Spotify ventures into video podcasts with new test

Photo by Ashley Carman / The Verge

Spotify is testing a new video podcast feature in its app. It's using YouTube stars' Zane Hijazi and Heath Hussar's Zane and Heath: Unfiltered as its testing ground. According to a source close to Spotify, the global test will be showing up for 50% of the show's podcast listeners. It's available on three recent episodes (28 through 30), but there doesn't seem to be a visual cue to let the testers know that the podcast episode comes with a video. Even with the video playing, you can still lock your phone and continue listening to the audio of the podcast, which might be appealing to some users.

As The Verge reports, listeners will see the video footage at the bottom of their screen when they play the episodes. To see it in full screen, they can tap on the video. The experiment is still in its initial stages, but the source claims it is likely to come to more podcasts soon and "fast." The feature will be useful for programs from Spotify-owned The Ringer since the network uploads video podcasts like The Rewatchables to YouTube already.

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Chris Evans-led 'Defending Jacob' looks like an Apple TV+ breakout

Chris Evans' first limited series after his Marvel Cinematic Universe run seems to be doing really well. While Apple—like other streaming services—hasn't divulged viewership data, sources claim that Defending Jacob is Apple TV+ service's biggest debut since its launch in November 2019. Deadline reports that it's one of the top three series premieres for the service, with a big opening weekend and viewership numbers that continued growing by five times in its first 10 days. If this is true, it'll rank Defending Jacob among the two fastest-growing series premieres on Apple TV+.

The show is also reportedly setting Apple TV+ records for viewer engagement. A substantial number of the viewers watching the first three episodes that were released on April 24 went on to watch the fourth episode released on May 1. The show just dropped Episode 5 this weekend, with J.K. Simmons' making his appearance as Billy Barber, the estranged father of Evans' Andy Barber. Defending Jacob also stars Michelle Dockery as Andy's wife, Laurie, and Jaeden Martell, as Andy's 14-year-old son Jacob, who is accused of murdering his classmate.

Google Lens lets you copy handwritten notes from your phone to laptop

A recent Google Lens update will make note-taking a simpler affair. It'll let you copy and paste handwritten notes from your phone to your computer. But you need to make sure your handwriting is legible. 

Android users need to have the latest version of Chrome as well as the Lens app to use the feature. Meanwhile, iOS users will need to have the newest version of the Google app. Make sure the same Google account is signed into on both devices. After that, you need to point your camera at the written text and highlight the parts you want to copy. From there, you head to Google Docs on your Chrome browser, head to the Edit tab, and then select Paste to paste the selected text.

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Google Read Along helps children learn how to read

Google introduces a new app designed to help children older than five years old learn how to read better. Called Read Along, it was first launched in India under the name Bolo, but now it's getting a wider release in over 180 countries and support for nine languages. 

It comes with an in-app "reading buddy" called Diya, which is designed to give them verbal and visual feedback while they read out loud. It utilizes Google's text-to-speech and speech recognition technology to determine if your child is having trouble reading something. It can then give feedback similar to a teacher or parent. Kids can tap Diya to help them pronounce a word or sentence. As rewards, the app offers stars and badges.

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