Gemini offers support for extensions, allowing you to use other Google and third-party apps within the voice assistant. The company currently offers a YouTube Music extension, but what if you use a different music streaming platform?

An Android Authority teardown of the Google app (version 15.30.27.29) has revealed that a Spotify extension for Gemini is in the works. A description of the extension (seen in the first image below) suggests that this will let you play both music and podcasts.

We were able to get the feature working on our phone, asking Gemini to play a song via Spotify. Gemini briefly shows a YouTube Music info card after processing the request, but the song indeed plays via Spotify. It’s also worth noting that the chatbot can play music via Spotify in the background instead of launching the app. Check out our video below for a better idea of how this extension works.

Nevertheless, this is good news as there are hundreds of millions of Spotify users out there. So you don’t have to sign up for YouTube Music Premium if you want Gemini integration on your Android device.

This isn’t the only upcoming Gemini extension we’ve spotted in recent days. We discovered that several more unannounced Gemini extensions are in the works, including Google Home, the Phone app, and Utilities. This is all encouraging news if you thought Gemini could use more comprehensive integration with other apps and services.

At the beginning of this month, Spotify increased the price of its Premium plan by $1.00, going from $10.99 monthly to $11.99 monthly. The main reason for this price jump was the recent introduction of audiobook support on the platform. With the “new” Premium plan, you get 15 hours of audiobook listening time per month.

The problem is that users who don’t care about audiobooks suddenly are paying more for a service they don’t use. Well, Spotify is now offering a solution in the United States with its new Spotify Basic plan. The Basic plan costs $10.99 each month and only includes music and podcasts.

Wait a minute — that’s just the old Premium plan with the same old price!

We’re not really sure why Spotify chose to do things this way. Why didn’t it launch a new plan that included audiobooks with a slight upcharge and then give people the option of switching? Instead, it forced everyone on Premium to pay more, and now they need to manually switch down to Basic if they don’t want audiobooks. Oh, wait — I just answered my own question.

Regardless of Spotify’s sneaky moves here, it is nice to see that people who were upset about the price increase have an option to get things back to normal with this new Basic plan.

This probably isn’t the only new Spotify plan we’ll see this year. A years-in-the-making tier is probably coming in 2024 that will provide users access to lossless audio, which will be of higher quality than the compressed tracks Spotify Basic and Premium subscribers get. However, Spotify might be too late to the game by the time this so-called “Hi-Fi” tier launches, considering Apple Music’s entire catalog is lossless and doesn’t require more money to access it.

Despite the recent price rises and the lack of lossless audio music, Spotify still remains the primary music streaming app for many users. Spotify’s excellent cross-device functionality is one of the reasons why many people, including myself, prefer it over YouTube Music. But if you recently opened Spotify and found all of your playlists have vanished, don’t panic, as that’s definitely a bug and not a feature.

We’re seeing multiple reports from users complaining that their playlists have vanished. These reports are generally from desktop and web browser users.

The Spotify Car Thing is a short-lived gadget that Spotify launched and then quickly discontinued in 2022. It’s basically a smartphone accessory for automobiles, giving you a 4 inch display and a dial that lets you interact with Spotify without looking at your phone. Originally launched for $90, the Car Thing eventually had its price […]

The post Spotify Car Thing hacking community could keep the gadget useful after Spotify ends support appeared first on Liliputing.

Spotify has confirmed it will issue refunds for its discontinued in-car streaming device, Car Thing. The company announced last week that the device will become non-functional starting December 9, 2024, a decision that will leave many users with bricked gadgets and considerable frustration.

Car Thing, Spotify’s dedicated music streaming device, gained popularity among a dedicated fanbase but was discontinued soon after its launch. Spotify assured users at the time that the device would remain operational, making the news of its impending deactivation in December 2024 even more of a bummer.

Enlarge / Spotify's Car Thing in a car. (credit: Spotify)

Spotify will refund owners of Car Thing, its Spotify-playing device that mounts to car dashboards, Ars Technica confirmed today. On May 23, Spotify announced that it would brick all Car Things on December 9.

