- Spotify is adding a lower repeat shuffle mode
- Premium users can still downgrade to Standard
- Smart Shuffle will be optional early this year
Spotify’s shuffle feature, it’s fair to say, has been a bit of a mess up to this point: we’ve had algorithms that generate too many repeats, we’ve had a Smart Shuffle feature that introduces songs that aren’t actually in the playlist, and now Spotify is changing shuffle play again.
The new default shuffle mode, previously called Standard, is changing to Less Repeats. It doesn’t take much detective work to realize that you should hear fewer songs on repeat with this mode enabled.
If you are a Premium subscriber, you can return to Standard shuffle mode if you prefer. Low Reproduction On the settings screen of the Spotify app, there is a new option to choose from. Less repetitions either Standard.
“More randomness in your playlist can mean listening to the same tracks more often,” Spotify says. “That’s why we recommend sticking with the Less Repeats default, which is designed to keep your listening experience more varied and engaging.”
Unnecessarily complicated?
We first got a hint about this new functionality back in September, when hidden code in the Spotify app pointed towards a new shuffle mode that would offer fewer repeats, which is exactly what we have now.
This followed Spotify giving Premium users the option to turn off Smart Shuffle, earlier in the year. Smart Shuffle was introduced in 2023, but many users didn’t like the way it inserted songs that weren’t in the current playlist.
I have to admit that I’ve never delved too deeply into Spotify’s various shuffle algorithms, because even though I’m a Premium subscriber, I tend to listen to entire albums from start to finish, in the order intended by the artist.
However, it seems like Spotify continues to unnecessarily complicate shuffle play: shouldn’t it just cycle through each song in a playlist, in random order? That way each track should have the same amount of air time.
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