Another big name in the app game has announced it is ending active development for its Windows Phone app: Spotify. According to Spotify, it is shifting its Windows Phone app to "maintenance mode," meaning it will only receive critical security updates going forward.
As spotted by the folks at MSPU, Spotify made the low-key announcement on the feature request section of its Community site, stating:
Spotify for Windows Phone has been placed into maintenance mode. Thus, we will only be making critical security updates to the current Spotify app and not releasing any new features nor improving support for old devices going forward. Users can continue to use Spotify on previously supported Windows Phones and Spotify will remain on the Windows Store.
The mobile portion of the Windows app ecosystem has seen an unfortunate number of departures recently, and Spotify is one of the bigger names to be added to that list. And while the app will still be available, the lack of consistent feature updates is sure to place it far behind its counterparts on other platforms in a hurry. The app's last big update was a design overhaul that took place in mid-2016.
Fortunately, Groove Music remains a solid alternative for Windows Phone users left in the lurch by this move. Third-party Spotify app, Spoticast, remains a potential alternative as well.
