Special [email protected] package provided by Celcom & Risda in new collaboration

(L-R) Saiful Bahrin Abd Ghaffar, Director, Government Liaison, USP and Vendor Development of Celcom Axiata Berhad, Dato’ Mohd Arif Ab. Rahman, Secretary General Ministry of Rural and Regional Development, Dato’ Sri Shazalli Ramly, Chief Executive Officer of Celcom Axiata Berhad, Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Minister of Rural and Regional Development, Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin, Chairman of RISDA, Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi, Deputy Minister Rural and Regional Development, and Haji Mohd. Najib A. Samad, Director General of RISDA introducing the special [email protected] package

Today, Celcom Axiata Berhad and Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (RISDA) have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate the collaboration between the telco and the agency in providing a special [email protected] package beginning September.

The MoU was signed by Dato’ Sri Shazalli Ramly, Chief Executive Officer of Celcom Axiata Berhad and Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin, Chairman of RISDA, in the presence of the Dato’ Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Minister of Rural and Regional Development, and witnessed by Saiful Bahrin Abdul Ghaffar, Director, Government Liaison, USP, and Vendor Development of Celcom Axiata Berhad and Haji Mohd Najib A. Samad, Director General of RISDA, in Kuala Lumpur.

The deal is sealed between Celcom Axiata Berhad and RISDA, and feeling joyful are (L-R) Saiful Bahrin Abd Ghaffar, Director, Government Liaison, USP and Vendor Development of Celcom Axiata Berhad, Dato’ Sri Shazalli Ramly, Chief Executive Officer of Celcom Axiata Berhad, Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Minister of Rural and Regional Development, Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin, Chairman of RISDA, Haji Mohd. Najib A. Samad, Director General of RISDA

The collaboration is in line with RISDA’s aim to modernise its community which comprises more than a half million smallholders nationwide. Through this MoU, Celcom will be the affiliate that bridges the digital divide within the community as the telco continues to extend its wide coverage and superior network to smallholders.

Speaking at the signing ceremony today, Shazalli Ramly said that the [email protected] initiative is an example of the telco’s continuous effort to fortify its network strength and coverage, especially to the underserved areas.

He said it is also an extension of the recent upgrading exercise to better support its expansion of services and bring heightened internet experience to its customers, where an investment of RM2 billion has been allocated for the network modernisation within the next five years.

As a company with a priority to serve the nation and to fulfil the Government’s aspiration for a 95% broadband penetration for its citizens, this collaboration will pave the way for the company to further extend its reach to customers regardless of their household incomes.

“The connectivity delivery will be significant for us because of the positive impact we believe it will bring to their lives. We trust that [email protected] will be the gateway to improve the knowledge and information within the RISDA community because of the infinite online opportunities that will be made available to them. This will eventually lead to an upgrade of their lifestyles and improve their economic status within the society.

“This initiative will focus highly on supporting the Government’s call for the adaptation of digitisation and stepping up towards a diversified and digitalised economy,” Shazalli Ramly concluded, adding that the digital ecosystem created may become a platform for them to venture into e-entrepreneurship as another source of income.

Further to the MoU, plans are underway to develop mobile content and applications dedicated for the RISDA community, as well as the prospect of establishing WiFi hotspots at potential RISDA areas.

These are expected to channel the much-needed information for the smallholders, such as the current trading prices for rubber and commodities. The development of such will also double up as a communications broadcast channel from the ministry and RISDA.

At the initial phase, Celcom Axiata will provide [email protected] for registered RISDA members that will enable them to enjoy unlimited calls within Celcom network. Other details on [email protected] will be announced later. The [email protected] distribution is targeted to begin in September 2016.


Special appearance Azizulhasni Awang at Huawei P9 Roadshow

Huawei Malaysia has held a four day roadshow from 22 to 25 September 2016 at Sunway Pyramid for their latest flagship device, Huawei P9. Today, with the unique appearance of National Olympic Medalist, Azizulhasni Awang, the event immediately crowded with fans making it the highlight of the day.

The event was a chance for fans to personally meet the national hero and also to celebrate his win at the recent Rio Olympics and partnership with Huawei Malaysia.

"Being a part of the Huawei Family gave me the boost to 'race like a hero' - making it possible for Malaysia to bag an Olympic medal and also witness our Jalur Gemilang fluttering at an intern arena. Thank you Huawei for believing in me and making my dream come true. " said Azizulhasni in his speech before he surprised 100 lucky fans with autographed t-shirts.

Azizulhasni made history on the Rio Velodrome by winning Malaysia's first ever Olympic Games cycling medal by finishing third in the Men's Keirin finals.

"With everyone so colorful and emotional at the Rio Olympics, Huawei Malaysia also gave me the opportunity to capture priceless moments and emotions of sportmem and supporters from all over the world through the Huawei P9 Plus," said Azizulhasni.

The Terengganu born cyclist is currently tipped to be among Malaysia athletes who has potential to deliver a Gold medal at the next Olympics in Tokyo.


Special deals of OPPO Reno and OPPO Reno10X Zoom for 11.11 starting from RM1699!

It is time to celebrate 11.11 Singles Day for you to get on a shopping spree! OPPO Malaysia has announced some eye-catching deals for two of its popular devices which are OPPO Reno and OPPO Reno 10X Zoom. They are priced at RM1699 and RM2999 respectively.

The OPPO Reno originally priced at RM1999 has now reduced to RM1699. It comes with Qualcomm Snapdragon 710, up to 6GB RAM and 256GB storage, and 3765mAh battery. For OPPO Reno 10X Zoom, the discounted price will be RM2999 as the original price is RM3399. The OPPO Reno 10X Zoom houses Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, up to 10x Hybrid Zoom camera and 4065mAh battery.

Other similar specs of both devices are an in-display fingerprint sensor, Ultra Night Mode camera, fast charging ability, and Dolby Atmos audio. They also feature a pop-up camera to offer infinite display without any notch or cut out for viewing pleasure.

You may now grab these devices with a cheaper price at OPPO Concept Stores, OPPO authorized dealers across Malaysia or online at the OPPO official website and from OPPO’s e-commerce partners’ sites like Lazada and Shopee.

For more promotions of tech products, stay tuned on TechNave.com!


Special in-game content and event revealed from the BLACKPINK X PUBG collaboration

Other than releasing their highly-anticipated first full album titled "The Album", BLACKPINK has collaborated with PUBG Mobile to offer a special event for fans to participate and some exciting in-game content. As a K-Pop group that is currently a global sensation, many of you must be hyped up right now knowing that the girls will appear in one of the top mobile games in the world too.

Starting from today, PUBG Mobile players get to enjoy the group's previously-released single "How You Like That" in the game lobby. After the album drops on 2 October, players will be able to listen to a new song being played in the game lobby too.

Apart from listening to the songs in the lobby, specially themed in-game content such as items and visuals will be available as well. The airdrop plane will soon be coated in pink with BLACKPINK’s logo and it will drop airdrops that sport the themed colour along with a "The Album" icon. Additional visual effects have also been added to the main menu screen to express the group's charm.

Furthermore, fans can also send exclusive collaborative gifts and leave messages to their favorite group members by finding their UserIDs on PUBG Mobile's Twitter page. From now until 8 October, fans who send the most gifts will be in luck to get special rewards from BLACKPINK. Other than that, there are also missions waiting for you to stand a chance to win permanent outfits including the Adorable Panda Suit and Killer Cadet Set, and even an autographed version of BLACKPINK’s new album!

Lastly, community members can upload your PUBG MOBILE x BLACKPINK screenshots as well to your social media platforms with the hashtag #PUBGMxBLACKPINK for additional chances of winning a signed album. For more exciting gaming news like this one, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Apple, OPPO and Vivo at the top in terms of 5G smartphone market share

It seems that a statement from techradar.com hints that a report from Strategy Analytics hints that Apple, OPPO, and vivo holds the top spot for the highest 5G smartphone market share in Q1 2021 at 30.2%, 16.1%, and 14.5% respectively. With that in mind, we can expect 5G capable smartphones to gain popularity as 5G coverage improves with time.

To go into more detail, it seems that 5G capable smartphones saw a 458% increase compared to last year’s Q1 5G smartphone shipments. As of now, the most popular 5G smartphone goes to the Apple iPhone 12 5G but we won’t be surprised if the title goes to another phone in the future.

With all that said, what are your thoughts on the 5G smartphone market share? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Special interview - realme Vice President explains how the realme GT3 offers 240W fast charging and more

In conjunction with the launch of the realme GT3, we managed to have an interview with Chase Xu, Vice President of realme. In 2018, Xu joined the realme team as one of the founding members and served as the global Vice President and Marketing President of realme. Then in 2020, he also took on the role of realme China President.

Xu has 10 years of professional marketing experience, he has participated in and created many well-known advertisements of the OPPO Find, Real and R series. He also pioneered "entertainment marketing" in the mobile phone industry, setting off the wave and after establishing realme, he introduced the concept of trendsetting into the technology industry. This has defined realme as a "daringly innovative technology trendsetter".

As he applies innovative internet trendsetting marketing strategies to create realme as the preferred technology brand for the young generation, Xu's leadership helped realme to enter 61 global markets, with over 85 million users worldwide. realme devices have become one of the highly favoured brands by youngsters globally.

During the interview, Xu said realme's brand image is to encourage youngsters to know and express themselves through its brand peripherals and other marketing activities. In the future, he hopes realme can grow together with young people and become a symbol of trendsetting for them. Xu was also named one of the "Top 10 Best Practitioners of 5G in 2020".

Without further ado, below are some of the interview questions we had with Chase Xu:

Can you share what is realme's next move globally?

Xu - realme has always adhered to the brand policy of daring innovation. Whether it's the GT or C series, we hope to surprise the public, popularize it and distribute the technology, and make it accessible to everyone. In 2023, we will upgrade and specialize our products in all aspects.

The new generation of young people has always been a group that we pay close attention to. This year, we will collaborate with multiple universities in Malaysia to launch student support programs. This includes scholarships, job training programs, student product discounts, and more.

