Spotify is coming to United’s seatback screens

The streaming service’s entire library of content will be available in the air.

Spotify

Spotify is making it easier to stream music, podcasts and audiobooks on United Airlines flights. As part of a new collaboration with the airline, the company says that seatback screens on United planes equipped with Starlink satellite internet will soon have full access to Spotify’s library of content, along with your personalized home screen and playlists.

To access your library, Spotify says you have to connect your phone to United’s inflight Wi-Fi and then scan the QR code on your seatback screen. You’ll then be prompted to log in, or if you’re already logged in to your Spotify app, the screen will automatically load your Spotify profile. From there, based on the images Spotify shared, the seatback app seems to work similarly to the company’s tablet apps. Connecting to Wi-Fi for Spotify is free, so you won’t need to pay for an inflight internet pass.

Other airlines like American Airlines offer music streaming as a perk for customers, either through the seatback screen or by supporting free streaming on certain apps you already have on your device, so this isn’t a first. The advantage of this Spotify integration is the opportunity to use the seatback screen instead of your phone if you want to watch a video podcast or music video. If you’re used to downloading playlists or podcasts before a flight, not having to worry about that when you fly United is also helpful.

United began testing Starlink on flights at the beginning of 2025, and the airline now says that nearly half of its daily departures offer Starlink internet. If you regularly fly with the airline and are curious about trying the Spotify app, you can check whether your flight has Starlink internet through United’s Starlink Wi-Fi Tracker.

Source: www.engadget.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.