What you need to know
- Spotify announced a dramatic revamp to its home screen experience.
- The home screen and various feeds will feature automatic previews for recommended content.
- Spotify is also rolling out a new Smart Shuffle feature that inserts recommended tracks into user-curated playlists.
Spotify has gone through quite a few changes over the years, but the streaming service just revealed what may be its biggest visual revamp on Wednesday.
During the company’s Stream On event, Gustav Söderström, Spotify’s co-president and chief product and technology officer, showed off the app’s new home screen experience. The redesign features a much more visual interface with large preview cards and dynamic feeds meant to showcase new songs, podcasts, and audiobooks.
Users will be able to swipe through large TikTok-like cards that automatically play snippets of recommended songs and other content.
“So now when I open my home screen, I won’t have to choose what I might be interested in just based on a cover art that I’ve never seen before, or an episode named I’ve never heard of,” Söderström stated during the event. “Instead, I can instantly hear the most interesting part of a song or an episode without a single tap.”
As is the case for just about every new Spotify feature or UI revamp, the goal is to make it easier to discover new content. If a user finds something they like in these previews, they can tap the new Plus icon to add it to their music or podcast library. They can also press the Play button to start the content from the beginning or (with podcasts) choose to continue the episode from where the preview left off. Tapping on recommendations also brings users to the track, album, or playlist, making it easy to discover more from the artist or related artists.
This experience continues with the different feeds, which include Music, Podcasts & Shows, and Audiobooks. Users will still find their favorites at the top of the feeds, but underneath, they’ll find recommended content they can scroll through. The Music feed will also include personalized mixes and the new AI DJ at the top, while the Podcast feed will present real-time transcriptions so users can preview episodes without the sound turned on. The Audiobook feed will present users with up to five minutes of previews.
In addition to the revamped UI, Spotify is also upgrading its Enhance feature with the new Smart Shuffle. It works in a similar fashion by inserting recommended tracks in user-generated playlists in order to spice things up with new songs that may “match the vibe” of the original playlist.
These recommended tracks will be highlighted with a sparkle icon and will appear after every three songs in a playlist with more than 15 tracks. The feature will also bring new tracks every time you use it. That way, it keeps the playlist fresh with every listen.
Lastly, Spotify unveiled new experiences for creators to highlight their content. Among them is the new Countdown Pages will allow artists to build hype for new music and will include a downtown to a release along with exclusive video clips and the option to pre-save music.
Artists will also be able to add short Clips to their profiles. These videos are under 30 seconds and allow artists to get personal with their music. Clips can be part of an artist’s profile, albums, or tracks to give users more context to their work.
These features are starting to roll out to free and Premium users globally. Spotify says previews for music and podcasts are rolling out in regions where podcasts are available, while audiobook previews are available in the U.S., the U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. Smart Shuffle is only available for Premium subscribers.
