SiriusXM is entering a new generation in which the lines between its legacy satellite streaming radio service begin to blur even more with modern internet-based streaming music. As we learned at the company’s massive press event in November, that new generation begins today with a revamped app and web presence. And along with that comes a simplified price for those who only want (or need) the app and don’t require a satellite subscription.
The new $10-a-month plan gets you everything a traditional satellite subscription gets. That includes the ability to listen nonstop from pretty much anywhere: On a phone. On a tablet. In a web browser. In a car from a phone. In a car, on your stereo via CarPlay or Android Auto, from your phone.
The updated app and web experience is just part of that. The really exciting part, at least from a nerdy perspective, is what you’ll see inside cars as part of the “360L” experience that blurs the lines between satellite and IP-based infotainment even further. The built-in SiriusXM experience that comes with a new car (can you even buy a new car without it these days?) will include interactive content. Sirius showed a brief demo of that with beta software in a Cadillac Lyric at November’s press event, but also stressed that what we saw there wasn’t a finished product, and that existing systems can only be updated so much, at least as far as the user experience goes.
What can be extended, however, is content. And to that end, along with the updated app and web experience , you’ll find a slew of new channels, including Alt2K, Flex2K, and dedicated channels from Shaggy, Kelly Clarkson, John Mayer, Dolly Parton, Smokey Robinson, and podcast company Audiochuck.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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