/ By fluxbytes_dkx5az / Softwares & Utility/ • • / 5,532 Comments

Spotify Premium Subscriber? Now You Can Listen to Audiobooks, Too

Spotify listeners in the US will probably start seeing audiobooks in their offerings Wednesday. They’re a new perk for Premium subscribers.

Spotify just announced that more than 200,000 audiobooks are available to listen to, for free, for Spotify Premium subscribers. The books include all genres, and according to Spotify, more than 70 percent of them are bestselling titles. However, there are a few minor details of which you should be aware.

The most important detail in the announcement is that you’ll be limited to 15 hours of audiobook listening in a given month. In the news announcement for the new feature, Spotify said, “Fifteen hours should get you around two average audiobooks per month, but if you do hit the limit, you can purchase a 10-hour top-up.”

The “top-up hours,” however, are only sold in 10-hour increments, and are $10.99. But they do carry over for up to 12 months if you remain a Premium subscriber.

Premium subscriptions cost $10.99 monthly for an individual subscription, $14.99 monthly for Premium Duo, which allows two Premium accounts, or $16.99 monthly for Premium Family, which allows six Premium or Kids accounts. Unfortunately, the audiobook perk remains 15 hours for all plans, meaning, if you have a Family plan, you’ll be sharing the 15 hours between all six accounts.

Also important to note is that if you have a Spotify Student account ($5.99 monthly with ad-supported Hulu included), you won’t have access to the 15-hour audiobook perk.

Students and Spotify Free subscribers can still access audiobooks, but you’ll need to pay individually for each book you choose to listen to.

The audiobook perk is available to all Premium subscribers (with the exception noted above) starting today.

/ By fluxbytes_dkx5az / Technologies/ 11,413 Comments

Google Adds AI to Help You Manage your Smart Home Better

Google has dropped some new updates for its Nest and Home apps to help with automation and more control.

The Google Home app now has expanded controls for more devices, like smart fans, robot vacuums, and home sensors.

The script editor in Google Home is a useful spot to create automation for your various smart things, and now it’s got AI to help you make even more sophisticated routines. For example, you can have the included AI help you create a “package delivered” automation using your smart camera and some custom notifications when you get a box at your door.

You won’t have to learn script languages, either, since now there’s a new experimental feature called help me script to create custom routines. You can use natural language to create your automation, like, “When it’s sunset, turn on my lights and close the blinds,” and the AI will get to work generating a script for the Home app.

There are also some new starter and action sets for your Household Routines, making it possible to add specific actions when specific triggers in the environment happen.

“For example, every night at 10 PM, you can have your blinds close, lights gradually dim, humidifier set the humidity level, and doors lock, all as part of one automation,” said the press release.

Nest thermostats and Android get some new updates, too, including a Seasonal Savings program that will analyze your schedules when the season changes for the former. Android brings the home panel and Google TV widget to more devices running Android 14, letting you manage your Spaces and Favorites on the lock screen or find what to watch on your home screen.