Android Auto: Albums not showing up

[Meiestrix]

Plan

Premium

Country

Germany

Device

Pixel 6 / Hyundai i20

Operating System

Android 13

My Question or Issue

Hi,

I am new to use Spotify in my Car with Android Auto, but I have one issue with the App. When browsing my library I can select and filter all my artists, which is fine. But when I have selected an Artist, I can't see all the albums the have released, only a couple of songs.

Am I overseeing something, or is it not possible to search for an album and play it directly in Android Auto, like you can do on your smartphone or PC?

I hope someone can help me with this problem. Because right now I still have to grab my smartphone and select the album I want to play, which is clearly not what you want when using Android Auto.

Best regards,

Dennis

[Susan_GP]

Hey there @Meiestrix,

Thanks for posting in the Community and welcome.

With the Spotify app on Android Auto, you can play the albums you have saved from the "My Library" tab, but keep in mind that some content may be missing on the screen, since this version of the app is designed to minimize distraction and stay focused on the road. In this case, we'd recommend saving the albums you want the most, before getting in the car to have them handy to play.

However, if the app doesn't have the Albums tab, include in your next response a picture where we can see the options you have available.

We'll keep an eye out for your reply.

[Meiestrix]

Hello Susan_GP,

thanks for the answer.

I understand that you design the app in a way that minimizes the distraction of the driver, but in my opinion the current solution is not necessarily the best way. When you know that the album exists in Spotify, because you listened to it before, you start searching even more, or pick up your smartphone to find the album while driving, which is not good.

In my opinion it would be nice if you could at least see the latest five albums of an artist.

I can see the albums tab, but it is not easy to use when you don't exactly know the name of the album, or you haven't saved the album. In my case I just want to go to Artists, select one Artist and then there should be a way to see all Albums without picking up the smartphone. Of course you should not do this while driving, but when you are waiting at a traffic light, this is totally fine.

Best regards,

Dennis

[yannick7fr]

Plan

Premium

Country

France

Operating System

Xiaomi redmi note 11

Operating System

Android 13

My Question or Issue

Hello,

I'm quiet new to this spotify community and I was wondering why Spotify's search is so bad when using Android Auto ?
For each search you make with Android Auto, you have very poor results : 2 tracks, 2 artists & 2 albums (and other stuff like podcast) and there are no option to filter the artist nor the albums you really want to pick.
I wonder this because in the Android application or on the web, you can filter whatever you want, really quick and it's so pleasant and efficient.
Can someone put me in the picture, please?

Yannick

[noi2giochiamo]

PLAN: Premium

Country: Italy

Device

Volvo XC 60

My Question or Issue

Searching an artist, i do not see all the albums he did but just part of them. WHY ??
I need to know the album name in order to listen to it. It's a nonsense!

I want to see all the albums not just a small selection.

Thanks

[noi2giochiamo]

the latest five albums of an artis are not enough. i want to se ALL the ALBUMS

[cyrusfd]

Plan

Premium

Device

Polestar 4

Operating System

Android Automotive (spotify 5.1.1.0)

I'm using Spotify in my Polestar 4 (Android Automotive), and it's frustrating that the app doesn't work as smoothly as it does on my phone. What annoys me the most is that not all albums are available or easy to find. The only workaround is to manually save the albums to the library – something the support team just recommended to me.

But come on – it's 2025, cars can drive themselves, and Spotify still can't implement this properly?
If I’m not mistaken, this issue has been around for several years now.
Does anyone have a tip or workaround for this?

[kvolden]

I have a Polestar 3, and I completely agree. I don't really have a workaround, but searching for the album tends to give results. When viewing an artist profile though, only a few albums are listed (no button to view complete discography), they don't show release year, there is no "appears on" section, no artist radio link. And the track list of an album doesn't highlight which song is playing, and it's all pretty clunky. I understand there are additional constraints and requirements for a user interface in a car compared to a phone or regular tablet, but surely it's possible to make it better than this.

[DiputsMonro]

Realistically, significant restrictions like these don't actually make the experience safer. They create confusion, frustration, and even more distraction as people fumble through menus looking for something they *know* should be there (based in experience using the phone app). Paradoxically, it actually just makes the whole experience even more dangerous.

All this really does is push me towards pulling out my phone and using that instead, which is what we should be trying to design a solution around.

And just an aside - presenting an entirely new UI that you only ever see while driving is a perfect recipe for confusion and frustration. I can't believe UX designers and safety regulators don't understand this.  A minimal UI isn't easy - it's confusing!  Show me the UI that I use every day and am so familiar with that I can use in my sleep.  THAT is the safest UI for a car, because it's something I already know how to use.  I will spend less time navigating the familiar menus than if I have to poke around for things in a new UI, trying to find something that might not even be there, and then pulling out my phone anyway.