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Google reportedly offers Samsung a lucrative deal to prioritize Assistant and Play Store

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It’s still unclear whether the agreement would force Samsung to drop Bixby and its app store entirely or, as Bloomberg says, whether it simply has to make those services less integrated on its own devices. Neither company confirmed the negotiations when the publication asked for a statement.

A Google spokesperson said:

“Like all Android device makers, Samsung is free to create its own app store and digital assistant. That’s one of the great features of the Android platform. And while we regularly talk with partners about ways to improve the user experience, we have no plans to change that.”

Samsung’s statement reads:

“Samsung remains committed to our own ecosystem and services. At the same time, Samsung closely works with Google and other partners to offer the best mobile experiences for our users.”

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Spotify says listener habits are almost back to pre-pandemic levels

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Spotify’s interest in podcasts is paying off, too, with 21 percent of its users now listening to podcasts on the platform. That number “continues to grow at triple digit rates year over year,” and so we’re expecting that figure to continue to rise across the year. Not to mention that this surge in podcast listening is before the company’s controversial exclusivity deal with Joe Rogan kicks in this September. 

Spotify’s revenue increased, but at the same time, its losses deepened, which the company has said is down to a number of factors. As usual, it blames its employees in Sweden for adding to its tax burden, which must make them feel real swell. More importantly, however, is that as more families and students sign up to group, or discounted plans, the company’s average revenue per user falls. 

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Spotify experiments with shareable podcast quotes for social media

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The Michelle Obama Podcast’s first episode is now live on Spotify, and it has debuted alongside an experimental feature that makes it much easier to share tidbits from the show on social media. Spotify has started testing a quote-sharing feature for mobile, giving you an easy way to start discussions about ideas or sentiments that resonate with you with friends or followers.

When you hit play on The Michelle Obama Podcast on a mobile device, the show’s page will display a carousel of available quotes — no need to type them up yourself anymore. All you need to do is tap on any of the cards to expand its sharing options. At the moment, those options include Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and WhatsApp. Since it’s just an experimental feature, though, it might only roll out to select users. In addition, it’s unclear if the quote-sharing feature will be available for other podcasts during the testing period.

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BMW’s update with wireless Android Auto is rolling out

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At the end of last year BMW announced plans to add wireless Android Auto support on several of its vehicles, and according to Android Police, the update is now available. BMW announced it would arrive in July for vehicles using version 7.0 of its operating system, and while they weren’t able to snag it over-the-air, prompting the dealer for an update during a visit got the correct software installed.

One wrinkle to be aware of is that this support works only via wireless, so not every Android phone can make it happen (Google’s official list is made up mostly of Nexus, Pixel and Samsung devices). That said, they report it worked well with only a few hitches, which is similar to Autoblog’s experience with improved CarPlay support on this version of the software. For owners curious about how it will all work out, BMW has put together a demo video (below), and it should be more widely available soon.

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Space Camp needs to raise $1.5 million to survive the pandemic

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Both the museum and the camp were forced to temporarily close back in March due to the pandemic, and the camp unfortunately (but understandably) suffered from low attendance when it reopened in late June. That led to a significant decrease in revenue, forcing the center to lay off full-time employees and preventing it from hiring seasonal personnel.

On the campaign page, officials explained:

“With limited admission from international students and school groups this fall and winter, we’re forced to close our weeklong camp programs again until April 2021. These ongoing challenges have meant a devastating loss of two-thirds of our revenue.”

As Space notes, the rocket center typically generates $120 million in annual revenue for Alabama, so its loss is also a massive loss for the state. Center officials said they’ve “exhausted all funding possibilities” at this point and have no choice but to turn to the public for help. They need the $1.5 million c or else the center and the camp will have to shut down in October.

