It’s the first of two May bank holiday weekends, but that doesn’t mean we’re taking a break from calling out our winner and loser of the week.
This week saw some big (albeit not great) news surrounding Apple, as the iPhone saw a sales drop in the second quarter of 2024. That said, Apple can’t be suffering too much as newly emerged court documents revealed that Google had paid the company $20 billion in 2022 alone simply to remain the default search engine in Safari.
We also shared our in depth looks at two exciting new phones, including the luxury Honor Magic 6 RSR Porsche Design and the Huawei Pura 70 Ultra and its unique telescoping lens.
Winner: Sony
Our winner this week is Sony as the company announced a new way to send multiplayer invites via the PlayStation app.
Soon, gamers will be able to generate shareable links on the PS5 and in the PlayStation app and send them to other PlayStation users via any messaging app or social media platform. Then, all that person needs to do is click the link or scan the QR code to join the game from the chat.
This means you don’t need to nudge your friends to come online to start a multiplayer session. For those you’ve just met, you don’t even need to add each other as friends before jumping into a game.
Another update that should encourage people to transition from their chat to a game is the PS5 session invites for Discord. Links shared in Discord will display a live multiplayer status, allowing you to check if a session is still active and how many players are present before hitting join.
Lastly, Sony is launching a feature that’ll let you share your or a friend’s PlayStation Network profile on any messaging app by generating a link. This should streamline the process of adding friends on your PS5.
Loser: Spotify
Our loser this week is Spotify as some users reportedly hit a roadblock when trying to view lyrics using their Spotify Free accounts.
Users took to X/Twitter and Reddit to share their frustration after discovering they could no longer view lyrics using Spotify Free. Instead, they found themselves faced with a preview of the lyrics and a pop-up that reads “Enjoy lyrics on Spotify Premium”, suggesting that users now need to subscribe to the music streaming service to access a feature that was previously free.
It doesn’t appear as though Spotify has removed the lyric feature from Free accounts altogether. Instead, Free users will be subject to a monthly limit on lyrics, with every tap on the “Show lyrics” button counting toward this limit (via Dexerto).
Spotify users have been split on their response to this update. On the one hand, you have the Free users who are upset that Spotify would lock a previously free feature behind a paywall.
On the other hand, there are those arguing that you should pay for Spotify Premium if you can to ensure that artists get their fair share of the revenue from these streaming apps – though why Spotify can’t offer new perks (such as lossless audio from the long-awaited Spotify Hi-Fi) to encourage people to subscribe rather than revoking free features might be the real question here.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
