Beginning today, Spotify, one of the best music streaming services, is rolling out several new features to make discovering new music and curating feeds easier.
Four areas are getting refreshed or new features. Spotify claims these features bring "seamless discovery, intuitive playlist curation, and a uniquely personal listening experience."
You'll see the most significant change in the Queue, which has been redesigned with "enhanced" controls including Shuffle, Smart Shuffle, Repeat and Sleep Timer.
A feature I'm intrigued by is a new display showing Spotify recommended tracks after your queued-up songs end. This means you can decide what makes it into the queue. You can also switch Autoplay and Smart Shuffle off in your settings.
The enhanced controls and the display queue are only available for Premium subscribers.
There's a refreshed Hide button that is supposed to be more intuitive. Tapping the updated Hide will make songs hidden across all devices.
A new Snooze button pauses a song from appearing in your playlist for 30 Days.
On mobile, there are new and improved playlist management tools. Spotify has moved the Add, Sort and Edit buttons to the top of your playlists. There will be a way to build your list, change the title, create custom art (using AI), or "perfectly sequence each song."
Using the Liked Songs list, you can filter it by genre and tap "turn into a playlist."
Lastly, curation should be easier with a new "+" button on the bottom right of the mobile app to create playlists, collaborate with friends, or join a Blend — the company's social listening experience.
Premium subscribers can use the plus button to start a Jam or use the AI Playlist feature.
Spotify has said that the features are "gradually" rolling out, so you might not immediately see all or even some of the features right away. The new features are coming to both the iOS and Android versions of the Spotify app.
We asked Spotify for a more concrete timeline and will update when we receive a response.
