Bring back enhance feature as an addition to smart shuffle!

[LoafCo]

Spotify should bring back the Enhance feature because Smart Shuffle doesn’t actually do what Enhance did, and shuffle itself isn’t truly random.

1. Shuffle Isn’t Really Shuffle

Spotify’s shuffle function tends to prioritize recent songs over others. It plays the same familiar tracks before finally introducing something “new”which is often a song you’ve already heard before. This means shuffle isn’t helping users discover fresh music, and there’s no real way to fix this without constantly adding, removing, or making playlists smaller.

2. Smart Shuffle Doesn’t Solve This

Smart Shuffle was meant to replace Enhance by mixing recommendations into your playlist, but it has major issues:

1. It still favors recent songs instead of creating a balanced mix.

2. The “new” songs it adds aren’t always new to the listener.

3. Users have no easy way to separate their own playlist from the recommended additions.

4. If you want to remove the recommended tracks, you have to turn Smart Shuffle off entirely, rather than just tweaking the suggestions.

3. The Best Solution: Enhance + Smart Shuffle

Instead of replacing Enhance, Smart Shuffle should work as an extension of it. Here’s how it could function:

1. Press Enhance. This instantly adds recommended songs to your playlist, just like before.

2. Choose Your Shuffle Mode:

 1. Standard Shuffle - Randomly plays both your songs and enhanced recommendations.

 2. Smart Shuffle - Creates a more dynamic mix, but now with better control.

To improve Smart Shuffle, Spotify could also add a favorite button that lets users refine recommendations in real-time. When you like a suggested song, it could adjust the algorithm to provide better matches in the future.

By bringing Enhance back and refining Smart Shuffle, Spotify can give users actual control over their listening experience, making discovery easier and shuffle more random.