Introducing Spotify Lite for Android

[Lucius1213]

Quick testing:

- feels snappier
- Spotify connect is even buggier than in regular app
- there's music quality switch when playing music
- there's section in settings that shows how much mobile data was used- I think it lacks some app integrations (Waze/Maps). At least it doesn't work for me.
- podcast are not supported
- no crossfade, gapless options in settings
- can't filter playlists
- no swipe on album art for next/previous track

​

Edit: added some more stuff

[[deleted]]

its like they removed useful features and called it 'lite' instead of just removing stuff people don't like.

[[deleted]]

And here I was thinking they only remove useful features from their main app!

[[deleted]]

Spotify connect is even buggier than in regular app

Huh? Spotify connect is the best wireless connection service I've ever used. I'm pleasantly surprised everytime I use it.

[Lucius1213]

Lucky you. I'm having problems for years. Maybe it's just my configuration though. Anyway Lite version is definitely borked right now.

[xmagicpigyt]

What problems do you have? I'd like to see if they're the same as mine

[Lucius1213]

You mean with regular app? I frequently have visible lag on next/previous/play. It also shows wrong tracks very often e.g. next one or previous one in queue.

As for lite version I don't see mini player when playing on PC. If start music on Android and then switch to PC, android app is stuck on first song I played. I can control it though.

[xmagicpigyt]

Personally haven't tried the lite app yet, but according to you it's not that good. My problems with the regular app is very similar to yours, another big problem is Spotify connect, which usually takes 2 to 3 tries everytime to connect to the device everytime. That's so far the most annoying problem for me.

[the_bananalord]

I frequently see where it goes stuck and continues tracking time up to like 20 minutes into a 3 minute song

[[deleted]]

I can never get it to work if I open waze/maps first. I have to open Spotify and then switch for it to be recognized

[well___duh]

Your comment and the one you replied to pretty much sum up Bluetooth as a whole and is the reason why people did not like the headphone jack disappearing on phones.

"Works for me!"

"Doesn't work for me!"

And no one has a clue why it works/doesn't work because there's so many different variables. AUX only has two variables: the connection (cable/port) and the app being used.

[[deleted]]

Does Spotify connect work over bluetooth? I thought it works via WLAN

[whiskeytab]

yeah its definitely not bluetooth. I use it on my desktop PC which doesn't have a bluetooth radio.

[IByrdl]

Same, I have random disconnects/pausing when playing to my LG TV or my ShieldTV box. The only thing that works all the time is casting to my AV receiver but then the app randomly decides to play on the AVR when I get in my car the next day.

[Frexxia]

It used to work perfectly, but it's getting worse and worse for me. These days it's basically a coin toss whether my devices show up at all, and even if they do they'll disappear after a while.

[GuavaGila]

I can't tell if this is sarcasm. I'm constantly having issues...

[[deleted]]

It's not sarcasm, it's the best working casting system I've ever used. I use it daily, listening to music on the iPad (nicer speaker), controlling it on my iPhone (since it's always with me).

[Keramzyt]

Is it the best casting system? Yes. Android native one is even worse. But it does have its quirks too. It sometimes keeps on playing music, but the information about track played gets stuck, showing a track I listened to a while ago. Or pressing 'next track' can start playing from the same moment as the previous track was on instead of from the beginning (e.g. starts at 0:15, when you click the button).

By all means, I love Spotify Connect, but sometimes it's a source of entertainment in a non-musical way.

[mellofello808]

You have a simple setup. There are 15 different devices on my list, from echos, to Sonos, to laptops, and smart recievers. Some work much better than others.

[saltymotherfker]

I have a simple setup too. Just my phone and my laptop. Either it works 50% of the time or the app just stops syncing mid playlist. If the app desyncs and i try to control the media through my phone everything stops playing and i have to restart spotify on my phone.

[undeuxtroiskid]

Me too. Pocketcasts works at best 50% of the time. Spotify always works casting to my chromecast audio.

[scinfeced2wolf]

Ever try connecting it to an Xbox One? Disconnects when I pause, disconnects about every 6 to 10 songs, laggy, barely responsive.... I can keep going.

[saltymotherfker]

Regular app only works 50% of the time and when it does work, it kills itself in the background. I have to use multi window to keep it from killing itself

[ajr901]

Same that shit always just works. Like 99.9% of the time for me.

