Strava’s new Spotify integration makes it the ultimate workout partner
The sporting and music streaming giants finally team up
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Strava is one of the world’s most popular workout apps, and now it’s added a much-needed feature that could give your workout motivation an extra boost – in-appSpotifyintegration.
Until now, fitness fans who use both Strava and Spotify have had to clunkily switch between the apps during workouts. But the new integration between the services, which is rolling out now, will let you browse and select Spotify songs and playlists from within Strava’s iOS and Android apps.
The extra good news is that you’ll get this functionality even if you’re on the free tiers for both Strava and Spotify, which means no subscription is needed. WhileStrava hiked the pricing for its paid version last year, the free tier still lets you record and share your workouts.
So what does Strava’s new Spotify integration look like? As you can see below, you get more than just basic playback controls. The Spotify integration appears in Strava’s Record section – once you tap that to start a workout, you’ll see a new music icon that lets you connect your Spotify account and choose your music, podcast or audiobook.
Once you’ve connected your Spotify account, you’ll get a new menu in the Strava Record section showing some of the most popular workout mixes or your most recently played tracks.
Below that menu you’ll also get the option to play, pause, resume or skip songs, which theoretically means you should rarely need to delve into the Spotify smartphone app while you’re working out.
This new integration is naturally aimed at Strava users who mainly rely on the service’s iOS or Android app. Many Strava users instead sync their data to the service from some of thebest fitness trackers, while we also rate Strava as being one of thebest Apple Watch appsaround.
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Still, while using Spotify with Strava on a smartwatch will remain a more fiddly experience, this new smartphone app integration will be a good quality-of-life boost for anyone who regularly uses both on their iOS or Android phone.
Analysis: Spotify works hard on its social game
Spotify’s new Strava integration shows that it’s continuing to bill itself as an audio all-rounder that wants to live wherever you listen to music, podcasts or audiobooks. And while there’s sadly no integration with Strava’sApple Watchapp yet, this is a helpful (if slightly belated) new feature for fans of Strava’s smartphone app.
Spotify’s more music-focused fans may prefer the streaming service to focus on features like the long-awaitedSpotify HiFi, but that high-res tier remains a long way off – even if Spotify did recently suggest thatSpotify HiFi is still in the works.
Still, we’ve recently argued that even ifSpotify HiFi is never coming, that’s just fine, because it’s clearly now a different kind of music service. Its recent homepage redesigndelivered strong hints of TikTok, while thenew Spotify Niche Mixes featureis another example of its desire to move towards more social-friendly features.
That’s also the case for Strava, whichhit over 100 million active users last yearand has built a strong following thanks to features like its Community Hub, which is like a forum for fans to discuss new features and ideas. Even if we’ve argued thatGarmin Connect is at least the equal of Strava Premium, the addition of features like Spotify integration to its free tier will only help boost Strava’s popularity.
Mark is TechRadar’s Senior news editor. Having worked in tech journalism for a ludicrous 17 years, Mark is now attempting to break the world record for the number of camera bags hoarded by one person. He was previously Cameras Editor at both TechRadar and Trusted Reviews, Acting editor on Stuff.tv, as well as Features editor and Reviews editor on Stuff magazine. As a freelancer, he’s contributed to titles including The Sunday Times, FourFourTwo and Arena. And in a former life, he also won The Daily Telegraph’s Young Sportswriter of the Year. But that was before he discovered the strange joys of getting up at 4am for a photo shoot in London’s Square Mile.
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