We aim to truly bring technology into people's lives and provide students with opportunities to dare to be innovative. If you want to know more news, you can follow realme's official Facebook marketing account and website in Malaysia.

Xu - The biggest challenge for realme currently is to focus on improving its internal capabilities, including continuously improving its products and maintaining a high level of efficiency and entrepreneurial spirit as the team grows.

Instead of solely pursuing sales volume, realme's primary focus is on perfecting its products, thoroughly researching and testing them before release to ensure that users are excited about them. Additionally, realme aims to increase its brand awareness and deepen its market penetration to make more target users aware of it and willing to try to use realme smartphones.

As one of the leading brands in the industry, in what form will realme stand out?

Xu - We are taking advantage of the current market landscape where no single brand dominates, realme sees this as an opportunity to grow its market share. realme emphasizes the brand philosophy of "Dare to Leap", so we are focusing on pushing the limits of technology to deliver cutting-edge products.

Moreover, we are focusing on creating breakthroughs on highly popular products that showcase its performance capabilities, which will help to improve the brand's reputation and influence. We will continue to innovate and create technological advancements that exceed previous records, with the recent announcement of the 240W fast charging technology serving as an example of this approach.

Realme believes that every new technological breakthrough is not the end goal, but a starting point for the next challenge, and we will continue to surprise our customers with new and exciting products.

Can you share your personal hands-on experience with realme GT3?

Xu - I won't say much about the 240W maximum charging speed, as this is currently a groundbreaking technology that is not yet available on the market. But it has already changed my charging habits and user experience. As someone who frequently travels around the world in my daily life, this fast charging feature allows me to handle work emergencies or relax and playing games without worrying about my phone running out of battery.

In addition, I personally really like the ingenuity of realme GT3's design. The new awakening halo-like RGB lighting system in the design is full of personality and playfulness. Furthermore, the 1TB storage is also a core differentiating factor of the product.

The realme GT series has made groundbreaking developments in fast charging this year and has been highly praised by the industry. Why does realme focus on developing fast-charging technology?

Xu - For realme, the accumulation of years of experience in fast charging technology has always been its most relied-upon technology and its "killer move" to turn the tide in adversity. This will be a new revolution in fast-charging technology for smartphones. Every second counts, challenging the limits of technology.

In the past, people always charged their phones overnight but often found that their phones were not fully charged in the morning, which greatly affected the user experience. Now, with full-level quick charging, the battery can be fully charged in just the time it takes to wash up.

Before boarding a plane, when the battery is critically low and power banks charge slowly, a short time spent waiting in line to check in can be used to revive the phone with full-level quick charging. While playing games like Honor of Kings, during breaks between each round, full-level quick charging can ensure that the phone has enough battery life for the next round.

Why does the realme GT3 use the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset instead of the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset?

Xu - Compared to the development of a single technology, realme pursues the effect brought by the integration of various components. Our team pursues the value of daring to surpass, which can truly reach the user's point of interest and upgrade the user experience.

In order to provide a nearly perfect 240W full-level instant charging experience, we have also matched a higher conversion rate flash charging solution, a safer heat dissipation system, and the highest specification custom charging cable currently available. The improvement in the camera module, the preservation of the microscope function as a unique feature, and the availability of the large 1TB memory version are also factors. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 will also be available soon.

That's all from the interview with Chase Xu and we thank realme for the time to arrange this meeting. Until then, stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


Special sales promotion for Huawei P9 on first day (28 May)

With great anticipation of the Huawei P9 and P9 Lite making their debut on 28 May 2016 in Malaysia, Huawei Malaysia has decided to a super sales promotion starting on 12PM, this coming Saturday at Huawei Experience Store in KLCC, Gurney Plaza, and Aeon Bukit Indah. For the first day in KLCC, the first 200 customers who purchase the Huawei P9 each get a RM500 Leica gift card and Free Honor Band Z1!

As for Gurney Plaza and Aeon Bukit Indah, this will be limited to the first 50 customers and the promotions (along with KLCC) include:

And just in case you didn't know yet, both devices are currently available for pre-order via VMall and officialonline media partner Lazada since 23 May. In addition, Huawei is also offering the first ten customers who has already pre-ordered and fulfill the payment from the 23rd to 27th May via VMall an exclusive gift of the Honor Band Z1 worth RM269.00 for free.

Lastly, to ensure consumers can always reach out to Huawei quickly and conveniently, Huawei has built diversified service platforms, which includes a series of differentiated services such as VIP memberships, reservations, screen-breaking insurance and extended warranty for high-end users of the Mate series and P-series. Following a great response from its users, Huawei is offering P9 users the Standard PremiumService which include:


Special showcase at Senheng x Samsung Premium Experience Store with 0% Easy Payment Plan & more

Today, there was a showcase of the latest range of Neo QLED TVs and BESPOKE Top Mount Freezer Refrigerators at the Senheng x Samsung Premium Experience Store. To celebrate the launch, Samsung Malaysia Electronics and Senheng are pleased to offer exclusive benefits for the customers.

Located in the prestigious Four Seasons Place, the Senheng x Samsung Premium Experience Store offers six distinct experiential zones, under the Mobile eXperience, Visual Displays, and Digital Appliances categories. Each zone features Samsung's latest products, including the Neo QLED TVs, BESPOKE Refrigerators, The Wall, Odyssey Ark, Galaxy S23 Ultra, and more.

Besides aiming to provide customers with an immersive experience, Senheng and Samsung will offer benefits to customers making purchases at the Premium Experience Store. With RedeemPLUS+, customers can enjoy up to 10% S-Coin Redemption and take advantage of the 0% Easy Payment Plan for up to 60 months.

In addition to the said savings, customers will also receive the following benefits below1:

Visit the Senheng x Samsung Premium Experience Store today at Shoppes at Four Seasons Place, Lot G-01, Ground Floor, Kuala Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur, to explore and experience Samsung's premium line of products.


Specs and price of realme X50 Pro 'Player Edition' appear in latest leak

Earlier this week, realme announced that it was going to have a major launch event on 25 May 2020. 8 new products are expected to be launched and it seems a new realme X50 series device is one of them. This device is allegedly a gaming-centric device that's called the realme X50 Pro Player Edition.

According to Digital Chat Station, the realme X50 Pro Player Edition has two main differences compared with the regular realme X50 Pro. First is that it has a sleek-looking silver-coloured body. As for the specs, it allegedly has a rear camera setup that's 1 'rank' lower than the realme X50 Pro's setup.

To be more specific, the realme X50 Pro uses a 64MP main camera, 12MP telephoto lens, 8MP ultrawide lens, and 2MP depth sensor. In contrast, the realme X50 Pro Player Edition's rear camera setup consists of a smaller 48MP main camera, 8MP ultrawide sensor, 2MP macro lens, and 2MP depth sensor. This type of setup is quite common in 2020 and could have been chosen to make it a cheaper device.

Also, this realme X50 Pro Player Edition is supposed to retail for 3299 yuan (~RM2021). That's a great deal, as it means that consumers can have a flagship device at a relatively affordable price. But what do you think, is that enough incentive for people to buy it? Let us know on our Facebook page and stay tuned to TechNave.com for more news.


Specs for AMD Ryzen 5000G desktop APUs leaked

While some may prefer the convenience of laptops, desktops are still a mainstay for many corporations. AMD's Ryzen APUs are great in that sense, as they are relatively affordable yet provide good performance. In fact, the next generation of APUs is coming soon.

According to Wccftech, the specs for the Ryzen 5000G Cezanne processors have been leaked. Based on the Zen 3 architecture, there will be three desktop APUs available: The 8-core Ryzen 7 5700G, 6-core Ryzen 5 5600G, and 4-core Ryzen 3 5400G. They're expected to retail around USD350 (~RM1449), USD250 (~RM1035), and USD150 (~RM621) respectively.

The more powerful Ryzen 7 5700G comes with a base clock of 3.8GHz and can boost up to 4.6GHz. As for the Ryzen 5 5600G and Ryzen 3 5400, the two chips get increasingly lower max clocks at 4.4GHz and 4.2GHz. In exchange, both get higher minimum clocks at 3.9GHz and 4GHz, respectively. You can refer to the image above for a quick overview of the tech specs.

Since the specs have been leaked, we can expect OEM desktops from brands like Acer, ASUS, and Lenovo soon. In fact, they'll probably be showcased at Computex 2021. With that said, are you looking to get a new desktop anytime soon? Let us know what you plan to use it for! Also, stay tuned to TechNave for other interesting tech news.


Specs for ASUS TUF Gaming F17 FX706 leaked, will feature 11th-Gen Intel Core CPU

When it comes to mid-range gaming laptops, ASUS' TUF series provides pretty good value. So it's nice to see that new models keep coming, despite the chip shortage. In fact, the company looks to be launching the ASUS TUF F17 FX706 soon.

According to Wccftech, details of the latest TUF Gaming F17 were leaked by Amazon Italy. Although the page has since been removed, it was revealed that the laptop will feature an Intel Core i7-11800H with a clock speed of up to 4.9GHz. It also has an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 GPU with 6GB of GDDR6 VRAM, 16GB of DDR4 RAM (upgradable to 32GB), and a 1TB SSD.

Besides that, this laptop comes with a large 17.3-inch FHD display with anti-glare and a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz. It's also expected to feature a 720p webcam, WiFi 6 support, a full-size keyboard with Numpad, and more. As for the price, the listed price was said to be 1799 Euros (~RM8894).

Honestly, 17-inch gaming laptops are more like desktop replacements, as they're not very portable. But what do you think about the latest TUF Gaming F17, would you carry this around wherever you go? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned to TechNave for more news like this.


Specs for OPPO foldable smartphone leaked, features SD 888 chipset and more

Back in April, it was rumoured that OPPO could launch a 7-inch and 8-inch foldable this year. At one point, it was even believed that the device could launch in September. That didn't happen in the end, but we do have some new details about the OPPO foldable.

