Google Play Music's most frustrating problem gets fixed

One Redditor described it as the reason they “switched back to Spotify,” while another said they had been “scarred” by the issue. It’s one of the main talking points of Play Music’s Google Play Store reviews. The popular music app had suffered from this particular problem for some time, but an update from earlier this week now appears to have eradicated it.

The update, version 8.5.6542-1.Y, listed “bug fixes” as its only improvement in the patch notes, but those on Reddit are confirming that the swipe-to-delete gesture has been fixed with the new version.

This gesture was previously used to delete songs in a playlist or remove them from the queue. While it might have been a smart idea in principle — a quick-fire way to remove a track rather than tapping the options button — users would frequently delete songs simply when trying to scroll through a playlist. 

It’s easy for smartphone interfaces, or any digital interface, to misinterpret our intentions — displays often automatically rotate on me against my will — but this quirk was especially frustrating because it was difficult to reverse: if you miss-time the tap on the “undo” button that briefly appeared, an unfamiliar track in your playlist could be lost forever to the ether. This fix, then, comes as very pleasant news indeed. 

And if you’re thinking about getting involved with Google Play Music, now might actually be a good time to do so: Google is currently offering four months free for new subscribers to the service. To download the app, visit the Play Store at the button below. 

Who’s returning to Play Music now that this issue has been fixed? Let us know in the comments.