No one enjoys seeing their friends and family living abroad commenting on Facebook about how they have access to the latest apps while some don’t.
Spotify Lite is one of those applications.
It isn’t available to a lot of countries and because of that a lot of consumers are unable to install the Spotify Lite app on their smartphone devices.
Even those who get to use the original Spotify app have to deal with the fact that it eats too much of their data.
And we all know what happens when you hit your data cap.
Yes.
Your mobile ceases to have access to the internet.
The same holds true for any of your other devices.
This is the reason why for folks with limited internet data bundles need to get Spotify Lite.
Of course, no one is asking you to put up a status on Facebook announcing to the world that you too have joined the Spotify club.
You could do it just for yourself and your entertainment needs.
So for the rest of this guide, you need to take installing Spotify Lite on your device as a challenge and then manage that challenge.
If you don’t know what to do then don’t worry because we will show you pretty much all the things that you will need to download Spotify Lite on your device from any country in the world.
Table of Contents
What on earth is Spotify Lite?
Okay, so you know what Spotify is.
It is a service that allows people to listen to all sorts of audio content including audiobooks and podcasts.
Spotify Lite is the lighter version of the original Spotify app.
That should make sense.
Spotify Lite offers users a similar look to the original Spotify app.
However, it does have some key differences when compared to the original Spotify app.
For those who might have managed to see Spotify Lite on their friend’s or family member’s mobile phone, the Spotify Lite looks a lot like the original Spotify app even in the way it opens up.
So what is the point then?
Certainly, an app that looks and works just like the app that is already on your phone can’t impress you no matter what.
However, once you actually spend some time with the app, you will begin to understand why the company behind Spotify decided to release a Spotify Lite version.
Allow us to change your mind if you do not want to get Spotify Lite just because you have Spotify on your device.
Firstly, you should understand that using Spotify Lite does nothing bad to your current premium account.
In fact, everyone can use Spotify and Spotify Lite at the same time and on the same device.
The company has mentioned in the past that it aims to provide users with a lighter version of its standard Spotify app because some of them have a similar internet connection and/or low-end smartphone devices.
So if you have an older smartphone device then you are the perfect candidate to replace your standard Spotify app with the new Spotify Lite.
As mentioned just now, if you want to keep both the apps you can keep them.
In fact, if you really think about it, you could benefit a lot if you had both on your smartphone device.
Based on your internet connection and your needs you could switch between the two to get the best possible experience.
Right now, some of you may be asking, why would anyone would want to go through the bothersome process of downloading all of his/her audio content again?
The answer to that question is:
Who told you that you had to download and organize all of your audio content again?
Listen, if you have both Spotify and Spotify Lite, any kind of changes that you make in either app (provided both are connected to the same account) will affect both the apps.
That holds true for all your playlists and other audio content.
So if you are using Spotify Lite and you update something by making use of the app, that update would reflect on your main Spotify app as well.
The story is similar the other way around as well.
Hence, there is nothing for you to worry about.
All of your stuff remains safe and accessible regardless of the app that you are using.
Now, if you miss features such as Spotify Library on the Spotify lite app then know that in the Spotify Lite, the Library feature is called Favorites.
Again, no need to panic.
At the time of writing this guide, anyone living in the right country could search for and then download the official Spotify Lite app from the official Google Play Store.
Now, if you happen to own a really old smartphone device running Android, then apps like Spotify Lite are a blessing.
We say that because the last time we checked Spotify Lite only ate up 15 MB from your mobile storage.
That is, without saying, very good for people with low-storage phones.
And yes, we did not mention any other platform but the Android platform for the simple reason that you can only download Spotify Lite from Google Play Store which only works on the Android platform.
We don’t know when Spotify will release the Spotify Lite app for other platforms such as iOS.
But considering how many people would want to get their hands on such an app, it is conceivable that we will see the Spotify Lite app on the iOS platform very soon.
Don’t keep your fingers crossed though.
Just continue working.
Spotify Lite features
Now, once you have downloaded and installed the app you should go to the Spotify Lite Settings menu.
From there, you should have no trouble in noticing that the settings menu is pretty much bare-bones for a lack of a better term.
Spotify Lite does not give users a lot of options to work with.
Perhaps this is also a good time to talk about how the simplified edition of the official Spotify app can help you achieve.