According to Digital Chat Station, the engineering sample unit of the OPPO foldable smartphone shows a large screen that's about 7.8 to 8-inch in size. The device uses an OLED panel that has a refresh rate of 120Hz, as well as the Snapdragon 888 chipset. As for the OS, it will come with Android 12 out of the box, so expect it to have ColorOS 12.

The tipster also mentioned that the device would have an inward-folding screen, which makes it similar to the Huawei Mate X2. In terms of features, the OPPO foldable will allegedly come with a 32MP front camera, a 50MP rear camera (Sony IMX766 sensor), and a side-mounted fingerprint reader.

Considering how many times the rumours have wrongly predicted the launch window, we don't want to make any claims about that at the moment. Honestly, this device might not even launch in 2021. But what do you think? Share your opinions below, and stay tuned to TechNave for more updates.


Specs of Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro leaked, could launch on 14 January 2021

If you look at the dates, it's obvious that Samsung wants to have its big launch during CES 2021. Besides the news of the Exynos 2100 chipset set to be unveiled on 12 January 2021, it's more or less confirmed that the Galaxy S21 series will be launched on 14 January 2021. Now, sources claim that the Galaxy Buds Pro will also launch on that day.

Some specs of the Galaxy Buds Pro have also been leaked, courtesy of 91mobiles. Allegedly, the Galaxy Buds Pro will come with 61mAh batteries in each earbud and a 472 mAh battery in the charging case. This is an estimated 20% increase from the Galaxy Buds Live, for up to 28 days of battery life. The new model has smaller 11mm bass drivers and 6.5mm tweeters, but should still deliver the same level of audio quality as its predecessor.

As for features, a previous rumour mentioned that there will be active noise-cancelling, Ambient Sound, Voice Detection, and 3D Spatial Audio with head tracking. In addition to that, it will have IPX7 resistance and dual connection, which means it can connect to two devices (with Bluetooth 5.0) at the same time.

Agarwal has been pretty reliable with his leaks, so the info here should be relatively accurate. But what do you think about it so far? Would you be interested in getting a pair of these? Let us know in the comments and stay tuned to TechNave for more news like this.


Specs of new Huawei laptop leaked, features Kirin 990 chipset

It's already looking like Windows 10 on ARM computers will be a big trend in 2021. There are a few rumours about brands working on laptops with ARM-based chipsets and Huawei is one of them. In fact, a new leak suggests that there would be a Huawei laptop featuring a Kirin 990 chipset.

According to Changan Digital, Huawei has a new laptop called the Qingyun L410. Not only does it come with the Kirin 990 chipset, but it also has 8GB of RAM, 512GB of SSD storage, and a 14-inch (likely Full HD) display. In addition to that, the laptop is expected to come with an integrated 5G modem. To be honest, the chipset choice is pretty weird. After all, Huawei can no longer produce its own chipsets and could be running out of stock soon.

Hardware aside, some general users are also speculating that these ARM-powered laptops may not necessarily be Windows PCs. Huawei recently unveiled HarmonyOS 2.0 and it's a cross-platform OS, so there's a chance that the laptops could feature that OS instead. It would allow for more seamless integration with other Huawei devices, which is something that can be useful.

A new ARM-based Huawei laptop is definitely in development, though we don't know if it will be available outside of China. If it does, would you be willing to try a PC that is completely different from Windows or Mac? Let us know in the comments and stay tuned to TechNave for more news like this.


Specs of realme X50 Pro Player Edition confirmed in TENAA listing

Recently, unofficial sources reported on the specs and price for the realme X50 Pro Player Edition. The phone is expected to launch on 25 May 2020, so it's not surprising that details of it are already being leaked. But now an official certification listing for the realme's upcoming gaming-centric smartphone is out.

In the previous leak, we found that the realme X50 Pro Player would come in silver colour. But the newly revealed TENAA listing also shows an image of the phone in red colour, though the info for colour states that it'll be available in silver and black. Additionally, we get confirmation on most of its core hardware specifications. It's expected to have a CPU running at 2.8GHz, up to 12GB of RAM, and 512GB of internal storage.

The official realme Weibo account also gave more details in regards to the hardware. It's been confirmed that the Player Edition will come with the Snapdragon 865 chipset, LPDDR5 for the RAM, and UFS 3.1 for the storage. Moreover, it'll have 200% more antennas compared to a standard 4G smartphone.

From what has been revealed so far, it looks like the chipset, RAM, and storage for the realme X50 Pro Player Edition would be much better than the normal Pro variant. Would it still be able to maintain the rumoured price of 3299 yuan (~RM2021)? What do you think? Let us know on our Facebook page and stay tuned to TechNave.com for more updates.


45-inch LG UltraGear Curved Gaming Monitor with 240Hz OLED panel is available for pre-order

LG Malaysia recently announced that they will be offering their 45-inch LG UltraGear Curved Gaming Monitor or 45GR95QE with the world’s first 240Hz OLED panel for pre-order. This pre-order is available from now till 14 May 2023 for RM7647.

On top of being the world’s first 240Hz OLED panel, other tech specs for the 45GR95QE include a 0.03 millisecond Gray-toGray response time and 240Hz refresh rate. Featuring a resolution of 3440 x 1440 pixels and a 21:9 aspect ratio, the monitor also offers 1500000:1 contrast ratio with 98.5 percent DCI-P3 coverage.

Check out their site to pre-order your 45GR95QE monitor. Given the price and all the features, would you buy the 45GR95QE? Why? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave.com


Apple One Premier service is coming to Malaysia soon on 4 November 2021

Besides the iOS 15.1 software update, Apple also announced an Apple One Premier service that will launch on 4 November 2021. Surprisingly, Malaysia is among the first 17 countries to receive the service in the future. As a "premier" service, this Apple One version will cost RM69.90 per month.

What's the difference between Apple One Premier and the original Apple One? Well, both services still have the same Apple Music, Apple TV+ and Apple Arcade. However, the premier version will have Apple Fitness+ and 2TB of iCloud+ online storage. Fitness+ can help to incorporate workout metrics from your Apple Watch on the spot whereas iCloud+ comes with a more private and secure feature with iCloud Private Relay and Hide My Email.

If you use a lot of those aforementioned Apple services (especially the online storage), you may sign up for the Apple One Premier in early November. Apple One subscribers can also easily change or cancel their plan at any time and with Family Sharing, you can share up to six family members and access their own personal accounts at the price of RM33.90/month. An individual account is RM19.90/month.

Apple One has a 30-day free trial for any services that you might want to try out. Aside from the iPhone, the service is also available on the iPad, iPod touch, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV, plus popular smart TVs, smart speakers, and gaming consoles.

Stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


Specs regarding the Qualcomm Snapdragon 775 chipset manufactured using 5nm process spotted?

It seems that the tech specs regarding the Qualcomm Snapdragon 775 might have been spotted on a Telegram group, showcasing the tech specs as well as what kinds of hardware the chipset is able to support. While not much is known in regards to the exact release date and which exact smartphone will come with the aforementioned chipset, it does give us a better idea of what to expect in the near future.

Based on the image showcased in the Telegram group, it seems that the chip is made using the 5nm manufacturing process and it supports UFS 3.1 Two-Lane HS Gear 4. Not only that, but the chip is also able to support triple camera utilization with image sensors up to 28MP + 28MP + 28MP or 64MP + 20MP at 30FPS, as well as up to 4K60FPS video recording.

As for connectivity, it supports Wi-Fi 6E, LTE Cat 18, Dual 5G, and much more. However, do take some of the information with a grain of salt, due to the fact that Qualcomm has yet to provide an official statement on the leak. Would you be interested in getting a smartphone that’s equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 775 chipset? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Specs sheet of Huawei Mate 40 series leaked with price starting from ~RM2,746

As we have entered the second half of the year, some of the smartphone manufacturers are gearing up for the second wave of flagship war. Earlier, it has been announced that the highly-anticipated Samsung Galaxy Note 20 series will be launched at the Unpacked Event happening on 5 August. Other than Samsung, Huawei is well-prepared to fight the war with the upcoming Mate 40 series as well, and the tech specs sheet has been leaked today ahead of the launch event.

From the specs sheet, we can see the Mate 40 is expected to feature a 1080P OLED full screen with a refresh rate of 90Hz, while the Mate 40 Pro will come with a 90° OLED waterfall screen with the same refresh rate. Both of them will also house the 5nm Kirin 1020 (might be 1000) chipset with the support for the 5G network.

For photography, the vanilla Mate 40 might bring a triple-camera setup which includes a 50MP RYYB main sensor, a 16MP 17mm focal length ultra-wide lens, and a 3x optical zoom lens. As for the Mate 40 Pro, it might feature a quad-camera setup that brings a 50MP free lens, a 5x periscope telephoto lens, and a ToF lens alongside the 50MP RYYB main sensor. At the front, both of them could have bangs to house the front-facing camera. The Pro variant is said to have smaller bangs to house a 32MP autofocus camera, and the standard one will come with a 24MP fixed-focus camera.

Besides those, the other hardware specs have also been revealed. The battery capacity of the Mate 40 is expected to range between 4200 and 4500mAh, and the Pro variant will have a slightly larger capacity ranging from 4500 to 5000mAh. For fast-charging, the vanilla variant will support 40W wired charging and 27W wireless charging, while the Pro variant supports 66W wired charging and 40W wireless charging. Both of the devices will run EMUI 11, packed with dual speakers and Z-axis linear motors, and support off-screen fingerprint and face recognition.

With all those powerful specs mentioned, how much will the devices cost? The leaked price shows us that the standard Mate 40 might be sold at 4,499 Yuan (~RM2,746) for 6/128GB, 4,999 Yuan (~RM3,051) for 8/128GB and 5,499 Yuan (~RM3,357) for 8/256GB. On the other hand, the Mate 40 Pro will, of course, be priced higher with 6,499 Yuan (~RM3,967) for 8/128GB, 6,999 Yuan (~RM4,272) for 8/256GB and 7,999 Yuan (~RM4,883) for 12/512GB.

