Audi gets the Apple (Music) car in new and recent vehicles

Audi cars become a giant music streaming device

Audi is putting Apple Music inside all the cars it sells in Europe, North America and Japan starting with 2022 models. Older vehicles with compatible systems will be given access to the music streaming service via an Over-the-Air update later.

No iPhone required, uses built-in car sim

What this means is that if you are an Audi owner and also have an Apple Music account you will no longer need to use CarPlay and an iPhone to stream music in your car.

Other streaming services won’t get this access. It does, I think, also mean, that chilled out Audi drivers with a love for classical music will get access to Apple’s upcoming Classics service over the outstanding music system in these cars.

Audi says it has chosen to work with Apple because the Apple Music service is, like the manufacturer’s cars, a premium service.

How it works

The new Apple Music integration allows customers to access their personal Apple Music account directly from the Audi infotainment system, with no Bluetooth or USB connection required.

To activate Apple Music, customers simply need to open the app in their Audi’s infotainment system and follow the on-screen instructions to log in with the Apple ID they use for Apple Music.

To finish the setup process, they simply need to enter a verification code that is sent to their phone. For Audi owners in Europe, cellular data streaming costs incurred are conveniently billed via a data package available from Cubic-Telekom.

The first three gigabytes are free of charge.

After linking an active subscription to the vehicle, Apple Music subscribers can access Apple Music’s full catalogue of 90 million songs, and tens of thousands of playlists, including hundreds of new mood and activity playlists, personalized mixes, and genre stations – all ad-free.

What Audi said

“Integrating Apple Music into the Audio infotainment system marks the next step in the collaboration between Audi and Apple,” said Christiane Zorn, Head of Product Marketing at Audi in a statement.

“For our customers, it means that we are offering them direct access to their own personalized listening experience. This is our understanding of a premium digital in-car experience. At Audi we are systematically driving the digitalization of the vehicle and we are convinced that the interior is increasingly developing into a third living space”.

[Also read: Social media influencers 4x more likely to use Apple Music]

Audi vehicles also come with Apple CarPlay support. Drivers can connect their iPhone wirelessly (or via USB) and get directions optimized for traffic, make calls, send and receive messages and listen to music simply by tapping the touchscreen display or using Siri voice control.

By 2025, Audi will offer more than 20 models with all-electric drive in the most important markets worldwide and achieve roughly 40 per cent of its sales with electrified variants.

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