Why it matters to you
If you’re a Windows 10 S user, you’re no longer quite so limited in which streaming music apps you can run.
With the recent introduction of Windows 10 S, which limits app installations to the Windows Store, Microsoft needs more developers to make apps that work within that limitation. The most important developers are those supporting major services and the Windows Store just got a major infusion with the addition of Spotify.
Spotify created a Windows 10 app and made it available for installation via the Windows Store. The means that Windows 10 S users — and everyone else running Windows 10 Anniversary Edition or later — can now install the client for possibly the most popular music streaming service available.
As of June, Spotify has more than 140 million active users, ranking it among the largest in terms of number of users of any music service. And, perhaps even more important, as of March, more than 50 million of them were paid subscribers. That dwarfs the next largest paid service, Apple Music, which sat at 27 million subscribers as of last week.
Spotify’s success makes it a particularly important addition to the Windows Store. Now, users of Microsoft’s first traditional notebook, the Surface Laptop that ships by default with Windows 10 S, have access to a client for another paid streaming music service other than Microsoft’s own Groove Music.
As mentioned earlier, you need to be running Windows 10 Anniversary Edition or later if you want to install the Spotify app from the Windows Store. Once you do, then you will have access to all of its most popular features, including full search capabilities and music discovery, access to all of the service’s curated playlists, and more.
Furthermore, the Windows 10 Spotify app works with both free and premium accounts and you can access your music offline as well. The app is available in all 60 countries where Spotify is supported and it works similarly to the Win32, or Windows desktop, app that was already available for download.
Microsoft has been pushing developers to publish their apps on the Windows Store for years, arguing that doing so improves security and performance and provides for a more seamless experience for users. Apple surprised the industry at Microsoft’s Build 2017 conference by announcing that iTunes will be coming to the Windows Store, meaning that even Apple fans will be able to more easily manage their music on Windows 10.