Pandora Premium Hits Xbox One With Two Big Features In Tow

Pandora Premium has been up and running for some time now, but despite that, it isn't available on very many platforms. At first, the service rolled out only on mobile, and then nearly a year later, it made the jump to web. Today Pandora is adding one more platform to the list by bringing Xbox One functionality online.

Of course, you don't need Premium to use your Pandora account on Xbox One. You can also listen with a free or Plus account as well, and with the two new features that are arriving today, you might be more likely to do so. Pandora is also adding autoplay and background play functionality today, allowing you to begin playing your music and dive back into your game without any further interruption.

Background and autoplay are two features that Pandora users have undoubtedly wanted for a long time, and it seems kind of crazy that it took so long to implement them. Then again, Spotify's fairly recent arrival on the platform might have something to do with Pandora kicking things into gear – with increased competition, Pandora has more incentive to make its Xbox One app as attractive as possible.

In any case, support for Premium and these new features are launching as part of a larger redesign for the Pandora Xbox One app. Pandora doesn't really delve into specifics when it comes to this redesign, merely stating in a blog post today that it should give the app a "new look and feel."

Premium access should be available to subscribers beginning today, so if you count yourself among that group of listeners, fire up you Xbox One and have a look. Here's hoping that Spotify's arrival has helped motivate Pandora to step up its game a bit, because more competition is never a bad thing, especially when it comes to content streaming.