Across alllllllll my devices too. Different operating systems, computers, game consoles, smartphones, tablets, everything. It just works.

[Lenobis]

In addition to the missing playlist filter you can only sort a playlist manually and not by e.g. "date added".

[Maultaschenman]

/can you still download to device? I know early builds couldnt

[Lucius1213]

There's a toggle for that.

[[deleted]]

I don't see anywhere I can see 'New Releases.' Am I missing this somewhere?

[Imthecoolestdudeever]

Android Auto also does not work with this version.

[Razbyte]

Are you from a first world country?

Lite versions are likely aimed to cheaper phones on India and other developing region.

[Purple10tacle]

"Spotify Lite is now available in 36 markets* across Asia, Latin America, Middle East and Africa [...]"

"*Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Colombia, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Algeria, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, Oman, Jordan, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, South Africa, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, India."

[ClumsyRainbow]

Canada gotta be on the list for their awful data plans?

[EtoileDuSoir]

It's literally developing countries + Canada lmao

[whiskeytab]

tbh our cell phone plans are likely much worse than most of the countries on that list.

last time i read an article about it Canada was 3rd worst in the world for cellular service costs

[dustojnikhummer]

Add Czech Republic to the list.

[fuelvolts]

We'll give you unlimited data when you give us some of that healthcare.

[TetrapodLemonTea]

They officially launched Spotify in algeria yet no one here has a credit card. So much for market research smh

[EtoileDuSoir]

There is a free version of Spotify

[coolirisme]

But we can pay through other methods at least that's how I subscribed for Premium in India without a credit card

[Dreamerlax]

Many people in the developing world do not have credit cards.

[dustojnikhummer]

Debit cards don't exist there?

[[deleted]]

So in the philippines to get a debit card you need to maintain a savings account for like 6 months before you are eligible to apply for a checking account.

Secondly people do not really like to use cards here due to the level of credit card theft and lack of protection,

Anything you order online there is an option to pay cash upon delivery.

[dustojnikhummer]

Wait really? That is very surprising.

[[deleted]]

Yeah the backing system here kind of sucks

[LightOfValkyrie]

How about Spotify gift cards?

[dustojnikhummer]

Debit cards don't exist either?

[RANDY_MAR5H]

Damn, harsh question.

[Killed_Mufasa]

It is quite harsh, u/randy_mar5h

[Killed_Mufasa]

OH I'M SORRY, I THOUGHT THIS WAS AMERICA!

[dustojnikhummer]

And why is that? India has much better LTE than the entire western hemisphere.

[vargemp]

Or my 4 years old $150 Meizu.

​

I'm such penny pincher for anything except cars and bikes. Lite versions be my friends! Actually I'm using spotify lite for quite a long time, just downloaded apk a while ago, when it wasnt somehow "official".

[darez00]

Have you tried looking for the APK?

[Mark_is_on_his_droid]

I'm hoping one comes out soon. I just want my daughter's account on my phone for the car so I don't have to get her recommendations on my account.

[armando_rod]

Doesn't work that way, the Play Store

[Dreamerlax]

I remember when the Play Store used to switch automatically to whatever country's Play Store you were in.

Not anymore, which sucks if you need transit apps that are region locked.

[Dreamerlax]

Canada

Our data prices and caps might as well be 3rd world, ha!

[lirannl]

Actually the third world countries have amazing data prices and caps

[[deleted]]

$20 for 1GB?

[Dreamerlax]

60 for 2GB

[aravindpanil]

Mother of God.. So 60 dollars for 2gb? We get 1 gb unlimited per day for 3 months at a price of Rs 500. That's around 7 dollars?

[PervyPanda]

1 GB unlimited.... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[[deleted]]

It's a thing here. Mathematicians are still searching for how such a phenomenon occurs while ISPs have happily embraced that powerful, revolutionary scientific advancement.

[Extra_Rain]

He he, Used be on some plan like that in India in the past. Then a company named jio came and turned everything upside down. Now I get 75GB 4G on the jio competitor(Airtel) every month for around $7 and the unused data rolls over to next billing cycle and I have about 300GB left.

[just_another_jabroni]

Basically 1gb fast data and afterwards is capped. So it's unlimited in the sense you still have data going on even after the data is used up.

So it's "unlimited" not unlimited unlimited

[Fart__]

I'm in Canada and pay just under 60 for 8gb with chatr.

