Technologies
Spotify Audio Settings You Should Change Now
You can improve your Spotify listening experience in a few easy steps.

With more than 195 million subscribers, Spotify is arguably one of the most popular music streaming platforms in the world. CNET also ranks Spotify as one of the best music streaming services on the market, and gave it an Editor’s Choice Award.
Spotify lets you listen to music wherever you are, recommends new songs based on your activity and provides fun, personalized streaming data at the end of every year. If you were gifted a Spotify subscription for the holidays, you can also make and share playlists with friends on social media, or with the whole world through the app.
If you feel like something is missing from your listening experience though, Spotify lets you take control of various settings to make your music sound more superb. That way whether you’re in a quiet library, on your morning commute or pumping some iron in the gym, your music will always fit the mood.
Here’s how to crank your Spotify listening experience up to 11 no matter what the situation.
Adjust your base volume to match your environment
Volume is pretty easy to figure out, but did you know Spotify lets premium users adjust the base volume of the app depending on their environment? You can select either Quiet, Normal or Loud, and each has its own benefit.
Quiet will make songs a little quieter and sound cleaner, making it a good choice if you’re relaxing at home. Normal makes songs play at a medium base volume, and the sound is less crisp than Quiet. This is a good choice for most people and situations. Loud is — you guessed it — louder, but you might lose some audio quality because of the loudness. This option is good if you’re at the gym or other similarly noisy environments.
Here’s how to adjust the base volume on your iPhone:
1. Open the Spotify app.
2. Tap the gear icon in the top-right corner of your screen.
3. Tap the Playback option near the top of the menu.
4. Beneath Volume level there are three options: Loud, Normal and Quiet.
If you’re using the Spotify app on a Mac, here’s how to adjust the base volume:
1. Open Spotify.
2. Click the down arrow in the top-right corner.
3. Scroll down until you see Audio Quality.
4. Under Audio Quality, you should see Volume level.
5. Click the drop-down bar to the right of Volume level.
6. From here, you see the same Loud, Normal and Quiet options. Pick whichever one works for you.
Here’s how to adjust the base volume if you’re using the Spotify app on an Android device:
1. Open Spotify.
2. Tap the gear icon to access Settings.
3. Scroll down to Playback and you should see Volume Level.
4. Next to Volume Level you should see the Loud, Normal and Quiet options. Pick the one you want.
Finally, here’s how to adjust the base volume in Spotify while on a Windows computer:
1. Open Spotify.
2. Click your account name in the top-right corner.
3. Click Settings.
4. Under Audio Quality, you should see Volume level. Click the drop-down bar to the right.
5. Select either Loud, Normal or Quiet.
Use the Spotify Equalizer for more control
If you prefer being more hands-on with how your bass and treble come across in each song, you can adjust the in-app equalizer. Adjusting your bass affects lower-frequency sounds, making your music sound deeper with increased bass or flat with less bass. Treble affects the higher sound frequencies, making your music sound brighter and crisper with increased treble, or duller and kind of muddied with less treble.
Here’s how to access the equalizer on your iPhone:
1. Open Spotify.
2. Tap the gear in the top right corner to access Settings.
3. Tap the Playback option.
4. Scroll down the menu and tap Equalizer.
Here’s how to access the equalizer on your Android device:
1. Open Spotify.
2. Tap the gear icon to access Settings.
3. Under the Audio quality heading — not under Data Saver — tap Equalizer.
This opens the equalizer page on both systems. Here you can find the manual equalizer slider and a handful of premade genre-based equalizers.
You should see the manual equalizer slider that looks like a line graph with six dots. When you first get to this page, the equalizer should be flat.
Each dot on the graph can be adjusted for more or less sound. The far left bar represents your bass, the far right bar controls your treble and the middle bars control — you guessed it — your midrange. You can tweak the bars as you see fit.
There are also genre-based equalizers on this page. You can pick which genre you’re listening to and the app automatically adjusts the sliders to optimize for that style of music. After picking one, you can further adjust the sliders for the perfect listening experience.
If you want to reset the equalizer, there’s a genre-based equalizer called Flat. This will reset the equalizer to its default.
The Mac and Windows versions of Spotify don’t have an in-application equalizer. But you can search for an equalizer application to help you in your journey to find the best sound.
Adjust the quality of your music for a clearer sound
You can also adjust the audio quality of your music. This is handy if you’re using mobile data and don’t want to bump up your phone bill. Reducing the audio quality will use less data.
Here’s how to change the audio quality on mobile and tablet:
1. Open the Spotify app.
2. Tap the gear icon to access Settings.
3. Scroll down until you see the heading Audio Quality — not under Data Saver.
4. Under WiFi streaming and Cellular streaming, you can select Low, Normal, High or Automatic. The Automatic option adjusts the audio quality to whatever your signal strength is. If you’re a paid subscriber you’ll see a fifth option under both WiFi streaming and Cellular streaming called Very high.