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Big tech CEOs release opening statements before antitrust hearing

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All three CEOs also took the time to address antitrust concerns that their companies are far too dominant. For example, Bezos pointed out that Amazon has competition from the likes of Walmart, Target and Costco that offer curbside pickup, which he says gives them a certain advantage. Like Bezos, Pichai made the claim that Google has plenty of rivals in the form of Alexa, Twitter, Instagram, Whatsapp and Pinterest among others. Cook said that while the iPhone is a “revolutionary” product, it also faces plenty of stiff competition from the likes of Samsung, LG, Huawei and Google. Though Zuckerberg didn’t name-check any rivals in particular, he did say that Facebook faces “significant” global competition, including from the other “companies appearing at this hearing.”

The primary concern of this big antitrust hearing is that the tech giants are suppressing competition. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler and Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline said thusly:

“Since last June, the Subcommittee has been investigating the dominance of a small number of digital platforms and the adequacy of existing antitrust laws and enforcement. Given the central role these corporations play in the lives of the American people, it is critical that their CEOs are forthcoming. As we have said from the start, their testimony is essential for us to complete this investigation.”

You can read their full opening statements here. The testimonies will take place tomorrow via video conference, and will be livestreamed on YouTube.

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Twitter will block links promoting hate speech and violence

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Twitter is closing a loophole in its rules to make it harder for users to spread hate speech and violent content. The company is updating its policies to ban links to content that promotes violence and hateful conduct.

Twitter already had rules in place barring hateful conduct and violence in tweets, but the policy didn’t extend to linked content. So users could effectively skirt Twitter’s policies by linking to content that would otherwise break the company’s rules if it was posted directly. 

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Universal’s deal with AMC shortens theatrical exclusivity to 17 days

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AMC and Universal did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, but as The Hollywood Reporter points out, it appears they will share PVOD revenue. That point is what seems to have tipped the scales for the country’s largest theater chain. “AMC enthusiastically embraces this new industry model both because we are participating in the entirety of the economics of the new structure, and because premium video on demand creates the added potential for increased movie studio profitability, which should in turn lead to the green-lighting of more theatrical movies,” said AMC CEO Adam Aron.

The agreement comes after the two companies had a falling out in April. Aron said the chain would not play Universal movies at any of its theaters across the US, Europe and the Middle East after Universal floated the idea of releasing its films in cinemas and at home on the same day. 

According to The Wall Street Journal, Trolls World Tour, one of the movies Universal released directly to PVOD platforms like Apple TV this past spring, made $95 million after three weeks. Jeff Shell, the head of NBCUniversal, told the paper that “as soon as theaters reopen, we expect to release movies on both formats.”   

The deal could present a way forward for an industry dealing with the ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic. The health crisis forced theaters across the US to close in March. AMC currently plans to reopen sometime in mid- to late-August. It could also give some movies, which currently have no release date thanks to deals studios signed to show them at theaters, a way to make their way online.  

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Stadia users can now try the service over cellular

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Stadia now allows you to stream games over 4G and 5G connections, provided you’re willing to try the functionality out as part of Google’s latest experiment. You can enable the feature by launching the Stadia app on your phone, tapping on your avatar, and navigating to the Experiments section of the settings menu. Keep in mind Google is currently rolling out the feature to users, so you may not see the option right away. 

When Stadia launched in 2019, the only way to use the service over a cellular connection was to use tethering to trick the app into thinking it was connected to the internet over WiFi. By contrast, Microsoft’s competing Project xCloud service has offered cellular streaming since day one.   

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‘Phantasy Star Online 2’ heads to Steam August 5th

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Phantasy Star Online 2 finally made its way to the US earlier this year as a free-to-play title on the Xbox One and Windows Store for PCs. But despite being an 8-year-old game, the launch was surprisingly buggy for Windows users, who reported installation trouble, as well as slowdown and crashing. Soon there will be another option: Sega announced today that PSO2 will make its way to Steam on August 5th, where it’ll hopefully be a bit more stable.

The Steam launch arrives the same day PSO 2’s Episode 4 expansion, which will also drop on the Xbox One and Windows Store. I haven’t followed the game too closely, but judging from that trailer you’ll get to use your giant mechs against World War II battleships — as you do.

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