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No Pandora Support on CarPlay, but Apple 'Continues to Be a Valued Partner'

Monday March 3, 2014 2:52 pm PST by Juli Clover
pandora_newlogoPandora confirmed today that Apple's newly released CarPlay feature does not include integration with Pandora's popular streaming music service, despite CarPlay offering support for other music services including iTunes Radio, Spotify, Beats Radio, Stitcher Radio for Podcasts, and iHeartRadio.

In a statement to MacRumors, Pandora said that although its service was not integrated into CarPlay, Apple "continues to be a valued partner." The company also suggests that it is continuing to explore opportunities to expand its presence within the car, hinting that it could be working towards integration with CarPlay in the future.
At this time, Pandora is not integrated with Apple CarPlay. As a first mover in the auto space, we continue to broaden our relationships with OEMs while also exploring other opportunities to expand our presence in the car. Apple has been and continues to be a valued partner.
It is unclear why Apple chose to exclude Pandora from CarPlay while supporting other competing services from companies like Beats Music and Spotify, but it may be due to the similarities between iTunes Radio and Pandora's own service. Both services are station-based, allowing users to create radio stations based on music genres, artists, and specific songs, which are then used to play similar music, making Pandora a direct competitor for iTunes Radio.

Pandora, in addition to mirroring iTunes Radio's functionality, is also ranked as the most popular music app in the App Store, sitting at the top of the free app charts in that category and the number 22 free app overall. The less popular services from Spotify and Beats Music work differently than Pandora and iTunes Radio, allowing users to search for specific songs, while iHeartRadio acts more like a traditional radio station.

In its statement, Pandora was quick to point out that although it is not included in CarPlay, its service is already integrated with more than 130 different vehicle models and present on several aftermarket stereo devices.

With CarPlay, iOS users with compatible cars will be able to utilize voice and touch commands, along with car controls, to access functions like Maps and various music apps, in addition to making phone calls and sending messages.

CarPlay will debut this week in vehicles from Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo. Apple has also made deals with other car companies for future integration, including BMW, Ford, Honda, Nissan, Kia, Toyota, and more.

Related Roundup: CarPlay
[ 84 comments ]


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MikeyMike01
65 months ago

Pandora has by far the best "station" algorithm out there. Far better than iRadio, which is at the bottom of the barrel, in my experience.


Hmm, I have quite the opposite experience. With Pandora, I never discovered any new music I enjoyed. Ever. I was always given music I knew of or didn't like. With iTunes Radio, I've gotten about 6 new bands in a very limited amount of listening.

Maybe I'm weird. :)
Rating: 10 Votes
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xero9
65 months ago
Gave up on Pandora a while ago. Nothing lost.

Besides, there's nothing stopping it from being added later. Not like people will need to buy a new car if Pandora finally gets onboard.
Rating: 9 Votes
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macUser2007
65 months ago
Pandora has by far the best "station" algorithm out there. Far better than iRadio, which is at the bottom of the barrel, in my experience.

MOG is superior to Spotify (better catalog with overall higher quality encoding and less lame covers of popular hits).

Otherwise, CarPlay promises to be a great thing.
Rating: 6 Votes
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britboyj
65 months ago
I'll just keep using Bluetooth streaming and listen to whatever the hell I want.
Rating: 5 Votes
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zorinlynx
65 months ago
Spotify is far superior to Pandora. With Spotify you can play any track you want on demand, whereas Pandora only has the radio station model. Also, Spotify tends to play better songs when in radio mode then Pandora does.

That is my opinion, anyway. Ever since I've had Spotify, I have not renewed my Pandora one subscription.
Rating: 5 Votes
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Tiger8
65 months ago
Here's why: Because the only real competitor to Apple now is Pandora. Spotify offers a different model (for now).
Rating: 4 Votes
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vartanarsen
65 months ago
Whatever happened to buying a song and owning it forever. I dont like ghe spotify and pandora models. I just rather buy a song for .99 and own it.
Rating: 4 Votes
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Baklava
65 months ago

[...]we continue to broaden our relationships with OEMs while also exploring other opportunities to expand our presence in the car.

In other words: we'll go with Samsung. :P
Rating: 3 Votes
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KylePowers
65 months ago
Ever since Spotify let me shuffle artists, albums, and my playlists for free, I haven't touched Pandora or iTunes Radio.
Rating: 3 Votes
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dannyyankou
65 months ago

Whatever happened to buying a song and owning it forever. I dont like ghe spotify and pandora models. I just rather buy a song for .99 and own it.


"People don't want to rent their music". -Steve Jobs

Agreed. I'd rather own my music than sign up for one of those premium music services.
Rating: 2 Votes

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