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Tech News
An independent pricing tracker compiled monthly rates for nine flagship streaming tiers—Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, Apple TV+, Paramount+, Peacock, YouTube Premium and Spotify—comparing March 2021 to today. The combined monthly cost for the same services rose from $95.91 to $154.41, a 61% jump equal to $702 more annually, without any downgrades or cancellations factored in.
The Verge's Decoder podcast, hosted by Nilay Patel with producers Nick Statt and Greg Ott, released a mailbag episode responding to audience feedback gathered since April across email, YouTube, Spotify, Bluesky and Threads. The hosts singled out a prior video described as the 'software brain' segment as the most discussed piece of content on the show in the past six months.
In a personal interview, ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes described how raising her 3-year-old son has become her most effective way to disconnect from her phone, saying outings like hiking or beach trips leave her happier than screen time ever did. She also detailed her strict inbox habits, keeping unread emails at zero and total messages under ten, and noted her Spotify listening is now dominated by children's music like Raffi and Ms. Rachel.
Multiple Waze users report that switching the app from split-screen to full-screen view on Android Auto causes the navigation information box—showing ETA, arrival time, next turn, and remaining distance—to vanish. Some say the data briefly reappears when an alert pops up, only to disappear again once the alert clears, while at least one user reports the map failing to center properly in either view. Android Authority has contacted Google, and it remains unclear whether the fault lies with a recent Android Auto or Waze update.
A Reddit user analyzed their extended Spotify streaming history for a 2,000-song playlist and found a 72-track sequence played in the exact same order on two consecutive days. The repetition occurred even with the 'Fewer Repeats' setting enabled and without changing devices or playlists. Other users report similar patterns, including one case where 27 of 30 upcoming tracks matched a prior queue.
The RIAA reported that US recorded music revenue hit $6 billion in the first half of 2026, a 6.9% increase over the prior year. Physical formats led the growth, with CD sales jumping 58.6% and vinyl climbing 17.7%, while streaming still dominated overall revenue at $4.9 billion, up 4.7%.
iPhone users can check the Settings app's Battery section to see a breakdown of which apps consume the most power, including both active screen time and background activity. This feature has been built into iOS since iOS 8, so it works even on older iPhones.
A developer describes building two lightweight 'modes' inside Spotify's Portal platform to offload routine, low-reasoning coding tasks—like reading multiple files or generating repetitive test files—from Claude Code to a cheaper model, Gemini 2.5 Flash. The setup required no infrastructure, API keys, or new subscriptions, just declarative agent configurations run on Portal's serverless-style runtime, and reportedly slashed token usage by 90%.
Nature's audio long read examines growing scientific evidence that unrepaired or poorly repaired DNA damage drives many hallmarks of ageing. Researchers are investigating whether artificially boosting the body's DNA repair mechanisms could extend healthy lifespan. The episode is an audio version of a Nature feature and is available on major podcast platforms.
Streaming profiles for deceased jazz musicians including Sonny Criss, Jean Carne, Red Nichols and Jimmie Noone have been flooded with new, AI-generated songs falsely credited to them. The tracks, uploaded under a publisher called 'Ami bacuk' and a fabricated artist name, feature generic anime-style cover art and cannot be traced to existing recordings or identified by music-ID tools.
A tech guide outlines steps drivers can take to improve music streaming quality through Android Auto, including pre-downloading playlists to avoid network-dependent quality drops and adjusting download quality settings. It also recommends reviewing EQ and normalization settings, since phone-based bass boosts or Spotify's Loud normalization can clash with a car's own audio processing.
Code strings found in Spotify Android version 9.1.82.19 suggest Free-tier users could soon be allowed to host Jam sessions, a feature currently restricted to Premium subscribers. Jams hosted by Free users would reportedly force shuffle play, cap skips, and limit queue size for all participants, even Premium ones. Spotify has not confirmed the rollout, and the evidence comes solely from unreleased app strings.