Articles by Rowan Davies, Editorial Associate

Google Nest Cam (battery) mounted outside to a wall

Google Home is rolling out its spring update, and your Nest camera app is about to get some handy improvements — and there are more automation capabilities on the way

By Rowan Davies Published 6 May 26

Google Home is rolling out its monster spring update, which packs huge upgrades for the Nest cam app and automations.

‘I thought I was going mad’: Disney+ subscribers think the service removes Dolby Atmos from shows at certain times, even if you've paid for Premium — they think it's to reduce server stress at 'peak' times, but the streaming giant has yet to confirm

By Rowan Davies Published 5 May 26

Disney+ subscribers have spotted changes in Dolby Atmos availability based on the time of day, believing its due to peak streaming times.

2 Comments

The Xteink X4 ereader clipped to the back of an iPhone

This viral ereader has come out of nowhere, and bookworms can’t get enough of it — but it ‘could ring alarm bells’ for Amazon as it surpasses the Kindle Colorsoft on the retailer’s charts

By Rowan Davies Published 5 May 26

The Xteink X4 ereader is the latest social media tech obsession, and it's emerging as a serious Kindle rival.

Spotify could be set to launch two new features, and one could solve a big pain point for lossless fans — but the other is something no one is asking for

By Rowan Davies Published 5 May 26

Spotify could be solving a big lossless pain point for offline downloads, and playback speed control could be coming to music.

‘We pride ourselves on human curation’: Vocana is an indie music service determined to challenge Spotify’s payment system — I spoke with the platform’s President about the company’s inception, and how it’s planning to fix music streaming

By Rowan Davies Published 3 May 26

Vocana is a US indie streaming platform ready to challenge Spotify's payment system and algorithm.

‘When I compare it to Spotify Lossless, Apple Music is the clear winner’: I signed up to Apple Music again, and this time it’s all about spatial audio — these are 5 Dolby Atmos-supported albums I think are perfect for new subscribers

By Rowan Davies Published 3 May 26

Just got Apple Music? I think you should stream these Dolby Atmos-supported albums to kick-start your membership.

Google has rolled out an update for the Nest Wifi router ahead of the US router ban, but it’s still no match for the likes of Asus and Netgear

By Rowan Davies Published 30 April 26

Google is giving the Nest Wifi router another round of updates even though the FCC has banned non-US routers.

The Samsung Galaxy S21 next to a smartphone with Google Messages

‘It disappeared right in front of my eyes’: some Google Messages users are fuming after a bug erased some of their most prized chats — here’s what a Google product expert recommends doing

By Rowan Davies Published 29 April 26

Google Messages users are seeing their chats disappear, and it's all because of the Samsung Messages shutdown.

Three smartphones showing Spotify music, podcasts, and audiobooks

‘It is about choice — if you want to hear AI music or if you don't.’ One Spotify user got so frustrated with AI slop that they created an ‘AI blocker’, but it 'may violate Spotify's terms of service'

By Rowan Davies Published 28 April 26

A Spotify user has built their own software that filters out AI-generated music from their listening experiences.

Taylor Swift is taking legal action against the rising threat of AI misuse — here’s why the singer has filed trademark applications to protect her identity

By Rowan Davies Published 28 April 26

Taylor Swift has filed trademark applications to protect her sound and image, and I think other global artists will follow.

2 Comments

Two iPhones showing the Apple Music home page and new music page

‘Every label in the world is delivering AI’: Apple Music executive says over a third of uploads are ‘100% AI’ as it clamps down on AI fraud

By Rowan Davies Published 27 April 26

Apple Music VP reveals that more AI-generated music is being uploaded to the platform, but it's not affecting listening habits.

Spotify is expanding into fitness in partnership with Peloton — its new Fitness hub is available today, and is designed to help you ‘build momentum’ and ‘improve your wellbeing’

By Rowan Davies Published 27 April 26

Spotify and Peloton are partnering to bring over 1,400 video workouts to Spotify's new Fitness hub.

