IK Multimedia has introduced its iRig Micro Amp, a small battery-powered amplifier designed for guitars. The device features a built-in USB interface and compatibility with iOS, enabling musicians to connect the system with their laptop, iPhone, or iPad. Despite its features, the iRig Micro Amp is highly compact and optionally powered by batteries.
Smartphone users who want to use their device to record audio in the best quality may not have very many options, but it looks like the sound experts at Dolby are working on their own solution. The company has apparently been quietly testing an iPhone app with the codename "234" that boasts of studio quality recordings thanks to professional tools and settings.
Spotify plans to release an in-car music player, a new leak claims. This alleged device is expected to make its official debut later this year, bringing the popular music service to vehicles that may have less than adequate infotainment systems. The report claims Spotify users will be able to control the in-car player using voice commands and preset hardware buttons.
Apple's next iPad touch was tipped to be appearing later this year with a look related to that of the iPhone X. This device will likely feature Face ID, will have a collection of sensors and such to make it a real gaming and media-playing beast. The only question is - will it be able to make calls, just like Ryan Howard wanted?
Spotify is rolling out a new feature called Car View to its Android users today. As the name suggests, Car View gives Spotify a simplified UI to use while you're driving, potentially cutting back on the time you spend looking at your phone. That's never a bad thing, so here's hoping this feature sees a lot of use from Spotify's user base.
While some voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant are duking it out for smart home dominance, there are others that focus on offering more specialized voice support. One such assistant is the new one being launched by Pandora today. Soon, everyone listening to Pandora on iOS and Android will be able to navigate the app, discover new music, and play songs using voice commands.
Tidal may trail far behind rivals Spotify and Apple Music, but it's not dropping out of the streaming music game. You might take the same view about car company Lincoln, which is far from the biggest name in luxury SUVs, but over the last several months it's been working hard at updating both its image and vehicles. This may not be the reason behind their teaming up, of course, but Tidal and Lincoln have announced up to a year of the high-quality music streaming service for new car owners.
Pandora has beat Spotify to bring offline music playback to the Apple Watch. The new support is exactly what it sounds, enabling users to listen to music without the iPhone tether. The support has arrived in a brand new app that was built from the ground up, one that offers seamless "integration with the Apple Watch."
Apple Music is now a supported music streaming service on Amazon Echo speakers, joining Spotify, Deezer, Pandora, and other competing services. The new support is rolling out to the Alexa mobile apps, giving users the option of enabling Apple Music as a music service. Once linked, Echo owners can ask Alexa to play their favorite tunes from Apple Music.
Amazon Music subscribers who frequently queue up music using Alexa will find that the AI companion is a little smarter beginning today. Amazon has launched a new update for Amazon Music that brings more voice control options to Alexa - using this new functionality, indecisive listeners who don't know precisely what they want to listen to will be able have a conversation with Alexa to find music that fits the mood.
This December an Android app called Sounds (by Google) will make the audio cues on your smartphone very, very simple to modify. Not that the process was too complicated to figure out before, but never before has Google made the modification of all sounds on any given Android so simple. With the release of Google's "Sounds" app, users will be able to "choose [their] favorite sounds for alarms, ringtones, and notifications."
Satellite radio company SiriusXM is targeting Amazon customers again, this time with free Christmas music. Starting now and running through Christmas, Alexa device owners can access SiriusXM's Christmas radio content for free. In addition to the Christmas content, SiriusXM is also offering other holiday radio content for free on Echo, including Radio Hanukkah, Jazz Holidays, and more.