They didn't "remove" the feature, they moved the feature.
Instead of a launcher widget only found on the home/lock screen of supported launchers, they instead have a permanent expandable notification widget which is available from the existing places, plus more (Home and Lock Screens like the old widget, plus usable while other apps have focus).
It contains all the same information and controls but now works in more places. It also allows you to control it/disable it directly from the App Info panel. It is also launcher agnostic. This is mostly a user training/education issue. More information:
Plus, in my opinion the whole "it is an optional feature, why even remove it!" argument only makes sense when you ignore the maintenance/support required to keep it in. Android Widgets actually require a lot of tinkering to keep working correctly between major versions and across device form-factors.
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They didn't "remove" the feature, they moved the feature.
Instead of a launcher widget only found on the home/lock screen of supported launchers, they instead have a permanent expandable notification widget which is available from the existing places, plus more (Home and Lock Screens like the old widget, plus usable while other apps have focus).
It contains all the same information and controls but now works in more places. It also allows you to control it/disable it directly from the App Info panel. It is also launcher agnostic. This is mostly a user training/education issue. More information:
https://community.spotify.com/t5/Android/Android-Widget-Remo...
Plus, in my opinion the whole "it is an optional feature, why even remove it!" argument only makes sense when you ignore the maintenance/support required to keep it in. Android Widgets actually require a lot of tinkering to keep working correctly between major versions and across device form-factors.