- Within the Settings menu, users have the option of checking the amount of mobile internet data that they have used via the app
- The Settings menu also allows users to set a definite monthly internet data usage limit.
Currently options include- 3GB
- 2GB
- 1GB
- 750MB
- 500MB
- 250MB
- There is also an option for the quality of the audio content that one is listening to.
The choices are,- Very High
- High
- Normal
- Basic
- We have also found that the Settings menu offers users the option of deleting all of their downloads on Spotify.
Apart from that, you should be able to notice that the original Spotify player is not really terribly different from the Spotify Lite player.
As for other differences between the two apps, we will talk more about them in a later section.
List of countries that Spotify supports.
As indicated earlier, Spotify officially launched the Spotify Lite edition hoping that the lite version of the app would help the company expand its global reach even to those regions where people do not have access to a fast internet connection and tend to purchase smartphone device which could be best described either mid-range or low-end.
With that said, it is also true that Spotify probably did not think things through thoroughly enough as the app was not made available in many regions around the globe.
Now, to further clear up the whole idea for you, even though Spotify Lite is not available in all countries, it is available in almost all the countries with big populations.
There are a total of 36 countries in which you can download the official Spotify Lite application for your mobile.
And we expect Spotify to expand this list as time goes on.
However, for now, these 36 countries are all that anyone is going to get from Spotify.
Here is the actual list of countries where users can download Spotify Lite on their mobile phones.
- India
- Malaysia
- Vietnam
- Philippines
- Indonesia
- South Africa
- Qatar
- Kuwait
- UAE
- Bahrain
- Jordan
- Oman
- Tunisia
- Morocco
- Lebanon
- Algeria
- Egypt
- Saudia Arabia
- Uruguay
- Paraguay
- Panama
- Nicaragua
- Honduras
- Guatemala
- El Salvador
- Ecuador
- Dominican Republic
- Costa Rica
- Bolivia
- Colombia
- Chile
- Peru
- Argentina
- Mexico
- Canada
- Brazil
How to download Spotify Lite on your device in unsupported regions.
If you want to download the official Spotify Lite application in a country that Spotify currently does not support then you will need to somehow change the location of your Google Play Store region.
Now, a lot of people still do not know that the easiest and the quickest way to do that is with the assistance of a VPN service.
A VPN stands for the term Virtual Private Network.
You should think of VPN services as forms of internet tools which redirect the user’s internet traffic via a VPN server in a specific country.
Now, of course, the user (that is, you) gets to decide which server he/she wants to connect to.
Once the user has connected to a fast and also appropriate VPN server, the user’s internet connection, and all the online traffic will have no other option but to flow through that VPN server.
After that, it will look like the user is browsing from the region of his/her VPN server (wherever the server is located) to all services and websites.
Let’s take the help of an example in order to simplify things even further.
In other words,s let’s say that you live in the UK.
Now, you already know that Spotify Lite is not available to people who live in the UK.
So what should you do if you can’t download Spotify Lite in the UK?
Well, all you do is sign up for a good VPN service and then connect to a VPN server that is located in one of the 36 countries that we have mentioned in the above list.
After that, you should have no problems in downloading the official Spotify Lite app on your mobile device.
Step by step guide on how to download Spotify Lite on your device.
For people who like to keep things organized and simple, we also have a step by step guide below.
- First, you should get yourself a VPN service. You can easily do that by going to the official website of the VPN service provider that interests you and then purchasing a VPN package.
Now, there are more than a dozen good VPN service providers in the market today.
In other words, you do not really know which one is best suited to your needs.
Click here to read our guide on the best VPN service providers in the world right now which can definitely help you unlock Spotify Lite in your original country. - Once that is done, you need to find the official VPN app from the official website of the service that you have signed up for.
If you want to download the Android version of the official VPN app then you should search for it on Google Play Store. - Then you need to install the app on your device running Android and then sign into the app with your new VPN credentials.
- Now you need to form a connection with a VPN server that is located in the country that supports Spotify Lite.
We have given the list of countries that support Spotify Lite, so go read that right now if you have forgotten it already. - Once you have confirmed that the VPN app has established the connection, you need to go to the Android Settings menu of your device and then click where it says Apps.
- From there you need to keep scrolling till you find the app named Google Play Store.
Once you find it, click it. - And then click on Force Stop option for the application.
