Spotify Wear OS: New Minimalist ‘Now Playing’ Screen Spotted

Spotify is testing a redesigned “Now Playing” screen for its Wear OS application, prioritizing album art and utilizing gesture-based controls, according to a report from Android Authority. The new interface, observed on a Galaxy Watch 7 running One UI 8 Watch, presents a minimalist display focused on the album artwork with the removal of traditional playback buttons.

The streamlined experience allows users to pause and resume playback with a single tap on the screen. Track skipping is accomplished through double-taps – a double-tap to the right advances to the next song, whereas a double-tap to the left returns to the previous track. This new screen exists alongside the standard “Now Playing” interface, accessible by swiping up from the album art display, which retains conventional music controls.

The discovery was made by a Telegram user, @Fitzingout, who noticed the altered interface after installing Spotify version 9.1.20.1442 on their phone. While the feature is currently limited to a small group of users, it suggests Spotify is actively exploring ways to simplify the music listening experience on smartwatches.

This development follows recent updates to Spotify’s features, including the introduction of Page Match and About the Song, aimed at enhancing user engagement with music and audiobooks. According to SamMobile, Spotify recently enabled remote playlist downloads to Galaxy Watches, and Android Police reported that the process of downloading music to Galaxy and Pixel Watches has been simplified. However, the new “Now Playing” screen appears to be a separate, server-side test not yet widely available.

Android Authority confirmed that they were unable to replicate the new interface on their own Wear OS smartwatches, indicating the rollout is being carefully controlled by Spotify. The company has not yet announced a timeline for wider availability of the feature.