Spotify has finally opened up free access to Windows Phone users, allowing them to shuffle playlists, discover new music, or listen to their favorites without needing a premium account.
One of the most popular streaming music providers worldwide, Spotify has been offering free access to users on Apple's iOS or Google's Android platforms for quite some time, but Windows Phone owners were left in the cold up until now. Spotify had previously promised that it would add free play to Windows Phone as well, and now it has finally made good on its word.
"We're all about bringing more music to more people. And we're doing just that by bringing the best free music experience to Windows Phone users across the globe," Spotify touts in a new announcement on Tuesday, Aug. 26.
"From today, Windows Phone owners can enjoy access to millions of songs across their smartphones for free. Listen to all your playlists, discover new music, or simply sit back and dig into your favourite artist's entire back catalogue.
With the latest update, which is already available for download in the Windows Phone Store, users can finally listen to playlists on shuffle play, whether it's their own playlists or they've been created by people they follow. Alternately, users can also choose to shuffle the music of a particular artist in order to enjoy a mixture of tracks from them. Spotify also allows users to enjoy mood-related playlists, which cover a comprehensive range.
It's worth pointing out, however, that there is still quite a big difference between free access and premium accounts. Users who want to play specific tracks from the catalog, for instance, will only be able to do so if they shell out the monthly fee for a premium account. With free access, this option is not available for music on Spotify.
Nevertheless, the latest update marks an important step forward compared to the previous version of the app. Spotify further notes that it has added some tweaks to the interface to improve how it displays search results, and it also streamlined the music discovery process around artists and related artists.
The new version of Spotify is now available to Windows Phone 8 and Windows Phone 8.1 users as a free download from the Windows Phone Store at this link.
