Spotify's much hated 'Create' button could soon go away, if you want it to (APK teardown)
TL;DR Spotify introduced a 'Create' button in its app's bottom navigation, but the move sparked widespread user backlash.
Code within the latest app release suggests the company is listening to user feedback, as it could soon give users an option to hide the Create button.
This opt-out toggle is not yet live, nor has Spotify officially confirmed it.
Old habits die hard, and Spotify is learning this the hard way. The service introduced the 'Create' button on its homepage's bottom navigation bar in good faith, making it easier for users to create different types of playlists. While a few people like the Create button, almost everyone else hates it. Users have been very vocal about how the Create button messes up their muscle memory, and it seems Spotify has taken note of the feedback as it works on making the Create button optional on the homepage navigation bar.
Authority Insights story on Android Authority. Discover
You're reading anstory on Android Authority. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else.
An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
Spotify v9.0.58.206 includes strings that suggest the app could make the contentious Create button optional:
Code Copy Text The Create button will appear in your navigation bar. Create button
Currently, users on the latest Spotify update have the new Create button enabled by default, and no setting is available to remove it. The strings above suggest that users could get a toggle that will bring the Create button to their navigation bar when enabled and remove it when disabled. Once removed, users who hate the button will presumably return to their beloved three-button Home-Search-Your Library navigation bar.
Aamir Siddiqui / Android Authority
The option to remove the Create button isn't live yet in Spotify, nor has the company announced that this change is coming. We'll keep you updated when we learn more.
Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at
Email our staff at news@androidauthority.com . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Android Authority
4 hours ago
- Android Authority
Nothing Phone 3 doesn't win on value, but it won me over anyway
Prakhar Khanna / Android Authority The Nothing Phone 3 is quirky and weird. It has riled up the Nothing lovers and haters alike. Social media forums indicate that a lot of people don't like that camera layout, price, or have polarizing views on the Glyph Matrix. I might be on the less popular end for both. I liked the Nothing Phone 3's odd design choices when I first saw it in person at the London launch event. I was taken aback by the price, sure. But I wanted to give it a try nonetheless. I've now used the Nothing Phone 3 for a few days, and I like how it feels in my hand. I don't mind the weird camera setup and quite love the rest of the design. I haven't noticed its processor, for better or worse, and every time I flip it around, I pause for a second to look at that strange back layout. The Glyph Interface has been more fun than before, and the blinking red dot is a nice addition. It's all part of the quirky design. But you don't buy a phone for its quirks. Most people look for the best value proposition in their new phone, and the Nothing Phone 3 isn't for most people. It doesn't have the 'flagship' chipset, and I wouldn't rate its cameras the best in the segment. But the Nothing Phone 3 has grown on me. At $799, it isn't a good value proposition, but it won me over anyway. What do you think of Nothing Phone 3's design? 0 votes I love it! NaN % It looks odd, but I'm ok with it NaN % What in the smartphone world is this? NaN % Nothing's strong suit becomes more important than ever Prakhar Khanna / Android Authority I love Nothing OS for its widgets and clean but customizable design. It isn't the barebones Pixel-level clean or filled with customizations like Xiaomi's HyperOS. Nothing OS is a mix of both of their best parts. And it is now more important than ever with the Phone 3's polarizing design. I love the ability to add Quick Settings as one-tap widgets. For example, I have a QR code scanner for payments and a Wi-Fi toggle, which turns a three-step task into a single tap. Nothing Phone 3 is ergonomic and comfortable to hold for a big phone. I've grown used to the Nothing Phone 3 because there's not much to complain about in the software or the in-hand feel. I don't play mobile games, so I'm not concerned about the processor. And more so because I haven't had any stutters or lags in day-to-day usage that might trigger me to look for a more capable phone. Add to it, the Essential Key (with Essential Space) is a nice way to quickly save story ideas when I'm reading something on Chrome. (The Essential Search's speed needs improvement, though.) Prakhar Khanna / Android Authority The 6.67-inch AMOLED screen is big and immersive and comfortably legible in most environments, but you can get a brighter display at the same price, depending on where you live. In my usage, the Nothing Phone 3 has lasted me a full day with ease. Notably, I have the 5,500mAh battery variant, as opposed to the 5,150mAh cell you'd find on US or UK units. I got up to eight and a half hours of SoT with social media hopping, intensive Reel-watching, WhatsApp messaging, using Slack for work, and snapping a few photos. The problem is that the Nothing Phone 3a Pro offers a similar experience at a more affordable price. Essential Space, all-day battery, big screen, no-lag performance – it's all up for grabs under $500. For $799, you get the fun of the Glyph Matrix, the best cameras Nothing has put on a phone, and longer software support. More Functional Glyph LEDs and better cameras Prakhar Khanna / Android Authority The Nothing Phone 3 features some strange design choices that play around the edges