Talking about Spotify versus Rdio, two competing music streaming services, can be like arguing with someone in a bar over two baseball teams: People passionately love one or the other and will happily share their disdain for the rival. But Spotify often wins with its might and size, touting millions more users than Rdio.
Yet Rdio has become my go-to music app for one distinct reason: its beautiful design and user interface. My preference was reinforced last week, when Rdio updated its user interface for mobile.
For those just getting started in the world of streaming music apps, both Rdio and Spotify can stream music to your phone, computer or iPad. They can also store some tracks offline for listening later. They are both little social butterflies, allowing you to connect with other music listeners, share playlists and see what your friends are listening to.
Where they differ, drastically, is in their design and usability. For anyone who remembers the feeling of touching a vinyl record or the insert pamphlet of a CD or tape, there was something emotional and raw about seeing and feeling the album cover as you listened to your favorite band. In the digital music world, that’s often difficult to replicate, but Rdio seems to have come pretty close.
Rdio’s latest mobile app highlights album covers, almost filling the screen with beautiful artwork. The typography in the app is small, light and legible, and makes the entire experience feel harmonious. The same goes for its desktop application.
Spotify, Rdio’s competitor, is quite the opposite. It isn’t just that Spotify looks outdated, with thick typography and a user interface that reminds me of my first Windows computer. Worse, it just feels boring. The user interface looks like it was designed for someone with vision problems.
On its mobile app, Rdio offers some slick interactions. If you hold your finger on an album cover, it will pop up an option to “share, sync to device, add to playlist, or play later.†There are little orange and green badges that also appear, so you can easily see which songs you have added to your collection to play offline. Tapping the top left corner of the app will slide out a list of your collection, what your friends are listening to, new releases and top-song charts.
The services do not have the same music choices, and people who prefer Spotify say that its music collection is more robust than competitors. But I rarely come across an instance when Rdio can’t supply a song I’m looking for.
Spotify users also love the Collaborative Playlists feature, where you can create a shared playlist with your friends.
Although both services are great at playing music, Rdio’s design helps the experience feel visceral and beautiful.
