the industry, and to keep an open and fair place for apps, according to The Verge.

Editor's Summary

Spotify has launched a fully native Android Automotive app in select Audi models, giving it control of the in-car interface without phone projection. The app adds passenger-focused features and QR-based Spotify Jam sessions while Spotify says it remains committed to CarPlay and Android Auto. Spotify plans to distribute standard Android Automotive software through multiple app stores to avoid building separate apps for each automaker.