Stations by Spotify beats Pandora at its own game

Stations by Spotify is clean, beautiful, and a lot of fun to use.

I've jumped back and forth between music streaming services a lot over the past couple years, including the likes of Google Play Music, Pandora, and even Apple Music. Spotify has been my go-to for the last few months, and I've really enjoyed my time with it so far. However, it's now gaining a new component that makes it even better – Stations.

Stations by Spotify is a new app that's currently being tested in Australia, and it's essentially Spotify's answer to Internet radio services like Pandora. Assuming you already have a Spotify account, using Stations is as easy as opening the app, tapping the Get Started button to automatically link your Spotify info, and you'll be able to instantly start listening.

Music starts playing on Stations as soon as you open the app, and as you cycle between the other genres that are available, the music will automatically switch over to play something new.

There's a good selection of music to listen to out of the box, including the likes of 80s Hits, Workout, Coffeehouse, R&B, Classic Rock, Indie, and more. You'll find simple controls near the bottom of your screen for liking a song and pausing it, and tapping the menu button in the top right will show controls for editing your stations, inviting friends to use the app, and controlling some basic settings.

Stations' simplicity is the star of the show.

On the Edit Stations page, you can browse through all of the available stations you can listen to. These are grouped into categories so finding exactly what you want is pretty simple, and you can add and remove stations as you please with just a tap.

The whole aesthetic of Stations is extremely clean, and even in its early form, the app runs like butter and music streams without a hitch. There's also a subtle vibration for each station you scroll through, and while this can be turned off in the settings, I've found myself to like it quite a bit.

There's no word just yet if Spotify will release Stations in other markets, but in just my short time using the app, I immediately got hooked on it. The simplicity in design and function makes Stations a joy to use, and it'll probably be my new go-to app when I just want to relax or focus and listen to some good tunes.

You can download Stations by Spotify from the Google Play Store if you live in Australia, but if you don't and still want to give it a shot, check out the APK file here.

Spotify is testing a sleeker and less cluttered UI for its Android app