Spotify acquires Podz to boost podcast discovery

Spotify has been throwing many of its resources into growing its podcast business. Its latest move is the acquisition of Podz, a startup with tech that can generate preview clips of podcasts. Podcasters don't need to create clips themselves, as Podz can automate the process. It finds the important moments from episodes using machine learning trained on over 100,000 hours of audio. 

Spotify wants this acquisition to help improve podcast discovery, allowing you to browse through short podcast snippets to find what you want to listen to instead of listening to longer podcast episodes. According to Spotify, it will make it "easier for listeners to find the content they want to listen to, and for creators to be discovered and build a fan base." 

Source: The Verge 

Tamagotchi brings the beloved digital pet to a smartwatch

Yes, the beloved digital pet gets modernized as Bandai celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Tamagotchi. The Tamagotchi Smart brings the once monochrome digital creature into a smartwatch with a coloured display.

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OnePlus says OxygenOS will continue to run on its devices even with OPPO merger

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Even as OnePlus and OPPO merge their internal teams, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau assures its users that its OxygenOS platform will continue to be available on its global devices. But while that may be the case now, we aren't entirely sure that it won't change in the future. The Android 12 Beta on the OnePlus 9 shows ColorOS at its core, which Max Weinbach has pointed out in a tweet. In China, OnePlus devices already ship with OPPO's ColorOS since last year. 

In case you didn't know, OPPO and OnePlus (along with brands like Vivo and Realme) are all brands under the Chinese multinational conglomerate BBK Electronics. Since last year, Lau has taken on a more significant role in overseeing parts of both OnePlus and OPPO. Now, he's merging more teams in both companies internally with a promise of improved efficiency and faster software updates for their users. It would make sense to join operating systems in the future eventually. For now, we have to wait and see what Lau and his team decide to do.

Source: 9to5Google

macOS Monterey will bring Apple Fitness+ to the Mac via AirPlay

Strangely enough, Apple Fitness+ hasn't been available on the Mac. Until now, that is. With macOS Monterey, Mac machines can support content via AirPlay from Apple devices like the iPhone or iPad, including Apple Fitness+ videos. So, now you can start a workout from your mobile device and then wireless stream the video to your laptop. A big drawback is you don't have access to on-screen metrics like heart rate and calories burned. You can only see this data on your Apple Watch.

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