Safari No Longer Supported??!!

[riegelstamm]

It seems that the Safari browser is no longer supported for the Web Player. I've been using it for years without a problem. The Spotify System requirements page even says it can run in Safari 6 or higher: https://support.spotify.com/us/article/spotify-system-requirements/

I have Safari 10 on Mac OS 10.12.6, but when I try to open play.spotify.com now, I get the message, "This browser doesn't support Spotify Web Player. Switch browsers or download Spotify for your desktop" (see screen shot).

I checked the Switch browsers link, and sure enough, Spotify Web Player no longer supports Safari!

Thanks a lot, Spotify, but I don't want to switch browsers or use your desktop player!

Either restore Safari support, or I'm off to Apple Music, Amazon Music, Google Music, or something else. And while you're at it, dump Flash and use HTML5!

EDIT: I thought I replied to @SebastVAIO but don't see it, so here it is again:

play.spotify.com redirects to open.spotify.com and then I get the error message. Deleting cache and cookies has no effect. I contacted Spotify Support and this is what they said:

"After taking a look backstage, we can confirm that after recent updates Safari is no longer a supported browser for Web Player.
We're always testing things by adding or removing features to make Spotify better overall. We’re sorry that this means you’re not able to use the Web Player like you could before.
We can't say if or when any specific features will be back. But as soon as we’ve got anything to announce, we’ll let everyone know via the Spotify Community.
Sorry again for any inconvenience caused, and please let us know if there is anything else we can do for you.
Best wishes,
Rollie
Spotify Customer Support"

In other words, Safari users have no choice but to switch browsers or use the desktop app. I did a little experimenting (switched my user agent to Chrome), and I got a new message to "Enable player in your browser," which leads to this page: 

https://support.spotify.com/us/using_spotify/system_settings/enable-the-spotify-web-player/

Apparently it has something to do with the Google Widevine content decryption module, which Apple doesn't support because it's not very secure. I tried enabling the Widevine plugin and got the attached message. Looks like Apple is having a pissing contest with Google, Spotify, and anyone else who uses Widevine. In the meantime, we users are caught in the crossfire.

[viji_island]

I also noticed that when I play the same song side by side using the macOS desktop app vs firefox webplayer that the volume from the desktop app is lower than the firefox webplayer. Both are on full volume and the desktop app is still lower volume and sounds more "dull" like mids and bass are dampened. Firefox sounds as supposed to. Played around with the app settings but couldnt find anything related to volume output or equalizer. Anyone else had this happen and does this also happen with Chrome or other browsers? 

[arogow-us]

I'm sorry I don't have a solution for you, but I can tell you that I've seen several other users complain about the same volume issue since they updated the player a few days ago.

[qz11535214]

There are so many ads on open.spotify, so I think they want us to see the ads. that's why play.spotify cannot be accessed anymore. 

At last, I will say, never use the App, you will see more ads on the App than on the Web, and it will be forced to install into C:\XXX

[riegelstamm]

@SebastVAIO, we know it's the browser (Safari), not the OS. As I stated in the edit to my original post, I tried changing the user agent to Chrome and allowing the Widevine plugin, but it still did not work.

[CAJ69I]

@riegelstamm

That's not the problem, I have DRM enabled. Spotify is garbage.

[aluxian]

RIDICULOUS

[SpotCreated]

Is the app not an option? Or a better browser like chrome?:D

[CAJ69I]

For me the app is not an option on a company computer. Other browsers, which steal data (like Chrome) aren't an option either. I hate IE, but that might be my only chance, which is ridiculous.

I've been paying premium, so I can listen to quality music at home, on the go and in the office too. Now I have one less reason to keep paying...

[arogow-us]

Unfortunately IE 11 is also no longer supported. It seems they are really trying to push installing the webplayer, apparently not caring at all that a lot of their user base cannot install third party software.

[caipirinhapn]

Also Firefox ESR v.45.8 (extended support release) is no longer supported.

This must be a joke or a massive bug... spotify will loose me as a customer if they don't fix this. Firefox ESR and IE11 are the only browsers i can use at work. If i cannot use the webplayer, there is no need for me to pay any monthly subscription.

this is ridiculous

[sharno3]

That's so annoying as Spotify Desktop player is a batter drainer for me with its embedded browser and it's so bloated. A webpage on Safari is have much less effect on the battery. Please fix that Spotify.

