Spotify's response to outcry will disappoint Android widget fans
Spotify binned its Android widget earlier this week and many users were not happy. The music streaming service has now responded to the pleas - but it's not good news.
In response to a "Live Idea" on the Spotify community pages, the company has said "Not Right Now". Spotify said: "… this isn't something we have any immediate plans to reintroduce."
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Spotify Android widget | Image Credit: Spotify
The Live Ideas section on Spotify's website lets users open what are essentially public support tickets about bugs and other issues. The Live Idea received 8828 votes in support of bringing back the widget but efforts were in vain.
The Android widget's removal brought about a strong response from users over on Reddit. User comments ranged from: "This was such a stupid move", "The worst company for listening to its customers" to "[It] was the most accessible way to use their service on Android" and "Honestly [it] was the most convenient thing."
When announcing the widget's removal, Spotify seemed to anticipate a backlash. The company immediately pointed to its alternative solutions: "You can still easily access the same playback features as well as information about what is playing through the Spotify playback notification and device lockscreen."
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Spotify notification controls | Image Credit: Spotify
While Spotify has declared "Not Right Now" on a potential return for the Android Widget, the company's response did give fans some hope. Spotify said: "If we did have any new info to share, rest assured we'll check back in here with a new status."
Spotify would've been hard-pressed to pick a better week to drop this announcement, as the streaming service had some more positive news emerging about future features.
Spotify Favourites is a new feature being tested that will let you easily switch between your most-used speakers. You can select "Favourite" speakers and switch playback when nearby with one tap.
There have also been rumours about Apple and Spotify coming to a solution over Siri integration with the music streaming app. Spotify and Apple already have a shaky relationship due to disagreements over the App Store so this would make for an interesting development.
