Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) is starting to turn what was once an ugly duckling into something quite pretty, thanks largely to Google’s new Holo design language. The latest app to take this on board? Spotify. And it looks all the better for it…
Spotify’s stripped itself back and started afresh with a very Android 4.0 look and feel. That means a far more refined set of icons, including the now standard Android 4.0 ‘share’ and three-dotted ‘menu’ buttons. On top of that, the new-look Spotify borrows one excellent feature from Facebook: the side-loading navigation tray, from where you can access your playlists, friends’ accounts, what’s new and settings.
The ability to access friends’ profiles is new – the app now lets you access their full page, which lets you scan their music when out and about. Another first is the inclusion of related artists, which is one of the desktop version’s best features.
Why you should be scared of Spotify
The new-look Spotify isn’t out yet on the Google Play Store, but you can download it from here if you allow installation from ‘Unknown Sources’ in your phone’s app settings. We’ve had a play with it, and can confirm it’s pretty slick and noticeably faster than the previous iteration. What’s really interesting here, though, is that the new Android app fully supports tablets, which effectively means that Spotify has landed on Android tablets before the iPad – which completely goes against the current app trend.
Also of note is the fact that there’s no longer a Spotify widget, which is a shame because Android 4.0 lets you resize such useful homescreen attire. One big question: will this sexy new version of Spotify run on older versions of Android? Thankfully, yes – it’s an across-the-board update. Like the new look? Let us know below.
