Paying premium users of the Spotify music streaming service now each receive a separate play and shuffle button instead of the combined play/shuffle button that used to play a playlist in any order was.
Play and shuffle as separate buttons
With this simple and overdue change, a distinction will also be made between the free and paid versions in the future, because in the free, advertising-supported free version of Spotify, playlists can only be played in shuffle mode. The change in the Spotify app is to be rolled out in all markets worldwide in the coming weeks and will be implemented simultaneously for both Android and iOS. Premium users will simply see two separate buttons for play and shuffle in the app instead of the previously combined button.
This new change will allow you to choose the mode you prefer at the top of playlists and albums and listen the way you want to. Whether you love the joy of the unexpected with Shuffle mode, or prefer listening to tunes in order by simply pressing Play, Spotify has you covered.
Spotify
Criticism caused changes to albums
In the past, Spotify's adherence to shuffle playback via the play button has primarily aroused criticism from artists who want their album to be heard in a certain order and for whom the order of the tracks should not be arbitrary – including Adele had publicly complained about Spotify's shuffle preference. In contrast to playlists, Spotify had therefore already replaced the combined play/shuffle button on albums with a pure play button. In the future, Premium users will be able to choose whether they want to play back the tracks sorted or in any order for albums and playlists directly in the main view.
Lossless streaming is shifting further and further
On the other hand, customers worldwide still have to wait for Spotify HiFi. About a year and a half ago, Spotify announced that it would offer lossless streaming with higher quality than before. In early 2021, the feature was announced as “this year,” but nothing came of it. Spotify still does not give a new date for the hi-fi function.