Rdio 2.1.3

In a seemingly minor 2.1.3 update to their iOS app, Rdio today introduced a gorgeous new list view for albums and playlists on the iPhone. In the previous 2.1 update, Rdio added a new album art view:

Notably, Rdio now comes with a “long press” gesture to tap & hold any item to bring up a new menu to sync, play, share, subscribe, and more. The new menu will “slide up” an item’s album artwork from the bottom, revealing a color-coded background that seems to be inspired by iTunes 11′s way of using the primary colors of an album to generate a background. Personally, I like how this allows each album to have a very unique sharing menu; I’m also a fan of this addition because the developers put a “More by…” link in the menu.

With the new list view, a larger artwork is displayed at the top of the screen with text overlays for album/artist information and rounded avatars for your friends who are listening to the same album/playlist (another new feature of this update). As you scroll up the first song, the album art becomes smaller until it turns into a title bar with a back button, name of album, and social profile icons. At the bottom, you’ll find  stats about the album such as total plays and number of playlists for that album. It’s lovely visual refresh with a clever attention to detail and animations.

I am a big fan of Rdio’s latest updates on iOS. I still think the iPad app could use some personality (today’s UI refresh is iPhone-only), but, overall, I’m impressed with Rdio’s new direction.