Spotify

In the four years since Apple Music upgraded its entire music catalog to lossless overnight, Spotify has been just around the corner from catching up. Starting today, Spotify is taking the very first steps toward making that actually happen.

Earlier this year, we saw an Apple Music tool intended to make it easier to switch from Spotify, and that tool is now available in more countries, including the US.

But wait! Are you sure you really want to do that when Spotify has just rolled out its very latest feature? Direct messages …

Spotify is expanding how users can share their music on Instagram with two new features rolling out globally today. 

One of my favorite features in iOS 26 is AutoMix for Apple Music, which uses artificial intelligence to create DJ-like transitions between songs.

Ahead of iOS 26 being released to everyone next month, Spotify is looking to steal some of Apple Music’s thunder with its own new spin on creating unique transitions between songs.

Spotify has been gradually rolling out its Audiobooks+ service around the world, and today it has reached subscribers in the United States.

The price for streaming ad-free music is about to increase for Spotify subscribers in several markets around the world, according to the company.

Spotify has always had a bent toward social sharing and keeping music activity public. Now, a new website called Panama Playlists has exposed the service’s privacy gaps by revealing Spotify playback activity, playlists, and more for various celebrities—including tech leaders, politicians, and more.

If you’ve ever forgotten to download Spotify playlists to your Apple Watch before a walk, run, or cycle ride, a new feature should make life much easier.

Instead of having to manually download to the Watch, you can use any Apple device to queue up playlist downloads, which will happen the next time you open Spotify on your Watch. The same feature also allows you to queue downloads for any other Apple device, like an iPad …

Update 9:40 am ET: Spotify says the problems are fixed: “We’re aware of some recent issues that should be all clear now! Thanks for your patience, you rock.”

If you’re having problems using Spotify today, you’re not alone. Spotify is down for many users around the world, leaving customers unable to stream their favorite music, podcasts, and audiobooks.

Spotify was one of the first companies to take advantage of recent changes to the App Store Guidelines. The company swiftly submitted a new version of its app with links that make it easier for users to subscribe to Spotify Premium using external payment methods.

In an amicus brief filed in support of Epic Games this week, Spotify touts that it has already seen a measurable increase in Premium subscription conversions thanks to these changes.

On the heels of Epic Games’ latest win over Apple in the Fortnite case, Spotify was quick to update the app with external payment links. At the time, the platform also confirmed it had broader plans to take advantage of the new court-mandated changes.

Now, a new update is live, and it is an especially welcome one for audiobook lovers.

Back in February, we saw beta-testing of an Apple Music tool to import playlists from Spotify and other music services. An updated Apple support document suggests that this is now rolling out as a live feature.

Apple says you can import both your music library and playlists into Apple Music, using your iPhone, iPad, Android device, or a web interface …

In early 2023, Spotify launched DJ, an interesting feature that leveraged a text-to-speech LLM to deliver… traditional radio, pretty much.

Now, Spotify has announced that, much like traditional radio, DJ can also take requests.

Interim Sonos CEO Tom Conrad said in an interview that two of the unpopular decisions the company made were deliberate, but the biggest problem was that it failed to understand how its products were used in the real world.

Conrad said that Sonos would never have released the new app had it fully appreciated the difference between its lab testing environment and real homes …

Spotify has announced a handful of updates rolling out to its music streaming service starting this week. Among the changes are improvements to queuing songs, customizing playlists, and more.

There’s one feature, however, that stands out most to me: Snooze.