Let us know what you think about the tech specs and the price of the Huawei Mate 40 series on our Facebook page. Stay tuned to TechNave.com for more viral smartphone leaks.


Speed test between Samsung Galaxy S8 and Apple iPhone 7 Plus

With the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ as the newest boys in town, surely these two flagship devices are the powerhouse of Android handsets now. But as what people would like to know and compare - is it faster than the Apple iPhone 7 and 7 Plus?

On paper, the S8 series should be able to beat iPhone 7 series thanks to the new Snapdragon 835 processor and 4GB RAM. So this should mean the S8 as the clear winner when it comes to multi-core benchmark tests, for playing highly intense graphic games or rendering 4K video. However, that cannot be said the same for single-core tests since Apple iPhone is known for optimising apps. Also, in case if you were wondering why is it not the S8+ challenging the iPhone 7 Plus, this is because the S8 and S8+ difference is only the display size and battery capacity.

In this legit speed test video by EverythingApplePro, many tests were conducted and while it was a close call, you may be surprised to see that the iPhone 7 Plus beats the S8+ in terms of heavy gaming duty and 4K video renders. Well, the video will show you.

So what do you think? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more geeky news at TechNave.com.


Speedy Video clearing out all their movies and TV shows sets from as low as RM10 due to closing down

By now, some of you have already heard about Speedy Video Distributors Sdn Bhd's announcement of closing down for good. They made the official announcement during the weekend and it was rather sad since most of us grew up with either renting or buying movies and various shows there.

As they are closing down, they are also having a clearance stock sale so this is the perfect time for anyone who wants to own a physical copy of their favourite movies and shows. Speedy didn't specify when all their stores will be closing, so it's best to act fast before the stocks get cleared out. On their Facebook, they have listed down all the discounted price for a certain set or genre, going for as low as RM10 for selected Blu Ray titles, as well as some Hong Kong and China TV drama shows for your viewing pleasure.

For convenience, below is the list of movie/show set you can get your hands on:

If we had to guess, Speedy was probably very likely to be affected by the global pandemic so that's unfortunate. To give a brief history, they have been around for 3 decades and have the rights to sell movies from many Hollywood studios. To date, they have a total of 14 stores across the stores which you can check here.

Goodbye, Speedy. You will be missed. Stay tuned for more local trending tech news at TechNave.com.


Spend and win a vivo V11i at Yoodo's lucky draw contest

Could you be the lucky one? Yoodo is offering Malaysians a chance to win a brand new vivo V11i starting now and the competition will end on the last day of 2018. So what do you have to do? Read below to find out more.

To participate, you must have a Yoodo app and account (duh) after registering yourself (if you are new), all you have to do is spend a minimum of RM50 on your Data/Voice/SMS plan and get lucky. That's it! Yoodo will randomly choose 10 lucky winners but before you go and spend your RM50 on the app, it's best to read the Terms and Conditions on the competition page over here.

You're still here? Go and try out your luck and may the odds be ever in your favour. Stay tuned for more Yoodo news at TechNave.com.


Spend less to get more this Christmas with the new SHARP Mobile smartphones

In this coming Christmas, and with so many gadget gifts to choose from. It's hard to choose a good quality smartphone without hurting your wallet. Well, SHARP Mobile is excited to present you a new choice, with the SHARP Z2 and SHARP M1 with integrated high performance, stylish design and convenient features, all at an affordable price of RM1199 and RM899 respectively.

Packed with 3000 mAh battery, the Z2 can easily last a day thanks to the Helio X20 deca-core processor (clocked at 2.3GHz) inside the hood, with the world’s first mobile processor with Tri-Cluster CPU architecture and 10 processing cores on board, it has 30% less power consumption and it's designed to allocate tasks efficiently for optimum performance and extended battery life.

What's more, it also has fast charging technology to get you by, as well as having an expandable memory slot via 128GB microSD card for you to store plenty of pictures and videos this Christmas!

Next, the M1 embodies cutting-edge Japan DNA ID Design and curved 3D Corning Gorilla glass, which is just enough for a minimal, elegant aesthetic design that is great for trendy individuals without having to pay so much.

Furthermore, it also boasts a 13MP front and rear camera featuring a ‘wefie’ mode with your friends and families. Last the Z1, this phone can also store up to a memory capacity of 64GB ROM, and be expanded via a 64GB microSD card.

For more information and to find out where to purchase your own SHARP Z2 and M1, kindly visit their map for a full list of stores and selected authorized resellers.


Spend what you want but keep what you need with FRANK by OCBC, here’s how!

For many Malaysians, especially us urban dwellers, our phones have become an intricate part of our lives. We want to have more things in control of our hands, and that includes banking and saving.

Another thing that consumers wish for is an account that is so flexible that they can control their savings without any restrictions! And what if we tell you that such a savings account exists! With FRANK by OCBC, you can have more control over your finances and manage your money using the OCBC Malaysia Mobile Banking app. Read on to find out more.

Most of you would know how a savings account works. If your goal is to save money, the first thing you do is open one with a high-interest rate, dump your money into the account and then leave it to quietly grow because you are too scared to touch that portion in any way! But with FRANK, you can enjoy an interest rate of 1.8% per annum, as high as a Fixed Deposits rate, and still get to spend your money when you want to. How? You can split your money into a Save Pot and a Spend Pot, a feature that allows you to set the amount for savings and spending whenever you want. Simple enough, right?

There's more. With FRANK, you can easily move your money from the Save Pot to the Spend Pot without any withdrawal fee and while still earning 0.3% per annum in the Spend Pot. You can do this all via the OCBC Malaysia Mobile Banking app; you don't need to switch on your PC or visit the bank in person.

The idea behind FRANK by OCBC is to give mobile-centric customers a convenient way of accessing their bank account. In this case, the OCBC Malaysia Mobile Banking app allows you to get things done quickly and easily.

Consumers can sign up for the FRANK Account through the app itself. After you have signed up for the account, you will need to visit your preferred OCBC Bank branch just once to verify your identity. Once completed, you can use the OCBC Malaysia Mobile Banking app to set up how much money you want to allocate in the Save pot or keep in the Spend pot for personal spending.

If you are a new OCBC Bank customer, you will receive the FRANK Debit Card upon completion of your identity verification at an OCBC Bank branch. Its greatest advantage is the 0% foreign exchange mark-up, which means you don't have to pay extra when you spend in any foreign currency!  To top it off, you can spend with the FRANK Debit Card at 400,000 merchants nationwide via contactless payment and withdraw at around 14,000 ATMs, anywhere in Malaysia.

Interested in signing up for a FRANK Account? If so, go ahead and download the OCBC Malaysia Mobile Banking App on Android, iOS, or Huawei. You can also find out more about it from the official website.

So what do you think about FRANK by OCBC? Let us know in the comments section below and do stay tuned to TechNave.com for more articles like this.


Spend your RM50 ePenjana credit before it expires at the end of 30 September 2020

If you have yet to spend your RM50 ePenjana credit, use it all before the end of 30 September 2020 because it will expire at the end of the day. Not only that, but vouchers from Grab, Touch n’ Go eWallet, and Lazada may expire on the same day as well, so act fast before they disappear!

If you have no idea what to do, fret not, as we’ll give you a list of what you could spend the RM50 ePenjana credit on. However, this is not a complete list, and there are more ways you could spend the credit as well.

With all that said, if you have any ideas on what to spend the RM50 ePenjana credit on, do let us know on our Facebook page. For more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Spider-Man swings back to Marvel Studios, third film set for 16 July 2019

By now, most of you Spider-Man and MCU fans have heard the good news. In this short announcement - it was announced that the Spider-Man / Peter Parker character movie license has swung back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe just before the end of Friday. With this, a third installment of the 'Homecoming' series which will be guided by Kevin Feige once again, is set to hit theatres on 16 July 2019.

Although the new deal figure wasn't mentioned between Disney and Sony, Variety.com stated that "Sony is believed to have proposed keeping the arrangement under the current terms" which means that they went back to the previous deal, with Marvel owning 5% of the gross box-office and the rest of the merchandise revenue. Nonetheless, fans can have a sign of relief to see the continuation of Peter Parker in the MCU, and how will he deal with the public's response after Mysterio exposed his identity at the post-credit scene (if you haven't watched it, why haven't you?).

“I am thrilled that Spidey’s journey in the MCU will continue, and I and all of us at Marvel Studios are very excited that we get to keep working on it,” says Marvel Studios co-president Kevin Feige, according to Variety. “Spider-Man is a powerful icon and hero whose story crosses all ages and audiences around the globe. He also happens to be the only hero with the superpower to cross cinematic universes, so as Sony continues to develop their own Spidey-verse, you never know what surprises the future might hold.”

Also, Tom Holland, the current actor for the franchise gave the perfect reaction to the great news.

A post shared by  Tom Holland (@tomholland2013) on Sep 27, 2019 at 8:41am PDT

Stay tuned for more cool entertainment news at TechNave.com!


Spider-Man will no longer appear in future MCU movies after Disney and Sony dispute

So what's the story and why is Spider-Man swinging out (pun intended) out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Well, it has to do something with money (obviously) and here's the breakdown of the dispute between Marvel (or rather Disney) and Sony who still has the license over the superhero.

According to the Deadline's report, it's said that Disney asked Sony that they will have a "50-50 co-financing arrangement" between themselves for future Spider-Man sequels. Currently, Marvel under only gets 5% of the gross box-office revenue which is still a lot of money, ever since the latest instalment Spider-Man: Far From Home went over $1 billion at the box office, Disney gets around $50 million but knowing that company, it's never enough.

“Sony turned that offer down flat, and I don’t believe they even came back to the table to figure out a compromise. Led by Tom Rothman and Tony Vinciquerra, Sony just simply didn’t want to share its biggest franchise. Sony proposed keeping the arrangement going under the current terms where Marvel receives in the range of 5% of first dollar gross, sources said. Disney refused.”

