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The stream is coming from inside the car: Jaguar Land Rover adds Spotify

If your Jaguar or Land Rover comes with InControl Apps, you can add Spotify to your head unit this month.

Andrew Krok Reviews Editor / Cars
Cars are Andrew's jam, as is strawberry. After spending years as a regular ol' car fanatic, he started working his way through the echelons of the automotive industry, starting out as social-media director of a small European-focused garage outside of Chicago. From there, he moved to the editorial side, penning several written features in Total 911 Magazine before becoming a full-time auto writer, first for a local Chicago outlet and then for CNET Cars.
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Andrew Krok

Trying to use phone apps in a moving vehicle can be a recipe for disaster, so many automakers have begun to add app integration directly into their vehicles' head units. Jaguar Land Rover's latest infotainment system takes advantage of in-car apps, and its latest collaboration puts a wildly popular streaming service right on the dashboard.

Starting this month, owners of new Jaguars and Land Rovers will be able to use Spotify inside the car. It's available on every JLR vehicle equipped with InControl Apps. The general look and feel of Spotify are along for the ride, and if you don't want to plow through a data cap, you can still use Offline Mode to play previously downloaded music.

The app integration will also include personalized playlists based on Spotify's algorithms. It'll provide playlists filled with recommended songs based on a user's preferences. Two artists, Ricky Wilson from Kaiser Chiefs and Example, the latter of whom I don't know because I'm old, teamed up with JLR to add their own curated playlists of driving music, as well.

For the time being, the app integration will only work with iOS devices, and owners will need to download Spotify on their phone through Apple's App Store before proceeding. Nevertheless, a step away from phone-in-hand distracted driving is a step I'm happy to see.