Android Widget Removal

[Staff]

We’re here to let you know that we are retiring the Spotify Widget for Android this week. 

We always take retiring features in Spotify very seriously. We’re pouring our energy into new ways of creating the best experience for our users.

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.

To access the playback controls on Android simply swipe down while you are using Spotify to access the controls.

If you’re interested in learning more about how the app evolves, check out our article about testing and why features change.

We’re also welcome to feedback from our users. The best way to give us feedback to is to write an Idea in our Idea Exchange. 

Thanks!

[TheRealJustSean]

You HAVE to know this was a stupid move. You've removed functionality for the sake of... what, exactly? 

No one thinks this is a positive move, absolutely no one. Put the widget back. 

[ASuiter89]

So... this is the most I've ever seen a group on the internet be in agreement.  There's always at least some dude that defends the decision saying "well when you look at it from their point of view..." but nope.  The entire customer base of Spotify is unified in thinking this is the most garbage decision of all time.

I use Spotify only while I'm driving.  It won't connect to my bluetooth unless I hit the play button on the widget.  It also disconnects and I have to briefly look at my phone to hit the play button again.  Not dangerous.  Now I need to spend more time doing this.  Dangerous.  This change has made Spotify virtually unusable for me.

On my way to cancel my subscription now.  Thanks for making me get my music elsewhere.  I'm really looking forward to rebuilding my library and not at all irritated about the amount of time it will take to do that.  Wait, no sorry.  The opposite of that.

[MarcusHallett]

I figure I may as well join the crowd in expressing my intense displeasure at this decision.

[Jgmcsee]

What an outrageous lack of intuition from a supposed customer centric company!

[Jgmcsee]

Why would you remove the one piece of functionality that made Spotify a usable product for Android??? Bizarre.

I am seriously considering invoicing you for the 25 minutes of my valuable time it took to install an older apk. 

Thank You for absolutely nothing Spotify devs. 

[Champenois]

Well I'm on a trial which is going to get cancelled. Don't forget to shoot yourself in the other foot too Spotify

[mmauch]

Why? What possible reason would you have to do this? Improving user experience is not a valid answer. Your users are making this very clear. Perhaps your UX team could try communicating with actual users before making ridiculous decisions? 

[waces]

Well, the android widget was the one and only part of spotify which worked with no issues. Removing it was a silly move as the mentio m ed workaround can't replace the widget functionality. Even i'm with spotify since the very first betas now its the time to move something better.

Pro tipp for free. If you're not clever enough to write a widge (most straight forward thing in android development) then hire someone. Otherwise no need to fix something which is not broken

[PeteIRL]

Idiotic move. 

[quentin_colliez]

Hello,

I use this widget every single day: when I want to play music when I want to stop music when I want to change music. This is ... sorry was the most useful functionality.

You already have complexified the way to find a song in a playlist, to sort the playlist and now you remove this one ... I'm so disgusted about that ... I love your app or now I've to said I loved your app... 

So please change it. Make your app great again.   

[MrSh1k1]

Stupidest **bleep** move you've made in AGES, Spotify. There's ABSOLUTELY NO **bleep** REASON to remove one of your most used and most useful features. Count me in towards the feedback of bringing it back. 

[Pyrre]

I had to create a community account just to help raise the voice!

The widget was the ONLY way I accessed Spotify, because it was so simple, like it's always been on Android!

Why would you remove such an essential part of being an app on Android?!

This makes no  sense at all! I'm with the others, thinking of moving from Spotify to another platform if this is the kind**bleep** decisions we can expect from Spotify .....

[MrSh1k1]

Seems I'll have to look for a way of exporting my playlists so I know what I had, and just take my and my family's money elsewhere... Gives me a chance to rebuild my music collection, because holy fricking crud was this a monumentally stupid decision. 

[Joshyboi]

This is awful. First the library update and now taking away the widget, what's next? Will I have to do a hand stand to open the app. Love using this service but the recent changes are making it harder and harder. Please stop. Give us back our widget.

[zoharbl]

What a bad decision, I don't know guys why the **bleep** you need to do things more complicated for your customers...I we would want it without widget we would move over to an iPhone and not use your app but Apple's.

What the **bleep** were you thinking?

[shipboardcook]

Bye Felicia. And by Felicia, I of course mean Spotify. I used that widget to start and navigate Spotify 5-10 times every day. You have now made driving exponentially more dangerous by eliminating it. Not to mention needlessly complicating playback in general. You've also revealed you don't give a $&#@ about your Android user base. 4-year premium user and I just cancelled my subscription. Switching to Google or Amazon. See the rest of you there. 

[jackwsmith]

Terrible decision. The widget was there for ease of us . Now the app is slow and clunky to open via notification pull down. It would seem not a thought has been given to the paying customers. No consultation on this nor a proper explanation. People will leave spotify for this. People will purposefully not recommend your product all because of this one change and how it has been implemented. I've used spotify since 2010. Paid for it for all these years and not once thought about switching until this morning. Why you would remove a feature so important and used by so many I cant understand? Then to offer no valid explanation. This is a massive F you to your customers. I pay for a family membership and all the users on this account are affected and happy for me to switch to YouTube. 

[Cupofjoe86]

I use this feature and I've just found this post. Why! I need it! I've always used it. Please bring it back. 

[waces]

Download the apk for 8.5.16.781. Disable the auto update for spotify and you'll have the widget umtil to decide where to move from spotify

[aurel81]

cant believe this ... ... i simply cant. 
Used it every day. the 2nd action i'll do after this posting is unsibscribing, as i will use spotify much less since before.
Gonna migrate my playlists to amazon.
Spotify makes his own problems with actions like that.