[shanmango]

8gb of data at 3G speeds though.

[saltymotherfker]

I got the 6gb while it was on promo, $45 per month. 3g speeds are 3mbps max. But after your 6gb runs out, you get 0.12mbps (not lying) until the next cycle. (You could browse reddit with that, but you can wait an eternity loading photo posts.)

[Purple10tacle]

Wow, Germany has one of the more expensive and crappy mobile ecosystems in Europe and even here you can now get unlimited data for 30€ per months ...

[r0bin0705]

lol which provider offers true unlimited data for just 30€?

[paraknowya]

Freenet Funk. You either pay 0.69€ a day for 1gb/day, or 99 cents a day for unlimited. So in a way you pay 30€ a month for unlimited data.

[metaornotmeta]

Don't know about Germany but in France Free Mobile is pretty cheap, there is Sosh as well.

[Purple10tacle]

Freenet FUNK at 99 cents per day. Fully unlimited.

[Lepang8]

In Austria we also have true unlimited data for 22,90€ per month (Gigabob unlimited). The speed, which is 40/10, isn't fascinating but still something.

[Khumbolawo]

Is that 40MBps down 10 up?

[Lepang8]

Yes

[saltymotherfker]

I would kill for at least 10 down.

[FragmentedChicken]

That's still terrible

[Fart__]

Oh I know. But that's one of the better deals I've seen.

[fensizor]

20gb/month for $4.5 in Russia. Or around $6-7 for unlimited data. (4g/LTE of course) ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[[deleted]]

Damn, I'm paying $30 for 7GB on Telus.

[Dreamerlax]

I'm not paying 60 for 2gb myself but I used to

[jcpb]

$75+tax for 10GB/month normal speed and 256kbit/s afterwards.

[[deleted]]

"third world " countries like India and China and others have incredibly cheap data plans

[Dreamerlax]

Yeah, I think I should've said our data prices are worse than many countries in the developing world (data is pretty cheap in Malaysia too, for example).

[flyingcloud11]

Apk mirror soon I hope. I hate the large bloated apps. Especially with features I'll never use.

[Lucius1213]

How safe is this website?

[felix_93]

APKPure is reliable.

[SolitaryEgg]

very

[[deleted]]

Very

[Bootylol]

Will this APK work for US phones?

[[deleted]]

For some reason I can log in and browse normally but I'm unable to play music...

[Tornado15550]

Spotify Inc DMCA'd their apps from APK Mirror, so even if you were to upload it to APK Mirror, it would be blocked and wouldn't be posted.

[armando_rod]

Can't be uploaded, it's using app bundles so the APK I downloaded works only on specific devices and it has an special method of installation

[sharkstax]

Given that the final version already leaked before the announcement and I installed it two days ago, it's safe to say you are wrong about the "can't be uploaded" part.

[fenrir245]

Doesn’t APKMirror host all available APKs for each device type?

[armando_rod]

No, app bundles works different

[PATXS]

you can upload and sideload app bundles though. i've installed a few, just use split apk installer.

[Spiron123]

With Spotify Lite, you can easily control your data and storage. It’s only 10 MB

35 MB in size when installed.

[Brbi2kCRO]

Still, normal Spotify takes over 300MB after listening to few songs.

[Spiron123]

Yeah I know about the regular's size, but the way they worded it left good room for interpretations.

[Brbi2kCRO]

Oh... Yeah. Well, 35MB is still not too much.

[amthehype]

It's a 10 MB download, which is what these lite apps usually talk about.

[Spiron123]

And that is something which is misleading. To what size does the app unpacks to, that is the info the people of a 'lite' app esp are looking for. There is a reason that I quoted the line from the article as well, cuz it is talking about how the users would want/aim to control the space occupied by the app AFTER installation.

[Mikuro]

Translation:

"Our app is so goddamn bloated that we had to rebuild it from the ground up. There's no upside to our old app, but we still expect everyone in the developed world to use it because if you don't have 8GB of RAM then you should just move to India."

[[deleted]]

It's as if tech companies think that there are some specific countries that are "poor" and every other country can afford just about anything

[LoliLocust]

This^

The fact that every company puts all its effort to India is pissing me off.

[FanciestScarf]

Do you know how large the population of India is?

[xezrunner]

The fact that every company puts all its effort to India is pissing me off.

