Most music streaming services like Spotify and YouTube Music already have a car mode and now Amazon Music is joining the party as well. They have announced their new Car Mode which should make it easier and safer to stream your music and podcasts while you’re in the car and driving. It brings you not just Alexa voice control (which the app previously has already anyway) but also an interface with simplified controls and bigger text to minimize driver distraction.
When you connect your smartphone to your car’s audio system and you open Amazon Music, the Car Mode will be activated. You can also switch it on manually if it’s not triggered automatically. Just tap the menu in the top right corner and you’ll see the new mode there. The Car Mode doesn’t change the functionality of the app itself but it does make the buttons bigger so it’s easier for you to manually control playback and other things on the app.
You also get customizable presets for playlists, albums, and stations that you normally listen to. You can also let the app figure out the presets as it will be able to pull from the app what you listen to often, your existing library, and what music you’ve been browsing. Of course, you also have Alexa support which has been there even before Car Mode and which may be the safest way to control your Amazon Music app.
Not all cars have Android Auto or CarPlay so having this special interface for apps is useful for when you connect to your vehicle’s audio system, either through Bluetooth or via an auxiliary cord. Other music apps also have this car mode interface like Spotify’s UI for use in vehicles. Apple Music and YouTube Music also have their respective modes that will help minimize driver distraction while on the road.
Your Amazon Music app needs to be on the latest version, v 17.7.4 on Android, to get the Car Mode. Hopefully, this will make it safer to browse and control music while driving as all attention should be on the road and not anywhere else.
