Pandora Desktop App: Apple Silicon Support for Future maccOS

[bigj_d]

https://support.apple.com/en-us/102527?cid=mc-ols-rosetta-article_102527-macos_finder-52526201

The current macOS Pandora App supports only Intel-based Macs, and will eventually be no longer supported in macOS. The App must be updated to support Apple Silicon, so we can continue to listen to Pandora with a native app instead of web browser. 

The iOS version of the Pandora App could easily be updated to support all platforms, but only currently supports iOS, watchOS, tvOS. 

moderator’s edit: updated title for clarity

[TannerPandora]

Hi @bigj_d 

Thanks for your thoughtful post and for raising this question about Apple Silicon support.

The Pandora desktop app for macOS is designed as a wrapper for the web experience, so functionality should remain consistent regardless of whether you're using an Intel-based Mac or Apple Silicon. At this time, there aren’t any known issues specifically related to Apple Silicon compatibility.

Are you currently experiencing a problem with the app on your Mac? For example, are you seeing an error message, performance issues, or difficulty installing or launching the app? Any additional details about what you’re running into (macOS version, app behavior, etc.) would be helpful.

I appreciate you taking the time to check in about this, and I’m happy to help troubleshoot further if needed.

[bigj_d]

The macOS App is getting warnings - you absolutely need to updated it to
support Apple Silicon, otherwise it'll stop working at some point with
macOS Software updates as Apple updates the OS.

-Jeremy
--
"Let him that would move the world first move himself." -Socrates

[TannerPandora]

Hi @bigj_d 

Can you share a screenshot of what you're seeing? You can share a screenshot directly here in this thread. Be sure to do this from your computer browser or a mobile browser. You won't be able to include picture through email notifications. 

Can you also let me know the year and MacOS you're currently on?

[bigj_d]

I run pre-released Seed builds of macOS, I run on M1, M2 and M4 macs.

-Jeremy
--
"Let him that would move the world first move himself." -Socrates

[billgr0248]

Here's what I'm seeing on my 2023 MBP running Tahoe 26.4b:

 

 

[mekirkpa]

@TannerPandora -- Was that enough information for you to send back to the Pandora Engineering  and/or Product teams? I understand that the current macOS app is a wrapper for the web app (not the best experience but not terrible). What I believe Jeremey and I are looking for is an indication that Pandora will continue to offer a macOS app in the future. Knowing there is an end date for Rosetta 2 support on the horizon, and that we (users) are starting to get proactively notified that Pandora will be incompatible with a future macOS release, has us concerned.

From [Apple](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102527😞

>Rosetta is currently available for any Mac with Apple silicon, and it will remain available through the forthcoming macOS 27 — the next major macOS release. Starting with computers using macOS 28, Rosetta functionality will be available only for certain older, unmaintained games that rely on Intel-based frameworks...

>For optimal performance and future compatibility, you should update your Intel-based apps, plug-ins, extensions, and other add-ons for Apple silicon.

[MariaPandora · Accepted solution]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reach out and share your experience!

We’re aware that support is ending for Intel-based Apps on Apple Mac computers starting with the future release of macOS 28. Our engineering teams are aware of this and are currently reviewing.

While we don’t have any additional details to share at the moment, we really appreciate you flagging this and sharing with us. We’ll update this thread with more information as it becomes available to the community team.

Thanks again for being part of the community and for your patience!

[MusicFan0708]

Where can I download the Apple Silicon version of Pandora Desktop app for macOS? 

Getting multiple warnings for my current intel based version. Version 15.0.3 (15.0.3)

This link: 

https://www.pandora.com/desktop

Only includes the Intel-based version. 

[MusicFan0708]

How can I download the macOS Apple Silicon (not intel) version of the desktop app for Pandora?

[LeonPandora]

Hi @MusicFan0708 

I moved your posts to the existing post: macOS: Pandora App needs to be updated to support Apple Silicon!!!

We’re aware that support is ending for Intel-based Apps on Apple Mac computers starting with the future release of macOS 28. Our engineering teams are aware of this and are currently reviewing.

While we don’t have any additional details to share at the moment, we really appreciate you flagging this and sharing with us. We’ll update this thread with more information as it becomes available to the community team.

Thanks again for being part of the community and for your patience!

[MusicFan0708]

Users really need a fully Apple Silicon version of the Pandora Desktop app for macOS.

[PotRoastMalone]

You've had more than 5 years, and it takes like 2 minutes in XCODE to convert your app (which is just a shell for your web player) to a universal binary. Y'all are just lazy.

[CameraGuy1984]

Agreed. This needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. I love having the Desktop App on my macOS dock.

[prtdavis2]

@MariaPandora @LeonPandora 

Pandora Apple Silicon Wrapper Proof of Concept

A native macOS proof of concept showing how Pandora's existing web experience can be wrapped in a modern Apple Silicon app shell with media keys, optional login persistence, privacy controls, and conservative playback recovery.

Intent: This is not intended as a supported third-party Pandora client. It is MIT-licensed source material offered as a starting point for Pandora engineering to evaluate, fork, adapt, or discard.

Status: Unofficial, unaffiliated, and not endorsed by Pandora, Sirius XM, or any related entity.

