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Opinion: Spotify launched a redesigned mobile app in early March, and this update is now rolling out to my iPhone.
When Spotify first announced the details of the update, I was less than enthusiastic. The TikTok- and Instagram-inspired music autoplay and feed of recommendations quickly seemed boring, but the increased focus on non-music-related aspects of the app, such as audiobooks and podcasts, is a mistake. No, it was the exact opposite of what drew me to Spotify. first place.
Still, given that Spotify has been the only way to consume music since the service launched in the UK in 2009, I was happy to give it a try.
But after a few days of using the updated app, my initial concerns were pretty much all realized.Autoplay, social network wannabe home feeds are a mess.
Like Instagram and TikTok, the updated home section of the Spotify app has become a scrolling feed of content that you can flip through endlessly (and aimlessly). Instead of static artwork, there’s more interactive elements, living artwork, music that auto-plays as you scroll down, and everything from recommended albums to playlists is thrown into the mix.
It certainly feels more alive, but it’s also much harder to quickly find what you’re listening to. Previously he might have seen 5-10 albums or playlists at a glance, but now he only sees one. That means it might take 10 swipes to instantly see what you’ve seen before.
Also, the reworked home screen seems to focus much less on playlists and prioritize albums instead. Most of the albums I’ve listened to recently rather than highlighting recommendations I might like. I used to love how the Spotify app would pop up a ton of playlist suggestions as soon as I opened the app so I could hear something in seconds, but that’s no longer the case.

I also can’t stand the random auto-plays with clanging sounds as I scroll through this feed. You can mute it by clicking the little voice icon, but the app doesn’t seem to remember that input for long, and it’s completely turned back on after a few hours.
I may be in the minority here, but I also really dislike Spotify’s lack of focus on music. Podcasts and audiobooks are now embedded deeper into the app than before, with random sections of unsubscribed podcasts playing as you scroll. Going into the dedicated Audiobooks and Podcasts section, there are more autoplays, and something else seems to unexpectedly autoplay when tapped in this updated app.
Also, there is absolutely no way to remove references to podcasts or audiobooks. I listen to both for hours each week through much better apps and services, and neither is in my Spotify library. To make matters worse, you can’t even purchase audiobooks from the app. It just tells you to go to his website on Spotify and buy whatever you care about. User experience is horrible.
Compared to Apple’s approach of separating podcasts, books, and music into very distinct apps that can all be easily ignored, this single-app method that Spotify currently uses is way too busy.
Like my colleague Kob, I’m not one of those people who constantly bemoan Spotify’s lack of motion in the long-awaited Hi-Fi tier. I can kind of understand why this update took inspiration from other apps. TikTok’s feed is ridiculously popular and highly addictive, but it doesn’t work for apps that want to interact with each other in the shortest amount of time possible.
My biggest disappointment is really with myself. I know you have no intention of canceling Spotify and moving to rival services like Apple Music or Tidal. I’ve used Spotify for far too long. Spotify knows my tastes and offers the best playlists in the industry. I also still love constantly updating live playlists like On Repeat and Time Capsule, but I’ve yet to see them replicated so well elsewhere.
Instead, I stick with Spotify, knowing that I will mourn this terrible redesign every time I use it.
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