![](https://9to5mac.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/08/apple-music-rivian.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600)
Apple and Rivian today announced that native Apple Music support is rolling out to all Rivian electric vehicles. Get the latest software update for your Rivian car, to start streaming Apple Music through the Rivian dashboard interface.
You’ll need a Rivian Connect+ subscription, in order to use the Rivian’s integrated connectivity to stream Apple Music anywhere. Alternatively, you can connect your car to the internet using your phone’s mobile hotspot.
If your Rivian vehicle has the Premium Audio sound system option, you can also stream Apple Music in Spatial Audio, unlocking access to the service’s growing catalog of Dolby Atmos mastered music. Rivian says this partnership results in an “incredible audio entertainment experience”.
Rivian Connect+ is priced at $14.99 per month, or $149 per year. A two-month free trial of Connect+ is available starting today, along with a 90-day free trial of Apple Music for new Rivian owners.
Top comment by Daniel
I can somewhat understand not adopting CarPlay so that you can design a custom UI for your platform (even though both options can and should exist simultaneously), but the reality of paying for a subscription to access another subscription is bonkers to me. Certainly makes me less inclined to look at Rivian for my next car knowing they chose to lock basic entertainment features behind a paywall.
If you don’t subscribe to Connect+, you can use Apple Music if you tether to your phone’s hotspot for connectivity.
In July, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe indicated that while the automaker has no interest in adopting CarPlay, it values the deep relationships with Apple to deliver features like native Apple Music integration.
As seen in the screenshot at the top of this article, you can see that Apple Music in Rivian does feel like the result of a deep partnership, rather than a simple lazy port of the Apple Music Android app. Apple Music on Rivian features familiar UI and controls to make it feel right at home with the rest of the Rivian software experience.
Here’s a closer look at what’s new in today’s Rivian software update, courtesy of RivianTrackr. RivianTrackr also first reported last week on the company offering its customers a 3-month free trial of Apple Music via the Rivian app.
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