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Ask HN: How is the Spotify app so bad?

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Ask HN: How is the Spotify app so bad?

#1

Post by erlich »

The library tree view is so terrible.

- You cannot shift+click select to easily add playlists into a folder.

- Any podcasts you follow cannot be moved into folders to tidy things up. They just clutter the sidebar.

- You have to click on a tiny arrow to expand a folder. Clicking on the folder navigates inside the folder.

The fact that podcasts are in the same Spotify mega-app is terrible too. And the podcast experience is a complete mess.

I listened to an interview with the head of Spotify product, and he talked about how great it was to have everything in this mega app. I just feel the opposite of everything he said.

It's one of the most popular services in the world, but has one of the worst user experiences of all the apps I use.

And they actually think they are doing a good job at it.

Re: Ask HN: How is the Spotify app so bad?

#3

Post by KingOfCoders »

(Android) It also gets easily confused with Wifi and whether or not I'm online (because I'm in a room with bad wifi reception). It sometimes blocks on playing downloaded content when there is no internet (when listening in bed and internet is turned off). This has not changed in the last ten years. Not sure why they have thousands of programmers, and tribes and squads and who knows what else.

It's barely usable for radio plays (favorites, queue, last played, ...) as it does act on songs not albums in general.

Re: Ask HN: How is the Spotify app so bad?

#4

Post by Raag_malhar »

KingOfCoders wrote: post #3

(Android) It also gets easily confused with Wifi and whether or not I'm online (because I'm in a room with bad wifi reception). It sometimes blocks on playing downloaded content when there is no internet (when listening in bed and internet is turned off). This has not changed in the last ten years. Not sure why they have thousands of programmers, and tribes and squads and who knows what else. It's barely usable for r…

bad network issue is really annoying tbh, it will not play even downloaded playlist, we have to specifically go in setting and enable offline mode, but then it won't change back to online once we are connected to good network.

Re: Ask HN: How is the Spotify app so bad?

#5

Post by i0nutzb »

leed25d wrote: post #2

Do you think that this might have something to do with it? https://www.npr.org/2023/12/04/1216950219/spotify-layoffs-17...

Most likely, no.

Not using the mobile version that much, so I can't give feedback on that, but the desktop player is getting worse and worse for the past few years: searching, discovering (by browsing), library/playlist management etc.

It's like the Spotify guys are not even using Spotify anymore :)

Re: Ask HN: How is the Spotify app so bad?

#6

Post by al_borland »

I recently moved from Apple Music to Spotify to see what all the fuss is about, thinking it might get me listening to more music, or different stuff than Apple keeps playing. Using it feels like work and I don’t really get the how they expect users to use the app. I’m tempted to go see if there is a video from the designers explaining their vision so I can use it right. As of now it seems like a mess.

Also, their AI DJ makes no sense. The worst part about radio is the DJ saying nonsense between songs, and they added AI to say nonsense between songs. I was just looking for a way for it to play songs I’d probably like based on other songs/artists I like. With Apple I’d simply tell Siri, “play good music” and it would play a radio station with my name on it (without an interrupting fake DJ).

Re: Ask HN: How is the Spotify app so bad?

#7

Post by aosaigh »

I moved to Apple Music because of the terrible state of the Spotify UI. I hated having podcasts and more recently audio books taking up real estate and generally just started to find it too difficult to navigate.

Apple Music isn’t perfect, but it has a more focused UI that makes it easier to find music.

Re: Ask HN: How is the Spotify app so bad?

#8

Post by Source_Code »

al_borland wrote: post #6

I recently moved from Apple Music to Spotify to see what all the fuss is about, thinking it might get me listening to more music, or different stuff than Apple keeps playing. Using it feels like work and I don’t really get the how they expect users to use the app. I’m tempted to go see if there is a video from the designers explaining their vision so I can use it right. As of now it seems like a mess. Also, their AI…

I find the AI DJ's nonsense to be endearing in a funny cringe way, but I definitely understand why people would want a version without it.

If you've got a broad music taste I'd recommend using the song radio for a song which fits the profile of what you're looking for. I've found it much more effective for building playlists of new music then some of their other discovery tools.

Re: Ask HN: How is the Spotify app so bad?

#9

Post by muzani »

al_borland wrote: post #6

I recently moved from Apple Music to Spotify to see what all the fuss is about, thinking it might get me listening to more music, or different stuff than Apple keeps playing. Using it feels like work and I don’t really get the how they expect users to use the app. I’m tempted to go see if there is a video from the designers explaining their vision so I can use it right. As of now it seems like a mess. Also, their AI…

"The worst part about radio is the DJ saying nonsense between songs, and they added AI to say nonsense between songs"

Yup, sounds exactly like what a DJ does. I was driving, waiting at a traffic light, watching the minutes go by. 8 minutes. DJ still kept blabbing. Every radio station I turned to, there was a DJ saying nonsense. There's more DJ nonsense than music. That's the point I downloaded Joox, which I later switched to Spotify, and then later to YouTube Music.

I guess at some point, people listen to so much music that they want to hear a commentary or alternate view on that music. Spotify is probably at that maturity level where its listeners don't even want music anymore.

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