Project Summary

I built a proof-of-concept native Apple Silicon macOS wrapper for Pandora's web experience. The goal is to demonstrate that a modern native wrapper around the existing Pandora web app is feasible, compact, and relatively low-risk as a starting point for an official Apple Silicon desktop app.

The source is MIT-licensed and intended as a handoff or kickstart for Pandora engineering, not as a product I want to support.

Technical Stack

Native App

• Language: Swift
• UI framework: SwiftUI
• Target: Apple Silicon only
• Minimum macOS: macOS 26
• Build system: Swift Package Manager

Web And Media

• Web runtime: WKWebView
• Media integration: MediaPlayer / MPRemoteCommandCenter
• Now Playing: MPNowPlayingInfoCenter
• Bridge: injected JavaScript + WKScriptMessageHandler

Storage

• Session storage: WebKit website data stores
• Default mode: non-persistent session
• Optional mode: persistent session if Remember Login is enabled
• History: local UserDefaults only

Release Shape

• Signing: hardened runtime options
• Sandbox: app sandbox + outbound network client entitlement
• Icon: original generated .icns
• License: MIT

Current Features

• Native macOS SwiftUI shell around Pandora's web player.

• Compact single-window layout designed to fit on a side monitor.

• Loads Pandora's web app through WKWebView.

• Optional Remember Login mode.

• Clear Pandora Session control.

• Native playback controls: play/pause, skip, and replay/restart.

• System media key integration through macOS media command center: F7 previous/replay, F8 play/pause, F9 next/skip.

• Native Now Playing metadata integration when Pandora exposes track metadata.

• Local play history based on observed metadata.

• Clear Local History control.

• Playback watchdog that detects stalled or waiting playback, attempts conservative soft recovery, and reloads after repeated recovery failures.

• Detects and surfaces Pandora's "Are you still listening?" prompt without bypassing or auto-answering it.

Pandora Web UI Still Handles

• Now Playing

• History

• Collection

• Browse

• Channels

• Search

• My Station

• Discovery

• Deep Cuts

• Newly Released

• Artist Only

• Energy Boost

• Relax

Security And Privacy Protections

• No telemetry.

• No analytics.

• No crash reporting.

• No auto-update mechanism.

• No remote configuration.

• No credential capture.

• No custom password storage.

• Pandora login happens only inside Pandora's own web page.

• Persistent login is optional.

• Turning off Remember Login clears Pandora session data from the app's active WebKit data store.

• Local play history stays local.

• Local play history can be cleared independently.

• Main-frame navigation is restricted to https://pandora.com and https://*.pandora.com.

• External main-frame links open in the user's default browser instead of inside the app.

• JavaScript bridge is injected only into the main frame.

• Bridge messages are accepted only from Pandora origins.

• Bridge payloads are size-capped before decoding.

• WebKit script message handling uses a weak delegate to avoid retain-cycle risk.

• App sandbox entitlement is enabled.

• Network access is limited to client/outbound networking.

• Build script signs with hardened runtime options.

• App icon is original and does not use Pandora trademarks or assets.

Included Documentation

• MIT license.

• Privacy statement.

• Security notes.

• Handoff notes.

• Unofficial/no-affiliation disclaimer.

What Is Left For Pandora

1. Replace the proof-of-concept bundle identifier with an official Pandora-owned identifier.

2. Replace the unofficial app name and icon with approved Pandora branding.

3. Review the app against Pandora's internal legal, product, advertising, subscription, and rights requirements.

4. Replace DOM-selector-based playback control with official internal APIs if available.

5. Verify behavior across free accounts, paid accounts, ads, station modes, collection/library flows, search, login/logout, expired sessions, prompts, playback stalls, and poor network conditions.

6. Add official QA automation.

7. Add official crash reporting if desired.

8. Add official telemetry only if it matches Pandora's privacy policy.

9. Add an official auto-update mechanism if desired.

10. Sign with Pandora's Apple Developer ID certificate.

11. Notarize and staple the app for public macOS distribution.

12. Decide whether to ship as a direct DMG, ZIP, Mac App Store app, or update to the existing desktop app.

13. Review whether App Sandbox should remain enabled or whether additional entitlements are required for official distribution.

14. Decide whether deeper native UI should be added over time for stations, search, collection, thumbs/music direction, artist info, history, and station modes.

Bottom Line

The hard parts left are not the wrapper itself. The remaining work is mostly official ownership: branding, QA, signing/notarization, policy review, and replacing brittle web-DOM hooks with supported internal interfaces where Pandora has them.

[prtdavis2]

Screenshot of the app working

App working

[Kiwibru]

How timely.  Hope Pandora folks grab the rope!

[thechrismhill]

Love Pandora and have used it for decades, but if a browser is my best option moving forward....Then I guess I'll hop on over to Spotify. 

[bayside200]

It's amazing how good Pandora (still) is at recommending songs with the whole music genome thing from like 15 years ago, yet how bad all of the clients still are 🤣 if I had $1 for every time I tried to use pandora in carplay and it failed to load playlists...

[PotRoastMalone]

Dude, this is too much effort. It would take them literally two minutes to convert the x86 app to universal binary in Xcode.