Spotify is one of the most popular music streaming apps around the world with over 100 million paid subscribers. They are now introducing a new version of their app called Spotify Lite which will help them reach more users, especially those in developing countries.
Spotify has been doing really well in western countries, but for the more developing markets, the app experience was less than ideal. Users wouldn’t always have a stable internet connection or network, their phones would not be able to run heavy apps and storage space can also be an issue on the low-end phones they use. Lite apps are usually targeted for such users, where they can continue to enjoy the same core benefits of an app, with a few omissions.
Spotify Lite is a simple and fast version of the same music experience, and is very similar to the original app with a few tweaks made to improve the app experience on older devices or operating systems.
All features such as searching for music and artists, sharing them, discovering new tracks and creating playlists are retained. Even with all that functionality, the app is just 10 MB, making it easier to install and run on weaker devices. Data limits can also be set, and users can also set a notification if a certain threshold of data consumption is reached. To keep the storage space in check, the cache can also be cleared in one tap.
“Spotify Lite was built from the ground up based on user feedback from around the world, allowing millions more to enjoy the world’s best music experience — especially in areas with limited bandwidth and phone storage” said Kalle Persson, the Senior Product Manager at Spotify.
In this wave of rollout, Spotify Lite was made available in 36 more countries in Asia, South America, Middle East and Africa, and will roll out to even more markets soon.
