Spotify Just Gave Its iPhone App a Convenient New Feature

In the last month, Spotify has rolled out several new features for its subscribers to take advantage of — the most notable being a 30-day snooze feature for songs you’re hearing a little bit too often.

And, revealed this week, it’s adding another convenient feature … which is particularly neat for iPhone owners who use Spotify to listen to audiobooks.

An audiobook upgrade

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

Following a recent federal court ruling that allows third-party apps to link to outside payment options other than the App Store, which Apple previously (and infamously) prohibited, Spotify has updated its app.

For the first time, you can view the pricing of individual audiobooks in Spotify’s iPhone app and purchase them — no redirection or involvement with the App Store at all.

Additionally, you can now purchase extra listening hours for audiobooks directly within Spotify’s app.

The press release states: “Spotify users in the United States can now see pricing, buy individual audiobooks, and purchase additional “Top Up” hours for audiobook listening beyond the 15 hours included in Premium each month.”

Spotify began offering audiobooks to subscribers in September 2022, but shortly after, pulled the ability to purchase them within its iOS app because, as noted by The Verge, Spotify claimed that Apple’s 30–percent App Store cut was “choking the competition.”

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

How to purchase audiobooks

Like before, you can find the Audiobooks tab by opening the Spotify app on your iPhone and going to the Home section (at the bottom). The Audiobooks tab is located in the top right.

Once in the Audiobooks tab, you can search for a specific audiobook and you’ll now see the exact pricing. When you select “Buy,” you’ll be directed to the purchasing link within the Spotify app.

Photo by Tucker Bowe for Gear Patrol

When you’re monthly allocation of 15 hours of listening time is up, the Spotify app will prompt you with a “Top up” option. An extra 10 hours of listening time costs $13.

Just a reminder, you need to be a Spotify Premium subscriber to access audiobooks. If you’re on a Premium Family plan, only the plan manager has access to monthly listening time for audiobooks and, unfortunately, these can’t be shared.

To learn more about the changes to Spotify’s audiobooks, check out the company’s blog post below.

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