[AlexYYY]

once apple music has a graphic eq i'm jumping ship

[swanpdonkey]

Cunts.

[Atchoo]

My guess to why Safari is out in the cold, is a combination/complication (sic) of the following:

• Safari doesn't support the HTML5/Chrome Push Notification standard
• As mentioned, Safari doesn't support the Vildevine DRM encryption libraries
• Safari is generally more strict, and doesn't allow "unsafe" javascript etc out of the box.
• A user confirmation is generally required for most extensions and "unsafe" scripts, and it would be too much maintenance, annoyances for the user, and ultimately it would result in customer complaints and WAY too many detailed workarounds/hacks for Spotify to be dependent on).
• Apple is probably one of the very few privileged companies in the world (apart from Microsoft) that's in a position to say  "Nah, your code stinks. We'll make our own system instead (...and we don't need your $)". 
• Apple Music (why would they go the extra mile to support something they "compete" against? (I can't find a better word for it at the moment), and lastly: by doing so, they would have to have to act against their own policy regarding safe browsing and privacy issues. 

That's my 5 cents anyway. But of course, it's only speculations. I hope Safari will improve soon though (not impressed with the latest version), and I really hope the Spotify web player will do a comeback on Safari when that happens.

[riegelstamm]

@Atchoo, obviously Apple isn't going to change Safari to support Spotify. Spotify must accommodate their Safari users.

[JoshNoe]

From a developer's perspective, I totally get where Spotify is coming from. Safari is the new IE in that it has so many quirks and bugs that it's a huge effort to support it.

I wouldn't be surprised if more web apps / sites stop supporting Safari. I wouldn't blame them.

[arogow-us]

Never fear, friends.  Google play music has a 90 day free trial and it. is. AWESOME.  I don't know why I ever gave Spotify a dime.  All the same tracks plus way more radio stations, and a web player that works in every browser.  Same price too.  I've made the switch "official" as of last week, and cancelled my Spotify premium.  Not worth it to pay a company that blatantly disregards what their users want and need.

[diegolo]

From a developer's perspective, I totally get where Spotify is coming from. Safari is the new IE in that it has so many quirks and bugs that it's a huge effort to support it.

I don't really get your point. Since it is a huge effort let's stop supporting it. Well they could stop supporting all the browsers and just maintain the app then no? less effort! 
Oh wait, what about stop supporting the desktop app and work only on the mobile? less effort! 

The point is that many users use spotify at work, they can't use the app and in many places you can't install extra browsers. I don't care about cool animations and features. I just want to listen the music. Put less fireworks and make it easier to mantain. 

[JoshNoe]

@diegolo wrote:

From a developer's perspective, I totally get where Spotify is coming from. Safari is the new IE in that it has so many quirks and bugs that it's a huge effort to support it.

I don't really get your point. Since it is a huge effort let's stop supporting it. Well they could stop supporting all the browsers and just maintain the app then no? less effort! 
Oh wait, what about stop supporting the desktop app and work only on the mobile? less effort! 

The point is that many users use spotify at work, they can't use the app and in many places you can't install extra browsers. I don't care about cool animations and features. I just want to listen the music. Put less fireworks and make it easier to mantain. 

---

What I'm saying is that Chrome and Firefox are much easier to support than Safari, due to Safari's bugs and lack of feature support. At some point, the cost of supporting CERTAIN platforms outweighs the benefit.

Chrome is easy to support and used by the majority of users, so it's a no brainer. Safari is harder to support and used by fewer users, so it's a lower priority. I'm not saying Spotify shouldn't support Safari, just that I'm not surprised, and that I can empathize with them. It's a PITA to support :).

You make a great point though! Ideally, instead of not supporting Safari at all, they should just disable certain features in it.

[arogow-us]

Yet somehow, other music streaming services offer in-browser players that work across (almost) every browser, including Safari.  Of course it's not easy, but if the entire point of your company is to make it simpler for people to listen to music... 

I mean, can you imagine YouTube suddenly not working with Safari just because it's not as easy as getting it to work on Chrome?

I'm not buying that it's not "worth" it for Spotify to support all browsers.  It's pretty obvious that they want to force people into downloading the app.  A poor move that will cost them quite a bit of business.