Audi is integrating Apple Music, a premium music streaming subscription service, directly into select models. Adding Apple Music into the infotainment system gives users the ability to access their subscription directly and intuitively from the Multi-Media Interface (MMI) screen using in-car internet data. This seamless integration allows Apple Music subscribers to find their favorite music and discover even more new music.
The new Apple Music integration allows customers to access their personal Apple Music account directly from the Audi infotainment system, with no bluetooth or USB required. After linking an active subscription to the vehicle, Apple Music subscribers can access Apple Music’s full catalog of 90 million songs, and tens of thousands of playlists, including hundreds of new mood and activity playlists, personalized mixes, and genre stations – all ad-free.
“Integrating Apple Music into the Audio infotainment system marks the next step in the collaboration between Audi and Apple,” said Christiane Zorn, Head of Product Marketing at Audi. “For our customers, it means that we are offering them direct access to their own personalized listening experience. This is our understanding of a premium digital in-car experience. At Audi we are systematically driving the digitalization of the vehicle and we are convinced that the interior is increasingly developing into a third living space”.
Over-the-air updates also available for vehicles already on the road
The Apple Music integration will be included in nearly all Audi vehicles in Europe, North America and Japan starting with the 2022 model year. The integration will be conveniently rolled out to vehicles already on the road via an automatic over-the-air update.
To activate Apple Music, customers simply need to open the app in their Audi’s infotainment system and follow the on-screen instructions to log in with the Apple ID they use for Apple Music. To finish the setup process, they simply need to enter a verification code that is sent to their phone. For Audi owners in Europe, cellular data streaming costs incurred are conveniently billed via a data package available from Cubic Telecom. The first three gigabytes are free of charge. Audi vehicles also come with Apple CarPlay support. Drivers can connect their iPhone wirelessly (or via USB) and get directions optimized for traffic, make calls, send and receive messages and listen to music simply by tapping the touchscreen display or using Siri voice control.
Apple Music turns an Audi into a concert hall on wheels
Thanks to the integration of Apple Music, the vehicle not only becomes a hub for streaming entertainment, but also a concert hall on wheels thanks to its sophisticated audio architecture ‒ and the passengers feel like they’re sitting right in the middle of it all. This is because Audi creates a tailor-made acoustic experience for each model, and digital signal processing delivers a well-balanced sound. For example, the signals from the speakers can be controlled with an individual time offset and thus reach the listener simultaneously. Sound design goes even further to create the ultimate acoustic experience. This is where the Audi sound developers adjust the frequency response to create the typical, but still subjective, Audi sound. Audi has been working with Bang & Olufsen in this context for many years, which has resulted in the development of some exceptional sound systems, such as the B&O Premium Sound System with 3D sound in the Audi e-tron GT1. Here, 16 speakers including 3D sound speakers, a center speaker, and a subwoofer deliver impressive audio.
