Spotify for Linux user? You’ll notice that the desktop app looks a bit different the next time you open it.
The music streaming service, which recently passed 515 million monthly active users, rolled out a redesign of its desktop app on Windows and macOS last week. That revamp is now hitting the official Spotify for Linux client too (it appears to be a server-side change rather than a specific client update).
Don’t panic unnecessarily because, as redesigns go, this one isn’t that bad — though (naturally) not everyone is a fan…
The “big ticket” item is the revamped sidebar, which remains on the left-hand side but now features an expanded Your Library section.
Your Library does what it says: you still get quick access to your playlists but now albums, artists (you follow), and podcasts, all displaying artwork beside their labels (this can be disabled in settings). Plus, new search and sort option, and your sort preference “sticks” between sessions, which is nice.
Plus, if there are things you really want quick access to you can pin up-to 4 items at the top of the Your Library section — handy!
You can expand Your Library to see more detail (such as managing folders) with options to switch between tiled and list views for more flexible sorting (and you can drag to resize this view). Additionally, you can now collapse the sidebar down into a vertical strip that only displays artwork.
Talking of art, the album art display remains 1:1 when expanded, even if the sidebar is collapsed. This looks a bit strange (see above) but, as before, just click the chevron that appears when mousing over the album art to tuck it in-line with the player toolbar.
A tl;dr of the changes: new sidebar, more padding, and lots of rounded corners — here’s the design the the new version replaces:
Although Spotify for Linux is made by Spotify it’s not officially supported. The client is developed and maintained by a small team of Spotify engineers who use Linux themselves. They contribute to the build in their “free” time (i.e. they’re not paid to specifically work on the Spotify Linux app).
Looks a tiny bit nicer on macOS because that has rounded corners by default — but you can use the rounded corners GNOME extension to make Spotify rounded.
Spotify for Linux is closed-source software. You can install it from Canonical’s Snap Store, via the Spotify Linux repo, or fetch it unofficially from Flathub. See our sister site for full details on how to install Spotify on Linux.
