Spotify is seeking to increase its position as one of the most popular streaming services with interesting new features. The company is reportedly working on a few abilities that will integrate into its Android app. Currently in testing, the app now supports a sleep timer, Google Maps integration, and the ability to “Connect with friends” in playlists.
As you can probably guess, the sleep timer does what it says on the tin. Users will have an option to set a timer that will automatically stop music at a user-designated time. This ability is a long time coming to Spotify considering some rivals like Amazon Music already have it.
Either way, this is obviously a good tool for users, especially those who like some beats before falling asleep.
Google Maps integration is another biggie new Spotify feature that should come to the Android app soon. It's worth noting that Waze has already been available on the app, but Google Maps could arguably bring more to the table.
For example, Google Maps offers “smart commute updates” and the ability to place Spotify controls within a map. While that latter feature seems pointless, it actually isn't. Imaginge using a map for navigation and always needing to drag down the status bar on a smartphone or head to the Spotify app just to control music.
Now users can play/pause, skip, and more directly on a map.
Connect with Friends
The last new feature in testing for Android is “Connect with Friends”, which allows users to share a playlist with people that are close by. Spotify will generate a soundwave code and send it to users nearby, allowing them to connect playlists.
Jane Manchun Wong spotted the new features and posted the screenshots on Twitter. However, she needed to reverse engineer the Android app to see the features. That's to say, they're not available yet even in preview.
