Audio dramas in the car with CarPlay: pick up right where you left off

Why audio dramas work so well in the car

Audio dramas are made for listening: sound effects, music and voices tell the story without you having to look. An episode usually runs 45 to 75 minutes – about the length of many commutes or a leg of the journey to the next break. And they bring people together: on a family drive, kids and parents hear the same story, often from series the parents grew up with.

The classic problem: the lost spot

You park, get out, and next morning the episode starts over. Or someone wanted music for a bit, and afterwards the Music app has no idea where the story was. The reason: Apple Music treats an episode like a music album with many tracks. There's no position per episode. Hunting for the right track while driving is not a good idea.

How to listen with CarPlay

With the Music app

• Start the episode before you drive off and let it run. Try not to switch to other music.
• Put the episodes you're currently on into a playlist. In CarPlay you'll find it under Playlists faster than an album in a long list.
• You can also ask Siri for a series or episode. With titles full of numbers and colons, that doesn't always work reliably.

With an audio drama app

Apps that access audio dramas through Apple Music and support CarPlay remember the position per episode. Get in, and it carries on where you got out – whatever played in between. That's the real difference in the car.

Checklist for long drives

1. Download episodes. Dead zones, roaming abroad, tunnels: what's downloaded plays without gaps. In Apple Music: add the episode to your library and tap Download.
2. Line up several episodes. A queue of four or five saves you from choosing while driving.
3. Shuffle off. A story in random track order causes instant drama in the back seat.
4. Cable or wireless? Wireless CarPlay is convenient but drains the battery. On long trips, plug in.
5. Hand over control. Whoever isn't driving picks the next episode. At the wheel, steering-wheel buttons and Siri are enough.

Which audio dramas suit a drive?

• With kids: Series everyone knows, so nobody loses the thread when a service station gets in the way. Classics like Benjamin Blümchen or Bibi Blocksberg for the little ones, Die drei ??? or TKKG for everyone from about eight.
• Alone on the commute: Multi-part stories and series that make you look forward to the next drive. Crime and horror series like John Sinclair or Gabriel Burns are popular.
• At night or when tired: Exciting episodes rather than calm ones. A bedtime story is the wrong programme on the motorway.

Whether a series is on Apple Music depends on the country of your Apple Account. Our country check helps if you live abroad or the trip crosses borders.

Safety first

CarPlay reduces distraction, but doesn't remove it. Pick episodes before you leave or during a break, use Siri and the steering-wheel buttons, and leave the tapping to your passengers. Video never plays in CarPlay – rightly so.

Audio dramas in the car with zentr

zentr is a player for Apple Music audio dramas, your own files, podcasts and music. CarPlay has three sections:

• Queue: your prepared line-up. Four episodes for the kids, then your podcast – everything plays in order automatically.
• Inbox: new episodes of your favourite series, no searching.
• Favourites: your series, artists and podcasts. One tap resumes the last episode of a series at exactly the right spot.

Every episode's position is remembered and synced via iCloud. What you started on the iPad last night continues in the car this morning. zentr's Siri and Shortcuts actions resume playback hands-free. For Apple Music episodes without a connection: download them in the Music app first, and zentr plays them offline. Your own files and downloaded podcast episodes are on the device anyway.