Running Spotify via Apple CarPlay is one of the best and most convenient ways to stream music in your car.
If you want to learn more about how to use Spotify Apple CarPlay, you came to the right place!
You can use Spotify with Apple CarPlay in any car that has the feature. Spotify is the most popular free music streaming service, and Apple CarPlay allows you to control it using Siri voice commands. If you want to use Spotify with Apple CarPlay, simply download the app, sign up, and get started!
Apple has taken pains to make certain the software does not inhibit your attention to the road.
Read on to learn how to set up Spotify for Apple CarPlay.
How To Download Spotify For Apple CarPlay
So you’re ready to delve into the CarPlay app and tell Siri to blast “Life Is a Highway” out the window.
If you don’t already have Spotify on your iPhone, this is when you need to get it.
There are currently some 83 million tracks available on the app, which makes for quite a library. The songs and podcasts you want to listen to are here.
Here are the steps to get the app:
- Download Spotify from your iOS app store
- Launch the app and click “Log In” or “Create Account.”
- If you need to create an account, just click that option and follow the steps from there.
As with most apps, you can log in with your Facebook account ID or create a dedicated one with Spotify.
Spotify has lots of commands for customization to individual tastes.
Too many to list here. I’ll give you some features anyway:
- Create your own playlists
- Follow artists you’re interested in (when they release new material, Spotify will inform you)
- Search by album, artist, or song
- Search Podcasts
CarPlay Spotify can do all of this and more through voice commands (Siri).
Once you’re connected to CarPlay (more on this below), just ask Siri to bring up Spotify and tell her what you’d like to hear. That’s all there is to it.
Setting Up CarPlay Spotify
Don’t worry — it’s a piece of cake. It might even be better than cake because cake doesn’t rock.
There are two ways to set up Spotify with CarPlay: You can go cable, or you can go Bluetooth wireless. The cable is fast and direct. All you need is for your car to have an AUX or a USB port (which most cars made after 2005 do).
How To Use CarPlay Spotify With A Cable
- Connect the cable to your phone (most iPhones these days require a dongle).
- Pop the other end of the cable into your car’s AUX or USB jack.
- Fire up the car, and select AUX input from the infotainment screen.
- Choose Spotify and kick out the jams.
How To Use CarPlay Spotify With Wireless CarPlay
- Make sure Bluetooth is on for both your iPhone and the car (you can activate your car’s Bluetooth feature from the infotainment screen.
- In your iPhone’s CarPlay feature, select your car and sync it with the phone.
- Open Spotify CarPlay on the infotainment screen.
- Kick out the jams.
Using the CarPlay Spotify App
There is a range of options to choose from in the Spotify CarPlay app.
You can see in the screenshot above, that the four main options include:
- Home
- This will show you an overview of music
- Recently played
- This lists your recently played music so you can find your favorite songs quickly
- Search
- This allows you to search for your desired songs. It will be best to use Siri voice commands, though, as if you are driving, you’ll want your full attention on the road.
- Libary
- This allows you to find songs and playlists you’ve created or saved artists. You can see this in the screenshot below.
Using the Free Version of CarPlay & Spotify
Apple CarPlay is a free piece of software that is built into all iPhones.
Spotify also has a free plan with limitations and a paid plan with all the modern features you’d expect.
The main downside of the free app is that you can not download music to your phone for offline use and will have to listen to ads between some songs. Both of these features will increase CarPlay data usage.
Using CarPlay Spotify With Siri
Siri is Apple’s voice-command assistant. She will allow you to keep your hands on the wheel while telling CarPlay Spotify what you’d like it to do.
The assistant is fast and smooth — and lots safer than pressing buttons on the infotainment screen.
By saying “Hey Siri” followed by your command, followed by “On Spotify,” you can have CarPlay Spotify do things like play songs, search for artists, play podcasts, adjust the volume, skip songs you don’t like, and lots more.
If your car comes with CarPlay compatibility, then you’re in luck because here is all it takes to use Siri:
- Hold the voice command button on the steering wheel.
- Tell Siri what you’d like CarPlay to do (or ask her a question). “Hey, Siri,” “Play (your song or playlist) on Spotify.”
For cars without CarPlay compatibility, you need to press a button on the infotainment screen. T
hat defeats the purpose of voice-activated command at first, but once Siri is awake, you can talk to her the same way as always. This especially goes for CarPlay Spotify.
Is My Car Compatible With CarPlay?
Perhaps you’ve just purchased a new car and didn’t know about CarPlay until after the fact.
Or maybe you already love CarPlay — your neighbor keeps bragging about theirs even though they drive an older car.
Your car is probably compatible with CarPlay. It likely won’t matter if it’s a 1961 Ford Fairlane or a 2022 McLaren Artura. And if your car can use CarPlay, it can also support Apple CarPlay Spotify.
Older cars can be retrofitted with modern infotainment systems (automotive head units) that allow for CarPlay.
As for vehicles manufactured after 2014, consider that over 600 models come ready to support this wondrous application.
Conclusion
Apple CarPlay Spotify is arguably the most popular way to listen to music — or podcasts — in your rolling cage of plastic and metal.
The fact that you can launch a voice command with a touch of a button makes it very safe to use.
Your hands will be on the wheel most of the time.
Entire albums are yours to command Siri to play.
Better still, you don’t need to have an engineering degree from CalTech to set everything up. It’s just you, the road…and the music.
