app connect: apple music or spotify

kp64zl · Oct 30, 2018

California Beach on order with app connect

also thinking of subscribing to either apple music or spotify

Does one work better than the other in respect to connecting to the media system?

(I'm aware of the various discussions about which may be better in other regards)

thanks

AndyFromTheBrac · Oct 30, 2018

Apple Music is better for voice control via CarPlay than Spotify, but is probably the lesser of the two services overall.

Use the free trials and see which one suits your needs the best?

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andyinluton · Oct 30, 2018

I prefer spotify & have a family account which lets us have 6 totally independent users at £15/month a single subscription was £12.
With 3 teenagers its worth it.
If it was me paying as a single user I'm not so sure.

Max-Felix · Oct 30, 2018

Never used Apple music but Spotify is pretty amazing with an endless choice of playlists catering to every genre and niche possible.

Erbster · Oct 30, 2018

I use Apple Music for a family subscription (also £15/m) and find it’s very good value. I use voice commands quite a lot whilst driving. I had Spotify before but changed to AM because it was cheaper; I think Spotify has dropped its prices in line.

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kp64zl · Oct 30, 2018

Thanks all, most appreciated.

motacyclist · Oct 30, 2018

I have Amazon Prime, which includes about 2m songs, and is available on CarPlay. I subscribed to Amazon Unlimited for 12 months, as a Prime member it’s good value at about £7 a month. When that expired I didn’t renew, but at present using the 3 months free trial on Apple Music. I also have a free Spotify account.

I don’t see much difference in usability between the 3 CarPlay apps, but there seems to be less buffering with the Apple one. Despite this, when the Apple free period expires I’m thinking I will cancel and go back to Amazon; not least because I can use it easily in the house with Alexa. I might just stick with the 2m songs on Prime and use the £7 a month left over to buy any music I like which is unavailable on the basic service.

I don’t find any of them stands out better for finding new music which I like. (YouTube seems to know my tastes better than the pure music services!)

Legin · Oct 30, 2018

I use Tidal as its a more Audiophile choice , I use it on the home HiFi. If your not concerned by such things then Apple is probably the way to go. Tidal is available with carplay now.

Lewis · Nov 2, 2018

Not tried the other services but voice control on Apple Music is perfect. Press down the voice control button and say ‘Play....’ and it works every time. Not sure if that works with Spotify/Amazon?

motacyclist · Nov 2, 2018

Lewis said:
Not tried the other services but voice control on Apple Music is perfect. Press down the voice control button and say ‘Play....’ and it works every time. Not sure if that works with Spotify/Amazon?

I don’t think so, it would naturally use the inbuilt Apple Music app. Things might change if Amazon added Alexa to their app, but it wouldn’t be by using the voice button.

scottcfc · Nov 3, 2018

kp64zl said:
California Beach on order with app connect

also thinking of subscribing to either apple music or spotify

Does one work better than the other in respect to connecting to the media system?

(I'm aware of the various discussions about which may be better in other regards)

thanks

In the context of app connect/CarPlay, Apple Music works much better than Spotify. Spotify has been riddled with with app connect/CarPlay issues over the years, many of which can cause distractions whilst driving. Lots of the Spotify functionality still isn’t available via CarPlay, even with the CarPlay enhancements introduced with iOS 12. As previous comments have stated, still no native voice control with Spotify. However, I stick with Spotify because its api integration has been more widespread over the years than Apple Music. I would consider moving over to Apple Music but only if there was compatibility with Amazon echo devices and Bluesound speaker systems. Can’t see the former happening anytime soon!