YouTube Music is Google’s big bet in the long term when it comes to streaming services, and for Android Auto users, it’s the recommended replacement for Google Play Music.
As long-time Android Auto fans probably agree, Google Play Music has long been the best music service behind the wheel, and the migration to YouTube Music has been challenging, to say the least.
This is because YouTube Music wasn’t necessarily prepared for a car-optimized experience when Google killed off Play Music, with some features, including even a free tier, missing from the app. Since then, however, Google has been working around the clock on polishing YouTube Music on Android Auto, and this week, the company silently rolled out a highly anticipated interface makeover.
In other words, YouTube Music has finally received the facelift that everybody wanted on Android Auto, with the app now featuring tabs to make browsing much more straightforward.
The first screen that you see after loading the app drops the main menu interface and provides one-tap access to home, last played, library, and device files. The list of recommended songs is still there to quickly play the supermix, access the new releases, or go to your favorite tunes.
The feature lineup bundled with YouTube Music hasn’t changed, so if you’re already familiar with the app, it should all be just a matter of minutes until you get used to the new interface and figure out how to access your music.
Google Play Music was retired in late 2020, with Google offering straightforward solutions for all users to move their library to YouTube Music automatically. However, many users resisted the switch until the very last minute, with some ending up getting a subscription for the likes of Spotify, mostly because YouTube Music was still lacking some core functionality in the car.
Google hasn’t provided any data as to how many Google Play Music users moved to YouTube Music.
This is because YouTube Music wasn’t necessarily prepared for a car-optimized experience when Google killed off Play Music, with some features, including even a free tier, missing from the app. Since then, however, Google has been working around the clock on polishing YouTube Music on Android Auto, and this week, the company silently rolled out a highly anticipated interface makeover.
In other words, YouTube Music has finally received the facelift that everybody wanted on Android Auto, with the app now featuring tabs to make browsing much more straightforward.
The first screen that you see after loading the app drops the main menu interface and provides one-tap access to home, last played, library, and device files. The list of recommended songs is still there to quickly play the supermix, access the new releases, or go to your favorite tunes.
The feature lineup bundled with YouTube Music hasn’t changed, so if you’re already familiar with the app, it should all be just a matter of minutes until you get used to the new interface and figure out how to access your music.
Google Play Music was retired in late 2020, with Google offering straightforward solutions for all users to move their library to YouTube Music automatically. However, many users resisted the switch until the very last minute, with some ending up getting a subscription for the likes of Spotify, mostly because YouTube Music was still lacking some core functionality in the car.
Google hasn’t provided any data as to how many Google Play Music users moved to YouTube Music.