Technology

Apple Music is getting two big updates next month: support for high-quality lossless audio and for spatial audio through Dolby Atmos. But even more surprising: the features will be available for free to all subscribers. The company says it’ll have 75 million lossless audio songs in its catalog by the end of the year and 20 million to start. Anyone listening through AirPods or Beats that use the H1 or W1 chip or the built-in speakers in the latest versions of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac will have spatial audio turned on by default. To turn on lossless audio, subscribers must run the latest version of Apple Music and can go to Settings > Music > Audio Quality. There, they can opt into different resolutions for different connections, like cellular, Wi-Fi, or for download. Apple Music’s lo...

Faced with new competition from Apple, Amazon today announced that it will no longer charge an added fee for the “HD” tier of Amazon Music that lets customers stream audio at CD quality and above. From now on, lossless audio will be available to all Amazon Music Unlimited subscribers at no extra charge. Billboard was first to report the development. This makes Amazon the first company to offer lossless music at the industry’s standard $9.99 subscription rate. Amazon Music Unlimited is even cheaper ($7.99 per month) for Prime customers. And yes, the high-quality audio will also now be available for customers paying that price. Family plans are eligible for Amazon Music HD at no added cost, but student plans are exempt. Before Amazon entered the picture, the going rate for a lossless music s...

At Walmart, the Power Up Bundle from Razer, which contains its Viper ambidextrous mouse, the Kraken X Lite headset, and Cynosa Lite keyboard, is $69 (via Slickdeals). This kit was originally priced at $160 but usually sells for around $100. This could be a great gift for anyone looking for affordable accessories to complement their PC build. You can spend a lot on the best gaming mice, gaming headsets, and on a keyboard. But if you or the recipient of this kit isn’t picky, this should be a good fit. Razer Power Up Bundle $69 $160 57% off Prices taken at time of publishing. Razer’s three-piece PC gaming kit includes the Cynosa Lite wired gaming keyboard, the Kraken X Lite headset, and the Viper ambidextrous mouse. This bundle usually costs around $100. Mesh Wi-Fi routers from Amazon’s Eero ...

The first project from Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata’s new studio JP Games will finally be released next month, the company has announced. The Pegasus Dream Tour is a mobile RPG themed around the Paralympic Games, the first game ever to carry the official Paralympics license. It was initially announced more than two years ago, but the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics were postponed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and there’d been radio silence on the project ever since. JP Games describes The Pegasus Dream Tour as an “avatar RPG” set in Pegasus City. You can create a character based on a selfie from your phone, and train them in various para-sports. The game features illustrated versions of nine real-world para-athletes who compete in sports like javelin, athletics, and wheelc...

It appears that Leica has found a new mobile camera partner, following Huawei’s sanctions-induced retreat from the international smartphone market. Sharp just announced the Aquos R6 in Japan, and its Leica-branded lens sits in front of what is now the largest camera sensor on any phone. The 20-megapixel 1-inch sensor is similar in specs to what you’d find in Sony’s high-end RX100 compact cameras. It’s only the second 1-inch sensor ever to make its way into a smartphone, and the first to make its way into a phone from an traditional phone manufacturer — Panasonic released the Android-powered CM1 back in 2014, but it wasn’t exactly a mainstream device. The closest any current phone gets to a 1-inch sensor is Xiaomi’s new Mi 11 Ultra, which has a 1/1.12-inch component behind the lens. Only on...

Apple is teasing a major Apple Music announcement. “Get ready,” a post in the service’s Browse tab reads, “music is about to change forever.” Tapping the image reveals an animated video, though it just consists of the music streaming service’s logo spinning in place. The teaser, first reported by MacRumors, is believed to refer to Apple Music’s rumored lossless and hi-res music streaming features. A launch of the new higher quality streaming is believed to be imminent after code referencing “Lossless” and “Hi Res Lossless” streaming tiers appeared in the service’s Android and web apps. According to code in the Android app, the lossless tier will support music streaming at 24-bit/48Hz (a small step up from regular CD-quality 16-bit/44.1kHz), while the hi-res lossless tier will stream at 24-...

