Spotify, the ultra-popular music streaming service, has a designated mode designed to help drivers use the app safely while using it inside of a vehicle. Called Spotify Car View, it works with CarPlay and Android Auto, the latter of which has been causing a number of problems when using the service.
Setting up Car View is supposed to be simple. Once connected, screens from the best iPhone and best Android phones display a scannable QR code, which then takes you to the app and through the process to pair it with your phone via Bluetooth. But for a host of Android Auto users, Car View mode is wholly absent from the screen.
According to a number of reports on the Google Support forum, Spotify Car View is missing in action and doesn't fire up when connecting the phone with Android Auto. We've covered lots of Android Auto issues of late, some of which are more trivial like notifications misbehaving and others that are more serious such as voice commands failing with Google Maps. This particular issue falls into the latter more serious category: not only is it bad news for music lovers, but Car View mode exists to ensure safe driving when using the app. With the service missing, it may encourage drivers to take their eyes off the road in a bid to use Spotify's music selection tool.
And the possible hazard of a non-existent Car View mode is clearly being felt amongst a number of Android Auto users, with one user remarking that they, too, think it's "dangerous and want Car View mode back." (Disclosure: Spotify got back to users in the middle of writing this article, so the story is developing). Yes, Spotify has now apparently notified users that it intentionally removed the app to upgrade it. The plot thickens.
Missing in Action
Spotify has now informed the community that it's "exploring a variety of new ways to deliver the best in-car listening experience for our users. We're also retiring certain features like our in-car Now Playing View for Android, to make way for innovations coming down the track." It's hard to tell, of course, how much of this statement is hot air or whether there was a genuine reason to pull it for improvements. Maybe it's a mixture of the two.
Either way, for all you Spotify-lovers, who simply want to push your tunes onto Android-Auto's infotainment panel, then it could be a bit of a wait. Spotify hasn't provided any concrete details on its plans for these updates, so the best Android Auto head unit setups may be sadly lacking your favorite songs for a little while longer. For now, we'll keep you posted if we hear anything more.
