SiriusXM comes to Apple CarPlay for easier control

AppleInsider

Satellite radio service SiriusXM has updated its iOS app with support for CarPlay, offering an alternative to native dash interfaces, aftermarket receivers, or simply mounting an iPhone.

The CarPlay extension brings SiriusXM into the unified Apple ecosystem, regardless of whether a car has a physical tuner. Simplified app controls let users browse live channels and on-demand content, diving into categories such as "Music," "Howard Stern," and "News & Issues."

Listening still requires a cellular connection and an eligible subscription. These include a $15.99-per-month streaming-only plan, and a $20.99 All Access tier.

New on the iPhone, meanwhile, is the ability to tune channels through simple swipe gestures.

The SiriusXM app is a free download, and runs on any device with iOS 8 or later.

zroger73

The only reason I keep an SXM satellite radio subscription (always renew on the 6-for-30 "promotional" plan) is because it is so darn convenient - it's "instant" and requires no extra devices, no wires, no data plan, no cell towers. I wouldn't pay more than $6 a month for it, though, and I certainly wouldn't pay $16+ for a streaming plan that required tethering my phone to the vehicle with a cable, keeping an eye on data usage, and dealing with loss of service when I drive through areas with poor cellular data coverage.

hammeroftruth

zroger73 said:

The only reason I keep an SXM satellite radio subscription (always renew on the 6-for-30 "promotional" plan) is because it is so darn convenient - it's "instant" and requires no extra devices, no wires, no data plan, no cell towers. I wouldn't pay more than $6 a month for it, though, and I certainly wouldn't pay $16+ for a streaming plan that required tethering my phone to the vehicle with a cable, keeping an eye on data usage, and dealing with loss of service when I drive through areas with poor cellular data coverage.

I wish they would just offer this plan indefinitely. It really gets old that you have to cancel your subscription or let it run out, get the service turned off and then they will offer it again to you. 

f1turbo

zroger73 said:

The only reason I keep an SXM satellite radio subscription (always renew on the 6-for-30 "promotional" plan) is because it is so darn convenient - it's "instant" and requires no extra devices, no wires, no data plan, no cell towers. I wouldn't pay more than $6 a month for it, though, and I certainly wouldn't pay $16+ for a streaming plan that required tethering my phone to the vehicle with a cable, keeping an eye on data usage, and dealing with loss of service when I drive through areas with poor cellular data coverage.

What’s the “6 for 30”?  6 months for $30?  Does it include all channels?

cpsro

f1turbo said:

What’s the “6 for 30”?  6 months for $30?  Does it include all channels?

The $30/6 months (plus tax) includes almost everything, but only for one car's built-in receiver. If you want to stream on your phone, computer or any other device as well, the price jumps to ridiculous heights.

The good thing about it is that, at least in my experience, when the subscription expires, the radio may work for a few weeks until the kill signal is received. The more you drive, though, the more likely your receiver will be active when the kill signal is sent. (At least that how it seems to work.)

HeliBum

Too bad they can't enable pass-through control of the satellite tuner in many people's car radios. The iTunes app essentially passes through to the radio's build-in media playback app. Sure, I can still access the satellite radio by tapping on the icon that takes me into the radio's native interface, but that's just more steps.

macxpress

f1turbo said:

zroger73 said:

The only reason I keep an SXM satellite radio subscription (always renew on the 6-for-30 "promotional" plan) is because it is so darn convenient - it's "instant" and requires no extra devices, no wires, no data plan, no cell towers. I wouldn't pay more than $6 a month for it, though, and I certainly wouldn't pay $16+ for a streaming plan that required tethering my phone to the vehicle with a cable, keeping an eye on data usage, and dealing with loss of service when I drive through areas with poor cellular data coverage.

What’s the “6 for 30”?  6 months for $30?  Does it include all channels?

It will most likely include whatever you want to listen to, even sports channels like NFL, NASCAR, NHL, etc. What I do is call them and say I want to cancel which will prompt them to ask why. Then I simply state that I'm the only income in the household right now so I have to cut back on something and I cannot afford $17/month. They usually will put me on hold for a couple of minutes and then come back some deals. The first 3 or 4 aren't very good and you just keep telling them I cannot afford that...then as a last resort they'll offer a 6 for $30 deal or something similar. The thing is that is will auto-renew at the regular price when the 6-months is up so you have to pay attention. 

I guess they figure they'd rather get $30 out of you than $0. 

StrangeDays

cpsro said:

f1turbo said:

What’s the “6 for 30”?  6 months for $30?  Does it include all channels?

