GoKawiilSpotify is adding a new suite of features for runners to its Fitness hub. Rolling out to Premium members on Spotify for iOS in the US starting today, Running Mode offers personalized playlists built around your workouts.
Once you've clicked on the new Running Mode tab in the Fitness hub, you can choose between 25 presets that span different workout types and your preferred music genres, or opt for even more personalized results. As well as choosing a workout type (interval, pyramid, steady, etc.), you can also enter an exact duration, enable BPM matching and toggle motivational audio cues that act as a "supportive friend."
When you press play, Spotify will create a playlist according to the parameters you've set, with "seamless transitions" between tracks to match your tempo. Spotify said in a press release that fitness is one of the most popular requested themes of its AI-generated Prompted Playlists, so it makes sense that the company is expanding its customization options for runners.
If you're sitting there reading this and thinking it all sounds very familiar, then rest assured you're not going mad. Spotify did once have a very similar tempo-tracking running mode in the app, but it retired it in 2018. The resurrected feature is part of the company's wider push into fitness, which it kicked off a few months ago by partnering with Peloton to offer Premium members guided workout classes within its app.