The stunning Samsung Q900 Smart 8K Ultra HD television, the one measuring a massive 85-inches, is now available to purchase. The company has started accepting preorders for the model, which sports the maker's 8K Quantum Processor, as well as artificial intelligence technology used to upscale content to an 8K resolution.
It's been a busy few weeks for Amazon, with a whole new range of Alexa-powered devices launched in late September, and now a new Fire TV Stick 4K revealed today. There's no shortage of ways you can bring Alexa into your life, therefore, but what's arguably the most useful is ironically the most straightforward.
Google's big October Pixel 3 event may not be for another week, but the 3rd Gen Chromecast we're expecting to see debut there has already shown up in the wild. The new version of Google's streaming TV adapter isn't meant to make its official appearance until October 9th, but it seems more than one retailer has pulled the trigger early.
![Spotify family plan crackdown threatens account sharing [Updated]](https://c.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/spotify-1-1-980x620.jpg)
Spotify may crack down on friends sharing subscriptions to its more cost-effective family plan, demanding GPS location data from some of its users. The streaming music provider has offered a family plan since 2014, making it more competitive in mid-2016 by allowing up to six people to share a premium subscription for $14.99 per month.
Epson has launched a new projector designed for home theaters, the Home Cinema 4010 PRO-UHD. This model brings features not commonly found on consumer-tier projectors, including Ultra HD resolutions and support for High Dynamic Range (HDR). Epson promises an "exceptional 4K experience" for buyers, but they won't get it cheap.
Roku's video streamers are about to get a whole lot smarter, with Roku OS 9 previewed along with Google Assistant integration and new support for streaming music services. The big update isn't quite ready for release - instead, Roku is pushing out Roku OS 8.2 for Roku TVs, complete with support for the recently-announced Roku TV Wireless Speakers, among other things - but it already sounds like it's worth waiting for.
Roku has added two new 4K streaming boxes, the Roku Premiere and Roku Premiere+, to its line-up, as well as updating its flagship Roku Ultra player. While rival set-top boxes may be looking to complex features and TV gaming, Roku's new models focus on price for those new to a 4K ecosystem.
Amazon has launched its first speaker-less Echo, the new Echo Input, offering a way to pipe music and the virtual assistant to third-party speakers. Smaller and cheaper than an Echo Dot, the new gadget looks more like a hockey puck than anything else.
Amazon Alexa is getting more personable and more conversational, with 50,000 skills now available, and new features that will make the assistant more flexible and interactive being rolled out. Announced as part of Amazon's annual Echo event in Seattle, WA today, the assistant is getting a number of updates which should make using Alexa more natural.
Comcast has teamed up with Ticketmaster to bring concert ticket purchases directly to the Xfinity X1 system. The new feature is available to subscribers with the Xfinity X1 service, enabling them to view concert tour dates and, if they find one they like, request tickets for it through their TV. The system integrates purchasing and utilizes a text message code that is used to finalize the purchase online.
For some odd reason, Amazon has dropped support for its own game controller from the pendant design Fire TV with 4K Ultra HD and the Fire TV Cube. The lack of support was revealed quietly in a small warning added to the Fire TV Game Controller product page. The controller remains compatible with older Fire TV devices, however.
Plex has decided to shutter its cloud server option due to ongoing technical difficulties, the company has revealed. It's disappointing news for users who had frequently requested a cloud option, which enabled subscribers to use a cloud storage account filled with content rather than a local drive.