Apple plans to sell you parts so you can repair your iPhone at home

Howard Bouchevereau/Unsplash

If you somehow missed the announcement, Apple is somewhat changing its stance on your right to repair your devices on your own. The company plans to begin selling tools and parts and instructions on fixing Apple products at home. It'll start with the iPhone 12 and 13 and then the M1 Macs. You'll be able to replace the smartphone's display, camera, and battery, with other options coming later.

The program is called "Self Service Repair," and it's launching "early next year," starting in the US and then other countries afterwards. Apple says this initiative is meant for "individual technicians with the knowledge and experience to repair electronic devices." And it still encourages most customers to see a professional for repairs. According to TechCrunch, repairs won't void your warranty, which is an important note. But if you damage the device while repairing it, that might void it.

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Spotify starts rollout of synchronized song lyrics to all users

Spotify / Musixmatch

Spotify will make your singalongs a better experience. It's rolling out its synchronized song lyrics to all users worldwide. The company started testing this feature out in the US and a few markets, but now free and Premium users are getting access to lyrics for the "majority" of Spotify tracks. Musixmatch powers the experience within the app.

It'll be available on iOS, Android, desktop, TV, and console apps. The feature is accessible on the "Now Playing View." You just need to swipe up from the bottom of the screen. The lyrics will track in real-time. Spotify hasn't mentioned how many songs get the feature, but saying "majority" implies it's at least more than half. We haven't spotted it on our devices yet, but we're keeping our eyes peeled for it.

Source: Spotify | Via: Engadget

Mattel shows off a life-size Barbie Extra EV at the LA Auto Show

Mattel

Well, at least it's a Fiat 500e dressed as a life-size Barbie Extra Car. The electric vehicle was designed to look exactly like the toy car. It has the 500e's chassis with an all-electric powertrain with 100 miles of range and 147 pound-feet of torque. Mattel used CAD files to duplicate the toy car's body and scale it up in foam to fit the Fiat 500e's undercarriage.

It gets sparkly silver paint and wing-shaped doors. The 20- and 22-inch (front/rear) pink and rainbow-hued wheels were 3D-printed and hand-painted. The headlights are gold and star-shaped. Mattel's presence at the LA Auto Show promotes the Barbie Extra dolls and accessories, but it certainly makes the show more entertaining for kids. And my inner child wants one of these.

Source: Engadget + CNET

Tidal introduces two new HiFi tiers

Tidal

Tidal revamps its subscription plans and introduces a new way for artists to earn more on its service. In the US, there's also a free, ad-sponsored tier. But for other markets, the standard Tidal HiFi plan gets lossless and high-resolution. It costs $9.99 a month and brings improved music quality (up to 1411kbps), offline capabilities, and access to Tidal Connect and My Activity features.

As The Verge pointed out, Tidal had to match services like Apple Music and Amazon Music Unlimited that brings lossless to their services without extra charge.The Square-owned company also introduces a new Tidal HiFi Plus option that's $19.99 per month and houses its most premium audio content. It has access to "best-in-class immersive sound formats" like Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Audio Recordings. Tidal's Master Quality Authenticated will also be exclusive to this tier. 

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