Photo Credit: Android Police
Spotify is bringing back the Android home screen widget after an outpouring of protest.
Back in August, Spotify removed support for the Android home screen playback widget. The justification for the removal was that Spotify wanted to “pour resources into the things that make the best experience.”
Spotify has long ignored the generic Android widget, apparently assuming people don’t use it.
Many people were upset about the removal, taking to Spotify’s Live Idea community to bring it back. At the time of the removal, the petition had over 1,500 signatures. Since then, that number has shot up to a whopping 16,200 in just two weeks. It’s pretty apparent that many Android users who use Spotify relied on the widget.
Many users turned off updates for the app and refused to upgrade to the new version with the widget removed.
Yesterday a Spotify spokesperson updated the Android Widget petition to let fans that modifications were underway.
“We value your input and ideas, and wanted to let you know that we have made some improvements to the performance and visuals of the Android Widget. We will be reinstating it in an upcoming release on Android.”
Spotify could have updated the look of the widget and kept these users happy. Instead, they opted to remove the feature entirely and royally pissed off Android users. Widgets on the mobile platform are one of the things that set it apart from iOS.
Many saw the abandonment of the widget as a symptom of de-prioritizing Android users. But at least those who were pissed off by the removal are getting a new widget.
At the time, the streaming giant said that users could access the same playback features on the lock screen or the notification bar. But it wasn’t enough for some people. Every single competing music streaming service offers an Android widget, including rival Apple Music. Let that sink in, Spotify.
Spotify is in the middle of trying to retain its growth spurt — and pissing off formerly happy users isn’t a great start. At least the company listened to feedback and will be bringing the widget back in “future versions of the Android Spotify app.”
Spotify have really gone backwards with the new app. Performance is really bad on it, just look at the store review comments.
The app is everything, how can they mess it up so bad lol.