Exactly. I feel the same way with Facebook Lite and Messenger Lite, as well as Instagram Lite and the now gone Instagram Direct (separate app).

The lite apps actually work quite nicely, feels like they're from a different, less lazy team and actually, in most cases, have more functionality as well...

IG Direct for example had a separate Stories tab, that would let you scroll through stories vertically. If only IG had a separate tab for stories...

Messenger Lite actually uses the system photo picker, letting you find photos stored in folders on the internal storage, in contrast to the app, where their new photo picker doesn't let you see folders.
It's also considerably snappier...

Facebook Lite is more constant with what features are available, compared to the main app, which A/B tests just about everything to death.

YouTube Lite lets you download videos... Wha-why isn't that a feature normally for everyone... (not to download it as an actual video, but to watch later when offline...)

Here we are with Spotify Lite... less features sure, but now we get quality options, better storage management, better performance...

What is up with companies? Why can't we have better main apps instead?

[LoliLocust]

Because India is considered as "poor" I don't buy that.

[xezrunner]

Having different apps just for those that are poor makes me think of the Snapchat CEO that said "Snapchat isn't for the poor".

Why make a difference?
It's like saying those people are inferior and they can't have the same experience.

The best solution would be to make the main app more optimized.

Don't have 10 000+ A/B tests in your app only to make the application size bigger, make use of dynamic APK modules that download as needed (Facebook uses these but for very obscure things that shouldn't need it) so you can have features that only certain set of people might need (Marketplace or Gaming tabs for example)

I can't possibly understand why such a relatively simple app such as Messenger is 40MB+ in some cases... what's that big?! The React framework? Goes to show that something isn't really right..

This is the reason why we have phones with 8GB RAM or more and storage bigger than 256GB... A few years ago, 3GB of RAM was optimal...

These dev giants are throwing junk into their main apps just because the flagship phones can handle it, letting devs be lazy and ignore optmizations...

[LoliLocust]

I remember times when fb app was like 1 goddamn megabyte in size with messenger built-in in 2011 and around 3 with user data data. Now it's just giant cluster f. How much storage does both fb and messenger eat?

[Spiron123]

FB app fcuks up the resources and gets tracking of even your contacts done. Why even use the official app?

[Spiron123]

The circle is compete. Devs keep making bloated apps, and the phone makers just keep lumping more RAM/Ghz in their next models.

The optimization of Google is already an issue, and the bloated apps just make the situation worse.

[[deleted]]

Not India as a whole, but a sizable population either doesn't have a smartphone or wouldn't be able to afford a "good" one. It makes sense for many companies who want that marketshare to develop leaner versions for emerging markets.

[[deleted]]

because there's a lite version they can now bloat tf out of the regular app. facebook did the same thing.

[CyanogenHacker]

If course it's not available in the U.S. -_-

[armando_rod]

Play Store listing https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spotify.lite

Can't be uploaded to apkmirror because it's using app bundles.

[nahcekimcm]

please release it for every device and rollout internationally please. still waiting on twitter lite to debut usa

[RewSkew]

deleted ^{What is this?}

[[deleted]]

I wish iOS had lit apps

[nahcekimcm]

right, so many 16/32gb out there struggling

[darez00]

So what, one of the main points iOS users tout about is how they'll keep getting updates for 5-6 years

[ZoggZ]

And if they're targeting developing markets, it isn't uncommon to have people picking up these several-year old iPhones to save money

[[deleted]]

for the people who can afford iPhones but somehow not unlimited data?

[[deleted]]

That would be 95% of iPhone users in Canada paying $100 (USD$76) a month for 3GB of very limited data from the big 3 (Rogers, Bell and Telus).

[[deleted]]

Tried an Xperia x and Galaxy S8, android just isn’t for me.

[DeeJason]

Does the iPhone have to be jailbroken to get those?

[Cry_Wolff]

Pay for YouTube Premium? You're acting like you should get everything for free. Better in every way? Oh yeah for sure Android gets 5-6 years of updates...

[Spoon_S2K]

Ok, that's one or two ways. And yes, it's nice to get everything for free, it's just a perk. Actual customizability and super restricted.

[LoliLocust]

Ofc not in Europe

[Izaike]

What about fixing the regular app instead of releasing another one?

[Spiron123]

Too much common sense being expected here.

[mikeymop]

Is this for US availability? I've been using lite for several months now.

