‘We know glitter is not for everyone’: Spotify says its confusing disco ball icon will be going back to normal soon

If you’ve noticed that the Spotify icon on your iPhone home screen looks… different, you’re not imagining things: the refreshed disco glitter ball look is promoting the company’s 20th anniversary and its new Party of the Year(s) feature.

The feature gives you a Wrapped-like experience for your entire Spotify history, but the glitter ball transformation has attracted plenty of criticism. Now, Spotify has confirmed the change is only temporary, and the usual icon will be back next week.

“Alright, we know glitter is not for everyone,” the Spotify team said via one of its official social media accounts. “Our temp glow up ends soon. Your regularly scheduled Spotify icon returns next week.”

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Judging by the reactions to that post, it seems there are a fair few Spotify users who quite like the new look — but overall, the reaction has been mostly negative. “If it’s permanent I’ll go back to Apple Music,” threatened one Redditor last week.

Back to the 1970s

The disco ball icon only showed up on iOS, so if you’re an Android user, you might be wondering what all the fuss is about. Some thought the change was a joke, while others complained that it gave the impression that an app update was underway.

Quite a few commenters pointed out that the updated look of the icon was a throwback — not just to the disco era of the 1970s, but also to the more skeuomorphic icon design trend that used to dominate on the iPhone.

When the shiny icon first appeared last week, Spotify wouldn’t say one way or the other whether the change was permanent, or how long it might last for. The reaction online seems to have forced its hand.

As for the Party of the Year(s) feature, it has had its critics too. Many users were underwhelmed with the depth of the results, and there was a major Spotify update around the time the feature launched as well — not the best way to celebrate your birthday.