of uniformity. The periscope telephoto camera sits close to the edge, away from the rest of the layout; the Glyph Matrix screen looks oddly placed when it's not in use. And yet, there is a sense of uniformity in the rest of the phone's design. The Nothing Phone 3 has a certain whimsical vibe to it that I love. I've said in the past how Glyph Lights were in-your-face and caught me off guard in certain instances in public. The Glyph Matrix, on the other hand, has been more functional and fun for me. It's like the notification light from Android phones of the past, only charged up to put the 'fun' in 'function.' I love the customizability it offers with the combination of 489 LEDs and a physical button to control it. Glyph Matrix is way more fun than I expected it to be, but I'll probably forget about it. For instance, I've set it up to notify me of calls from three contacts (with three separate icons) I never want to miss a call from. So, when I'm in the middle of typing a story, I can glance over at the small screen and decide whether to attend the call or not. Is it possible to do so with the phone placed on a table and the screen facing you? Absolutely. Always-on display can do that. But I tend to keep my phone upside down because I don't want to be bothered by every notification. With the Glyph Matrix, I can choose what gets my attention more selectively and add a personalized touch to it. Apart from the notifications, the Glyph Matrix can show a digital clock, help you take a selfie by mirroring your face in black-and-white pixels, offer a stopwatch, battery indicator, camera countdown timer, and indicate volume levels. There are also fun games like Spin the Bottle, Magic 8 Ball, and Rock-Paper-Scissors, which are party tricks for the most part. I'm looking forward to what third-party developers and the community build for Glyph Matrix. It's at a nascent stage right now, like the Dynamic Island was when it first launched with the iPhone 14 Pro series. I'd love for food delivery apps to show me the ETA of my order. Nothing Phone 3 portrait Edge detection can be unreliable. Notice my friend's sunglasses. Nothing Phone 3 black and white filter and frame Selfie shot on the Nothing Phone 3. As for the optics, I wasn't expecting much from the Phone 3's cameras because my review unit had very bad shutter lag. Nothing fixed it with an update, and the 50MP triple camera array now delivers impressive results. It isn't the best in the segment and struggles in low light, but at the same time, it shoots photos with nice colors, plenty of detail, and good exposure. I traveled with it to London, and the 3x optical zoom came in handy. The ultrawide and selfie cameras, alongside Nothing's camera filters round up the experience pretty well. I didn't expect the Nothing Phone 3 to grow on me. I still consider it expensive at $799, but I've enjoyed using it and see potential in the Glyph Matrix. It isn't a value-for-money contender but the new Nothing phone delivers top-notch software, fun design quirks, five years of OS upgrades alongside seven years of security updates, all-day battery life, and a satisfactory camera performance. You can get a more capable flagship phone with longer software support but it won't be this fun to use. The Nothing Phone 3 is now available in the US without the need for a beta program and should work with all the major carriers.
Android Authority
5 hours ago
- Android Authority
9 signs its time to upgrade to a new phone
Tushar Mehta / Android Authority The question 'Should I buy a new phone?' holds more weight than we imagine. For most of us, phones are our trusted associates, and parting with them isn't easy. For others, the upgrade to a new phone may be too insignificant to warrant the expense. Regardless of the emotional value your phone holds, getting a new one every few years can be a cathartic experience. Besides addressing some of the issues of your older phone, a new Android phone will bring a variety of new features. While a new phone may not hold the answer to all your life problems, it may end some of the trivial ones. Here are the signs that indicate it might be time to upgrade to a new one. How long do you use your phone before upgrading to a new one? 0 votes I upgrade with every new generation NaN % I get a new phone every two years or so NaN % At least five years NaN % Five to seven years, if not more NaN % Until my old phone dies NaN % 1. Your phone heats excessively Robert Triggs / Android Authority One of the first tell-tale signs that your phone is in dire need to be replaced is when it gets unreasonably hot. Heating, as a sign of your phone's old age, becomes even more pertinent when it happens excessively, even during basic activities such as calling or without any apparent load — as while gaming or fast charging. This usually indicates that your phone's hardware may be old enough and feeling choked with the requirements of newer apps or a modern operating system. 2. It lags while responding to touch Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority While you feel the phone heat up unjustifiably, you might even witness it lag in daily operations. This happens because most silicon-based semiconductors are only designed to operate within a specific temperature range. When chips heat beyond a certain point, the algorithms coded onto the board limit performance to reduce the heat, and this phenomenon is known as 'throttling.' In practical usage, throttling manifests as a jittery response when content on the screen refreshes or when you interact with the screen. Alternatively, a laggy screen could also suggest a physical problem with the screen itself. A new screen could be a stopgap solution — only if you're lucky enough to find a replacement screen for an old phone. 