‘We’re by far the most ubiquitous experience for music’: Spotify’s Head of Consumer Experience talks to me about the streaming giant's next 20 years, including its plans to expand to new formats and combat AI music

By Rowan Davies Published 25 April 26

As Spotify celebrates its 20th anniversary, I spoke with Sten Garmark about the platform's exciting future developments.

A split image with Spotify Lossless and Spotify Wrapped

Spotify is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and so are we — these are 5 of the platform’s landmark moments and yes, one of them involves Taylor Swift

By Rowan Davies Published 23 April 26

These are 5 of Spotify's most memorable moments from the last 20 years.

'It ultimately made people realize that music was worth paying for': Spotify's Sten Garmark on how the streaming giant created an entirely new business model, and its mission to convince users that 'there was something better than free'

By Rowan Davies Published 23 April 26

I sat down with Sten Garmark, Global Head of Consumer Experience at Spotify, to reflect on the company's impact 20 years on.

Walt Disney World EPCOT centre next to a solar panel farm

Walt Disney World says its new solar facility can produce 100% of the daytime power for all its parks — and the scale is equivalent to 366 football fields

By Rowan Davies Published 22 April 26

Walt Disney World's new solar facility is almost the size of Monaco, but it's just one of the sites that powers the entire resort.

Two iPhones with Discover Weekly and Release Radar playlist

Out of all Spotify's music discovery tools over 20 years, my loyalty still lies with this underrated feature — and it’s not Discover Weekly

By Rowan Davies Published 21 April 26

This Spotify feature is one of the app's most underrated tools for music discovery.

2 Comments

A split image of an IKEA smart home thermostat and remote

IKEA’s range of affordable smart home devices just got a handy upgrade — and it’s a big win for Samsung phone and TV users

By Rowan Davies Published 21 April 26

Samsung just made it easier for you to integrate your IKEA smart home devices with SmartThings.

A smartphone showing AI-flagged music in Deezer

Deezer says nearly half of all new music uploaded to its site is AI generated — and it's calling on Spotify and other streaming giants to do more about it

By Rowan Davies Published 20 April 26

Deezer will no longer store hi-res versions of AI-generated songs in its continued fight against AI slop.

I signed up to a YouTube Premium free trial, and it was annoyingly brilliant — but there’s one setback that’s keeping me from returning

By Rowan Davies Published 18 April 26

I caved to YouTube Premium's free trial and now I see what the hype is all about, but I can't get past its poor queuing system.

The Victrola Wave turntable in black and yellow with matching bookshelf speakers

Victrola’s latest turntable is a Record Store Day exclusive — and it wouldn’t be anything without the watchful eye of rock icon Jack White

By Rowan Davies Published 17 April 26

Victrola is relaunching its Wave turntable with Jack White's Third Man Records to celebrate Record Store Day 2026.

What goes around comes around: Jury finds Live Nation guilty of working as an illegal monopoly to dominate the live music market, and I’m thrilled for the future of ticket prices at gigs

By Rowan Davies Published 16 April 26

A US jury finds that Live Nation has been running an illegal monopoly to assume dominance over the live events market.

Product photos of the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Select

Amazon has been accused of ‘bricking’ older Fire TV Stick devices to get users to upgrade — and it’s sparked a class action lawsuit

By Rowan Davies Published 15 April 26

The new lawsuit claims Amazon has been restricting important software updates for older models to force users to upgrade.

The new KF2, KF3, and KF4 KitchenAid espresso machines lined up on a counter

KitchenAid puts iced coffee lovers first with its new lineup of automatic espresso machines — here’s when you’ll be able snag one

By Rowan Davies Published 15 April 26

KitchenAid has unveiled three new espresso machines, and they could be a game changer for fans of iced coffee.

A birds eye shot of the Tinyl Play Pro record player with a yellow vinyl on the turntable

This viral vinyl player looks like a 1971 Fisher-Price Music Box but with a genuine Audio-Technica cartridge — and my Record Store Day haul needs it

By Rowan Davies Published 14 April 26

The Play Pro turntable from Tinyl grabbed my attention as soon as I saw it on TikTok.

Rowan Davies

Articles by: Rowan Davies

Useful links