Then you need to clear your Cache and Data. - When that is done you need to make your way back to the Google Play Store page home screen.
- From there, you should be able to verify that the country which you have selected has indeed become your new region on Google Play Store.
So how do you tell for sure which country/region you have on Google Play Store?
Well, you should check the currency that is on offer.
It should be of the country that you have chosen to connect to via the VPN server. - Okay, so now you need to search for the app called Spotify Lite.
From there, it is all a matter of enjoying the smallest and probably the fastest audio content playing service in the world.
It might seem small, but it is just as loud as the original Spotify app.
Again, there are so many VPN service providers in the market today that sometimes it can become really hard to choose between them.
Click here to read about the top VPN service providers available in the world right now.
Spotify Lite vs Spotify: The differences
If you have followed tech news for any amount of time, you would know that technology companies usually do this.
They introduce a heavy and fully-featured app of their core product and then, after they have amassed a significant number of users, move to roll out the Lite version.
A perfect example of such companies is Facebook.
Facebook first launched the Facebook Messenger app.
And then introduced the Lite version which benefited the company in more ways than one.
YouTube, owned by Google, did the same and managed to enter markets it could not before.
Of course, we should mention here that even though these companies introduced the lighter version of their standard apps, the standard apps had little to offer more than the lite apps.
As far as major features are concerned, our research shows that most of such services and their Lite editions are the same.
Unfortunately, that holds true except for when we are talking about Spotify.
Spotify, for one reason or another, could not provide users with the same features on both of its standard and Lite app versions.
In other words, Spotify cut down a good number of core functions of the original app.
Now, the problem with such stepsis that a lot of the features which made this audio service Spotify, Spotify did not make it to the Spotify Lite version.
Let’s take the help of examples again in order to clear things up.
Now, assuming that you are currently making use of Spotify Lite, there is no way for you to download and then listen to all of your favorite audio content including audiobooks and podcasts in offline mode.
In simpler terms, Spotify Lite does not offer Offline Playback option.
You probably know that in our humble opinion Spotify hurt no one but itself by not offering the same functionalities in the apps.
It is actually counterintuitive to everything that companies should be doing to attract more customers.
We say that because, supposedly, Spotify introduced the Spotify Lite version because it wanted to take care of people with low-end phones and low-speed internet connection.
That would be a great problem to solve in all honest.
Except for the fact that it isn’t.
We don’t know how Spotify missed this.
But if you want to serve people who don’t have a lot of money and good internet connection then you have to provide them with some sort of offline functionality.
Most of these users have a limited budget for phone bills per month and hence make use of data caps as much as they can.
So if a person identifies himself/herself a data saver then Spotify lite should not only acknowledge that but also cater to such a customer.
Make no mistake, the ultimate way in which a company can serve the 3rd world market is by making offline mode available in almost all of its products.
Now, back to Spotify Lite now.
If you just take the time out to open up the player, you will find that it does not offer you the Shuffle button.
We are not sure why would Spotify do this since if there was one function which we would have liked to keep from the original Spotify app it would have been this one.
Furthermore, Spotify Lite does not offer the Spotify Connect feature either.
Or at least, if it does, we were not able to find it.
This means that people will not have the option of using WiFi and also listen to their favorite audio content on another device.
We’re talking about devices such as surround sound devices and others.
The other thing which bothered some people was the fact that when they swiped down on the quick menu settings, Spotify Lite did not have the Previous button there.
Instead of the Previous button, Spotify Lite offers users the Like button.
We do not know much about your online habits, but we are certain that you would like to use the previous button way more than you would like to use the Like button.
After all, the Like button isn’t terribly important when it comes to quick access.
How to compare Spotify and Spotify Lite?
Well, you make a chart.
That’s how.
We’re not saying that Spotify Lite is bad.
What we are saying is that it is a bit too much of a lightweight.
Of course, a company has to do what it has to do.
So here is the comparison.
Spotify
-
- Offers users an offline mode
- Has support Spotify Connect
- Also offers the car View
- It also allows Crossfade and Gapless options
- It has the ability to show Unplayable content
- Offers options for Volume level
- It takes slightly more than 200 MBs of storage on the user’s device.
Spotify Lite
-
- Can help users manage their mobile data caps
- Has a monthly limit on selections
- Lack of offline mode
- Consumes only 87 MBs of storage