3. The phone randomly freezes or reboots Damien Wilde / Android Authority Aging phones are often characterized by random instances of the screen becoming unresponsive, which is likely an extension of the previous point I mentioned. When that happens, the phone might resort to restarting itself — or require you to restart it. But either condition points to hardware problems that would not emerge on new devices — except in rare cases like that of the Sony Xperia 1 VII, and is a prominent sign that you should consider ditching the old phone. Sometimes, random reboots can also signal a software issue with the phone, which may be easier to resolve. That is why it's a good idea to look for other signs that suggest it's time for a new phone. 4. Its battery has degraded significantly Tushar Mehta / Android Authority It's an established fact that lithium-ion batteries, which are also present inside our phones, degrade over time. Each charging cycle reduces the battery's ability to hold electric charge. In simpler terms, we refer to this loss of ability as a reduction in battery capacity. While Android phones get relatively less flak than iPhones for degrading batteries, they're not entirely immune to such changes. If you tend to use the same phone for several years, you will have likely noticed the battery health decline beyond a certain level — as on my iPhone 11 above. A degraded battery naturally lasts shorter than when it, and the phone, were new. While iOS already offers easy visibility to battery health stats, Google has started adding similar information to newer Pixel devices, starting Pixel 9 series, running Android 16. You can use this information to decide if you might need to upgrade to a new phone. 5. It takes ages to charge Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority The Google Pixel 9 does not show the "charging rapidly" text on the lock screen even though the charger is delivering ~11.5W of power. While there are several reasons why your phone may be charging slowly, a weathered battery is definitely one of them. If you have experienced your phone's charging speed slow down over time, it's easy to attribute it to its age, especially if the decline is gradual. In such a case, you might want to bless your old phone with a new battery — if buying a new phone isn't an option. However, if your device is old, physically battered, and shows a few of the other signs listed here, you should just upgrade to a new phone. 6. The phone brand limits your phone's performance on purpose Tushar Mehta / Android Authority If you've followed the world of smartphones for a while, 'batterygate' would ring a bell. If you haven't, this was the title given to a fiasco resulting from Apple's purposeful slowing down of the performance of iPhone 6 and 6s phones to reduce the impact of their aging batteries. The uproar led to Apple offering a $50 payout to impacted consumers in the US and making this throttling optional. While Apple's actions were widely criticized, they had a vital purpose of preventing fires or sparking issues while charging those devices. In some instances, as with the more recent Pixel 6a, the company may issue an update to limit the battery's capacity in response to a manufacturing defect. In a rare occasion like that, you would likely be eligible for compensation or a discount voucher — as you are in the case of the Pixel 6a (check here) — and you could use those benefits to treat yourself to a new phone instead of taking your chances trying to resuscitate the older one. 7. It no longer receives updates Robert Triggs / Android Authority Our phones have limited lifespans, which are often defined by the software support promised for these devices. Most Android phone manufacturers offer two to three years of Android updates, along with some additional years of security updates. If you have a recent Samsung or Google phone, you'll enjoy up to seven years of updates. But what happens when your phone stops receiving updates? It may be less bothersome when your phone stops receiving Android updates, and the worst that could happen is that you're stuck with an older appearance and some outdated features on your phone. However, it's more concerning when your phone stops receiving security updates, making it an easier target for sophisticated cyberattacks than phones that still receive those updates. While it's not the end of the world, you should consider getting a new phone if your current one stops getting updates, and safeguard yourself against online attacks. 8. The screen has an unusual tint Tushar Mehta / Android Authority One of the first signs of aging my trusty old OnePlus 3T showed me was an unusual pink hue take over the entire screen. I hadn't dropped the phone and could easily overrule physical damage to the screen. Being over five years old at that point, I didn't bother changing the screen, though I held onto it for its sentimental value. I just switched to a new phone. More recently, the screen has turned fully opaque, signalling its death, convincing me I was right to replace the phone at the right moment. And that is what I would recommend anyone to do if the screen on their old phone stops showing its actual colors. 9. Your phone struggles with cellular or Wi-Fi reception Joe Maring / Android Authority Solid cellular and internet connectivity are fundamental requirements for a phone. However, as networks continue to upgrade, radios on older phones may not be compatible. This is especially true if there has been a significant leap in network technology since you first owned a phone. For instance, if your current phone does not support 5G or is limited to the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi band, that's a good reason to upgrade to more recent hardware. We expect the next generation of 5G, known as 5G Advanced, to arrive soon and foresee tri-band Wi-Fi becoming commonplace. When either of those happens, older devices from the early era of 5G or dual-band Wi-Fi may not suffice, prompting you to upgrade to a new phone. Do you have any other indicators to help you determine when the right time to upgrade to a new phone is? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Android Authority
