Desktop vs Phone

[jsibley5]

Plan Free

Country USA

Device

(iPhone 5)

Operating System

(Windows 10)

My Question or Issue

 I was one of the first customers in the US to get a Spotify account.  When I got it I was, and still am, able to play the exact songs I want when I want on my desktop.  Later when I got a iPhone I noticed I didn't have the same control.  It only allows me to play things by shuffle.  I'm considering get premium for a few months, but I'm afraid after the trial period is up my desktop access will change.  Do all new accounts on the desktop have the ability to play what they want when they want or do they have to shuffle play like my iPhone?  If I get a trial premium account and leave it, will I lose any abilities I have?

[Billy-J]

Hey @jsibley5, and welcome to the community.

Hope you're doing great!

Once you upgrade to Premium, you'll have all the sweet benefits which you can learn more about here. If you are using the same account on both desktop and mobile, they both will have the option to play music on-demand with Premium.

To answer your second question, when you cancel your Premium trial before the expiration date - you'll still have access to your Premium content unti the expiration date. After that date, you'll be reverted to free and lose the Premium benefits.

I hope this helps! If you need help with anything else, just let me know 🙂 

[jsibley5]

Does the free desktop subscription act differently than the free phone subscription? Yes they are the same account but they act differently. Does your free accounts act differently?

[Billy-J]

@jsibley5.

That's a great question. Spotify on mobile and desktop do act differently, because they are on different platforms (computer, and mobile). In terms of Premium features, on both devices - you should be getting the same benefits. 

If they act differently, I'd recommend doing a clean reinstall of the Spotify app, and let me know if the same happens.

I hope this clarifys things 🙂

[jsibley5]

Thanks for the clarification. I was wondering if I got a super sweet deal
by being an early implementers, but as you say desktop does work
differently, and I should be able to play what I want and the order I want
while still having a free account.

[meldeliz]

Spotify on mobile is severely lacking in the user interface experience. The desktop app is much, much better. On mobile, I can't even click into a playlist to see what's in it. Amazon Music is doing a better job on mobile. Not a fan of iTunes but even they are doing better on mobile. 

[Sjahko]

Yeah it's so strange to me why the functions of both apps are so completely different. I mean it's awesome that I can switch between laptop and phone with the click of a button. But why doesn't have the same functions. 

For example when I want to listen to recently played I can go back soooooooooooo far on my phone. But I have to add those songs one by one into a playlist. But then when I want to check that on the desktop app I can only go back to the last 50 songs I played. Like what the **bleep**. Just implement the same functionality.