Spotify brings brand sponsorships to Release Radar playlist

You might soon be seeing brand-sponsored content on Spotify's Release Radar playlist, at least if you have a free account. This is the third playlist Spotify is offering for ads, joining On Repeat and Discover Weekly as avenues for potential brand sponsorships. Disney+ is the first partner for Release Radar in the US. It's promoting the Billie Eilish film Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter To Los Angeles. 

Free users of the service will see ads in audio, video, and graphics and direct them to the playlist. Once there, logos will appear on the playlist art and messages from the sponsor at each ad break. Spotify is opening this opportunity to all companies interested in this kind of sponsorship. The company is making this playlist available for advertising in 31 markets around the world.

Source: Engadget

LG's new material gets rid of creasing in foldables

One of the issues with foldables is creasing, and LG has developed a new material that addresses this and the foldable screen's durability. The company's chemical branch made a cover window, a protective part that lies on top of the display, designed to be as tough as glass and as flexible as plastic.

LG created this cover with a special coating on top of a thin polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic film. This material is said to be sturdier and more flexible than the existing crop of polyimide film and tempered glass-based solutions.

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German govt. wants smartphone makers to offer 7 years of updates, repairs

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If Germany has its way, it wants smartphone makers to update software and offer spare parts for seven years. It's part of a new environmental responsibility proposal from the German government to the European Union. Germany's Ministry of Economics also wants spare parts to be available "at a reasonable price."

This proposal exceeds the demands of the EU Commission, which wants these companies to offer five years of updates and repairs for smartphones and six years of spare parts for tablets.

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Google Home app gets Air Quality setting with AQI appearing on Nest Hub

Source: Google

Google announced last month it would begin showing Air Quality (AQI) information for its Nest Hub users in the US. Many of these users are seeing a new setting in the Google Home app, even if the actual reading isn't available on all the smart displays yet. 

"Air quality" will now be a new option in the "Photo Frame" menu on the Google Home app. You can also access it on the device in the "Hey Google, change photo frame" menu with the setting "Show air quality when available in your area." It may or may not show up on your Nest Hub device yet.

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