Spotify for Android now has bottom bar navigation, and that’s a wonderful thing

If you’re a consistent Spotify user on Android, you probably noticed that something’s a bit different today. It seems that Spotify has finally flipped the server-side switch to enable bottom navigation for all users in the stable channel, which means one fantastic, wonderful thing: no more hamburger menu.

This means that accessing Home, Browse, Search, Radio, and Your Library are all just a single tap away now — just like they are in the iPhone app, and just like they should be. Previously, you had to open up the hamburger menu by tapping a button at the top left corner and then tap again to choose the section of the app that you want to navigate to.

Personally, I prefer bottom bar navigation over hamburger menus in almost every case. But especially in a case such as Spotify when you’re often using the app while driving, being able to navigate around without having to constantly open and close a secondary menu is very helpful. Spotify is one of those apps that I’ve just found to be so much better on iOS for this reason, and now it’s finally on Android.

For a little back story, Google started — if I remember correctly — adding bottom bar navigation to some of its apps with the release of a Google+ update back in January. The same navigation style also managed to make its way to Google Photos this year, and then to third-party apps like Spotify (it hit Spotify’s beta four months ago). It doesn’t make sense in every case, but in my opinion this is one of the cases in which it’s a no-brainer.

Check it out:

Oh, and if you’re one of the (very, very wrong) people who still think that hamburger menus are better, you should check out Google’s description of bottom navigation in the Material Design spec. “Tapping on a bottom navigation icon takes you directly to the associated view,” Google says. Which is exactly how it should be. Yes, it looks weird with software buttons, but it’s worth it.