Fixing Lock Screen Playback Controls
Resolved a playback state mismatch between the lock screen, mini player, and audio engine by consolidating to a single source of truth.
The lock screen playback button was displaying the wrong state — showing paused while audio was actively playing, requiring an extra tap to sync. The root cause was that the lock screen controls, mini player, and audio engine each maintained their own state, updating independently at different points in the playback lifecycle.
The fix consolidated current playback state into a single authoritative source. The lock screen and mini player now read from that source rather than maintaining their own representations. This eliminated the timing gaps between the audio session, track loading, reels playback, and remote control handlers.
Album cover transitions were also updated in this pass: a fade animation now bridges track changes, replacing the previous hard cut.
State inconsistencies of this kind do not surface in feature specifications but directly degrade the reliability of the playback experience. The objective was to ensure consistent playback state across all control surfaces.