This new Android Auto radio app is not quite ready for prime time

I love listening to music while driving. Finding tracks that suit the mood of any given road trip sets the overarching tone for the journey. While my partner and I usually curate driving playlists for this purpose, sometimes I want to listen to the radio when I’m alone. I can do just that with my car’s built-in receiver, but what if I want to hear something beyond my country’s borders? Perhaps stations from the US? Well, I recently stumbled across Non Stop Radio, which allows me to do just that.

I should warn you, though: Non Stop Radio is very rough around the edges. It launched in November 2024, so it’s still pretty young in its development life.

The app is incredibly simple both on Android and Android Auto. I appreciate the simplicity on the latter. It offers users two screens. One is the actual player detailing the current station, its logo (if available), and the track playing. The second is a list of stations I’ve favorited.

The entire functionality of this app revolves around accessing that list of favorites, a list I can easily manage using the phone app. This way, I can quickly select a range of stations, from Technogias Research to TalkSport. Sometimes, I just want to listen to the world melting down while commuting — it makes deadlock traffic seem decidedly trivial.

Beyond these two screens, the bulk of Non Stop Radio’s functionality lies in the phone app, which seems to be a common trait across streaming radio apps on Android Auto. Nevertheless, the app sorts radio stations in two main ways. Categories allow me to select a 90s-orientated, K-Pop, or Christmas station. Alternatively, I can browse a list of stations based on the country in which they broadcast.

Both sorting mechanisms are functionally fine, but they’re not very reliable. For instance, there are no stations listed under the United Kingdom despite many BBC radio stations listed elsewhere in the interface.

For the most part, I haven’t been found wanting for stations. There are more than enough to satisfy various tastes, and the UI has a dedicated category for user-requested stations. I was surprised at how many South African offerings are available. Thanks to this, I can now seamlessly switch to local radio stations without exiting Android Auto to select my car’s native radio.

In desperate need of a tune

Unfortunately, I do have to touch on Non Stop Radio’s quirks. The Android app’s interface, while colorful, can be a challenge to navigate. There’s no master search option, meaning I must hop into a category or country search to find a station I want. Even then, the search functionality often falls short, returning no results when I know that BBC stations are available.

There are several UI issues, too. Light gray search text is difficult to see on a white background, while I find the actual station cards layout a poor use of space. When changing stations on my phone, the subsequent station and song changes aren’t reflected on Android Auto either. It doesn’t affect the streaming performance, but it is annoying to see the Technogias Research logo remain when I switch to ON Classic Rock.

Finally, there’s the biggest issue I’ve found with Non Stop Radio: some stations flat out refuse to work. Granted, I encountered very few stations that failed me, and sometimes, it’s due to a spotty data connection, but several UK-based stations are on that list. BBC Radio 5, a station I’d absolutely listen to on the long road, didn’t work.

These are all potential game-breakers for me, especially considering the wealth of internet radio alternatives available for Android Auto. Personally, I’ve been impressed by RadioTime‘s ease of use. This Non Stop Radio rival makes much better use of available space, includes a far cleaner UI, and offers a search system that works reliably. More importantly, UK radio stations work flawlessly. However, Non Stop Radio does have two main advantages over it: it’s ad-free and enjoys active development.

Despite the app’s flaws, I appreciate how ready Non Stop Radio’s developer is to receive criticism and suggestions. That’s always a positive sign. The developer notes that several radio stations will be added with the next update, while several user-recommended changes will also be on the cards, including buffering settings. I look forward to seeing how this app evolves in the coming months, but right now, it’s in desperate need of a tune-up.