Shuffling the order of songs may seem like a simple concept, but it’s something that people have strong feelings about. A couple of years ago, Spotify tried to change things up with a new way to shuffle–and now you can turn it off.
“Smart Shuffle” was introduced in 2023 as a way to mix up playlists even further. The idea is that you get two different types of shuffling to choose from. Smart Shuffle adds similar songs to the playlist while shuffling, whereas the normal “linear” shuffle sticks with only the original songs. And you can choose to permanently add Smart Shuffle songs to the playlist if you like them.
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Spotify’s Coolest Feature Feels Neglected
If Spotify is focused on one thing, it’s personalizing the music listening experience–for better or worse. The Spotify DJ is one of the coolest ways it does this, but it could be so, so much better.
It’s a nice way to bring in some music discovery while enjoying your tried and true playlists, but the implementation left many people–myself included–feeling annoyed. For a while, Smart Shuffle was top priority, making it the default shuffle method when tapping the button. Without realizing why, you’d be hearing songs you weren’t expecting to hear.
The other problem with Smart Shuffle is a problem with Spotify in general. Recommendations get stale very quickly, and it feels like Spotify suggests the same handful of songs over and over again. That defeats the purpose of music discovery and makes your playlists sound like all the other Spotify playlists.
At some point, Spotify made good old-fashioned linear shuffle the default, but now they’re going a step further. You can disable Smart Shuffle entirely from the Settings. Simply open the Spotify app and go to Settings > Playback > Enable All Play Modes or Smart Shuffle. Toggle it off. If you don’t see the option yet, you may need to wait a little longer.
If you have gripes with Spotify’s normal linear shuffle, you should know it isn’t designed to be truly random in the mathematical sense. Instead, it employs an algorithm that aims to provide a more balanced and enjoyable listening experience. This means it actively works to prevent repetitive patterns, like hearing the same artist multiple times in a row or a sudden shift in genres.
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Why Spotify Shuffle is Not Truly Random
If you’ve ever used the shuffle button on Spotify, you’ve probably noticed it often doesn’t feel random at all. Turns out this is by design, and there’s actually a lot that goes into how shuffle works on Spotify.
The goal is to keep your listening session interesting by strategically mixing things up. While this usually results in a pleasant flow of music, it also means that the order isn’t a product of pure chance. There’s a method to the musical madness, even if it doesn’t always feel perfectly unpredictable.
Regardless of how you feel about Smart Shuffle and Spotify’s shuffle algorithm, it’s always nice to see more choices at our fingertips. You should be in complete control of your listening experience.
Source: Android Authority
