Engadget lists five Spotify settings to change
Engadget's guide says default Spotify settings can hurt sound quality and muddy your taste profile, and points to five Premium options worth adjusting.
The facts
- According to Engadget, most of the settings it covers are only for Spotify Premium subscribers, and some can only be changed in the mobile app.
- Spotify made lossless audio available to Premium subscribers at no extra charge in October 2025, at up to 24-bit/44.1kHz, but it has to be switched on separately on each device.
- Engadget says iPhones are limited to 320kbps over Bluetooth, so AirPods users will not get true lossless. Only a wired connection delivers it in full.
- Volume normalisation evens out loudness but compresses the audio, and Spotify's Loud mode compresses the most, per Engadget. A separate setting lets you exclude kids' music and other tracks from your Taste Profile.
Case notes · Danny's take
Why it matters
Apps are built to get you playing something in seconds, so the settings menu is where the useful controls hide. Defaults are chosen for the platform's convenience, not for your ears or your data. And a taste profile only works if the data going in is honest. Play your child's playlist on repeat and the algorithm will assume it's you.
For builders
Spotify's own settings show where its product friction sits: shared accounts polluting recommendations, and quality choices that depend on your device and connection. Anyone building a streaming or recommendation product can learn from that.
Not financial advice. Do your own investigation.
This story was summarised with AI from Engadget's reporting and checked against our editorial policy. Danny's take reflects his views. Disclaimer.
Danny Walter
Founder of Moon Republic, Volt Terminal and Moon Republic Academy. Author of The Market Is a Crime Scene and After the Applause.