After trying this radio app on Android Auto, I stopped listening to classic FM

In the midst of music streaming craze, a study carried out a few months ago revealed a curious fact: when we are in the car, we prefer to listen to the radio. Maybe it’s because you forget the mental burden of having to choose what you listen to and letting others do it for you. Or to listen to the one on the other side of the waves. Maybe because it’s convenient to use less battery and mobile data, and it’s also free. However, I prefer to have the best of both worlds: listen to the radio but not from AM/FM, but with an application.

Go ahead and yes obviously using the internet the data and cell phone battery consumption is there but for me it’s worth it. However, I still use wired Android Auto. Why use a radio application and not the traditional method? Easy: I usually take long trips from Pamplona to Madrid (and vice versa), a perfect time not only to listen to music or listen to podcasts, but also to soak up stations that I particularly like. I’ve been learning Basque for a few years but since moving to Madrid, practicing it is more difficult and the Basque stations I listen to are not available on traditional radios when I’m in the Spanish capital.

Because the main advantage of radio in an application is that you can listen to the radio you want wherever you are, forgetting the change of station and the need to retune it or disappear when leaving its broadcast area. So I have been using TuneIN for a long time, a free radio application compatible with Android Auto and perfectly suited: this is the experience of using TuneIN on Android Auto.

TuneIN Radio: the radio you need wherever you are

Having TuneIN Radio on Android Auto doesn’t have much mystery, provided it is available for free on the Google Play Store. As usual to install an application on Android Auto we will first install it on the mobile and when we get into the car and it synchronizes with the vehicle’s Google infotainment system we will see the application in the main menu.

Once inside we find a very clear interface to learn how to use it from the first moment: in the upper area there is the menu with several options such as ‘Beginning‘, a listening history on ‘Recent‘, the stations registered in ‘Favorites‘, the explorer in ‘To browse” and on the far right, the classic magnifying glass for searching stations. In fact, for me, its design is so good that it even surpasses what we see on the screen of the car itself, which it is the manufacturer or Google.

Normally the station I listen to the most when I’m in and around Pamplona is Gaztea (a sort of Basque “Los 40”) and for news, Euskadi Irratia, so to search for them we tap on the magnifying glass. With the car stopped we can write, but otherwise we will have to dictate to it in a simplified experience compared to that of the application. Once we have it, we touch and playback will begin in real time (although with some delay). Easy enough. In any case, you can also speed up this process by doing it beforehand, before leaving on your trip or in the application itself.

Once you have searched for it and listened to it, it will be easy to have it on hand, since you will be able to see it in ‘Recent’, which in turn appears at the top of the main screen. For convenience, I also tapped on the heart to save them to favorites. In my case I use the app for these two stations, but for someone who listens to many more, It’s good to have the stations organized like this.

When you listen to a station, a play button will appear in the lower left corner similar to those offered by Spotify or Prime Music, intuitive and functional in terms of design and controls. This screen is the one that best integrates with the possibility of displaying Android Auto Coolwalk divided into tiles, for example when we also use a browser.

During my travels Playback streaming is rarely interrupted, beyond a specific moment of bad signal in mountainous areas or in tunnels, in fact it is something that has almost never happened to me. However, this can also happen to you with classic FM. I would also like to highlight the high sound quality.

Although I recognize that my use is very specific, you could use it to listen to news from around the world, radios of specific musical genres… if you like to listen to various thingsIt’s worth taking a look at the Browse section as it includes radio stations from all over the world grouped into different categories, including some local.

The free version of TuneIn Radio contains advertisements, but they are more impacted on the mobile than on the car console, providing a smooth, intuitive and complete experience, which is why this application has been become essential when traveling by car and on my Android Auto.

Cover | Own

In Xataka Android | Five apps for Android Auto so good it’s hard to believe they’re free