Spotify has added a long-requested Miniplayer to its desktop app, giving you quick playback access while freeing you to focus on other things. The resizable floating window lets you control the audio, including changing tracks, picking playlists and tweaking the volume. The company says the feature has already started rolling out to Premium subscribers.
Once it becomes available in your app, you can launch the Spotify Desktop Miniplayer (its proper name) by clicking on a square on the far lower right side of the app, to the right of the standard playback controls. After clicking that, a floating window appears next to the full application.
The resizable Miniplayer can function in a square aspect ratio, ideal for videos; as a thinner bar, it’s minimally intrusive and offers play / pause and skip track controls next to the current track’s info and album art.
The feature potentially voids the need for third-party apps (like Alfred Spotify Mini Player, Lofi Spotify Mini Player and SpotMenu) to fill what some users saw as a big oversight from the streaming service. (A Spotify community post requesting it in 2019 had over 3,000 upvotes.) Apple Music has had an equivalent MiniPlayer for macOS and Windows for ages. As it sometimes does, Spotify took its sweet time.
Spotify described the Miniplayer as rolling out to Premium subscribers first, which suggests it could eventually reach users on the free plan. If you’re a Premium subscriber, look for the little square toggle appearing to the lower right of the desktop app before long.