While Disney thinks it's only fair that they get to share the same treatment (for involving Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War, Avengers Infinity War and Endgame), Sony says otherwise that they are quite comfortable with director Jon Watts, actor Tom Holland and producer Amy Pascal, even if Kevin Feige, the mastermind behind the MCU won't be involved in the future. In other words, they want full creative control.

However, keep in mind that there's still some hope of keeping Spider-Man in the MCU. As of now, this could be a temporary thing should Sony and Disney are willing to work out things but what do you think? Should Spider-Man leave or stay in the MCU? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more TechNave entertainment news.


Apple One officially available in Malaysia starting from the price of RM19.90 a month

It seems that Apple One subscription service is now officially available in Malaysia starting from the price of RM19.90 for the Individual plan, while Family plan will be priced at RM33.90 a month which can be shared up to 5 people. In terms of the benefits, customers who signed up for the subscription plan will be able to gain full access to Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, as well as up to 200GB of iCloud storage.

If you’re interested in subscribing to the aforementioned service, head over to the settings menu on your Apple device and select subscriptions then, tap on the Apple One icon and follow the instructions in order to sign up for the service. If you’re keen on finding out more information in regards to the service, head over to Apple’s official website.

With all that said, would you be interested in signing up for the Apple One? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Sports Illustrated used the Moto Z Hasselblad True Zoom Moto Mod to capture magazine cover

Cameras on smartphones has come a long way since the early days of mobile photography – but to some it is still lacking behind traditional cameras in picture quality. This doesn’t stop Motorola though, as they partnered with one of the world’s biggest magazine to create their current month’s cover – taken with the Hasselblad True Zoom Moto Mod for the Moto Z family.

The subject of the cover is Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who started off as a college football player and pro wrestler – and now is one of (if not) the most famous movie star alive. The photographer, Mike LeBrecht, used the Moto Z, alongside the True Zoom Moto Mod, to capture the image for the cover, in a studio setting – using the built-in professional settings.

While the setting may be professional – the fact that the cameraman used the True Zoom Moto Mod to create a professional-looking photo cover for an internationally recognised magazine speaks big on the possible quality of the system. Will we see better Moto Mods in the future?  Stay tuned to TechNave as we bring more news and info from Motorola.


Spotify #2020Wrapped: BTS and Dato' Sri Siti Nurhaliza are Malaysia's most-streamed artists of 2020 and more

As we are getting closer to the end of 2020, Spotify has released yet another round of top artists, albums and songs of the year. Surprisingly, Spotify also released a #2020Wrapped list for Malaysians on their top tracks and favourites while going through this pandemic period.

According to Spotify, BTS is Malaysia's most-streamed artist, followed by Justin Bieber and BLACKPINK as the second and third place. Then for the most-streamed local artist of 2020, Dato' Sri Siti Nurhaliza won once again for the third time (the previous time was 2017 and 2018). The following most-streamed local artists are K-Clique, Faizal Tahir, YonnyBoii and Naim Daniel.

On the other hand, Malaysians have also tuned in a wide variety of podcast shows this year. Notable local podcasters are Mamak Sessions, The Aida Azlin Show and TED Talks Daily, which most of the genres that we listened to our Lifestyle and Health, Society and Culture, and Religion and Spiritually. Anyway, you can check out the rest of the top lists below:

By the way, you can also view your own #2020Wrapped list in your Spotify account. Which song and podcast have you been listening to this year? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


Spotify Discover is an upcoming tab for TikTok-like videos

When a feature is popular, there will inevitably be others that get inspired by it. There are plenty of examples in the industry, with Snapchat's stories feature being one of them. This time around, Spotify seems to have been inspired by a TikTok feature.

According to @chrismessina, Spotify is adding a new tab to the mobile app called 'Discover'. The source described the feature as a "pared-down" version of TikTok's vertical videos. Instead of a regular music video, which are usually in landscape mode, Spotify Discover has music videos in portrait orientation.

Not only that, @Spotify Discover is basically a pared down version of a TikTok-style feed of vertical music videos (likely using their canvas format) that you can like or skip.#NewSpotify pic.twitter.com/hpOEZ8v9bl

Currently, most music tracks or albums on Spotify have static album art. But with this feature, artists can now replace those static images with short videos. From what we understand, this will be like a video feed tab for such music videos. And of course, the vertical orientation is more suitable for mobile phones.

Is this a feature you would use frequently? What other features do you think Spotify should add? Share your ideas in the comments, and stay tuned to TechNave for more news like this.


Spotify Lyrics feature rolls out globally for mobile, PC, and TV apps

When we listen to music, most of us also want to know the lyrics. But if you've used Spotify, you may have noticed that not everyone seems to have access to music lyrics on the platform. However, the company has now released the feature for all.

According to the announcement, Spotify's partnership with Musixmatch now applies globally. Both free and premium Spotify users around the world can now access song lyrics in-app. You just need to click/tap on the "Now Playing", then you can get the lyrics for the song that's currently being played.

The lyrics are highlighted as the music plays

While the lyrics on some platforms just display the full lyrics, Spotify lets you 'follow' the lyrics as it plays. That's great if you want to sing along with a song. The lyrics feature will be available on the mobile app, desktop app, and SpotifyTV app. It's also been confirmed that the feature will be accessible on other platforms, including the Playstation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Samsung TV, and more.

So, have you been making use of the new lyrics feature? What other features should Spotify add in the future? Share your thoughts in the comments, and stay tuned to TechNave for more news like this.


Spotify Malaysia announces Premium Mini and Premium Student

For working adults, it's not too hard to pay for a few subscription services like Netflix or Spotify. In particular, Spotify Premium is a must if you get annoyed by ads. But what if you don't have an income? Well, Spotify now has a cheaper alternative for you.

Spotify Malaysia has announced two new types of Premium subscriptions. Specifically, there are two new packages available: Spotify Premium for Students and Spotify Premium Mini. The first one costs RM7.50/month and allows students to tune in to Spotify without ads disrupting them. As for the second one, you can get it for RM0.75/day or RM2.90/week.

As the name suggests, Premium for Students (or Premium Student) is targeted at university/college students. The only way you can get it is if you're enrolled in a local tertiary institution. For Premium Mini, the idea is to provide a more flexible plan. It's particularly useful if you only want to subscribe for a few days, for example.

So, what do you think about these new premium options? Are these what you have been hoping for? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned to TechNave for more news like this.


Spotify Malaysia now offers a new Daily and Weekly prepaid plan starting from RM1.50

If you have always wanted to subscribe to Spotify, now could be the time for you. It seems that the company has added a new prepaid plan for Malaysians which is on a Daily and Weekly basis. Here's the breakdown of the prepaid plan.

Available for one account user only, the daily plan is at RM1.50 whereas the weekly plan is RM4.90. It seems that you can also go for a one-month, three-month and a 12-month prepaid plan which says it saves RM41.80. The system requires a one-time payment and does not auto-renew, so you can top up whenever you want like every prepaid plan as well as via through your Maxis or Celcom prepaid or postpaid bill.

In terms of features, the new prepaid plan is quite similar to the Individual plan. You can have an ad-free experience when you listen to your favourite tracks (offline), have an on-demand playback and the flexibility of choosing a day or a week. This is definitely good for those who want to listen to some songs temporarily but deemed as a bit more expensive if compared to Indonesia (according to sources).

What do you think of this new Spotify prepaid plan? Let us know in the comments below and by the way, Spotify will also increase the Premium Family price from RM22.40/month to RM23.80/month. The reason being is that it was done in accordance with section 4 of Spotify's Terms and Conditions of Use, as well as wanting to "bring you the best experience", value and new contents. Stay tuned for local trending tech news at TechNave.com.


Spotify Podcast Charts lets you find new trending content

For those who regularly use Spotify, you probably know that the platform has had podcasts since 2015. But anyone can create a podcast these days and it may not be content you want to listen to. With that in mind, Spotify has launched the Podcast Charts features to see what's trending when it comes to podcast.

The feature was already available on PC before this, but Spotify has now made it available on mobile for Android and iOS in 26 countries. Although Spotify didn't list down the countries that are getting it, Malaysia is one of them as I've managed to get the update on my Android smartphone. To access the Podcast Chart, press the Search tab and tap on the "Podcasts" under "Browse all". You should be able to see the button to access the chart next.

With this feature, you'll be able to see the podcast programmes that are popular in your country. For example,  "MALAM SERAM" is topping the chart in Malaysia for now. It's quite an interesting one where the host shares ghost stories in Bahasa Melayu. The well-known BFM is also on the Malaysia chart and is currently at 13th. Once a day the chart's ranks will be updated, so you may find new ones you've never listen to before.

If you enjoy listening to a podcast while doing something else, do try checking the chart. With that said, what kind of podcast do you normally listen to? Do share your favourite podcasts programmes with us on our Facebook page and stay tuned to TechNave.com for more news like this.


Spotify Premium Family price will be increased from RM22.40/month to RM23.80/month soon

Earlier, we announced that Spotify just offered a new prepaid plan which Malaysians can pay on a daily or weekly basis. At the same time, the company will also increase the Premium Family price from RM22.40/month to RM23.80/month.

This was confirmed from their newsletter by the Spotify Team not too long ago. So what's the reason for increasing the Premium Family plan? Well, they said it is to invest in their technologies to "bring you the best experience", as well as new contents and value. It's also under section 4 of Spotify's Terms and Conditions of Use.

The Premium Family price increase will only begin from March onward, so this is a one month head's up to every Spotify Premium Family user. Personally, the price increase is not that much and many Malaysians are using it to share as friends and family. What do you think of it? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for more trending tech news at TechNave.com.


Spotify expands its Premium free trial to three months

Spotify is expanding its free trial preriod to attract more users to subscribe to its Premium service. Previously, the music streaming platform only offered a one-month trial for those who want to enjoy unlimited skips on their playlists. Now, it has become a three-month thing.

