Android Auto's Power Waning: New Survey Reveals Shifting Streaming Habits

Android Auto’s Popularity Wanes as New Trends Emerge in Car Listening Habits

TL;DR:

Morgan Stanley’s Audio Entertainment Survey shows Android Auto’s penetration among streamers decreasing in 2024.
Apple CarPlay is up slightly, but not enough to account for all of Auto’s losses.
Listeners are slowly shifting away from traditional radio, but its dominance continues.

Android, the versatile mobile platform, has made a significant impact on our daily lives, from our smartphones to our wearables. However, there are still areas where Android’s influence feels uncertain, and one of the most promising yet uncertain spaces is in our vehicles. With Android Auto and Android Automotive, it seems like we’ve finally cracked the code, but car manufacturers can be notoriously controlling when it comes to the experiences their vehicles are compatible with. Even as companies like Hyundai signal their support, the future of Android in cars is far from certain. New statistics from a recent report offer further reason for concern.

The data, courtesy of Morgan Stanley’s latest Audio Entertainment Survey, shared by Max Weinbach on Twitter, reveals some surprising insights into listening trends. The key takeaway is that while CarPlay usage is slightly up among audio streamers (2%), Android Auto’s share is down a whopping 7%. While part of this shift might be attributed to varying listening habits and drivers opting for alternative options, like FM radio, this trend doesn’t look great for Android Auto. However, this is just one data point, and we’ll need to see how this number moves over time before we start panicking.

So, what else can we glean from this report? Well, for one, listeners are no longer listening to music in their vehicles as much as they used to, with the popularity dropping from 45% in 2017 to 27% last year. When they do tune in, they’re slowly gravitating towards streaming options rather than traditional radio. As you can see from the chart above, there’s still a long way to go before radio is defeated, with a mere 3% decline over the past year.

What’s not included in this chart is the rising popularity of TikTok as an in-car entertainment option. However, who knows how long that will last, given the threatened US ban and potential shutdown of TikTok, scheduled for this Sunday? The future is looking uncertain, and it’s up to us to shape it.

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