It wasn’t that long ago that Sprint, the U.S.’s fourth-largest carrier, invested heavily in Tidal, the music service owned by Jay Z. Speculation at the time suggested Sprint would extend exclusive Tidal deals to subscribers, and that’s proven to be spot on: On Thursday, June 8, the carrier announced customers will get complimentary six-month trial of Tidal’s priciest service, Tidal HiFi.
“We recognize that music streaming is one of the most important services for consumers,” Marcelo Claure, Sprint president and CEO, said. “More than two thirds of mobile subscribers stream music an average of 45 minutes per day, making our partnership with Tidal a natural fit for Sprint and our commitment to offering innovative, affordable and worry-free service. We’re providing our customers and anyone who signs up for Sprint a complimentary six-month trial of Tidal HiFi so they can experience all the unique and exclusive content Tidal has to offer.”
Starting June 9, Sprint customers can visit Sprint.com (or a brick-and-mortar Sprint location) for information on how to add Tidal HiFi to their plans. Tidal HiFi plans include on-demand access to more than 48.5 million music tracks, 175,000 videos, and exclusive content from artists like Calvin Harris, Nicki Minaj, and Beyonce. That’s in addition to curated playlists, live-streams, music videos, ticket giveaways,
Once the six-month Tidal trial ends, subscriptions go up to $10 per month for Tidal Premium.
To mark the promotion’s launch, Tidal and Sprint are teaming up to fund a charitable project aimed at children who lack internet at home. The 1Million Project, which seeks to connect 1 million low-income high-school students who lack access to an affordable internet subscription, will provide free mobile devices and up to four years of free high-speed wireless connectivity for high school kids who qualify.
Starting June 9, Sprint will donate $2 for every new line action — up to $1 million total — with a device purchase or lease to support the 1Million Project.
“Education is key to a bright future, and unfortunately not everyone has access to the tools and resources needed to succeed, including internet access and mobile devices,” Tidal artist-owner, Nicki Minaj, said. “I’m so proud to work with Sprint and Tidal, who are prioritizing programs like the 1Million Project in order to ensure that a student’s zip code and family financial situation aren’t roadblocks to a successful future.”
The Tidal deal dovetails with Sprint’s discounted rate plan. For a limited time, the carrier’s covering any cancellation fees new customers incur up to $650 per line, in the form of a prepaid reward card. For a limited time, Sprint is offering four lines of unlimited data, talk, and text for $22.50.
Interested in signing up for Tidal? Here’s how it stacks up against the competition.
Two new highly requested iCloud plugins just got added to ChatGPT, giving people who rely on Apple’s Mail and Calendar services a way to search emails, check appointments, and manage their schedules directly through the chatbot.
The integration is rolling out to all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. You can access it on the web, desktop, and iOS.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.