Announced through an official blog post, the free three-month trial of the Individual Premium plan is available to eligible Free and first-time users. To elaborate on that, you must be someone who hasn't subscribed to the platform's Premium services before to get the offer.

Furthermore, those who cancelled their Premium plan before 15 July for any reason can get it back with the first three months charged at a cheaper rate. Both offers are now live and will run through 11 September. They're now open to eligible users in 135 Spotify markets globally.

What do you think about the offer? Leave a comment to let us know your thoughts, and stay tuned to TechNave.com for more tech reports.


Spotify for desktop now has lyrics powered by Musixmatch

Spotify for desktop recently offered a new update which brings several new features and improvements. These include a fully integrated lyrics engine powered by Musixmatch. To activate this feature click the Lyrics button while the song is playing. Other features include an improved Friend Feed to find out what your friends are listening to and daily viral charts for the latest and greatest tracks. Here's what they had to say about it:

“We’re excited to bring an update to one of our key platforms - one that makes the experience smoother and introduces some great features and integrations. Following in the footsteps of previous successful app integrations such as Songkick, we’re thrilled to bring desktop listeners such a sought-after feature as lyrics.” Dave Price, Director of Product at Spotify

The new update also phases out the App Finder feature and third-party applications but for more information check out the Spotify developer blog.


Apple One subscription bundle found in Apple Music's Android version app

Sometimes, we discover things in places we don't expect. That seems to be the case for a new subscription bundle that Apple has been cooking up. Sources have found references to an "Apple One" subscription bundle within the Android version of the Apple Music app.

As funny as it sounds, the code lines below were found within the Android version of Apple Music and hinted at Apple One being real. From what we understand so far, the subscription bundle should provide you with premium access to nearly all (if not all) of Apple's cloud services. This would include Apple Arcade, Apple News+, iCloud storage, and more. According to 9to5Mac, this bundle could be revealed at the Apple event next week.

<string name=”applemusic_with_aristotle_subtext”>Included in Apple One %s</string>

<string name=”aristotle_main_subtext”>Subscription Bundle %s</string>

<string name=”aristotle_main_more_info”>Your Apple Music subscription will be included in Apple One starting %s. You will not be charged for both subscriptions.</string>

<string name=”aristotle_renewaloption_subtext”>You can manage your Apple One subscription using your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Mac.</string>

Interestingly enough, Apple will make it so that if you already have an existing subscription for another service, such as Apple Music, then you won't be charged double if you decide to sign up for Apple One. If that's the case, it's likely that Apple One will have a dynamic price model, depending on what other Apple services you've already subscribed to.

There's no official confirmation on details on this yet though, so do take what we've said with a grain of salt. But having said that, what do you think of the idea? Do you subscribe to enough Apple services for this to be appealing? Let us know on our Facebook page and stay tuned to TechNave.com for more news like this.


Spotify have rolled out their widget for iOS 14 users

Finally, Spotify have rolled out their Spotify widget for iPhone users to add it on their home screen. There are 2 different sizes of Spotify widgets which are small and medium.

According to sources, the small version of the widget will only show the last played track, as for the medium widget will show the five most recently played podcasts or music. Besides that, the widget will change colour according to the album cover while playing.

To add the widget on the home screen, press and hold on the home screen and you will see the ‘+’ icon on the top left. Next, it will lead you to the widget menu and you can search for the Spotify widget. Lastly, add it to your home screen by selecting your preferred size.

Please make sure your iPhone and Spotify apps are updated for the new widget, but it might take some time for your iPhone to get it as the update just started rolling out. Is this great news for you? Let us know in the comments below, be sure to stay tuned for more tech news on TechNave.com.


Spotify honours coming Mother's Day with most-streamed musical moms playlist

In line with Mother's Day on Sunday, Spotify has created a Top Streamed Moms playlist, honouring the musical mothers and mothers-to-be in the service. The top five include Beyonce, P!nk, Adele, Shakira and Mariah Carey alongside a whole bunch of other mothers in the list below. Covering the classics to the recent hits, it should be good for those looking for some background music during this Mother's Day celebration.


Spotify introduces Release Radar for catching newest song releases

How many times have you missed out on the latest single from your favourite music artist? Don’t fret, Spotify has a solution for you, the company is proud to present their brand new Release Radar, just for you.

How Release Radar works is giving you a weekly selection of the newest releases that matter most to you in one convenient playlist, from there, you can get all of your new favourite music, without any effort of searching for the latest gems. The feature will be updated every Friday and gives you up to two hours of the newest drops from the artists you follow and listen to the most, along with new discoveries based on your recent listening habits.

In addition, Release Radar is the perfect complement to New Music Friday, which connects you with hot new artists you may not know about yet. Your Release Radar playlist can be found in the New Releases for You section within Discover on mobile and desktop.

“With the huge amount of new music released every week, it can be difficult to keep up with the latest tracks,” says Matt Ogle, Senior Product Owner at Spotify. “With Release Radar, we wanted to create the simplest way for you to find all the newly released music that matters the most to you, in one playlist.”

Lastly, since it’s a playlist, you can access and listen to it across all of your platforms and devices, share it with friends, or make it available offline. Stay tuned for more news at Technave.com!


Spotify introduces its metaverse called 'Spotify Island' on Roblox

Metaverse is something that many tech companies are trying to build nowadays, and big sharks like Meta and Microsoft already introduced their ideas earlier for how to connect people in a different way. Until now, Spotify has also jumped on the bandwagon, creating its metaverse via Roblox with the name 'Spotify Island'.

Spotify Island is a place that lets users create music, chill in virtual venues and get access to exclusive virtual merchandise of their favourite artists. The virtual world has a design inspired by the brand, surrounded by lots of green with shapes, colors and icons that you'll recognize from its apps. The things you can can do in it include collect the heart-shaped "Like" icons for free merch, hang out with artists, complete quests and access "exclusive content". You may also create your own music and sounds via the beat-maker stations powered by Soundtrap, which is an online recording platform Spotify acquired in 2017.

Spotify announces that its first "themed experience" will debut in a few weeks. There will be the K-Park that pays tribute to K-Pop for users to interact with artists like Stray Kids and SUNMI. However, if you want to get SUNMI's merchandise, they're already on sale. We can't wait to see how the music streaming service will continue to expand its metaverse in the future.

What do you think about the news? Share your thoughts with us by leaving a comment, and stay tuned to TechNave.com for the latest tech report.


Spotify is developing a Stories-like feature

When something is seen as successful, copies of it will eventually appear. While Snapchat isn't that popular globally, many considered Stories a feature worth copying, especially for smartphones. Today, many platforms have an equivalent feature and Spotify is looking to follow suit.

YouTuber TmarTn2 revealed this on Twitter recently, showing how Spotify would implement the new feature. You would think that a platform like Spotify would tweak the feature to fit its image as a music streaming platform, but its Stories-like feature is no different from what you can see on Instagram or Facebook.

Spotify has stories now....S P O T I F YThis has got to stop pic.twitter.com/xsurbrJblx

From the looks of it, Spotify's idea here is likely to give artists a platform to talk more about their music, or for users to share their thoughts on their favourite tracks and albums. Allegedly, Spotify is currently conducting A/B testing for the feature, so some of you may already have access to this. The feature will be available via the Android and iOS versions of Spotify.

With that said, what do you think of the idea to have Stories for Spotify? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave.com for more news like this.


Spotify is looking into paid live concerts

Spotify has dabbled with events before with Spotify On Stage

As one of the biggest music streaming services, Spotify has a lot of features to keep its large userbase happy. Of course, it also has to make money and premium subscriptions alone aren't enough. As such, the company has been looking into other areas like live events.

According to The Information (via Engadget), Spotify is considering whether to expand into events. Specifically, the company is looking into how it can host ticketed virtual or live concerts. Not only could Spotify earn some revenue through this, but it could also expand on its collaboration with artists around the globe.

It's said that Spotify will be able to help artists plan for concerts in locations where event organisers may choose to ignore. This would be a good way for the company to show its support to music artists. Mind you, it isn't the first time Spotify did events. In May, the company hosted pre-recorded live-stream concerts that you could listen to on Spotify, with tickets priced at USD 15 (~RM62).

Although it lacks the concert atmosphere, which is why people go to concerts, selling tickets to a pre-recorded concert isn't a bad idea. But would you pay to watch a virtual concert, even if it's held live? Share your thoughts in the comments, and stay tuned to TechNave for more news like this.


Spotify is rolling out a new sharing feature to introduce artists and podcasters

When it comes to music streaming, Spotify easily remains the most widely used platform with over 130 million users worldwide. And to stay on top, the company has constantly improved and added new features to its service. The latest one isn't exactly a new feature though, but more like a new way to create fancy share links to your favourite artists and podcasters.

According to Engadget, Spotify is introducing a new promo card system for artist and podcasters, which can then be shared via URL or social media platforms. To do this, you need to head to the new Promo Cards site, click on "Get Started" and follow the instructions give. It's a fun way to create a visual promo image for artists and podcasters.

Clicking on the link leads you to the profile or content

But this isn't just a feature to create visually pretty links. When other people click on the link you send, they'll be redirected to what you wanted to share. It can be an artist's or podcaster's profile, a particular song or podcast episode, or an entire music album. In other words, it's also a way for people to lead others to their favourite content on Spotify. However, do note that the links always open on a browser and not on the Spotify.

If you haven't, do give it a try and start sharing your favourite Spotify content with your friends and family. Let us know what you think about the feature in the comments below and do stay tuned to TechNave.com for more news like this.


Spotify is rolling out lyrics support and Malaysia will be the first to get it

While streaming songs, some of us would like to have a personal karaoke session by singing along with the lyrics. If you're using Spotify, you might have to look for the lyrics elsewhere as it doesn't appear inside the app. However, things might change now as the popular streaming service is finally going to bring the feature to their mobile apps.

Starting from today, Spotify will roll out their latest update in which users can get songs' lyrics inside the app. By tapping the Lyrics card at the bottom of the Now Playing screen, the song's lyrics will appear to allow users to scroll through it or even sing along in real-time. The feature is a collaboration with lyrics provider Musixmatch.

