'New and improved’ Spotify experience coming to 2015-2016 Samsung Smart TVs

By Kris Wouk October 20, 2016

samsung launching three new services help personalize tv experience un60js7000 60 4k ultra hd smart led — Image used with permission by copyright holder

For many of us, Spotify is an app that is only ever used on our mobile devices and computers, but the music streaming service is available on many more platforms, including smart TVs. On Thursday, the company announced that a new and improved version of its app is on the way for recent Samsung Smart TV models.

Specifically, Samsung models from 2015 and 2016 are getting the update. Both Spotify Free and Premium members can use the app to play, skip, browse, and search songs, via a new user interface that has been optimized for use on larger screens. The update also makes it easier to use Spotify Connect to control the app using your phone, tablet, or computer.

This updated functionality may not be of much use for those who only use Spotify to listen to the occasional song, but it makes much more sense when you consider the company’s recent move toward incorporating video into its streaming experience. To that end, the company introduced a new original series called Flash Frame on Thursday.

samsung-smart-tv-spotify — Image used with permission by copyright holder

“Each episode of Flash Frame centers around the celebration of a musician’s career by highlighting milestones, taking a trip down memory lane and giving the artist’s Spotify-identified superfans unprecedented access to participate in an upcoming music video,” the company wrote in a blog post. “Performance footage of a song from that show is then combined with original content commissioned by Spotify from world-class video producers, artists and animators to create a unique new music video, starring not only the artists but their biggest fans as well.”

For the first episode of the show, Blink-182 has been chosen as the focus. In the most recently released chapter, the band pays homage to its own video for What’s My Age Again? years later in its newest music video for the song She’s Out of Her Mind.

This updated Spotify experience for Samsung Smart TVs is available in every market in which Spotify is available, except for Japan. Unfortunately for users of 2014 and earlier Samsung Smart TVs, you’ll be stuck with an older version of the app, and comparatively limited functionality.

For more information on how to listen to Spotify throughout your entire home, see the company’s website.

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Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…

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