6 hours ago
- Android Authority
Here's the real problem with Nothing's quirky Phone 3 design
Ryan Haines / Android Authority I love Nothing's semi-transparent design language. Its debut Phone 1 was the first Android phone in a long time that I can remember being just as happy to look at as I was to use (if only because it didn't work in the US). Then, I watched Nothing refine its style over a few generations of mid-range and budget phones, reworking its Glyph interface and camera placement until it found a combination so cute that Wall-E might fall in love with it. Now, though, I think it's jumped the shark. Its Phone 3 design looks like nothing (no pun intended) I've ever seen before, let alone tried to protect. It has camera sensors, buttons, and a revamped Glyph Matrix scattered across the back panel, and I've never been so scared to go without a phone case. Here's why that's such a big problem. There's unique, and then there's impractical Ryan Haines / Android Authority Like I said, the Nothing Phone 3 is one-of-a-kind. It doesn't make a single traditional design choice other than having a USB-C port on the bottom and buttons on the sides. Other than that, though, chaos. The cameras sit as far apart as boys and girls at a middle school dance, and the circular Glyph Matrix feels like I should be able to raise a Tamagotchi on it. Don't get me wrong, it's a neat look. I wasn't sure I'd like it at first based on Nothing's trickle of teasers and leaks, but the finished product tickles my design-loving brain just right. However, just because I like the look of something doesn't make it a great idea. I loved the idea of Nike's Adapt Auto Max — a shoe that you could only tighten if charged via a proprietary pad — but I would never buy one because it was in no way practical. Nothing's design is clever as can be, but did it have to put a camera sensor so close to the edge? Unfortunately, that's how I'm starting to think about the Phone 3. At times, it feels like Nothing's engineers realized they could, but didn't stop to think if they should. They didn't consider that spreading out the camera sensors and relocating the Glyph Matrix would open the Phone 3 to easier damage, just as long as the finished product looked cool. Like a shoe with moving electronic parts is more susceptible to wear and tear, a phone with too many cluttered corners feels like it's living dangerously in an adventure-filled world. And yes, I know that the now-iconic camera bar that graces the back of every Google Pixel is a less-than-practical choice too. It's a huge bump that nearly splits any would-be phone case in half. However, it also steps in where a case would have trouble, putting a thick metal frame around the cameras and using tough glass to protect all the sensors simultaneously. The Phone 3 doesn't. Its telephoto sensor is so alarmingly close to one edge of the Gorilla Glass Victus back panel. At the same time, the Glyph interface bumps right up against the other edge, making it impossible to find a 'safe' edge on which to drop your phone (not that I recommend dropping your phone to begin with). It took me years to stop stressing about keeping my phone perfectly clean and immaculately protected, but Nothing has brought back all those worries in such a short period. Please, Nothing, all I'm asking for is a good phone case Ryan Haines / Android Authority I hear you, dear reader, yelling at me from the other side of your screen, telling me to put my Nothing Phone 3 in a case. I get it — it's exactly what I should do. After all, we love to recommend phone cases for any and all devices that come across our desks because the best phone is a working, unbroken one. However, I can't do that right now, and it's not my fault — not even a little bit. Instead, it's Nothing's fault. It's Spigen's fault. It's Mous' fault. It's Nomad's fault. Right now, I can blame every case maker for making me live dangerously with my Nothing Phone 3, because none of them has decided to offer a third-party (or first-party) case for protection. Of course, I get it — it's tough to make a highly specific case for an unusual-looking phone that may or may not move decent volume in the US. And yet, if just one of them were to make a case for the Phone 3, it would automatically claim 100% of the market, and I would recommend it without hesitation. There's only one Phone 3 case on the market right now, and it's as impractical as female RPG armor. Well, if it were a normal enough case, anyway. There is one case — er, bumper — er, frame — er, something to protect the Phone 3. Arc decided to take the plunge and launch its two-piece Arc Pulse for the Phone 3, making it the only option for the most cautious of Nothing fans to protect their phones. Unfortunately, I have a hard time trusting it. I can get on board with a one-piece case, or even a two-piece case that covers my entire phone, but the Arc Pulse doesn't do that. Instead, it's more like the stereotypically impractical female armor in RPGs, somehow getting smaller and less protective the more you level up. I'd still be much too scared to let my Phone 3 take a tumble, only for its minimalist aluminum shell to bounce off and leave my phone cracked on the sidewalk. So, it's time for Nothing itself to step up. If nobody else will protect its first proper flagship-ish device, the call will have to come from inside the house. It already makes cases for the Phone 3a and Phone 3a Pro, and the Phone 3 costs as much as its siblings put together. If Nothing leads the charge, maybe top phone case brands will follow, but I need someone to take that first step.