It is worth mentioning that not every country will get the features immediately. The first batch of the countries to get it will be Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, El Salvador, Uruguay, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong. For us, we'll get it by 10 p.m. on 30 June 2020.

Let us know what you think about the new lyrics feature from Spotify on our Facebook page. Stay tuned to TechNave.com for more latest app updates.


Spotify is testing 'Hey Spotify' voice command for a new hardware

This time, the famous Jane Manchun Wong has spotted another code in Spotify, revealing a new feature which we didn’t know we need with the help of Siri, Google Assistant, or Amazon Alexa. The code has revealed that Spotify is working on a voice command ‘Hey Spotify’ to let users ask the app to play songs, albums, and apps without typing anything.

For the new feature to work, users are required to open the app and let it stay in the foreground. With that being said, the feature is not that useful since some of the users are already using Google Assistant or Siri to ask the app to play songs. Therefore, the experts are guessing the feature is designed for another purpose.

Spotify is working on “Hey Spotify” voice activation pic.twitter.com/PqZI01WZre

It is said that the ‘Hey Spotify’ voice command is going to be used on a new Spotify hardware, as the company was rumoured to roll out a voice-activated in-car player. The Spotify's device “will sync to car stereos via Bluetooth connection, as well as preset buttons that correspond to Spotify playlists” according to 9to5Mac.

Let us know what you think about the new stuff that Spotify is going to bring to us on our Facebook page. Stay tuned to TechNave.com for more viral tech news.


Spotify is testing a feature that lets you know what your friends are listening to

Spotify is adding a new feature for the users to engage in more social interactions on the music streaming platform. The feature named 'Community' is a hub for users to see what their friends have been listening to, and it also tells what playlists others recently updated.

According to TechCrunch, the feature is still in the early testing phase. Although the company hasn't officially announced anything yet, it's said that some already have access to it. The iOS users can enter "spotify:community" on the Safari browser to open the page, but it's not functioning.

The Community's interface has a horizontal carousel of playlists that your friends updated recently on the top. They're coupled with the playlist titles and timestamps denoting when they were last updated. Below it, there's a vertical list of songs your friends are listening to in chronological order. They also feature timestamps that tell you when the listening took place.

It's unsure if Spotify will roll out the feature as it's still in the testing phase. What do you think about such a feature on the platform? Drop a comment to let us know your opinion, and stay tuned to TechNave.com for more tech reports.


Apple One subscription gives you access to up to 6 services, prices start from ~RM62/month

The new Fitness+ service from Apple that's coming later this year wasn't the only service that Apple announced today. If you recall, there was a rumour about a new subscription bundle from the company called Apple One. Well, the bundle was officially unveiled today.

According to the announcement, Apple One is a subscription bundle and signing up for it will give you access to a variety of Apple services. These include existing services such as Apple Arcade, Apple Music, Apple TV+, and some iCloud space. In addition to that, those who sign up for the Premier plan will get access to Apple News+ and the upcoming Fitness+ when it's launched later this year.

Speaking of packs, let's expand on that part a bit more. First, there's the Individual plan, which gives you access to Apple Arcade, Apple Music, Apple TV+, and 50GB of iCloud storage for RM19.90/month. For RM33.90/month, the Family plan is almost the same, except you get a lot more iCloud storage at 200GB. As for the Premier plan, the Malaysian pricing wasn't provided so it might not be available here, but it's expected to be around RM124/month.

While it may not look like much at a glance, the Apple One subscription offers significant savings compared to subscribing to each service individually. If you want to know more, you can check out the Apple One website. With that said, what do you think of the new subscription bundle? Let us know on our Facebook page and stay tuned to TechNave for more news like this.


Spotify is testing a new "Your Offline Mix" feature

People tend to use WiFi to stream videos or music. But what if you don't have WiFi access and are running out of data soon? Then you'll have to download the content for offline use, which Spotify Premium offers. Now, Spotify is looking to improve this function with a new feature.

Recently, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek revealed that the company has been working on a new feature called "Your Offline Mix". In the screenshot provided by Ek, the feature allegedly compiles a mix of your most recently played songs or tracks. With the feature enabled, Spotify will automatically download these recent tracks. It should then create a mixed playlist for Spotify Premium users for offline use. This is particularly handy for people who travel often, as you can listen to your offline mix on flights.

We’ve been testing out a new feature called "Your Offline Mix" - a playlist designed for those times when you might not be online What do you think? pic.twitter.com/9so0FZMRPX

No further details were provided, so we don't know how the feature works exactly. Does it just take a certain number of recently played songs? A user who allegedly has access to it claimed to have an offline mix of over 3 hours. This means that the feature could support a mix that's quite long. However, we're unsure if this is due to individual tracks being long.

If you're a Spotify user, is this a feature you would appreciate? Also, what other features would you like to see added to the app? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned to TechNave for more news like this.


Spotify launched its social audio platform called Greenroom

Last month, Android users finally got to enjoy and experience Clubhouse. Here, we spotted Spotify also launched their first social audio platform which is Greenroom, and it is available to Android and iOS users across 135 countries.

According to sources, Greenroom allows Spotify users to join or host the live audio room and even turn the conversation into podcasts. On top of that, the app also provides a recording feature that allows the users to complement their content with the live conversation and also chat controls.

Besides that, the app will provide a new experience that puts users' interests at the front and center. To join Greenroom, all you need to do is just log in with your Spotify details. So what are you waiting for? Go and download the app and tell us what you think about the app. For more tech news, please be sure to stay tuned on TechNave.com.


Spotify launches a miniplayer that lets you play songs directly in Facebook

Facebook wants you to stay in the app even when you want to listen to music by releasing this Spotify miniplayer. From now on, users can directly play songs shared by others from Spotify in the social media app without the need to switch to the music app. It’ll be available on both iOS and Android and in 27 markets with Malaysia being one of them.

The miniplayer is made for those who like to use their social network to share songs with friends and family. After sharing, other Facebook users are allowed to play the song directly in the app and keep scrolling through their News Feed. Other than that, the miniplayer works the same as the current Spotify which Spotify Premium users get the full playback while Free users get the same experience via shuffle mode.

For privacy concerns, it is said that Facebook will receive limited data from the music app including the subscription type and metrics to assess the miniplayer’s performance. The data won't be used by Facebook to target ads. Users who would like to try out the integration will also need consent to the data sharing for the first time.

Let us know what you think about this new feature on our Facebook page. Stay tuned to TechNave.com for more interesting tech news.


Spotify launches a series of new artist-led audio shows

Today, there is going to be two brand new audio series by Spotify – Secret Genius and AM/PM – both of which see renowned artists and producers talking exclusively to Spotify.

AM/PM is an artist-led on-demand audio show where the guests tell the stories behind the music that fires them up every morning (AM) and what they turn to when the clocks are off in the evening (PM). So basically, you get to follow a day of the songs that soundtrack the artist's world.

Wolf Alice frontwoman Ellie Rowsell revealed that endless touring on a sleeper bus had “turned her into a vampire” who wakes up at 3pm. In tribute to that sense of oddness, Rowsell made her AM selection “aggressive, with a go at life with a bite attitude”, picking songs like Bad Brains’ ‘Sailin’ On’, Foals’ ‘Inhaler’ and Le Tigre ‘Deceptacon’ to get her and the band ready for another show.

On his PM playlist, Tinie Tempah said that when he’s trying to impress a girl his playlist will always “focus on putting people onto tunes they haven’t heard before” and that he strives to make the music on his episode “as new and as fresh as possible.”

AM/PM has a two 12-song playlists document their day and their night, and will be streamed in two separate shows for each person. You can check their list out below:

AM/PM was conceived and produced by Cup And Nuzzle Productions.

Next, Secret Genius is about great songwriters behind the soundtrack to our lives. The on-demand audio show features interviews with acclaimed - and up and coming - songwriters all of whom have created incredible music.

The show launches with Nick Van Eede (who wrote Cutting Crew’s ‘I Just Died In Your Arms’) and Ed Drewett (who's written for One Direction and Olly Murs), with future episodes focusing on Nicky Chinn (one half of ChinniChap, the early 70s hit factory responsible for a wealth of beautifully over-the-top, gum-chewing glam pop) and Ryan Tedder who, alongside his starring role in OneRepublic also writes with U2, Adele, Elton John and Ed Sheeran.


Spotify launches a standalone app just for kids with experts from Disney and Nickelodeon

Not only do adults and teenagers need music in life, but kids also need them too. The largest music streaming company, Spotify, has now launched Spotify Kids in the US, Canada, and France to bring a library of songs that is curated just for kids. The standalone app doesn’t just come with kids’ favourite bops, it also features a colourful interface for them to interact with.

Matter of fact, the app was launched in October last year but only in Ireland, then followed by other European countries. Now, it looks like Spotify has plans to release the app on a worldwide basis by rolling out the Spotify Kids to more and more regions. However, it is worth mentioning that the app is still at a beta stage as Spotify is constantly upgrading the app to bring more features such as upgrades on parental control and podcasts.

It is said that the team behind the making of the app consists of the likes of Disney, Discovery Kids, and Nickelodeon. Other than that, Spotify Kids also has a library of over 8,000 songs and over 60 hours of stories that are curated according to region. The app also works in a different algorithm compared to the standard Spotify app. It will not suggest content other than the ones that users liked as it doesn’t track user's activities.

For parental control, parents will have to grant access to their kids with a PIN for them to use the app. In the app, there will also be two categories of content which each of them caters to different age groups. The app is divided up for younger (0-6 years old) kids and older (5-12 years old) kids. If the younger kids want to switch to the 5-12 side, it will require a PIN. Other than that, Spotify has also promised to bring more features to let parents have more control over the app.

While Spotify Kids is currently not available in Malaysia yet, are you hoping it will come here? Let us know what you think about the Spotify Kids on our Facebook page. Stay tuned to TechNave.com for more cool tech news.