How to change the audio quality on your desktop:
1. Open Spotify.
2. Click the down arrow in the top-right corner.
3. Click Settings.
4. Scroll down to Audio Quality.
5. Beneath Audio Quality you should see Streaming quality. Click the drop-down menu to the right.
6. Choose between Low, Normal, High or Automatic options, and the Very high option for paid subscribers.
For more on Spotify, see which Spotify plan is best for you and how Spotify stacks up against Apple Music.
Technologies
iPhone 17 Preorders Spike and Overall Phone Sales Aren’t Slowing Down Despite Tariffs
Global smartphone shipments saw a notable increase in the third quarter of 2025. Plus, preorders for Apple’s new iPhone 17 beat out the iPhone 16.

Despite tariffs and market uncertainty, global smartphone shipments increased 2.6% in the third quarter of 2025, compared to the same time last year, according to the International Data Corporation. Additionally, preorders for the iPhone 17, which launched last month, outpaced last year’s iPhone 16.
These increased sales include premium phones like the latest iPhones and Samsung foldables, suggesting yet again that pricier phones still sell in periods of economic strain. It’s a remarkable achievement, says IDC senior research director Nabila Popal, citing shrewd financing options as the reason people keep buying these high-end phones, which cost anywhere from $800 to nearly $2,000.
«[Phone makers] have mastered the art of innovation not only in hardware and software to entice upgrades but also in removing purchase friction. They have flawlessly combined cutting-edge devices with innovative financing models and aggressive trade-in programs that make the upgrading decision a ‘no-brainer’ for consumers,» Popal said in an IDC press release.
Apple sold 58.6 million iPhones this quarter, an increase of 2.9% over the same period in 2024, with more preorders for the iPhone 17 series than its predecessor. But Samsung wasn’t far behind, with its Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 selling better than all of the company’s prior foldables. The company still reigns atop the phone market with 61.4 million phones sold, representing 19% of the market in the third quarter of this year — an increase of 6.3% from the same period last year. Meanwhile, Apple lands slightly behind Samsung with 18.2% market share this quarter.
The other phone makers trailing Apple and Samsung are, in order: Xiaomi, with 13.5% of the market; Transsion, with 9%; and Vivo with 8.9%. The remaining companies in the phones industry, from Chinese stalwarts like Oppo and Honor to Motorola and Google, make up the remaining 31.4% of the market for the quarter. All told, 322.7 million phones were sold, up from 314.6 million in the third quarter of 2024, according to IDC.
IDC’s findings for the third quarter continue the small but steady growth of phone sales over the year, including a modest 1% increase in the preceding three months — which includes the April deadline when President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs. In the second quarter, IDC cited midrange devices like Samsung’s Galaxy A36 and other phones that started incorporating AI. But even persistent tariffs haven’t slowed down people’s appetites for pricier phones in the third quarter.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, Oct. 14
Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Oct. 14.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
Today’s Mini Crossword has an odd vertical shape, with an extra Across clue, and only four Down clues. The clues are not terribly difficult, but one or two could be tricky. Read on if you need the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.
If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.
Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword
Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.
Mini across clues and answers
1A clue: Smokes, informally
Answer: CIGS
5A clue: «Don’t have ___, man!» (Bart Simpson catchphrase)
Answer: ACOW
6A clue: What the vehicle in «lane one» of this crossword is winning?
Answer: RACE
7A clue: Pitt of Hollywood
Answer: BRAD
8A clue: «Yeah, whatever»
Answer: SURE
9A clue: Rd. crossers
Answer: STS
Mini down clues and answers
1D clue: Things to «load» before a marathon
Answer: CARBS
2D clue: Mythical figure who inspired the idiom «fly too close to the sun»
Answer: ICARUS
3D clue: Zoomer around a small track
Answer: GOCART
4D clue: Neighbors of Norwegians
Answer: SWEDES
Technologies
Watch SpaceX’s Starship Flight Test 11
-
Technologies3 года ago
Tech Companies Need to Be Held Accountable for Security, Experts Say
-
Technologies3 года ago
Best Handheld Game Console in 2023
-
Technologies3 года ago
Tighten Up Your VR Game With the Best Head Straps for Quest 2
-
Technologies4 года ago
Verum, Wickr and Threema: next generation secured messengers
-
Technologies4 года ago
Google to require vaccinations as Silicon Valley rethinks return-to-office policies
-
Technologies4 года ago
Black Friday 2021: The best deals on TVs, headphones, kitchenware, and more
-
Technologies4 года ago
Olivia Harlan Dekker for Verum Messenger
-
Technologies4 года ago
iPhone 13 event: How to watch Apple’s big announcement tomorrow