Heena Sharma Blog

  The upcoming Apple iOS update will let users select a third-party default music service like Spotify when they ask to play a song using Siri. When you ask Siri to play a song on the upcoming iOS 14.5 , you would be prompted to select which app you want to use to play it, reports MacRumors. Apple last week released beta versions of upcoming iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5 updates to developers and public beta testers. Apple has now added the ability to set a default music streaming service when using Siri to play songs. First spotted by users on online discussion platform Reddit, Apple will let you ask ?Siri? to play a song in iOS 14.5 from installed third-party music streaming apps in addition to Apple Music. Apple Siri? will also set a music streaming service as the default if you ask it to play from that particular app for the first time. Read More

  Apple is reportedly planning to launch a new subscription service that would be focused on podcasts . The tech giant is currently in talks with production companies about the service which would charge people to listen to podcasts, reports The Information. By charging for individual podcasts, Apple could give creators a new way to make more money, which may convince them to leave rival services The service could be bundled with other services like Apple Music,? Apple TV+?, Apple Arcade, and Apple News+ as part of the Apple One bundles that the company offers. Currently, it is not clear what sort of content would be made available behind the subscription paywall. Spotify is also planning to create a separate service for exclusive podcasts which became popular in the pandemic as people stayed home. The streaming giant has invested heavily into podcasts over the last few years. It has spent over $800 million on snapping up podcast companies. Read More

  Swedish music streaming service Spotify has started rolling out support for standalone streaming through its app for Apple Watch. The feature continues to be available in Beta and is not available for all users at this time but Spotify has confirmed it is rolling out the feature, reports TechCrunch. The standalone streaming feature will allow users to stream music or podcasts via Wi-Fi or cellular connectivity directly from their wrist to a pair of Bluetooth headphones. "We are focused on developing experiences that enable users to listen to Spotify wherever and whenever they want - regardless of the device or platform. After an initial testing period, we are now rolling out streaming capabilities for Spotify on the Apple Watch," the report quoted a Spotify spokesperson as saying. Apple Watch users who have Spotify should see the new update on their devices. Read More

  For months, complaints from tech companies against Apple’s and Google’s power have grown louder. Spotify, the music streaming app, criticised Apple for the rules it imposed in the App Store . A founder of the software company Basecamp attacked Apple’s “highway robbery rates” on apps. And last month, Epic Games, maker of the popular game Fortnite, sued Apple and Google, claiming they violated antitrust rules. Now these app makers are uniting in an unusual show of opposition against Apple and Google and the power they have over their app stores. On Thursday, the smaller companies said they had formed the Coalition for App Fairness, a nonprofit group that plans to push for changes in the app stores and “protect the app economy”. The 13 initial members include Spotify, Basecamp, Epic and Match Group, which has apps like Tinder and Hinge. “They’ve collectively decided, ‘We’re not alone in this, and maybe what we should do is advocate on behalf of everybody,’” said Sarah Maxwell, a spo

Spotify has released its year-ender summary of the most played content on its audio platform in 2019 and the last decade, called Spotify Wrapped. The most streamed artist on Spotify was in 2019 is Post Malone with over 6.5 billion streams around the globe. The second-most-streamed artist is 17-year-old Grammy nominee Billie Eilish. At number three is Ariana Grande, who is also the most-streamed female artist of the decade. Spotify also observed a great year for podcast growth. The service now has over 500,000 podcast titles available. Podcast audience also witnessed an uptick by more than 50 per cent since the start of the year. Users can also see their own summary of 2019 and the last decade by heading to the Spotify Wrapped website or through the main app. Read More

Yamaha Music India has launched two new soundbars in India-- YAS 109 and YAS 209 --with built-in Alexa and support for Spotify and Amazon Music. The YAS 109 features built-in subwoofers while the YAS 209 includes a separate wireless subwoofer, providing flexible placement options and enhanced bass. The built-in Alexa feature provides volume-lowering capabilities, which automatically decreases the volume of movies or music to help receive a voice command. The remote contains a dedicated button to initiate Alexa control. Additionally, Alexa can be muted, when desired, or turned off completely when the soundbar is powered down, based on user preferences. The soundbars incorporate Dolby Digital and DTS Digital Surround decoding, as well as DTS VirtualX for immersive, virtual 3D surround sound. Both soundbars feature Yamaha Clear Voice technology to enhance sound clarity. For connectivity, the soundbars offer support for an HDMI ARC port, optical in, along with Bluetooth 4.2 an

Music streaming service Spotify on Tuesday launched a lighter version of its Android app, called Spotify Lite, to make it easier for people with limited data plans and older devices or operating systems. The lighter version of the app is optimised for slower connections and those with smaller data plans. The app is currently available for only Android devices; iOS users might have to wait for a while. Spotify Lite app takes 10 MB of space, compared with the standard Spotify app’s 100 MB, and boasts a new feature that allows you to set a data limit. It notifies you when the limit is reached. You can also control your song cache to free up storage. Another key difference between the standard and lighter Spotify apps is a design change; your libraries on Lite are replaced with favorites. Spotify Lite can be downloaded separately, both by free and premium users, and used either alongside or independently from the main Spotify app on all Android phones running version 4.3 or h

Google has introduced its YouTube music app in India, offering local and global songs to a booming market that saw the entry of Spotify just a few days ago. The YouTube Music streaming and download service in India includes popular Bollywood Hindi scores and other local-language music, the Mountainview, California-based technology giant said in a blog post. The free service is supported by commercials, while a premium version with no advertisements costs 99 rupees ($1.42) a month. YouTube is already India’s most popular online music source via its free mainstay video service. In the paid streaming niche, the music app is challenging rivals including Stockholm-based Spotify Technology SA, Amazon.com and JioSaavn, Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s music service. While streaming services have about 100 million users in India, only a tiny fraction of that pays. Industry sales in India climbed 17 percent in 2017, driven by increases in online subscription revenue. Read More