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Spotify iPad app (photos)

Spotify has announced its new iPad app, which it says could replace a traditional stereo system. We show you how it works.

Ty Pendlebury
Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.
Ty Pendlebury
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Spotify for iPad

For lovers of music, Spotify's dedicated iPad app is available from the App Store for free, with paid subscriptions optional. The service offers more than 17 million tracks in a high, 320kbps bit rate to PC, Mac, Android, and iOS users.

New features for the iPad app include a dedicated Inbox icon grouped by user for accessing messages, Cover Flow-style navigation of playlists (not available on PC), and gapless playback and DJ-style crossfade.

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The Spotify iPad main screen

While the app defaults to the last mode you used, most users will start up in the What's New mode, which includes recommendations based on your previous usage.
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Left-hand menu

The menu to the left-hand side of the screen offers up search, what's new (latest releases), an inbox for the member's messages, playlists, and the People view (other users).
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Recommendations

Scroll down the What's New page and albums are presented in a tiled list.
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Search

While Spotify includes recommendations, most users will use the Search function to find the music they want. The app now uses autofill to predict what you're typing.
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iOS apps old and new

Until now iPad users had to use the iPod app at right, but the native app adds further functionality in addition to a lick of paint.
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Half-panel navigation

The app features a half-panel navigation approach that strips away or builds depending on which way you swipe.
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Playback

The app's biggest selling point is the "high-definition" cover art, which offers an uncluttered interface. Swipe forward or back and the track changes
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AirPlay

Connectivity to Apple AirPlay devices is also available from the playback screen.
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Playback and playlists

At the bottom of the screen the playback bar shows you the current track.
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The People tab

Easily find your friends' playlists via the People icon.
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Crossfade and playback

Add DJ-style crossfades from the settings icon.
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Lock screen

As with other music apps, Spotify control is available from the lock screen.
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Track syncing

Spotify doesn't have the track you want? Upload the tracks from your computer.

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