Audio streaming platform Spotify has just announced a major change in its offline download management. Until now, Premium subscribers could download playlists, albums, or podcasts to their smartphones, tablets, or smartwatches, provided they manually launched the operation on each device concerned. However, for the most forgetful, it was not uncommon to forget to prepare their smartwatch before a sports outing or a hike far from any network. Good news, this mishap is now a thing of the past.
Generalized remote downloading
Spotify is generalizing an option previously reserved for the Apple Watch: remote downloading. Concretely, it is now possible to start downloading a playlist from your smartphone to another compatible device – computer, tablet, but especially Galaxy Watch smartwatch or any model running Wear OS – even if it is not in the immediate vicinity.
The “Download to other devices” option now appears in the Spotify mobile app. Simply select the playlist or podcast of your choice, then designate the target device. Synchronization occurs automatically as soon as the device in question connects to the Internet, without additional user intervention. Convenient and fast.
Centralized management
Beyond remote downloading, Spotify is also improving the overall management of offline content. A new “Manage downloads” button allows you, from each playlist page, to see at a glance which devices the songs are already stored on. It also becomes possible to remotely delete content downloaded to a device, directly from your smartphone, to free up space or better organize your library. Another practical new feature: a notification warns the user when they are approaching the limit of five devices authorized for downloads. This ensures smoother centralized management of your devices. The idea may seem anecdotal, but it actually concerns a majority of Internet users: each European has an average of nine devices connected to the Internet. Between computers, smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and even televisions... the number is rising quickly.
A gradual, but expected rollout
These new features are currently being rolled out internationally, and could take several weeks to appear on all user accounts. However, they should not be long in coming. After the massive addition of audiobooks and artificial intelligence, these new features are part of Spotify's global strategy to offer an ever more fluid and personalized experience, effective across multiple platforms, without restrictions.
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