Spotify mobile gets a makeover and on-demand listening for free users
Some changes could be coming to free listeners on Spotify with a new look expected and on-demand music streaming on mobiles.
According to recent reports Spotify are giving free users a little bit extra soon. Listeners on the mobile app will know that playing albums and playlists is restricted to a shuffle mode so you can’t pick whatever you like – but that could be changing.
It seems that Spotify have made a number of playlists available to play on mobile devices completely on demand. This means that listeners can select any song from the playlist that they want to listen to and then listen to the rest of the playlist in any order they like. Now playlists that can only be played in shuffle mode are marked with a blue shuffle logo.
The rest of the app has gotten a redesign with a cleaner interface and more emphasis on visuals like artwork. The ‘Browse’ section has been removed from the nav-bar and integrated into the Search section which shows colourful boxes of moods for jumping straight into a playlist with sneak peeks of the tracks inside for an instant look at what you’re jumping into.
The Radio button has also seemingly been disappeared though Verge reports that they can’t find the function anywhere else in the app, so it may have been removed fully rather than relocated. New to the nav-bar is a Premium button so that free users are always just one click away from upgrading to ad-free, unlimited streaming.
These changes are expected to take effect next week with flyers for Spotify’s April 24th event promising changes to the Spotify mobile app. Spotify have yet to confirm the modifications that are going to be made to the Spotify free tier on mobile devices. Regardless if all of these leaks are true it seems that voice searching, which Spotify are reportedly testing to use in their search on their mobile apps and potentially their own smart speaker, will not be included in the big Spotify app overhaul.