topic Tablet UI not being applied to a tablet in Android

Tablet UI not being applied to a tablet

Hoshiyo35p — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 08:35:33 GMT

Plan: Premium

Device: Alldocube iPlay 50 Mini Pro

Operating System: Android 13

My Question or Issue

I use Spotify mostly while driving on a flush-mounted tablet. Don't worry, it is very safe with multifinger gestures, hardware volume knob and all. Unfortunately, Spotify fails to recognize the tablet for what it is, and treats it like a phone. The current version of landscape UI for phones is barely useable in this role.

I may use discover music features briefly before I depart on a trip, but would never stare at that while driving. In the same vein, I don't need lyrics cluttering up the now playing screen either. Having just the now playing and nothing else on the display would be a massive waste of real estate. What would actually help is a persistent now playing screen/pane with a decent sized album art, along with a queue or playlist screen shown at the same time.

The second screenshot in the link is the EXACT UI I want, but it is unclear it will ever be offered even as a beta version: https://community.spotify.com/t5/Live-Ideas/revised-foldable-and-tablet-UI/idi-p/7331307

In the absence of that perfect layout above, I am willing to settle for the less-than-perfect tablet UI I saw elsewhere, at least that would give me some persistent now playing panel, despite having to live with no queue panel (on-demand pop-up queue doesn't count).

I am free to play around with DPI settings and such as the tablet is already rooted. It's just too high of DPI would still render things unuseable/unreadable anyway, so I'd rather investigate and learn how the app flags tablets and phones for UI selection.

Re: Tablet UI not being applied to a tablet

Joan — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 14:48:20 GMT

Hi there @Hoshiyo35p,

Thanks for reaching out.

There are multiple factors that go into how an Android device is detected as a phone or tablet. This is very device-dependent, so if it's only on this one that this happens, it could be from the specific OS/configuration. You mentioned yourself that the tablet is rooted and that's something we generally advise against as tinkering with these settings can cause unusual behaviour in the app. It's not impossible that something from there is causing the device to be recognized incorrectly.

Regardless, we thank you for your feedback and we'll happily pass it onward. For the moment, we recommend keeping your apps up to date to take advantage of the latest fixes and features.

If there's anything else we can help you with, don't hesitate to let us know.

Re: Tablet UI not being applied to a tablet

Hoshiyo35p — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 03:01:29 GMT

Thank you for the quick response.
I can assure you rooting wasn't the factor, as tablet detection did not work prior to rooting regardless. With some googling, I found tablet detection is less than perfect, not just for Alldocube. Not everyone is using iPads, so I'd think having a forced tablet UI toggle would be a VERY effective tool when detection fails (and it does often, it seems).

More interested in the alternate UI in think link, would appreciate if there is anything to update on that.

Re: Tablet UI not being applied to a tablet

Yordan — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 08:39:22 GMT

Thanks for the reply, @Hoshiyo35p.

We've noted your feedback on this. We’re regularly looking for opportunities to enhance the user experience for everyone, so we appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts here on the forum.

The Community is just a post away should you need assistance with anything else.