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Volvo's New EX60 SUV Features Pre-Installed Apple Music App With Spatial Audio

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Volvo's new EX60 mid-size electric SUV is set to be the first Volvo vehicle that comes with an Apple Music app pre-installed, Volvo said today. The vehicle will be equipped with Apple Music with Dolby Atmos, providing an immersive Spatial Audio experience.

volvo-ex60-apple-music.jpg

Apple Music will be available as an app accessible through the vehicle's built-in infotainment system, making it available for those who do not use CarPlay. Using the app requires an Apple Music subscription.

Volvo is equipping the EX60 with its HuginCore system that integrates AI and technology developed by Google, Nvidia, and Qualcomm. Gemini is deeply integrated in the vehicle, allowing the car to be controlled with natural language commands.

While the EX60 has deep Google Gemini integration, it continues to support CarPlay. Volvo says that Wireless Apple CarPlay comes standard on the EX60, with users able to connect their iPhone to the car's infotainment system to access Apple apps, music, and navigation.

The EX60 also includes digital key plus, so it can be unlocked and turned on with an iPhone or Apple Watch.

Volvo is selling the EX60 in European markets starting now, and US availability will follow in the spring. Orders will be delivered starting in summer.

Article Link: Volvo's New EX60 SUV Features Pre-Installed Apple Music App With Spatial Audio
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2026/01/21/volvo-ex60-apple-music-app/
I hang out with a lot of audiophiles and musicians (classical and jazz), many of whom are also Apple people.

All of them, myself included, consider spatial audio a gimmick, a distraction, a "feature" that interferes with the music.

That said, none of us has, as far as I know, tried it out on a top-flight car audio system. Still colour me skeptical.
 
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tomtad said:
So no need for CarPlay.

GM will be proved right all along. The future is built in services rather than your phone screen connected to your car.
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Meh, my wife's Tesla doesn't have CarPlay and yet has Apple Music and the UI is so terrible I end up doing bluetooth streaming through my phone. Just because it supports Apple Music doesn't mean it is like having CarPlay.
 
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Reverend Benny said:
I wonder if Volvo sticking with their LIDAR sensor that will fry cameras still?

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Volvo recently dropped LiDAR for model year 2026, the supplier has had trouble for years and Volvo had enough.

Presumably they still have radar or possible sonar. I know Mercedes has recently gone with the combo of cameras, sonar, and radar, but not LiDAR.
 
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Assuming it will operate like it does on Rivian. If so carplay is still a better experience IMO. We have 2 Rivians and another vehicle with carplay. Although Rivian's UI is clean and responsive the Apple Music app it like a "lite" version. It won't show more than a handful of results for artist catalogs, playlists, etc. If you search it can find an album. But if you just bring up an artist you only get a couple of results. Not sure why they limited the functionality.

Native XM app does the same thing and isn't great when compared to the full mobile app. I often just find myself using BT and iOS apps for a better experience.

For both I'm unclear if it's a Rivian choice or the app makers choice to limit their functionality when compared to the phone apps.
 
aardwolf said:
"Gemini is deeply integrated in the vehicle, allowing the car to be controlled with natural language commands."

TURN LEFT! I SAID TURN LEFT!!!!
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I know you're being sarcastic, but that's not how Volvo's system works. It's an assistive system, and it requires the driver to stay involved with the car at all times. There's no auto-drive system, at least not yet...Volvo is probably working on something but they are very safety conscious and likely won't release anything until it's very capable of fully automated driving, including dicey situations that other manufacturers don't handle well.

The EX60 really looks like it's going to be a big step in EVs, lots of range and nice features for not a crazy amount of money. We'll see how the execution turns out...Volvo's cars right now (including my V60 Polestar PHEV) are really great up until the user interface, where things are anywhere from adequate to troublesome. They really need to get the AAOS setup nailed down, maybe this is the car that they finally have it sorted out.
 
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Why does Google manage to get their platform so integrated to cars where Apple hasn’t? I’m presuming Google pay their way in…? If that’s the case, why didn’t Apple just adopt this approach?
 
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kotaKat said:
And you’ll need a mandatory Google Account to use all of the vehicle’s features and services.

Feckin’ gross.
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I have the Volvo EX30 and the system does not allow Google Business email addresses. My full Google Maps catalog is on my Google Workspace email address and not in my @gmail.com. I hope that they will open the system also for this.
 
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idrewuk said:
Why does Google manage to get their platform so integrated to cars where Apple hasn’t? I’m presuming Google pay their way in…? If that’s the case, why didn’t Apple just adopt this approach?
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I guess since they focused on a car and not too much on CarPlay? Dunno. But it looks like they've lost this match. On the other hand, AAOS works almost flawlessly.
 
idrewuk said:
Why does Google manage to get their platform so integrated to cars where Apple hasn’t? I’m presuming Google pay their way in…? If that’s the case, why didn’t Apple just adopt this approach?
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I think Apple would insist on their platform being on their devices. Google doesn't care. Heck some things run Android and don't even advertise it. Pelotons, for example, are Android tablets attached to exercise equipment. Most people who have them have no idea.
 
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DavidLeblond said:
I think Apple would insist on their platform being on their devices. Google doesn't care. Heck some things run Android and don't even advertise it. Pelotons, for example, are Android tablets attached to exercise equipment. Most people who have them have no idea.
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I think my main issue is that my Renault car runs Google and you have to sign in to use a lot of the ‘connected services’. You’re locked in. However, I use CarPlay thankfully which looks awesome on the big screen.
 
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idrewuk said:
I think my main issue is that my Renault car runs Google and you have to sign in to use a lot of the ‘connected services’. You’re locked in. However, I use CarPlay thankfully which looks awesome on the big screen.
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I wonder if it is like my wife's Tesla... in order to use Apple Music she has to pay for both the Tesla connection service and the Apple Music service.
 
tomtad said:
Which seems dead in the water. Apple's car strategy has failed
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Yeah, iPhone mirroring for CarPlay Ultra was a terrible idea. Similar to AAOS, Apple needs to release CarOS. They're letting Google capitalize on the car OS when Apple was perfectly positioned to iterate CarPlay into a full fledged OS.
 
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