(Credit: Rivian)
Starting today, Rivian is bringing native Apple Music streaming to its electric vehicles.
The move is perhaps a consolation prize for Rivian rejecting Apple CarPlay. CEO RJ Scaringe said last month that its cars' infotainment systems are "such an important piece of real estate...that it's something we want to retain."
"We realize it'll take us time to capture every feature in CarPlay," Scaringe told The Verge at the time. So instead, we get the rollout of Apple Music via a software update.
Rivian owners who are Apple Music subscribers will get spatial audio with Dolby Atmos support as part of the integration—as long as they have a Rivian Connect+ subscription. At $14.99 per month or $149.99 per year, Connect+ offers cellular connectivity for the vehicle, which powers in-dash streaming services like Audible, Spotify, and TuneIn and can be used as a Wi-Fi hotspot for other personal devices. Support for Google Cast and YouTube is coming soon.
Rivian is offering a two-month free trial of Connect+ and a 90-day Apple Music trial.
Tesla, like Rivian, doesn’t use CarPlay and has followed a similar path in bringing individual apps to its in-car entertainment experience for several years. Its electric vehicles also include Apple Music, Spotify, TuneIn, YouTube, and others, and require a data subscription to access those services while the car is not connected to a Wi-Fi signal. Tesla charges $99 per year (or $9.99 per month) for its Premium Connectivity but doesn’t include the hotspot feature that Rivian does.
Rivian and Tesla aren’t the only automakers to forego CarPlay. Last year, GM announced its intentions to remove it and Android Auto as part of its in-vehicle software platform overhaul.