Latest news with #ChrisMessina
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
New code in Spotify's app references the long-awaited ‘lossless' tier
It's been over four years since Spotify first announced its plans to launch a lossless audio tier that has yet to arrive. After numerous leaks and teases from company execs, we know better than to start hoping that the long-delayed service could be finally nearing arrival. But newly added references in the music app's code suggest the lossless service is at least still under development and could even be getting closer to launch. According to technologist and reverse engineer Chris Messina, a number of references to 'lossless' have popped up in Wednesday's build of the Spotify desktop app. These code snippets mainly refer to help cards that would appear to inform the end user about what the lossless tier offers and how to use or troubleshoot the service. For instance, one card says, 'Lossless music, now in premium,' while another describes it as the 'best sound quality on Spotify for music in up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz.' Some of the cards warn users that particular songs aren't available in lossless or when their device has bad connectivity, which could affect playback. Another notes that lossless music is 'best enjoyed on devices compatible with Spotify Connect and/or wired devices.' In addition, Reddit user u/bendotlc noted that other changes were seen in the latest version of the mobile app, where the code now mentions lossless: 'Say hello to the best sound quality on Spotify. Listen to high-fidelity music in up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz.' The Redditor claims the feature is actually present in the app, but is currently disabled. Of course, code references don't mean the lossless feature is coming anytime soon. As we've seen in previous years, leaks and code references have appeared before, and yet the high-quality audio tier never arrived. When asked directly about lossless and other plans for premium tiers on recent earnings calls with investors, Spotify execs, including CEO Daniel Ek, would only hint that the company was investing in premium products for 'super fans.' They wouldn't give a time frame on when these or any other higher-quality streaming options would finally launch. Most recently, Spotify Chief Business Officer Alex Norstrom told investors on the Q1 2025 call that Spotify was still investing in more premium tiers. 'Now, with regards to higher tiers, we see great potential in them as we've mentioned before,' he said. 'So creating higher tiers around new offerings is something we are working towards as it really opens up new opportunities to delight users,' Norstrom said at the time. When Spotify first announced its plans for Spotify HiFi, as it was then called, in 2021, it said that the service would offer users music in 'CD-quality, lossless audio format.' It had run tests of a lossless option in the years before this, however. Eventually, Spotify pointed to licensing issues as the reason for its delay in launching. In what could be promising news on that front, the streamer signed new deals with labels including Warner Music and Universal Music Group in early 2025, which could pave the way for the lossless tier — or so music fans hope. Bloomberg also reported earlier this year that a premium Music Pro tier would launch later in 2025, which would include high-quality streaming, remixing, and other features. Spotify declined to comment on this report.
TechCrunch
12 hours ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
New code in Spotify's app references the long-awaited ‘lossless' tier
It's been over four years since Spotify first announced its plans to launch a lossless audio tier that has yet to arrive. After numerous leaks and teases from company execs, we know better than to start hoping that the long-delayed service could be finally nearing arrival. But newly added references in the music app's code suggest the lossless service is at least still under development and could even be getting closer to launch. According to technologist and reverse engineer Chris Messina, a number of references to 'lossless' have popped up in Wednesday's build of the Spotify desktop app. Image Credits:screenshot from Chris Messina These code snippets mainly refer to help cards that would appear to inform the end user about what the lossless tier offers and how to use or troubleshoot the service. For instance, one card says, 'Lossless music, now in premium,' while another describes it as the 'best sound quality on Spotify for music in up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz.' Some of the cards warn users that particular songs aren't available in lossless or when their device has bad connectivity, which could affect playback. Another notes that lossless music is 'best enjoyed on devices compatible with Spotify Connect and/or wired devices.' Techcrunch event Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Boston, MA | REGISTER NOW Image Credits:screenshot from Chris Messina In addition, Reddit user u/bendotlc noted that other changes were seen in the latest version of the mobile app, where the code now mentions lossless: 'Say hello to the best sound quality on