{"id":613187,"date":"2026-09-11T20:56:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T20:56:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/613187\/"},"modified":"2026-09-11T20:56:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T20:56:25","slug":"i-ditched-local-radio-for-an-android-auto-app-with-thousands-of-stations-from-around-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/613187\/","title":{"rendered":"I ditched local radio for an Android Auto app with thousands of stations from around the world"},"content":{"rendered":"

I spend a lot of time in my car, and Android Auto<\/a> makes my daily commute tolerable.<\/p>\n

I’m constantly streaming music from YouTube Music, but some days I’d rather listen to local radio than a random song the algorithm picks.<\/p>\n

But in recent years, the number of radio stations in my area has declined, and the ones that remain play the same kind of music.<\/p>\n

Until I came across an app that lets me stream thousands of radio stations from across the world and experience different types of music.<\/p>\n


\n \"Car<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\tI think Android Auto is great, but these 3 apps unlocked its true potential
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

I added three apps to Android Auto \u2014 now messaging, parking, and kids\u2019 boredom are solved<\/p>\n

vRadio was the hidden gem I wish I had known earlier<\/p>\n

Radio no longer needs to be local<\/p>\n

\"vRadio<\/p>\n

If you’ve become frustrated with local radio stations as I did, there is an app that answers all our problems.<\/p>\n

In my city, radio stations play music, but most of them repeat the same songs or are riddled with ads that spoil the experience.<\/p>\n

While I listen to most of my music via streaming apps like YouTube Music<\/a>, there are days when I want to hear music curated by humans rather than an algorithm.<\/p>\n

But since my local radio stations are worse than the algorithms, I installed vRadio, which lets me stream radio stations from other regions.<\/p>\n

I lived in the UK for about five years in the early 2000s and loved local radio stations like BBC Radio 1 and Heart Wales South, which played new electronic music and underserved genres.<\/p>\n

I wanted to listen to other indie radio stations, such as NPR or a country station from Texas. But since I couldn’t tune in to them on my car’s stereo, I decided to take a gamble on vRadio.<\/p>\n

To my surprise, the app is robust and offers radio stations from almost every country. Suddenly, I had access to thousands of radio stations that weren’t possible before.<\/p>\n

What’s neat is that vRadio works with Android Auto and has a user-friendly interface. Since the app offered stations from my city, I didn’t need to use the FM mode on my car’s infotainment system.<\/p>\n

Another bonus: Since vRadio streams radio stations from the source, the difference in sound quality compared to the FM tuner was massive.<\/p>\n

After setting up the app, I never touched the FM mode in my car again.<\/p>\n

How to use the vRadio app for streaming thousands of radio stations<\/p>\n

How the vRadio app works<\/p>\n

Using the vRadio app is straightforward and doesn’t require any settings tweaks to get started.<\/p>\n

On the Explore page, you can favorite radio stations from specific regions, genres, or networks you like.<\/p>\n

If you aren’t sure which radio station you want to start with, you can try stations from the Popular Stations category.<\/p>\n

Fair warning, though: you might be overwhelmed by all the radio stations you can pick from.<\/p>\n

I recommend setting up your favorite stations before using the app with Android Auto, since it’s easier.<\/p>\n

I also like to tweak the Equalizer from its dedicated tab to suit my car’s speakers or the IEMs (in-ear monitors) I use when listening on the phone.<\/p>\n

You aren’t limited to the radio stations featured in the app. I like a station called SomaFM, a community-funded indie station based in Seattle.<\/p>\n

Since I had the radio station’s stream link, I could add SomaFM to vRadio and my favorites. You can do this for obscure radio stations, as long as they have an active streaming link.<\/p>\n

I prefer to listen to new music, and I’m often not aware of the track’s name. Thankfully, vRadio displays song information if the radio station supports it.<\/p>\n

I also like to listen to talk shows I don’t get to hear live. However, vRadio lets me record any show as an MP3 file and play it later.<\/p>\n

Many features, such as recording shows, alarm clock schedules, and access to Android TV, are only available in the app’s premium tier, which costs $13 as a one-time purchase.<\/p>\n

The vRadio app is no slouch, though, with plenty of customization options you would find in other music player apps<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Since there are many options, here are some that I use:<\/p>\n

Auto-Play on Startup<\/p>\n

Stop on Headset Unplug<\/p>\n

Auto-Play on Bluetooth Device Connection<\/p>\n

Remotely control UPnP\/DLNA devices<\/p>\n

Alarm Clocks<\/p>\n

Sleep Timer<\/p>\n

Schedules<\/p>\n

Chromecast streaming<\/p>\n

The app has ads, but they aren’t particularly intrusive. But the main reason I unlocked the Premium tier was to record audio.<\/p>\n

I also appreciate other Premium features, such as Schedules, Alarm Clocks, and different audio settings for certain stations.<\/p>\n

I absolutely love this app, and I recommend trying it if you’re also looking to discover new content from different regions.<\/p>\n


\n \"A<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\tI finally escaped my streaming bubble by turning to this quirky radio app
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

I didn’t expect a world map to change my listening habits<\/p>\n

Access to global stations made me love radio again<\/p>\n

My local radio stations were the reason I started looking for alternatives, and I can’t thank them enough.<\/p>\n

The stations played the same songs and countless ads, which started to annoy me, and I was desperate for a solution.<\/p>\n

But when I came across vRadio, I started listening to more content from around the world, and its Android Auto<\/a> support was a massive plus.<\/p>\n

I recommend giving it a try, and if you like the experience, upgrade to the premium tier to get more out of the app.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I spend a lot of time in my car, and Android Auto makes my daily commute tolerable. I’m…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":613188,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[85,46,321,125],"class_list":["post-613187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mobile","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-mobile","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=613187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/613187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/613188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=613187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=613187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=613187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}