Some of Microsoft’s board members concluded that Bill Gates should step down last year as an investigation was being conducted into an alleged affair with an employee, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. Gates ultimately resigned from the board in March 2020, which the WSJ says was before the investigation had been completed. The board reportedly hired a law firm in 2019 to investigate the matter following a Microsoft employee alleging in a letter that she had had a sexual relationship with Gates over many years. The employee, who was an engineer at the company, is said to have asked that Melinda French Gates, who was married to Bill at the time, read her letter, though it’s unclear whether that actually happened. Gates and French Gates announced their separation this month. ...

After launching its Android app a week ago, social audio platform Clubhouse said Sunday it will roll out to more countries in the coming week. The Android app will be available in Brazil, Japan, and Russia on Tuesday, India and Nigeria by Friday, and the “rest of the world” throughout the week. Android rollout continues! Japan, Brazil & Russia coming TuesdayNigeria & India on Friday AMRest of world throughout the week, and available worldwide by Friday afternoon — Clubhouse (@Clubhouse) May 16, 2021 For the first year, Clubhouse was only available on iOS devices. Despite its early limited access Clubhouse grew to 10 million users in its inaugural year, and was recently valued at $4 billion after a new funding round. Whether it can keep up that momentum remains to be seen, as compet...

Officials in Puerto Rico are reportedly investigating an incident involving YouTube star Jake Paul, after he was seen in a now-deleted video riding in a vehicle on a beach that’s a nesting area for turtles this time of year, the New York Post reported. “I have ordered an investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding the use of two motor vehicles on beaches that are presented to be in Puerto Rico,” secretary of natural and environmental resources Rafael Marchargo said in a statement (h/t TMZ). “Some media have published today a video of the influencer Jake Paul in a motor vehicle on the beach, an activity that is prohibited, apart from law enforcement agencies. “Although the video does not establish where or when it was carried out, the DNER reminds citizens that this type of act...

So since The Handmaid’s Tale isn’t dark enough (honestly give us something, show writers), I also started watching Mare of Easttown (HBO Max) and over the weekend watched The Woman in the Window (fine, gritty anti-heroines are my thing, I guess). Mare is so far reminding me a lot of Broadchurch, another not-very-uplifting but great show, and Kate Winslet is going all-in on the accent and the look. But wow what a disappointment The Woman in the Window was. It has an all-star cast (Amy Adams, Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman, Brian Tyree Henry, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Anthony Mackie) and a screenplay by Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts, based on AJ Finn’s 2018 novel (which BY THE WAY, read the bonkers backstory about that guy). It follows the mostly successful (but sort of irritating) trend of mov...

Amazon has launched an ad-supported, free video streaming service called MiniTV within the Amazon India app, TechCrunch reports. It’s a different offering than its separate Amazon Prime Video service, as MiniTV is contained within Amazon’s traditional shopping app, rather than its own standalone app. Only available to users in India, MiniTV’s catalog includes mostly older content which its content partners made originally for YouTube and other platforms. The lineup includes beauty and fashion content, tech news, and cooking shows, and Amazon’s partners for the channel include Indian web content studios Pocket Aces and TVF, and list of well-known Indian comedians. The company says it’s planning “new and exclusive videos” in the coming months, but didn’t provide a timetable. As TechCrunch no...

AT&T and Discovery are in talks that would combine AT&T’s media business with Discovery’s reality-TV dynasty to create a massive new entertainment entity, Bloomberg reports, citing sources. Neither company confirmed the deal, but if it came to pass, the combined company would be a potentially significant competitor for streaming brands like Netflix and Disney. But as Bloomberg notes, AT&T only recently added some major entertainment brands to its portfolio when it acquired Time Warner for $85 billion, a deal that was finalized in 2018. And while AT&T’s streaming channel HBO Max has performed relatively well since its somewhat messy launch last May, it’s still not quite as robust as older streamers like Netflix. In January, Discovery launched its own streaming platform Disco...