Spotify. Listen to high-fidelity music in up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz.' The Redditor claims the feature is actually present in the app, but is currently disabled. Of course, code references don't mean the lossless feature is coming anytime soon. As we've seen in previous years, leaks and code references have appeared before, and yet the high-quality audio tier never arrived. When asked directly about losless and other plans for premium tiers on recent earnings calls with investors, Spotify execs, including CEO Daniel Ek, would only hint that the company was investing in premium products for 'super fans.' They wouldn't give a timeframe on when these or any other higher-quality streaming options would finally launch. Most recently, Spotify Chief Business Officer Alex Norstrom told investors on the Q1 2025 call that Spotify was still investing in more premium tiers. 'Now, with regards to higher tiers, we see great potential in them as we've mentioned before,' he said. 'So creating higher tiers around new offerings is something we are working towards as it really opens up new opportunities to delight users,' Norstrom said at the time. When Spotify first announced its plans for Spotify HiFi, as it was then called, in 2021, it said that the service would offer users music in 'CD-quality, lossless audio format.' It had run tests of a lossless option in the years before this, however. Eventually, Spotify pointed to licensing issues as the reason for its delay in launching. In what could be promising news on that front, the streamer signed new deals with labels including Warner Music and Universal Music Group in early 2025, which could pave the way for the lossless tier — or so music fans hope. Bloomberg also reported earlier this year that a premium Music Pro tier would launch later in 2025, which would include high-quality streaming, remixing, and other features. Spotify declined to comment on this report.
Engadget
09-05-2025
- Engadget
Why is Threads recommending these weird spammy posts from people looking for 'friends'?
Threads users have long joked about the sometimes bizarre posts served up by its recommendation algorithm since the early days of the app. Lately though, some users are starting to notice another type of strange post appear in their suggestions: posts from random people looking for "friends." The posts often feature selfies of young people whose profiles claim to be 18. Engadget has observed numerous such posts appearing in Threads' "related threads" feature that surfaces recommended content to logged-out users. It's not clear why these posts are appearing as "related" to other popular recommended posts. For example, this post about Spotify from popular Threads user Chris Messina was suggested on Threads' home feed to logged out users. Clicking into the post surfaced a "related" post from Threads head Adam Mosseri. Underneath that post, however, was another "related" post from an account claiming to be an 18-year-old girl in 11th grade. For whatever reason, Threads seems to be surfacing many other such posts in its "related threads" feature. For example, the following post was also recommended as a "related" post elsewhere in the app. A look at this user's profile shows that they have posted the same thing — a photo followed by a WhatsApp link — more than 30 times in the last five days. And here's what Engadget's editor-in-chief Aaron Souppouris was recently recommended as a "related" thread" underneath one of my own posts while logged out. As Threads has grown to more than 350 million users, it's not surprising that the platform would see an influx of spam. Meta exec Mosseri said the company had seen an increase in "spam attacks" in July of 2023, not long after the service launched. Last year, the company said it was working to get engagement bait under control. But while the mere presence of spam on a platform the size of Threads isn't unexpected, it's bizarre that the app is recommending these posts so frequently. Meta didn't respond to specific questions about these posts or why they are being featured as "related" content, but confirmed that spammy posts shouldn't be featured as recommended content in the app. Notably, spammy posts seem to be appearing as recommendations in other parts of Meta's apps too. One Reddit user recently noticed a strange post that appeared as a recommendation on Instagram. This post featured a selfie of a woman with the words "I need a bf 🎀 Age don't mind." A quick look at that user's profile shows they've posted dozens of times with that same caption over the last week. 'Literally every time the suggested Threads window shows up, I have to scroll through 2-4 posts like this before seeing something normal," the Redditor wrote . "I press 'not interested' and report every one I see, but they still keep showing up." The post seems to be related to some kind of ongoing spam campaign. The exact same selfie and text flagged by the Redditor was shared by at least one other Threads account. And searches on Threads show numerous other accounts are almost constantly sharing posts saying "age doesn't matter" or "don't mind age." Have you seen posts like this in your recommendations on Threads? Get in touch at [at] or on Signal at karissabe.51.
