Windows Phone 8.1 Spotify App - thoughts,comments, issues, peeves

[BlackBetty]

Although I'm really satisfied with the new app from Spotify for WP 8.1. There are feature that are missing when compared to Android counterpart.

Pros

+ Similar to iPad,Android apps.

+ Friends section and suggestion for following

Cons

- "Your Music" section is missing and replaced with playlist section.

- No crossfade/gapless playback

- No spotify connect option to remotely control other open instances of spotify

Feel free to comment on some ideas and wishes you have to improve the app. (Hopefully spotify will hear our pleas) 🙂

[Davidcu]

I love the Win Phone 8.1 app and it works pefectly but i cannot figure out how to remove stored songs after I make Off Line content no longer available. It seems to stay and there is not delete offline content or cache option as far as i can tell? Thoughts?

[Peter__]

If it is anything like iOS, all you can do is re-install the app (it is meant to manage the cache intelligently but it doesn't appear to always work).

[Davidcu]

Thanks Peter - so i should try to uninstall the app, it will remove all content then reinstall and I can start from fresh again?

[Peter__]

Yup should do.

[clemi]

I have WP 8.1 so I can download the program and playlist to SD Card! But it's totoally suck because the offline mode don't working! If I turn the program the online mode bigger suck because every time when I start the program syncing every one track again and again and again. If I start the program 500x one day the program download every track on my playlist 500x!!! What a **bleep** is this?

I had move the program to internal memory, the offline mode is working! Why only Internal memory? Why missing the "Your Music" section from WP client? When will working the offline mode from SD Card? When will growe up the program to the premium price? Really I need delete my registration and I must have to use other online music application in 2014 if I want to use my phone to music listening anywhere else out of my house out the WiFi? It's undignified!!! 

[Rolandos2014]

everywhere i read how to act with spotify costless, but to open spotify with app ask you for signing premium, and what other possibility might be on my Nokia 5230 to get into that wonderful streaming?

[Peter__]

@clemi - My guess is the app was finalised for release before WP 8.1 came out, so SD card storage support wasn't included. Hopefully there will be some updates down the line to make it work.

@Rolandos2014 - Spotify Free hasn't landed on Windows Phone just yet, but they have confirmed it is coming sometime in the future.

[clemi]

Ok, I'll waiting for it (offline working from SD Card) one month. And the other problem: Where is the "Your Music" section from mobile app? I search especially the albums! It's very very important. 

[Peter__]

It's not on iPad yet either, so hopefully that will be added in the near future too!

[RockYourSocksxX]

We need an update with extra features!
- Crossfade possibility
- Your Music
- More user friendly artist pages (description, top 5 songs, ...) and search experience
- Change the volume button from rectangular to circular
- Ability to link last.fm
- Make the app free for WP users
- Add radio functionality
- Add an alphabetical search area on the right side of the screen when in a playlist. This way it's easier to search a single song in a playlist. Now, we need to scroll... Especially with longer playlists this is a real pain. 
- Equaliser 

- Streamline the app, at present date, it is too confusing to use. 

[benjaxrivera]

Hi guys.. Is there a way we can 'Follow' people using the Windows Phone 8.1 app? Thanks in advance!

[lukasmotan]

Yes, this is exactly what I have written many times. Situation around WP is not moving as fast as it probably should. If WP wants to be superior platform, there must be some cooperation between Microsoft and top developers to provide users mindblowing experience. 

If you have used iOS version of Spotifiy you know that this is what you want. Even simple thing like search in playlist is not in WP, why? Should we pay more? 🙂

This and many other little things around WP (even if it is not fault of Microsoft) makes me thinking of switching platforms to iOS. I have iPod and iPad, wife iPhone...it would make sense. 

I am really angry, that anyone from Spotify team does not consider even reply to this and other WP threads. Uff...

[RockYourSocksxX]

I have faith in the ever growing WP community. I switched from iOS to WP and I must say I'm really happy with the way WP 8.1 works. It's far easier to use (for me). The only thing that needs a lot of improvement is app support. That's why I want Spotify to really take WP and its users serious. At present, it feels like Spotify is treating us as 2nd ranks users, which is not the case here. The app is somewhat 'useable', but still needs a lot of improvement. 

