Spotify said today that it has submitted a new version App Store that shows pricing and feature information about the audio company’s different plans in the EU.
The update, which is pending approval from Apple, also includes a link for users to buy subscription plans from Spotify’s website.
Earlier this week, the European Commission fined Apple a massive €1.84 billion ($ 2 billion) for the company’s anti-competitive practices in the music streaming market.
Buoyed by this decision, Spotify has submitted this new version with information about subscriptions, offers, and a link to buy those, as per The Verge.
In response, Apple said it plans to appeal EC’s decision and said that Spotify has been “the biggest beneficiary” of the App Store.
Roku users around the country turned on their TVs this week to find an unpleasant surprise: the company required them to consent to an arbitration agreement in order to access their device.
Users (at least, this user) received an email the day before saying that “we have made changes to our Dispute Resolution Terms, which describe how you can resolve disputes with Roku.
We encourage you to read the updated Dispute Resolution Terms.
But there really is something rather despicable about totally disabling a user’s device until they agree, and having basically anything the user does count as agreement.
Don’t delay or, when people sue them over how they held devices hostage in order to coerce them into consumer-hostile dispute resolution terms, you won’t be able to join in on the fun.
AI-powered video generation is a hot market on the back of OpenAI’s releasing Sora model last month.
Two Deepmind alums Yishu Miao and Ziyu Wang have publicly released their video generation tool Haiper with its own AI model underneath.
Video generation serviceUsers can go to Haiper’s site and start generating videos for free by typing in text prompts.
He noted that it is “too early” in the startup’s journey to think about building a subscription product around video generation.
While investors are looking to invest in AI-powered video generation startups, they also think the technology still has a lot of room for improvement.
Streaming music service Deezer is joining Spotify in cheering the European Union’s €1.84 billion fine imposed on Apple for breaking antitrust rules in the streaming music market.
Apple’s new DMA rules, introduced in January, are a complicated means of providing a path forward for app developers to distribute apps from alternative app marketplaces.
Deezer is among those developers who drafted an open letter to the EC last week, claiming Apple was making a “mockery” of the DMA.
So far, we’ve only heard from MacPaw, the maker of a subscription service for apps, Setapp, which announced it was switching to Apple’s DMA terms last week.
However, larger developers, like Apple critics Spotify and Epic Games, as well as tech companies like Meta, Mozilla, and Microsoft have criticized Apple’s new rules.
Despite the EC ruling favoring Spotify and other streamers over Apple, the company was still cautious about how Apple would proceed.
So we’re looking forward to the next steps that will hopefully clearly and conclusively address Apple’s long-standing unfair practices,” Spotify wrote.
In 2019, Spotify first filed its antitrust complaint against the tech giant, which later led to the EU’s formal investigation of Apple’s App Store announced in 2020.
In April of the following year, the EU issued a statement of objections, accusing Apple of distorting competition in the market for streaming services.
And it noted that Spotify had a 56% share of the music streaming market in Europe, compared with Apple Music’s 11% share.
The European Union has fined Apple €1.84 billion for breaching antitrust rules in the market for music streaming services on its mobile platform, iOS.
The penalty is focused on Apple’s application of anti-steering provisions, which put restrictions on music streaming apps’ abilities to tell consumers about cheaper offers outside Apple’s App Store.
The iPhone maker has its own music streaming service, Apple Music, and rivals — such as Spotify — have argued the restrictions put them at a disadvantage compared to the platform operator.
A formal EU statement of objections duly followed, in April 2021, when the Commission accused Apple of operating its App Store in a way that distorts competition in the market for music streaming services.
Last month, the FT reported Apple was facing a €500M antitrust penalty over music streaming.
Spotify is rolling out a new feature called Song Psychic that will allow its customers to ask Spotify questions and get answers in the form of music.
The addition builds on the success of Spotify’s personalized, year-end review called Wrapped, which offers clever ways of turning Spotify’s music data into insights designed for social sharing.
But in the case of Song Psychic, the goal is not to look back and your listening history, but to leverage Spotify’s understanding of music and song titles to answer a range of personal questions — like those you might ask a psychic or Magic 8-Ball just for fun.
Just as a Magic 8-Ball sometimes refuses to answer a question with its “Ask Again Later” response, Spotify’s Song Psychic may respond with an answer of its own, like “Why?” instead of directly responding.
Song Psychic is available to Spotify’s free and Premium subscribers in 64 markets and in 21 languages, the company says.
But it’s a fragmented market with different streaming apps, channels and live sports leagues.
But even if you remove the big names, there are quite a few different ad-supported streaming services, such as FAST (free advertising-supported streaming television) services like Pluto, big OTT platforms like Fubo, and of course broadcasters themselves like Paramount, Warner Bros., CNN, etc.
We have Benjamin Antier on the board — he’s the founder of Publica, the biggest ad server for streaming apps.
Using Vibe’s ad platform is pretty straightforward.
After picking the streaming apps and channels where you want to show your ads, you can select a geographical area and an audience based on various interests.
It did so, however, with the ambitious goal of creating a walking bipedal robot in a year’s time.
Humanoid robots are having a moment.
The goal of the deal is to “develop next generation AI models for humanoid robots,” according to Figure.
“We are excited to collaborate with Figure and work towards accelerating AI breakthroughs,” says Microsoft Corporate VP, Jon Tinter.
Mechatronics are easier to judge in a short video than AI and autonomy, and from that perspective, the Figure 01 robot appears quite dexterous.
These doorbell cameras are, however, still available elsewhere.
Consumer Reports says EKEN did not respond to their emails reporting these issues.
Despite these flaws and Consumer Reports warning online marketplaces about them, the doorbells remain available for sale on Amazon, Sears, and Shein.
But Consumer Reports claimed there are similar doorbells, likely whitelabels of EKEN doorbells, still available on Walmart.
After TechCrunch shared five listings flagged by Consumer Reports with Walmart, Forrest said the company took down three of the five, while two had already been removed.
