Deciding what to listen to while driving with friends or family can be challenging. Now that Spotify group sessions are hitting cars, that’s changing.
Spotify Beta Group Sessions now it’s launching into its biggest testing ground yet: the car. Group sessions were first introduced in May 2020, with the feature allowing Spotify Premium users to sync to the same playback session and have a say in what plays next. It’s a fantastic tool to have at a party or family gathering, but as 2020 progressed, Spotify updated the feature to allow group sessions to work regardless of distance. In June of last year, group sessions got the ability for Premium members to sync up and listen to the same tracks simultaneously, even if they were spread all over the world.
With a light at the end of the tunnel and in-person meetings (hopefully) resuming later this year, Spotify is now looking to expand group sessions once again. Group sessions are already useful whether people are together or apart, and with the latest update, group sessions now hit the car.
Group Spotify Sessions for cars is available in beta right now for all Polestar 2 vehicles. While that inherently limits who will be able to access the feature early on, it seems like the perfect next step for group sessions in the future. With the Spotify app built into Polestar 2 infotainment systems, any Premium subscriber in the car can join the session and choose songs to play while on the road. Instead of people fighting over the auxiliary cable or everyone trying to use a single phone to choose the next song, everything can be controlled from individual passenger phones.
Spotify Group Sessions Beta is currently limited to Polestar 2 Cars
Commenting on this news, Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said: “We all know that sometimes the driver doesn’t have the best taste in music and my family tends to agree. The addition of Spotify’s Group Sessions Beta is a great way for others in the vehicle to influence the playlist and enjoy your favorite tracks.. ” For someone who owns a Polestar 2 and is a Spotify Premium subscriber, getting started with group sessions is incredibly easy. Just open the built-in Spotify app, have passengers scan the group session code from their smartphone, and then they can add songs, playlists, and podcasts to the car’s Spotify queue. If someone is abusing the feature or just has particularly bad taste in music, the controller hosting the session can revoke people’s access at any time.
It is currently unclear when the group sessions will expand to other vehicles, but there should be some progress in the future. Polestar 2 cars are currently the only cars on the market that are powered by Android Automotive, and as more automakers use Google’s smart car platform, Spotify group sessions should also find their way to more makes and models.
Source: Polar Star
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