Get some AI inspiration for your playlists on Apple Music. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. AI apps keep adding new features and functions at a near-constant pace, and the latest upgrade to ChatGPT is support for apps. These apps let you access tools such as Adobe Photoshop and Google Calendar from right inside ChatGPT--so you can use AI prompts to edit images, set schedules, book trips, and much more. One of these new apps, and one which really showcases how well they can work, is Apple Music.

From Headspace to Apple One, these gift ideas will come in handy if you've procrastinated with your shopping. There are way too many online services and subscriptions to keep track of these days, but the flip side is there's a tool for just about everything. Time is just about up to get a physical gift shipped in time for the holidays, so below we've pulled together some of our favorite digital gifts and subscriptions, including time-tested video, music and gaming services as well as tools to clear your mental space and learn new skills. There are also a few subscriptions that provide ongoing, IRL deliveries, if you think your giftee will appreciate the nostalgic charm of a physical object. The big streaming video platforms just keep getting more expensive. As such, Disney's latest content bundle feels like a breath of fresh air.

A smart speaker makes for an easy first step into smart home technology. Before you kit out your house with thousands of dollars of lighting and security upgrades, you can familiarize yourself with voice-assistant technology while enjoying music, podcasts, and news in a hands-free home environment. Here are our top picks in several categories. If you want information about smart speakers in addition to our top recommendations, scroll down the page to read our in-depth buyers' guide. Alexa is the most popular voice assistant, and the 2024 edition of the Echo Pop is the best value in Amazon's smart speaker lineup. While it's not a true smart display, it is equipped with a touchscreen that can display the time, date, weather conditions, and other information. It can also show album art while streaming music (not that we recommend this speaker for that task).

"Alexa," I asked the Echo display in my kitchen, "what was that song from The Hills? You know, that MTV show? Can you play it on the Echo Show in the office?" The old Alexa wouldn't have had a prayer of answering such a poorly worded query. But the new Alexa, now packing AI-enhanced smarts, handled it easily.

It's long been possible to say "Hey Google" to your Google smart speaker to request a playlist from, say, YouTube Music, Spotify, Pandora, and even Apple Music. But can you spot the major music service that's missing? Until now, Amazon Music had been conspicuously absent from the list of music streamers that Google Assistant could easily control on your Google Nest smart speaker or display. Recently, though, Google has begun changing its tune in regard to Amazon Music support on its Nest devices. As spotted by 9to5Google, Amazon Music can finally be set as a default music service on your Google smart speakers.

It's been nearly four years since Spotify first announced that lossless audio streaming was on tap, and here we are, still waiting. Now there's another burst of chatter about the long-delayed feature, with Bloomberg reporting that Spotify HiFi is still in the pipeline--for those willing to pay extra. According to Bloomberg, lossless Spotify streaming will come in a new add-on called Music Pro, which will offer other benefits including AI-powered music remixing tools as well as discounted concert tickets. And yes, Spotify Music Pro will cost extra--possibly as much as 5.99 on top of your current Spotify Premium subscription, Bloomberg reports. That means individual Spotify Premium subscribers could be paying roughly 18 a month for lossless music streaming privileges.

A good soundbar is one of the easiest ways to improve the audio quality of your home theater set up. As it happens the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), which is one of our favorite mid-range soundbars, is currently available for its best price to date (at least for a new and not refurbished model). It has dropped by 110 to 389 at Woot. That's 22 percent off the regular price, but bear in mind that the offer only applies to the white version. The Sonos Beam does a bang-up job of delivering solid audio from your TV (or music or podcast service).

It'll soon be Apple's turn to talk about its next major operating system updates, giving developers a chance to get their apps ready ahead of a broad rollout this fall. The company's Worldwide Developers Conference is right around the corner. Apple is sure to reveal some of the main features of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, as well as what's ahead for the likes of watchOS, macOS and visionOS at WWDC 2024. Given the current tech climate, though, it seems likely that Apple is about to follow its rivals by making a big leap into the realm of generative AI. That could be a major focus of the keynote, since those are the only two letters investors seem to give a hoot about hearing these days. The Apple rumor mill never stops churning, so we've heard some bits and pieces about what WWDC will perhaps entail.

Spotify is going through something right now. On Monday morning, the industry-defining audio streaming service announced that it would be hiking its Premium subscription prices for users in the United States, effective next month. The individual plan is rising by 1, the Duo plan by 2, and the family subscription by 3. These shifts arrive almost a year after Spotify raised U.S. subscription rates for the first time ever, upping the individual plan to 10.99 a month to match with competitors' price points. That increase was meant to mollify music-industry executives (who demanded better royalty payouts) and investors (who demanded that Spotify squeeze out regular profits).

It'll soon be Apple's turn to talk about its next major operating system updates, giving developers a chance to get their apps ready ahead of a broad rollout this fall. The company's Worldwide Developers Conference is right around the corner. Apple is sure to reveal some of the main features of iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, as well as what's ahead for the likes of watchOS, macOS and visionOS at WWDC 2024. Given the current tech climate, though, it seems likely that Apple is about to follow its rivals by making a big leap into the realm of generative AI. That could be a major focus of the keynote, since those are the only two letters investors seem to give a hoot about hearing these days. The Apple rumor mill never stops churning, so we've heard some bits and pieces about what WWDC will perhaps entail.