Spotify started notifying customers via email on May 24 that they could reach out to this support channel if they have questions about Car Thing's discontinuation. The email doesn't explicitly guarantee refunds, though, which could leave some thinking they have no way to get reimbursed for the gadget that initially sold for $90. Further, Spotify's support page for Car Thing doesn't mention refunds and only tells owners to reset and properly dispose of or recycle the gadget.

A Spotify spokesperson declined to confirm to Ars if Spotify would offer full refunds to everyone who showed proof of purchase or if there were further requirements. The representative said that owners should contact Spotify via the above link about refunds.

Read 10 remaining paragraphs | Comments

Last week Spotify announced it would end support for its short-lived Car Thing accessory for streaming music in an automobile… and by end support, I mean the gadgets would just stop working altogether. Part of the problem is Spotify never sold many of these things, but folks who did buy them weren’t too happy, and now Spotify […]

The post Lilbits: Spotify is refunding Car Thing customers after all, Librem 16 Linux laptop on the way appeared first on Liliputing.

There’s no denying that Spotify is one of the most popular music streaming services out there. As a matter of fact, it is currently dominating the market, with ...

The post Apple Music vs Spotify: Why I Made the Switch appeared first on Gizchina.com.

If you’re a long-time Android user like me, chances are that you haven’t considered an Apple Music subscription. For over a decade, Spotify and YouTube Music (formerly Google Play Music) have reigned supreme as the de facto music streaming apps.

Spotify, in particular, has amassed a loyal following even though its Premium tier is a standalone subscription service. On the other hand, the Apple One subscription bundles 50GB of iCloud storage with the company’s music and TV streaming services — all of which can be useful even if you’re an Android user. This makes it an excellent deal compared to Spotify’s Individual Premium plan, which costs 60% as much for music alone.

Spotify has been staring at an upgrade to lossless music for what feels like ages, but the update has still not arrived. Announced back in September 2021, Spotify HiFi was going to be a new lossless streaming tier launching by the end of 2021. We’re in May 2024, and HiFi is clearly not here. Rumors pointed to a rebrand of HiFi to a $20-a-month “Supremium” plan that would be an upgrade over Spotify Premium, but we’re not there either. If you are still hopefully holding onto the dream of lossless audio from Spotify, Spotify HiFi continues to be spotted in UI leaks, indicating that it’s still alive.

Redditor OhItsTom has shared screenshots that show a few dialog prompts and system settings related to Spotify HiFi. The HiFi feature is not available yet, but some of the UI elements could be forcefully surfaced.

Last September, Spotify restricted some free users from accessing its lyrics feature as part of an A/B experiment. After months of testing, it now appears that the company is rolling out this new restriction widely. Those wanting to view song lyrics while listening must now pay for Spotify Premium.

In the past few days, multiple Redditors (1, 2, 3, 4) have voiced their frustration regarding Spotify’s latest limitation. What was a free feature for years now requires users to pay a monthly fee.

Fortnite, Epic Games’ wildly popular battle royale, has been a platform for music streaming for quite some time now. Recently, it even launched its own built-in rhythm game, Fortnite Festival, which has been headlined by icons like Lady Gaga, The Weeknd, and most recently, Billie Eilish.

Read more...

Despite the initial hype surrounding it, lossless music streaming failed to garner the traction it was once billed to do. Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Tidal, the high-fidelity music streaming service, is revamping its subscription plans, making them more affordable.

The company announced that starting on April 10th, Tidal’s existing HiFi and HiFi Plus tiers will merge into a single subscription tier called “Tidal.” This new, streamlined option will offer everything that was previously included in the Plus tier, including high-resolution FLAC files and Dolby Atmos support, all for a price of $10.99 per month.

THE SHORT ANSWER

You cannot change your Spotify username. However, you can change your Spotify display name, which replaces your username on your user profile. To change your display name, go to your profile > Edit profile > Enter your desired name > Save.