Spotify’s reserved ticket sales to music superfans are now going live

Spotify is launching “Reserved,” a new system that will hold two concert tickets for an artist’s superfans before they’re on sale to the public.

Pixi’s new iOS app turns text messages into interactive AR experiences

Forget stickers, GIFs, and emoji reactions. Pixi is betting that the next evolution of messaging is interactive augmented reality (AR).

Mastodon looks to newsletters to help revive the open social web

Mastodon’s newly launched newsletter feature lets anyone subscribe to creators by email, even without a Mastodon account.

Google bets on Gemini to reinvent the smart home speaker

Google is betting generative AI can breathe new life into the smart speaker. The company’s new $99.99 Google Home Speaker replaces the rigid commands of the Google Assistant era with more conversational Gemini interactions.

Sixty percent of U.S. consumers say ‘AI’ in brand messaging is a turnoff, survey finds

WordPress VIP’s latest survey suggests consumers are wary of AI-generated answers even as companies increasingly view AI search as an important referral channel.

Fox to acquire Roku in $22 billion deal

Fox says the deal will create the third-largest television company in the United States.

Deezer’s new tool can identify AI music from Spotify, Apple Music, and others

Deezer introduced a tool that scans playlists from Spotify, Apple Music, and other platforms to identify AI music.

Warner Music acquires AI attribution startup Sureel AI

Through the acquisition, WMG aims to better track when its artists’ work is used in AI-generated content or for training AI models.

Apple’s Health app can now tell you if you’re in perimenopause

Cycle tracker will now notify women when their cycle patterns are suggestive of perimenopause.