Spotify launches new interface for web player and desktop app

According to sources, Spotify have 'makeover' their web player and desktop app. It took 'months' of test and research to develop the new design to provide better and simpler useful features for the users.

The web player and desktop app are now sharing the same general design so that the users will feel like a seamless experience. The company has redesigned 'Home', the search bar relocated to the top left side, and the user's profile as well (including feature top artists and tracks).

On top of that, the users can now start a radio session for any song or artist using the '...' menu. You can even edit and customize your playlist with the simple step because there's a new embedded search bar for locating new songs and podcasts to add. With this new design, the users can edit 'queue' and view 'Recently played' on the top right corner which is the new dropdown menu.

To download the new Spotify app for desktop, you may pay a visit to their official website. Are you one of the Spotify users? Do you like the new design? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to stay tuned for more tech news on TechNave.com.


Spotify lets you find out your friends' music tastes through a feature called Tastebuds

Spotify is currently the largest music streaming service in the world with its 96 million subscribers and 170 million users. By doing more than just music streaming, the company has come up with many ideas to connect people socially through music. Recently, a new feature called Tastebuds was discovered from the app and it lets people discover songs from streaming activities of others.

Jane Manchun Wong, a technology blogger who is famous for uncovering numerous unreleased features from apps, found out that Spotify is brewing something for its users. Tastebuds is said to allow the users to discover friends’ playlists and view what songs they’ve been listening to. You can also add the songs into your library from there. Sadly, the prototype is now only available for the desktop version and you can check it out here.

Spotify is working on Tastebuds, letting users discover music through their friends pic.twitter.com/uqUXmRvEKo

Earlier, we have also heard news that Spotify is developing a prototype called Social Listening. What it does is allow users to create a live playlist for multiple people to add songs into the queue, and have a real-time streaming party. From that, we can see Spotify’s effort on bringing more social features to the app.

Talking about features, I seriously need that ‘swipe to queue’ gesture that is ‘exclusive’ for iOS users to be available for Android users. Let us know what you think about all of this on our Facebook page! Stay tuned to TechNave.com for more app updates.


Spotify may hike up its subscription fee due to “unsustainable” operating expenses

Music streaming company Spotify may be hiking up its subscription fee in the near future after its operating costs outpaced revenue growth by two times last year. Recently, the company laid off 600 employees in order to cut costs.

In the layoff announcement, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said that the company’s situation is “unsustainable long-term in any climate”. As reported by TechRadar, Spotify had also previously axed 11 original podcasts in a bid to scale back costs.

Ek’s statement may allude to the music streaming company’s plan to increase subscription fees which have remained the same for years. Last year, the Spotify CEO was quoted as saying that a subscription price increase is one of the things that it “would like to do” and something that the company would discuss with its label partners.

So, what do you guys think of a potential Spotify subscription fee hike? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave for more trending tech news such as this.


Spotify might be launching a podcast-only subscription service very soon

Based on a statement by Twitter user @awallenstein, it seems that Spotify might be planning on releasing a podcast-only subscription service which gives users access to podcasts at a much lower price. With that being said, those who subscribed to this service will not be able to access Spotify’s music library.

In terms of the pricing, it seems that the aforementioned new service by Spotify could be priced from as low as USD2.99 (~RM12.34), while completely removing ads would require you to fork up USD4.99 (~RM20.60) a month. If you want to additional exclusive content, you can expect to pay anywhere between 3USD (~RM12.39) to 8USD (~RM33.03) depending on the content.

Sure looks like @Spotify is considering launching a premium podcast plan based on the survey I was prompted to fill out when I opened its app this morning... pic.twitter.com/6XjsWC79sn

With all that said, what are your thoughts on Spotify launching a podcast-only subscription service? Let us know on our Facebook page and for more updates like this, stay tuned to TechNave.com.


Spotify now comes with genre and mood filters for Android and iOS

Most people love to listen to a variety of songs, so you probably a huge list of songs you've liked on Spotify by now. But you don't always want to listen to the same songs, right? In that case, Spotify's latest update would be relevant to you.

Spotify has announced a new way you can use to listen to music on the platform. Users can now filter their lists of 'Liked' songs using Genre and Mood filters, as long as their list contains at least 30 tracks. Also, the feature lets you select up to 15 personalised mood and genre filters to apply.

It's quite simple to use the filters too. First, open up the Spotify app on your phone, tap on "Your Library", then select "Liked Songs". You should now see a row of filters available. If you want to change the filter, just disable the current one and pick another option. Note that this feature is currently for the mobile app only.

Spotify has confirmed that both Free and Premium users will have access to the filters, as long as they belong to English-speaking countries. With that said, do you think this is a feature you'd find useful? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned to TechNave for more news like this.


Apple Online Store is reportedly down in many countries worldwide, Malaysia not affected

Many users globally are reporting that the Apple Online Store are currently down in their region, though it doesn’t seem to affect Malaysia or other regions in Southeast Asia. Currently in certain regions such as the United States, the website is showing a silhouette of the company logo with the message ‘Be right back’ in bold.

As shared by MacRumors, the regions affected include the following:

Furthermore, the message on the website is also asserting that Apple is currently making updates to its Store and prompts the user to ‘Check back soon’. It is still unclear whether this is due to Apple making changes to the product offering on the respective Online Stores or there’s a scheduled maintenance.

The downtime reportedly began around 7pm Pacific Time on 31 July 2022 or around 3am on 1 August 2022 in Malaysia. Well, we just have to wait until the Apple Online Store in these countries are back up again to see if they are any new changes.

What do you guys think? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below and stay tuned to TechNave for the latest trending tech news!


Spotify now has a new ‘karaoke’ mode that will judge your singing and it’s free for all users

If you’re a fan of karaoke and a Spotify user at the same time, then this is the perfect crossover that you’ve been looking for. Well, sort of.

Now available on the popular music streaming app on both iOS and Android, there is a new ‘singing’ mode in which Spotify will use your device’s microphone to listen in while you rock out to your favourite songs. Furthermore, the mode will even judge your singing and tell you whether it’s accurate to the lyrics and tone of the song.

This new feature is also not restricted to premium users, meaning that even free Spotify users can test their singing capabilities. In order to enter the mode, all you have to do is play a song and scroll down to the lyrics where a new ‘sing’ option with a microphone icon will appear on the top right.

When you press on that option, a 3-second countdown will appear and afterwards, you can singalong to the song with an audio analyser visible in the middle of the screen. After the song is over, Spotify will then tell you the percentage in which your vocals are accurate to the lyrics and tone of the song.

Do take note that it’s not a karaoke mode per se as the original vocals of the song are still being played while you’re singing along, rather than a minus-one version. However, it is quite a fun mode, especially if you like being judged on your singing for some reason.

Moreover, it looks like Spotify is still rolling out the feature to everyone, so your app may not get the feature just yet despite being recently updated. For those that have gotten the feature, what do you guys think of this singalong mode?

Share your thoughts with us in the comments below as we’d love to hear from you. As always, do stay tuned to TechNave for the latest trending tech news!


Spotify now has an exclusive hub for Netflix content

Quite often, some people enjoy the soundtracks more than the movie or TV series. Unfortunately, you usually need to buy an album to listen to the soundtracks. But what if you could listen to all of your favourite Netflix shows' soundtracks in one spot with Spotify (pun intended?)

Yesterday, Spotify announced that it's launching a Netflix Hub on the platform. If you search for Netflix on Spotify, you'll now notice that there's a bunch of new official Netflix playlists, soundtrack albums, and podcasts on the platform. Even the original soundtrack for the recently popular Squid Game TV series is available.

According to the press release, the Netflix Hub is available to all free and premium users from Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, the UK, the US, and New Zealand. But we just checked and it's also available in Malaysia. Besides the new audio content, Spotify also confirmed that there will be some behind-the-scenes content (as audio) for some movies.

Have you checked out the Netflix Hub on Spotify yet? What's your favourite album or soundtrack? Share them in the comments below, and stay tuned to TechNave for more news like this.


Spotify now supports direct streaming or downloading to Wear OS 2.0

Do you go for jogs without a mobile device but often wish you had some music? The days of MP3 players are over, but now you can listen to music with just a smartwatch on your wrist! Specifically, this is made possible with the latest Spotify update.

Spotify has announced that all users can now stream music or podcast directly to a Wear OS 2.0 smartwatch. As you may know, this is currently limited to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. But for those who own the new models, you can listen to music away from your smartphone. The update will also be available to smartwatches from Fossil, Mobvoi, and Suunto in the coming weeks.

Another feature added with the update is offline listening. Spotify Premium users can now download music or podcasts directly to a compatible smartwatch. This can be done using the Spotify app on the smartwatch with the "Download to watch" button. Of course, you'll still need wireless headphones or earphones to listen to music on the smartwatch.

For the full details on the update, you can check out the announcement. With that said, what do you think about Spotify's update? Are the changes something you appreciate having? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned TechNave for more news like this.


Spotify now supports standalone streaming for Apple Watch

While out and about, most people rely on their smartphones to listen to music these days. But it can be tedious to whip out your phone every time you want to change tracks. In that case, Spotify's latest update could be of interest to you thanks to a new feature.

According to TechCrunch, Spotify now supports standalone streaming on the Apple Watch version of the app. So, why is this a thing? Well, I'm sure there are times when you leave your house for a quick jog or run to the store, but don't want to bring your phone along. With the update to the app, you'll now be able to stream Spotify directly on any compatible Apple Watch, without having to connect to your iPhone.

The dedicated app for Apple Watch was released way back in 2018, but it wasn't till September 2020 that Spotify started to test this feature. Spotify has confirmed that the feature will be a global rollout. Of course, your Apple Watch has to be a Series 3 model or later and you'll need watchOS 6.0 and above.

With that said, is this a relevant feature for you? What other standalone features would you like to see added to Apple Watches? Let us know in the comments and stay tuned to TechNave for more news like this.