What you need to know
- Spotify is rolling out its smart TV redesign, echoing its work done on mobile and desktop to the large screen.
- Alongside this redesign, Spotify has brought a revamped Now Playing view with a song queue, and easier account switching.
- Spotify on TV is also gaining a dark mode, which dims the TV and offers minimalistic bits of information like the song's timeline and media controls.
Before we wrap up the week, Spotify is in the process of rolling out a redesign for its app on smart TVs. In a Newsroom post, the music streaming service states that "Spotify on TV" is not only receiving a visual revamp bringing it closer to the app's existence on other devices, but new features await listeners, too.
The redesign involves shortcuts to your favorite playlists, recently played audio, and personalized recommendations directly on the opening screen, which mirrors Spotify's mobile rework from March. The redesign also includes a much larger discovery section that aims to make it easier for users to find and add new music, or even podcasts, to playlists.
Unraveling the latest features of Spotify's TV app begins with a revamped "Up Next" listening queue. The platform states this now includes a "Now Playing" view, giving users better agency over listening sessions with the ability to control what comes next by shuffling songs in the list.
Up next, account switching lands on smart TVs in an easier way than what was previously offered. Users will always see which account is active in the top-right corner of their screen (similar to mobile and desktop), and switching profiles is done in just a couple of taps by tapping on your icon and selecting a new one. Each profile keeps its own identity, meaning other people's tastes shouldn't bleed over into yours.
Lastly, dark mode is arriving for Spotify on TV but its purpose isn't quite traditional. As the Spotify app is canonically dark in nature, the company's newest introduction will dim your television's display whenever you want the music to be the main focus. Spotify states this can be activated through the Now Playing view and it'll initiate a much more minimalistic approach.
The app will offer basic bits such as the media controls, title, album cover, and other smaller aspects.
Quite a few of the best Android TVs can take advantage of Spotify's latest rework and features for the living room — or bedroom. Moreover, the music service states these features are rolling out today, so it's worth keeping an eye on things as the weekend approaches.
The timing of this breath of fresh air for Spotify lines up with the company's recent announcement of 200,000 audiobooks arriving for users for "free." There is a caveat with all of this, such as forcing Spotify Duo and Family plan users to spend $12.99 to extend their listening time as the company caps folks at 15 hours initially. Doing so will provide an additional 10 hours of listening.
