Spotify Jam is all set to arrive on Android Auto

Few music apps on Android have aced the content discovery algorithm like Spotify has, but the app’s developers aren’t resting on their laurels. To keep users hooked and to ensure Wrapped is more fun every year, Spotify is going the social media route, adding in collaborative features like shared playlists called Jams, an AI DJ that mixes what you want complete with pep talk, and a bunch of other features that trickle down to the free tier too. At Google I/O, we just learned that Spotify’s social features are now making a beeline for cars with Google built-in as well.

Spotify Jam is one of the social features on the service that allows you to enjoy a shared listening experience through playlists maintained concurrently by you and people you invite as collaborators. Changes are updated in real-time, so road trip music selection and other such challenges are easily overcome. However, this feature has only been available through the Spotify app, and it doesn’t directly extend to the connected car experience with Android Auto, or to vehicles that ship with Google’s OS from factory (Android Automotive).

In a recent session about automotive experiences at Google I/O, the companies together revealed that Spotify Jams will soon make their way to cars with Google built-in. That seems to be a term Google is using recently to include both Android Auto and Automotive. Once activated, you could modify the playlist on your phone after joining using a QR code on the car screen. This would reduce the overall task load on the driver and passenger seated in front (via Android Authority).

A new user experience is inbound

Although Spotify Jams are a fine example, and one Google used on stage as well, this feature comes courtesy of a fundamental change in how media apps are being upgraded to new templates that resemble the more interactive user experience you see on, say, navigation apps. The new implementation will exist alongside the current media browser templates Spotify is built on.

The new templates mean Spotify will benefit from a new Now Playing screen, and another view called Sectioned Item. The former will add room for interaction with more app elements, such as custom playlists, while the latter will allow expanding Spotify’s famed content discovery experience to cars. Google says these experiences will help bring the car UX closer to what you have on your smartphones. However, the company isn’t committing to concrete timelines.

Spotify Jams should come to Android Auto in a few months, and eventually follow on other connected car experiences Google curates. You can watch Google’s full 20-minute presentation on this below.