The $30/6 months (plus tax) includes almost everything, but only for one car's built-in receiver. If you want to stream on your phone, computer or any other device as well, the price jumps to ridiculous heights.

The good thing about it is that, at least in my experience, when the subscription expires, the radio may work for a few weeks until the kill signal is received. The more you drive, though, the more likely your receiver will be active when the kill signal is sent. (At least that how it seems to work.)

Yup, they charge extra for the mobile device/web streaming and would not include it in the $5/mo promo. I suggested that for a streaming only, station based service that doesn’t provide access to all music like Spotify or AM that it just didn’t make sense to pay $10 or 15 or whatever it was they wanted. Canceled. Now it’s AM all the way...the stations aren’t as good as the XM ones but I’ll live with it. 

rwhite77802

If you tell them that you are cancelling to go with an online streaming service, as I just did with my wife's car, they'll offer the non-streaming package first. I tell them I'd use the streaming more, and then they came back with the same 6 months for $30, but it included the full streaming package. With SiriusXM, you can almost name your price and they'll do it. I told them that I was paying $3.99/month for Slacker, and then they came back with that offer. An extra $1/month was worth it for having it active in her car and on my phone.

Mikeyx90

I downloaded the app and I have access to the channels without a subscription. I'm not sure if this is temporary or not. 

yanimac

I wish they would just offer the internet streaming option for free to paying subscribers. It's a little silly when I have an Amazon Prime account and can listen to music for free I should be able to listen to my sat radio on my computer at work. It's nice that it's now integrated with Car Play but I can only see this being an advantage to people who don't already have a sat radio antenna. I would also gather that most cars that have car play would have a sat radio ready stereo.

macxpress

Mikeyx90 said:

I downloaded the app and I have access to the channels without a subscription. I'm not sure if this is temporary or not. 

Yes, over the holiday's they let everyone have access to it. It will go away so don't get too used to it. If you have Sirius in your vehicle it should be working regardless of a valid subscription. 

big kc

zroger73 said:

The only reason I keep an SXM satellite radio subscription (always renew on the 6-for-30 "promotional" plan) is because it is so darn convenient - it's "instant" and requires no extra devices, no wires, no data plan, no cell towers. I wouldn't pay more than $6 a month for it, though, and I certainly wouldn't pay $16+ for a streaming plan that required tethering my phone to the vehicle with a cable, keeping an eye on data usage, and dealing with loss of service when I drive through areas with poor cellular data coverage.

I'm with you - I renew with the $30 deal and at that price for the "almost everything" plan, it's a very reasonable price. The only way I'd pay more for it via CarPlay would be if the bitrate were significantly higher - then it might actually be worth the additional cost. The satellite-delivered streams are incredibly compressed. If the CarPlay version could deliver iTunes-like compression - say 256k AAC or equivalent - the difference in sound quality would be drastic. Just did some Googling - apparently the app has 3 settings: normal, high and max. The corresponding bitrates are 128k, 160k, and 320k. WOW. That's MASSIVELY better quality than what's delivered by satellite, which is rumored to be around 32k (and variable). For those of you wondering how to get this $30 deal, here's a good article that discusses it... http://www.hustlermoneyblog.com/how-to-get-the-best-deal-on-sirius-xm-radio-subscription/

big kc

zroger73 said:

The only reason I keep an SXM satellite radio subscription (always renew on the 6-for-30 "promotional" plan) is because it is so darn convenient - it's "instant" and requires no extra devices, no wires, no data plan, no cell towers. I wouldn't pay more than $6 a month for it, though, and I certainly wouldn't pay $16+ for a streaming plan that required tethering my phone to the vehicle with a cable, keeping an eye on data usage, and dealing with loss of service when I drive through areas with poor cellular data coverage.

I'm with you - I renew with the $30 deal and at that price for the "almost everything" plan, it's a very reasonable price. The only way I'd pay more for it via CarPlay would be if the bitrate were significantly higher - then it might actually be worth the additional cost. The satellite-delivered streams are incredibly compressed. If the CarPlay version could deliver iTunes-like compression - say 256k AAC or equivalent - the difference in sound quality would be drastic. Just did some Googling - apparently the app has 3 settings: normal, high and max. The corresponding bitrates are 128k, 160k, and 320k. WOW. That's MASSIVELY better quality than what's delivered by satellite, which is rumored to be around 32k (and variable). For those of you wondering how to get this $30 deal, here's a good article that discusses it... http://www.hustlermoneyblog.com/how-to-get-the-best-deal-on-sirius-xm-radio-subscription/