TikTok’s short-form video stream has been imitated by a slew of competitors, including Instagram, Snap, YouTube, and even Netflix. It appears that Spotify can now be added to that list. The company has revealed that it is now testing a new feature called Discover in its app, which displays a vertical feed of music videos that users may scroll through and like or skip.
- New feature: For those who have access to the feature, it appears as a fourth tab in the navigation bar at the bottom of the Spotify app, in between Home and Search.The new addition was first spotted by Chris Messina, who tweeted out a video of the Discover feature in action. He described it as a “pared-down version” of a TikTok-style feed of music videos.
- Navigation: Messina told us he found the feature in Spotify’s TestFlight build (a beta version for iOS), where a new icon in the navigation toolbar brings you immediately to the video feed when tapped. You can then swipe up and down to move through the feed, much like you would on TikTok.
- Information: In addition to tapping the heart to like songs, you also can tap the three-dot menu to bring up the standard song information sheet, he notes. Messina also speculated the feature may be taking advantage of Spotify’s existing Canvas format.
- Experience: “At Spotify, we routinely conduct a number of tests in an effort to improve our user experience,” a spokesperson told. “Some of those tests end up paving the way for our broader user experience and others serve only as an important learning. We don’t have any further news to share at this time,” they added.
- Feed: TechCrunch inquired about the feature, asking whether it was planned to be rolled out further, whether it was available on both iOS and Android, which markets it was available in, and more. The company refused to provide any other information regarding the feature but did disclose in a statement that it was investigating the possibility of a vertical video feed.
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