Spotify rumoured to be releasing its in-car music player later this year

It’s not the first time we’ve heard that Spotify has plans to release its own hardware. But now the latest round of rumours claim the in-car music player will be coming later this year. The device will be priced around US$100.

The music streaming service hopes to deliver a more direct music experience to its customers—instead of having them rely on platforms like Apple’s CarPlay or Google’s Android Auto. Rumour has it the device will sync with car stereos via Bluetooth and have buttons that you can preset to correspond to your favourite playlists. It’ll also support voice commands similar to what the current Spotify mobile app offers.

What isn’t known is if it’ll allow you to store music on it or if there will be LTE connectivity. Spotify’s challenge here is to get people to buy the device. As The Verge says, it might be more appealing if the company bundles it with its premium service.

Spotify introduces simplified ‘Car view’ mode

Aside from integrating with apps like Google Maps, Waze, and Android Auto, Spotify is rolling out to Android users a new Car view mode. It automatically enables a more driver-friendly interface when your phone connects to your car’s Bluetooth connection. This mode simplifies your controls with bigger buttons for play/pause, skip, shuffle, and favorite. The song’s title and singer come out bigger and it does away with distracting album artwork. According to Android Authority, you might not be able to swipe to the next or previous song. In this mode, it seems like you’ll need to tap on the Previous and Next buttons (which we remind you not to do while driving).

If you’re not a fan of the interface, you can disable Car View for the current ride; or turn it off altogether in the Settings page of your app. While it’s being rolled out to Android users, there is no word yet when iPhone/iOS users are getting the update. Also, it seems to only work with Bluetooth, so if you connect your phone via AUX, this won’t pull up the interface.

Source: Engadget

Head down music memory lane with Spotify’s 2018 Wrapped

Spotify has taken off the wraps of its 2018 Wrapped feature. If you’re unfamiliar with it, this annual feature shows its users what music and podcasts they’ve enjoyed over the past year on the service. (In my case, it showed the amount of times, I’ve listened to Shawn Mendes this year.) It’s a fun, shareable infographic that shows what songs, artists, and genres have dominated your account this 2018. At the same time, you get a playlist of your top 100 songs of the year as well as a new Tastebreakers playlist that shows artists and music that should be on your radar. Tastebreakers is based off of the music you listen to. 

This year, Spotify is even sharing some of its listeners Wrapped data in prominent places, like Times Square or London’s Piccadilly Circus. Artists also have a chance to see which of their songs were the most popular by month, total hours of music streamed by fans, and other information.

Source: TechCrunch

Spotify reveals users funny and odd listening habits of 2018

Spotify’s out-of-home Wrapped campaign is here and we get to see some of the quirky listening habits of its users. Like how one user is listening to a “clam meditation” instead of a calm one to get through the year. This campaign is going to be launched across digital and social platforms and puts the spotlight on 50 artists including Ariana Grande, Post Malone, and Shakira. The campaign will be coming to different countries like Canada, Australia, the US, Brazil, and the UK. According to June Sauvaget, global head of consumer marketing for Spotify, the Wrapped campaign is a “true representation” of the company’s proposition to be a “platform for discovery.” It’s also the brand’s way of saying “thank you” to its users for its impact on shaping the platform this past year.

Some of the fun takeaways from the campaign include “3,754 Laurel playlists created vs. 1,059 Yanny playlists created” and for users God is definitely a woman with God is a woman fan-made playlists numbered at 28,802, while there are nine playlists that claim God is a man. Also, someone made an “Its [sic] the royal wedding tomorrow!!!” playlist 22 days after the wedding.

Source: Taxi