What you need to know
- The iOS Spotify app has been updated.
- The streaming app now has a new Sleep Timer function.
- The same feature has been available in the Android app for months.
Spotify's Sleep Timer feature has been available in its Android app since July, but iPhone and iPad users can now enjoy it as well. That's after the Spotify app received a new update giving it parity with Android.
The feature does exactly what it sounds like it should. Users can go to sleep while listening to their music without it playing all through the night. Once a timer is set, Spotify will automatically stop streaming once the pre-set time has elapsed. Users can set a time between 5 minutes and an hour.
As usual Spotify's App Store release notes are severely lacking, but the streaming service did tell Engadget that users worldwide would be able to enjoy the feature following yesterday's app update.
After selecting your music or an ambient sound, tap the three dots in the upper right corner and scroll down to "Sleep Timer" and select the timer length. If you don't have any go-to playlists for falling asleep, Spotify's Sleep Hub has plenty of suggestions to help you clear your mind and pass out.
No more waking up at 3am and wondering why Meatloaf's "Bat Out of Hell" is playing!
You can download Spotify from the App Store (opens in new tab) now.
Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.
Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.
