Spotify is Finally Coming to the Apple Watch

Spotify is one of the most popular music streaming platforms out there, but the service has been missing one key element: an Apple Watch app. But that’s finally changing.

Some lucky individuals have taken to Reddit to post some screenshots of the beta version of the Spotify app for Apple Watch. The streaming giant is currently testing the beta version of the app by way of TestFlight, and so the folks were able to test out the app on their Apple-branded wearable before a public launch.

At the time of publication, there isn’t much to actually go on here as Spotify hasn’t officially announced anything. However, at least one user has pointed out that the current iteration of the beta is pretty limited. That includes not having any support for offline playback at this point in time.

It’s worth noting that you can control music playback on your smartwatch even without a dedicated app, and even if you’re listening to Spotify. However, with an app Spotify can offer up more customized features, including offline playback, direct access to playlists, and the ability to like songs you’re listening to right on the wrist. Spotify recently launched a brand new dedicated smartwatch app for Google’s competing platform, Wear OS, so perhaps it’s not too surprising a watchOS app is (finally) on the way as well.

If you want to sign up for the Spotify beta, you can do so through the Spotify source link below.

[via Reddit (1); (2); Spotify]

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Spotify is Testing a ‘What’s New’ Timeline Feature to Promote New Releases

Music discovery is an important aspect for the streaming platforms out there, but so is keeping tabs on new music from artists you’ve already shown interest in.

Now, Spotify already has a way to address keeping tabs on new music thanks to its “Release Radar” playlist, and, in part, the “Discover Weekly” playlist as well. However, if new music isn’t picked up in either one of those playlists for your listening pleasure, then it can be kind of tough knowing when new music is dropping from artists you follow. (Spotify’s notification feature is hit-or-miss, too, this writer has found.)

Things could be getting slightly better in the future, though. The Verge has confirmed with Spotify that it is currently testing a new “What’s New” timeline feature within the app. The test is currently out in the public right now, as folks on Twitter have indicated, but there’s no indication on when the feature might actually launch to the public. It appears Spotify has been running the test for quite some time:

Spotify now has what’s new 😍 pic.twitter.com/oRzn5MhoZk

— Suganth (@heysuganth) October 12, 2018

Here’s Spotify’s statement on the matter:

“We are always testing new ways to create better listening experiences for more users, while continuing to find ways to connect artists to their fans.”

As for the timeline feature itself, it will show artists that have released new music, whether it’s a single or a new album. It looks like it offers a quick way to jump into the new content, too, either by selecting the single or album itself, or hitting that play icon to start listening.

This seems like a solid new feature, so hopefully Spotify does launch it at some point in the near future.

Our Take

One of the reasons I continue to use Apple Music is the way it handles new music releases, but this pertains only to new albums from artists I follow or have shown interest in. The app will show new releases on the bottom, making it easy to see the public launches of new content. However, breaking things down a bit more and things get a bit rough, especially for singles. I don’t know if Apple Music notifies users of a new single release by a followed artist. If it does, I’ve missed it. And the “New Music Mix” playlist, which updates every Friday, is just not good enough in this regard, especially in comparison to Spotify’s “Release Radar”. Basically, I’d like to see Apple Music launch a similar feature as Spotify’s “What’s New” timeline, too.

[via The Verge; @heysuganth]

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What Do You Think of Spotify’s New Policy of Asking Family Plan Users to Prove They Live at the Same Address?

In a move that’s bound to stir some controversy, Spotify has sent out emails to some of its premium family plan customers to confirm their home address using GPS data. The mail says that failure to do so might lead to the user losing access to the plan.

Spotify rules make it mandatory for at least two out of five members in a family plan to live at the same address. However, it is common for friends and families living across different parts of a city, country or even different countries to have a single Spotify family plan. Spotify presumably wants to curb down such a practice which is why it has sent out emails to some of its customers to confirm their home address using their GPS co-ordinates.

@Spotify Why do you need my GPS location to continue offering me a "Premium discount"? I pay for the family plan and it should not matter where my family lives. Will you cancel my account if my family gets too far from each other? #wtf #fail pic.twitter.com/HauQtHXSUA

— suck (@unaligned) September 18, 2018

The music stream company makes it clear that it is only asking for the GPS data of its users to allow them to offer its streaming services at a Premium discount. It will only use their “GPS data to verify” their location “and nothing else.”

For now, Spotify seems to have only sent out such emails to its subscribers in Germany who are pretty miffed with it. The company has also issued a statement to Quartz on this whole issue:

“Spotify is currently testing improvements to the user experience of Premium for Family with small user groups in select markets. We are always testing new products and experiences at Spotify, but have no further news to share regarding this particular feature test at this time.”

Spotify move likely stems from the fact that many people end up creating a family plan and adding their friends or families living in other parts of the world where the music subscription service is either more expensive or not available. This is something that many Netflix users also do since the streaming service does not offer a family plan but it does allow for users to have multiple profiles in one account.

Nonetheless, Spotify’s move here of asking its customers to confirm their home location using GPS data might be a bit too far-fetched and irk a lot of its users.

What do you think about this change from Spotify? Are you okay with it? Or will you cancel your subscription to it if you receive a similar mail? Drop a comment and let us know!

[Via QZ]

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