It’s 2022, and Spotify is adding the most basic features to its iOS and Android apps: dedicated play and shuffle buttons on playlists and album pages. Until now, tapping the button on most playlists would start playback with shuffle mode on. To play the tracks in order, you should play an individual song.
The split and shuffle buttons will only be available to Spotify Premium subscribers. While it may seem odd at first to only grant paying members access to the separate icons, it makes sense. Beyond curated playlists, free users can only use Spotify in shuffle mode on mobile only (this does not apply to the desktop or tablet app). In the coming weeks, Spotify will roll out separate play and shuffle buttons, which really should have been built into the app from the jump.
Last year, Adele pressured the streaming platform to remove the shuffle button from albums. He argued that albums should be listened to in order, the way the artists intended. Spotify seems to have agreed, as it started showing just a regular play button for albums, though it’s bringing the shuffle button back to those pages with the latest update.
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