The world’s biggest streaming music service will work a little differently starting March 7 — if you’re in the European Union, anyway. That’s because the EU has passed the Digital Markets Act, which (among other things) means that Apple will have to allow apps like Spotify to use payment systems that can bypass Apple’s cut from in-app sales.
And Spotify is showing off how it’ll work.
There’s nothing inherently groundbreaking here, save for the fact that it’s happening at all. Third-party app stores and purchases were a thing long before the Apple App Store came into existence. And it’s not like you haven’t been able to use Spotify on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac all these years — it’s just that you had to sign up and pay from a web browser. That’s definitely never been ideal from a user-experience perspective.
Or, as Spotify puts it, “For years, even in our own app, Apple had these rules where we couldn’t tell you about offers, how much something costs, or even where or how to buy it. We know, pretty nuts.”
So, thanks to the DMA, come March 7 — again, if you’re in the EU — you’ll be getting a different sort of Spotify. One that can show you other things you can purchase from Spotify — like higher service tiers, promotions, or audiobooks — right within the app. “We will be able to communicate clearly with you in the Spotify app about new products for sale, promotional campaigns, superfan clubs, and upcoming events, including when items like audiobooks are going on sale,” Spotify wrote in a blog post.
Spotify then reminds everyone that this only pertains to the EU. The rest of us are going to have to continue to make do. For now.
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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