Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution
Spotify takes the “better old than never” saying literally, as the company needed a whole year and three more months to address a widespread bug in its apps.
Back in December 2021, shortly after Spotify released the annual Wrapped summary, some premium users stopped being able to listen to personalized playlists with Google Assistant.
The glitch happened mostly on smart speakers like the Google Nest Mini, but mobile users experienced the same problem as well. Google Assistant just couldn’t play personalized content, no matter if people were using a Google Pixel or a Motorola Android phone.
The original behavior caused Google Assistant to play what seemed to be a similar playlist but without including the personalized content that users expected to hear. It wasn’t clear what was triggering the glitch, but the generic workarounds, including deleting the cache and the data, did not produce any improvement.
Spotify first came up with a patch for the Android version of the app in 2022. This is the point where things became really awkward.
After installing the update, Spotify still couldn’t play the personalized playlists, but instead loaded content from an artist called Luis Masters. All the playing mixes, typically called “Daily Mix”, came from the same artist. Users claimed they’ve tried everything, including even blocking the artist, but Google Assistant still couldn’t play their personalized playlists.
The mysterious behavior continued to impact both smart speakers and mobile devices, so eventually, listening to personalized playlists was only possible by manually opening them.
Fortunately, one year and three months later, Spotify managed to deliver a fix that seems to bring things back to normal. App version 8.8.14.575 is now available for download on Android, apparently allowing Google Assistant to play personalized playlists properly.
I’m still seeing some users claiming the feature is still broken, but most likely, it’s just a matter of time until they receive the most recent Spotify update. Updates on the Google Play Store typically ship in stages, so it could take a while until the new version lands on all Android devices.
As an alternative, users can download the latest Spotify APK to install the latest release without waiting. This involves updating manually and providing special permissions to install apps from sources other than the Google Play Store.
In the meantime, Spotify continues to focus on new features, and the recently launched DJ is the biggest update in a long time. Powered by AI, Spotify’s DJ turns the personalization component of the service into a modern experience by adding context to each recommended song. For example, the DJ can provide information on the artists you listen to, including song release dates and even album sales details. The DJ is currently available only in the United States.
The glitch happened mostly on smart speakers like the Google Nest Mini, but mobile users experienced the same problem as well. Google Assistant just couldn’t play personalized content, no matter if people were using a Google Pixel or a Motorola Android phone.
The original behavior caused Google Assistant to play what seemed to be a similar playlist but without including the personalized content that users expected to hear. It wasn’t clear what was triggering the glitch, but the generic workarounds, including deleting the cache and the data, did not produce any improvement.
Spotify first came up with a patch for the Android version of the app in 2022. This is the point where things became really awkward.
After installing the update, Spotify still couldn’t play the personalized playlists, but instead loaded content from an artist called Luis Masters. All the playing mixes, typically called “Daily Mix”, came from the same artist. Users claimed they’ve tried everything, including even blocking the artist, but Google Assistant still couldn’t play their personalized playlists.
The mysterious behavior continued to impact both smart speakers and mobile devices, so eventually, listening to personalized playlists was only possible by manually opening them.
Fortunately, one year and three months later, Spotify managed to deliver a fix that seems to bring things back to normal. App version 8.8.14.575 is now available for download on Android, apparently allowing Google Assistant to play personalized playlists properly.
I’m still seeing some users claiming the feature is still broken, but most likely, it’s just a matter of time until they receive the most recent Spotify update. Updates on the Google Play Store typically ship in stages, so it could take a while until the new version lands on all Android devices.
As an alternative, users can download the latest Spotify APK to install the latest release without waiting. This involves updating manually and providing special permissions to install apps from sources other than the Google Play Store.
In the meantime, Spotify continues to focus on new features, and the recently launched DJ is the biggest update in a long time. Powered by AI, Spotify’s DJ turns the personalization component of the service into a modern experience by adding context to each recommended song. For example, the DJ can provide information on the artists you listen to, including song release dates and even album sales details. The DJ is currently available only in the United States.
Google News