[GAMEOHOLIK]

And it work's sometimes very slow for me, loading playlists too long, sometimes even hang up.

I'm thinking to switch app for something else, cause for now Spotify App on Windows Phone isn't worth it's price.

[Peter__]

I've just swapped to Windows Phone myself, have to say I'm impressed with the whole package - Nokia Hardware, Windows Phone 8 (haven't updated to 8.1 yet!) and battery life!

Spotify reminds me of the old BlackBerry app, basic but it works although at the minute when a video auto play on my Instagram, Spotify pauses and there is no way to restart it without going back to the app and pressing Play/Pause three times!

Hoping Windows Phone continues to be on the up, only when it has proper market share will we get equal features to iOS and android sadly.

[trulow]

Is there any news as to when they will add your music to the Windows Phone app? This is the one feature that I am waiting for.

[user-removed]

The toggle for turning offline playlists on and off is exactly where my finger naturally goes to scroll down the screen.

Explained here.

http://community.spotify.com/t5/Spotify-Ideas/Lock-offline-playlist/idc-p/880743#M55829

This is incredibly frustrating, I'm not a picky guy, I'm fine without having any of the extras Androids and iOS have all I want is to listen to my music (in 320KBps which I am over the moon Windows Phonenow has) in a usable interface,

I'm back on Android until this issue get's resolved, Music / Spotify is the main reason I have a smartphone.

[tjsrowe]

I had to come here to express how woefully bad the latest Spotify Windows Phone update is that was released a few weeks ago.  Spotify have made some bad changed in the past, but they pale in comparison to this one.  Now, a lot of the time changes and dislike to them can be put down to "nobody likes change", but this one is honest to go, after a few weeks of using it, undoubtedly just a really bad app.  Allow me to list some ways in which this new version is utter rubbish.

- The 'random' function of Spotify is now completely broken.  While it does shuffle the order of playlists, it is the same every single time.  Not only this, but it only selects a subset of music from playlists AND will repeat the same tracks multiple times soon after each other.  I have now on a number of occasions had the same song repeated not twice but *three times* in a row when skipping through tracks.  On an extremely frequent basis, I will have the same track selected with one to three songs between that track, ie, A, B, C, D, A, E, F, B...

This gaurantees that even when I have 'shuffle' enabled, every time I get in to the car, I'm getting the same tracks, in the same order, every time.

- The new interface is just plain difficult to get started.  Now, instead of playlists being quickly available from the first menu, you have to click a small icon, THEN find the playlists item - which is difficult/buried, THEN you get your playlists list... after which you click it takes you to a screen that you still have to hit play on, and you STILL have to hit a tiny icon in the bottom right corner to bring up the album artwork, which you can use for swiping to skip tracks.

- When the new app loaded, it had to download all my music again.  Everything previously saved, gone.

- ON two occasions now I've had Spotify just competely stop working, and be unable to launch again until I've restarted my phone.  Once I restarted my phone, the Live Tile had disappeared, and I had to re-add it.

Of these issues the most urgent imo that needs fixing is the completely broken shuffle function, but the new UI is massively difficult to use - and outright imposible to use safely if you used to used spotify in-car - previously you could just launch it, hit play on a very large icon, and swipe to control - nice large icons that didn't require taking eyes off the road at all.  Now, however, it's tiny icons with probably at least half a dozen more interactions required to get it going.

I fail to understand how Spotify could screw up such a simple function as shuffle.

[clemi]

I found a new problem/bug in the WP client. I'm listening an playlist, with headset, phone in my case. If I pause the music with my headset button, 4-5 minutes later I can't continue the music listening, I can't start the music with headset button!!! The music NOT starting again. I must have to take off my phone from the case I need login the phone starting again the spotify client and tape on the play button on the screen! What a **bleep** this??? 

Every one other music player application working only the spotify don't!!! In every one music application I can start the music playing after 4-5 minutes pause with headset button just the spotify can't!!!

[Faas]

I just started using Spotify Premium yesterday and so far I'm happy with the app. I'd like to have the option to search for playlists too, besides artist, album and track, just like the desktop app.

And the most important feature for me personally is the ability to scrobble to last.fm, I really hope this will be implemented soon.