Apple considers scaling back on yearly product releases

Photo: Apple

Apple adheres to a yearly launch for its devices—like most tech companies. However, it might be exploring a new strategy, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The Apple insider claimed in his Power On newsletter the company is exploring a shift in how it approaches product releases. They want to take a more "fluid approach," where it releases products when they're ready. He said we might still expect annual iPhone releases, but everything else might be staggered.

There has been a predictable pattern of Apple releases. (However, the company has started to shift the schedule around in recent years.) But that strategy has taken a toll on the company, too. With the steady increase of products in its portfolio, updating these devices yearly isn't practical and some devices don't even need an annual refresh (like its Apple Watch Ultra and iPhone SE).

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LG brings Studio Essence White collection to Canada

Photo: LG

If the sleek, white look is your aesthetic, LG brings its Studio Essence White collection to Canada. The appliance range includes a three-door refrigerator, a gas slide-in range, a combination wall oven, and a dishwasher. The collection comes in a soft matte-white finish paired with light bronze handles so it can fit in any modern kitchen. The lineup includes freestanding and built-in options to give you the flexibility to create your space the way you want.

YouTube Shorts can now be 3 minutes long

Image: YouTube

YouTube Shorts is rolling out some new features, including longer videos. The company's answer to TikTok can soon be up to three minutes long, which it said was a highly requested feature by users. Creators will get access to longer Shorts starting October 15.

Aside from extending the length of Shorts, YouTube introduced a template feature that allows you to match your clips to trending sounds taken from other videos.

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Spotify Offline Backup lets Premium users listen to songs offline even without downloads

Image: Spotify

If you're a Spotify Premium user and forgot to download your favourite playlist or you're looking to save on data or phone storage, Spotify is giving you the option to listen offline sans downloads with the new Offline Backup feature. It takes your recently streamed and queued tracks and compiles these songs into a playlist. It includes tracks stored on your device as part of your regular listening sessions (a.k.a. cache).

Spotify lets you filter and sort songs if you're looking for a "certain vibe." You can arrange it by artist, mood, and genre. Like its other playlists, Offline Backup evolves as you listen, so there's always something new there.

Offline Backup will appear automatically in the Home feed when you're offline. You just need to listen to more than five songs recently and have offline listening enabled. You can find this feature under Settings > Data Saving and Offline > Offline Listening / Offline Access. You can add this playlist to Your Library for easier access.

Offline Backup is rolling out globally, so you should have it once you've updated your app to the latest version. It comes to Android and iOS, including Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

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