
SiriusXM Pandora has released an updated version of its flagship streaming radio app that features a refreshed interface for Apple CarPlay users.
The new CarPlay interface is part of the version 5.15.1 update of the SiriusXM app for Apple iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch devices.
The refreshed SiriusXM interface for Apple CarPlay offers better content sorting of SiriusXM’s streaming radio channels as well as playback and sorting support for on-demand audio and podcasts. SiriusXM says the new interface allows listeners to control the playback speed for talk radio and podcast content when interacting with the Apple CarPlay version of the app, and makes it easier to find specific news, talk and music radio streams.
The updated SiriusXM app for Apple CarPlay contains three main sections: Discover, Favorites and Browse. From the Discover tab, streamers can jump back into a channel, on-demand episode or podcast that they were previously streaming within the “Recently Played” window. A button called “All Channels” pulls up a list of live and curated channels from SiriusXM’s list of over 400 streams.
The Favorites tab mirrors the favorites list found within the SiriusXM phone and tablet app, but reorganized in a way that better suites CarPlay users. At the top of that menu is the “My Channels” window, which contains the first four channels in a user’s favorite list. The “My Shows” window collates the on-demand shows in a subscriber’s favorites list, while “My Episodes” tracks specific episodes of radio shows and podcasts that have been saved as a favorite.
Finally, the “Browse” tab makes it easy to find music channels, talk radio channels and podcasts from a specific genre, including rock, pop, country, R&B, classical, sports, news and politics. A dedicated section for Howard Stern’s show and channels is displayed if a subscriber’s package includes that programming.
For subscribers who don’t use Apple CarPlay, the updated iOS app offers a number of bug fixes and performance enhancements that SiriusXM Pandora says will lead to a better, smoother streaming experience.
SiriusXM Pandora offers over 400 live radio channels on its streaming service, which starts at $8 a month for a base package that includes some sports programming. An all-access package with sports play-by-play, Howard Stern and enhanced music streams powered by Pandora costs $11 a month, while a slimmer, sports-free package with over 100 music channels costs $5 a month.
The SiriusXM streaming radio service can be accessed on most popular smartphones, tablets, smart TV sets and in web browsers like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge. The service is also supported by Amazon and Google’s line of smart speakers.