As a streaming service, Spotify hangs its hat on music discovery, but until recently, its search functionality had made the process a bit more cumbersome than it needed to be. Fortunately, the company will soon release a small tweak that places search filters at the top of the page (just below the search bar), allowing users to easily switch back and forth between artist, song, playlist, and album searches.
Previously, people needed to scroll down below their search results to apply these filters, a process that was confusing to some and irksome to others.
Tidal, Apple Music, and YouTube Music users can already search using easily accessible tabs, so Spotify may be a bit late to the search party, but the change is a welcome on. You can see the old search and new search side by side above, and the latter is undoubtedly easier to use, especially for those who use the app’s discovery features frequently.
While ease of use doesn’t rank high on everyone’s list of concerns, the streaming landscape is competitive and fast-evolving. Differentiators, however minor they may seem, can make a big impact in the battle for subscribers. For instance, Spotify’s announcement of its HiFi subscription tier — which will bring lossless, hi-res music to users later this year — may have influenced Apple Music’s recent decision to support lossless hi-res audio and Dolby Atmos Music at no additional cost.
In any case, we’re glad to see that Spotify is responding to user feedback and optimizing its service accordingly. The change should make it easier to discover new artists and songs, as well as help users to expand their music libraries.
The update will apply to Free and Premium users globally and will go live in the coming weeks.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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