Google Maps, in a recent update of its application for Android and iPhone, added controls to listen to music while using Google Maps as a browser.
In this way it becomes easier to use the phone to listen to music in the car from the phone, especially if you use applications such as Spotify, Apple Music and Google Play Music.
These controls are not enabled by default so, even if the new version reports them after the update, let’s see how to activate the music controls in Google Maps.
1) Check music in Google Maps On iPhone
On iPhone, start the Google Maps app and then go to Settings by tapping the menu button in the upper left corner of the screen and then the gear in the top of the menu.
Going to the Navigation options section, at the top of the Settings screen, then tap on the music playback controls that are set to None.
In selecting the preferred media player, on iPhone you can only select, for now, Spotify or Apple Music (but you can imagine that other apps will be added to Google Maps as Youtube Music).
By selecting Apple Music, you will be asked to give permission to allow the Google Maps app to access the music collection of Apple Music.
By choosing to use Spotify, you will be prompted to connect Google Maps to your Spotify account.
2) Music controls on Google Maps in an Android smartphone
On an Android phone, branded Samsung, Huawei or any other, open the Google Maps app and go to Settings using the menu button in the upper left corner and then tapping “Settings” in the sidebar, at the bottom.
From the Settings list, tap on location Settings, scroll down all of them and then activate the option “Show controls for media content.”
On Android, apps that are compatible with Google Maps at the moment are Spotify and Google Play Music.
The playback controls for the chosen app will be shown at the bottom of Google Maps while driving, when You use the navigator
Now, when you use Google Maps as a satellite navigator to guide you, you can see below the controls to hear music, with the title of the song being listened to, the Play and Stop button and those going to the next or previous track.
You can therefore hear music from Google Maps without problems of not understanding the directions of the navigator.
The music is paused every time the voice of the navigator has to intervene to say where to turn.
This feature is perhaps the key function of the app, which becomes useful to all those who do not use integrated navigators such as Android Auto or Apple CarPlay.