You Can Now Control Spotify Media Playback Within the Strava App - MacRumors
Skip to Content

You Can Now Control Spotify Media Playback Within the Strava App

Popular fitness app Strava has launched long-awaited Spotify integration, allowing users to access favorite content on the audio streaming service while recording their activity.

Strava spotify
Up until now, Strava users wanting to listen to audio in Spotify while tracking a run or bike ride had to switch between apps to control their media. Now that's all a thing of the past, thanks to Strava's new in-app media widget.

After starting recording an activity, users can tap a music icon in the top-right corner of the Strava interface and connect their Spotify account, after which it's possible to browse content in the Spotify widget and choose what to play.

The integration supports music, podcasts, and audiobooks, and users can swipe through the queue to see what's next, as well as browse through custom-made and popular Spotify-made playlists.

The Spotify widget can be used by both paying and non-paying Spotify users. Free Spotify users can shuffle albums/playlists/artists, but will not be able to pick specific songs, and will hear intermittent ads.

Meanwhile Spotify premium users can select specific songs in their albums and playlists, but doing things like shuffling settings, queuing up specific songs, and using search can only be done in the Spotify app proper.

Popular Stories

Apple Watch Ultra 2 Black Titanium

New Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 Features Revealed

Sunday August 30, 2026 7:54 am PDT by
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman today further outlined what to expect from the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 set to be unveiled on September 9. While it was initially rumored that Touch ID may be coming to the Apple Watch this year, Gurman reiterated that he does not expect the Series 12 or Ultra 4 to have any major design changes compared to the current Series 11 and Ultra 3 models. ...
iPhone Handoff Feature

iOS 27 Introduces New 'iPhone Handoff' Feature

Wednesday September 2, 2026 12:35 pm PDT by
Apple has added a new "iPhone Handoff" feature to iOS 27 that will allow you to switch between two iPhones while using the same phone number on each device. This functionality was briefly mentioned during the WWDC 2026 keynote in June, on a slide that listed hundreds of new features coming in iOS 27 and corresponding software updates, but Apple never shared any further details at the time. ...
John Ternus and Rainbow Countour Apple Logo

Apple Just Made a Very Controversial Decision on New CEO's First Day

Wednesday September 2, 2026 6:31 am PDT by
Apple's former hardware engineering chief John Ternus became its CEO on Tuesday, and the company made a controversial decision on his very first day in charge. As of Tuesday, Apple Maps users in the U.S. see the name "Lake America" instead of Lake Ontario for the Great Lake that straddles the New York—Ontario border. Apple made this change after the U.S. Geographic Names Information...

Top Rated Comments

szw-mapple fan Avatar
44 months ago
Seems like this is just adding bloat to Strava. Is it that much of a hassle to switch apps to control music?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
philstubbington Avatar
44 months ago

But still can't do it with HomePod
I use my HomePod for weight training, not running 😉
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
madmin Avatar
44 months ago

I use my HomePod for weight training, not running 😉
I never realised they were so heavy
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44 months ago
Don’t need media controls within the app. The Dynamic Island handles that no matter what app you’re in.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bLackjackj Avatar
44 months ago
Sure,..why not just hand strava the keys to my house too 🤦‍♂️ Is there any other analyzed data they want to on sell?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
saltukkos Avatar
44 months ago
But still can't do it with HomePod
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)