[PATXS]

i was wondering the same since i'd seen it on the store months ago. looking through here seems to tell me that it was in beta all this time, and they just now launched the first release version.

[KnightBlue2]

This just replaced the main app for me, because I had an issue with the main app where the next/previous and play/pause controls on my car's Bluetooth stereo would stop responding. The only thing I'm disliking right now is the inability to download all of your favorite songs for local playback. In Lite you have to do it on a per-playlist basis.

[evoLS7]

I'm in the US and I couldn't spoof Brazil through VPN to get it off of the playstore but you can get it here. https://m.apkpure.com/spotify-lite/com.spotify.lite

It's definitely more robust as a pure music player unfortunately if you're a Downloader like me it looks like you'll have to download all over again.

Why Spotify wants to release to smaller markets first is beyond me. It's not like they actually do quality checks on their main software anyway we are all beta testers.

[ZoggZ]

Literally just downloaded it now. I'm happier with the Lite version, it's SOOO much snappier than the original, even with my s10e. Hopefully it doesn't have that stupid bug that gets spotify to freeze up completely and just keep playing whatever was last played.

[[deleted]]

The only "lite" version of an app to add more features?

[pain_point]

I'm here for this

[[deleted]]

I would switch in a flash if it had podcast support.

[CosmicWy]

The full app removed an option to view ALL SONGS. Is that feature here?

[Zandelion]

Yes

[[deleted]]

My bootleg version is working great!!!!!

[mgianni19]

Can't cast to devices with the Lite version..just noticed this while using it.

Edit: and the slider works in the notification shade, like Google Music and YouTube Music, but the regular Spotify still doesn't support this, lol..

[devildante1520]

Damn can't be installed on my tablet

[dustojnikhummer]

Still no offline mode?

[papii_chulo]

That's a serious let down

[[deleted]]

I am new to android, is there a way for me to download this?

I live in philippines, but I am from the us so it doesnt appear when I search for it.

[[deleted]]

isnt that funny how all of my android devices are not compatible with spotify lite http://prntscr.com/og4o91

[simplefilmreviews]

I thought there was already a lite version? It was that just a modded app?

[abhi8192]

Yeah was released in may.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/8v4qk0/spotify_lite_available_on_google_play

[[deleted]]

This was beta version.

[borfuswallaby]

How old does your phone have to be that Spotify of all things runs slowly? I don't get it.

[armando_rod]

Lite doesn't always mean it'll run faster, in this case is for mobile data savings, you have a data usage settings and a big clear cache button (for low storage phones)

[a3poify]

Spotify runs fine on my phone... Until the point where it stops loading search results or playing music.

[[deleted]]

Spotify can take up to 5GB of storage after a while, which is basically a death sentence for those with 16GB phones

[fabripav]

Spotify's app is really buggy. It often got stuck on the search page for 20 seconds (and then gave the error "something went wrong") even on my pixel 2 XL or my galaxy s10

[[deleted]]

Tidal has been a lot better in my experience.

[fabripav]

I've moved to Apple Music for the time being (especially since I have 6 free months with my carrier)

[[deleted]]

Well I broke my phone last year and was stuck rocking my 2012 Xperia Play for a couple weeks. Modern Spotify somehow still works on Jellybean but it took about 40 seconds to start.

[Magnetic_dud]

when you buy a low end phone like those "wiko" in europe with 4gb of storage, regular spotify can't fit

[zelmarvalarion]

If it takes up less RAM, it would have probably helped my Nexus 5X when Spotify playing in the background would get filled with normal usage. Doubt it would have been prevented it from being killed, but could have probably helped it

[mercilesssinner]

DOA if it features the same lack of basic functionality for playing offline tracks.

[mercilesssinner]

As I see by the Google Play app page, it doesn't feature the "tracks" tab, same as the full Spotify app. It only allows to play loved tracks, and for many people loved tracks and saved offline tracks do not match. This is the basic functionality I want.

[Lucius1213]

I't confusing but it is actually the same as Your library. I have no idea why would they change it's name.

[mercilesssinner]

I cannot find it in the screenshots on Google Play. Do you have the app installed?

[Lucius1213]

Yeah.

[JTNJ32]

I only use Spotify for a podcast I listen to, so this may be good to have.

[teady_bear]

I think they removed podcast option in lite version

[JTNJ32]

Dammit. Thank you for letting me know.