India's patchy internet forces Spotify to go 'Lite' — but leaves iOS users out of the loop

• Spotify announced the launch of its ‘lite’ app in India to cater to users with limited internet connectivity or entry level devices.
• The 10BM music streaming app is a toned down version of the original Spotify app but has only been launched for Android devices, leaves iOS phones out of the loop.
• Spotify Lite can be installed alongside the original Spotify app and is available to both, Free and Premium, users.

India’s a hotbed for a whole bunch of ‘lite’ apps — like Uber Lite, Instagram Lite and YouTube Go — and now Spotify is throwing its hat in the ring by launching a simplified version of the music streaming app, Spotify Lite.

The only catch is that it has only been launched for Android users and the company has plans to launch an iOS version of Spotify Lite just yet.

“We are committed to the long-term development of the music streaming industry, and the launch of Spotify Lite is another strong step in that direction," Amarjit Singh Batra, Managing Director of Spotify India said in a statement.

Spotify Lite can installed alongside the main Spotify app on a device so that users can alternate their usage depending on their requirement at a particular time. It’s also available to both Free and Premium users of Spotify.


‘Lite apps’

To capture users in rural areas who may not have the best data connectivity or users who are using entry level devices, ‘lite’ apps advertise themselves as the toned down version of the original apps they represent — but use less storage, consume less data and don’t impact the phone’s processor and battery as much.

Keeping in line with that mandate, Spotify Lite is simpler than the original Spotify app while keeping most of the features but packaged to be considerably smaller at a size of 10MB.

The company claims that 90% of the features from the original app are still a part of Spotify Lite. But animations and visual effects have been toned down since they aren’t ‘critical to the core experience’.

The app also gives users the option to clear the app’s cache if their phone is running low on storage.

See also:
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