Amazon's audiobook platform Audible is expanding its subscription lineup with the launch of a new Standard membership plan, the company announced Tuesday. It's a lower-priced option designed for listeners who want access to audiobooks and podcasts without paying for the company's premium tier. 

In the US, the Standard plan costs $9 per month and includes one audiobook selection, which remains available as long as the membership is active. The plan also includes unlimited listening from a curated library, which Audible says includes a selection of Audible Originals and nearly 200 popular titles previously available on Wondery Plus.

By comparison, Audible's Premium Plus plan starts at $15 per month and includes a monthly credit that can be used to purchase any audiobook in Audible's catalog. Those purchased titles remain in a user's library even if they cancel their membership. 

The launch comes as audiobook services face growing competition from both streaming subscriptions and library-based apps. Spotify's Premium plans include a set amount of audiobook listening time each month (Spotify currently advertises 15 hours per month for eligible Premium subscribers), while apps like Libby allow audiobook borrowing through participating public libraries at no cost. 

Audible, which Amazon acquired in 2008, remains one of the largest audiobook platforms and has spent years building out exclusive productions and original audio content, alongside its paid audiobook storefront. In recent years, the company has also experimented with different pricing tiers and subscription perks as it competes with other streaming-style services.

Audible says the new Standard plan is available immediately in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany and France, with additional markets planned later.

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to discuss a new music streaming device from Spotify and Liquid Death. The Eternal Playlist Urn, a music-playing cremation urn (yes, a real one) is meant to help you enjoy your music long after you shuffle off of this mortal coil. 

"With the Eternal Playlist Urn, now the dead can listen to their favorite jams for all of eternity," Liquid Death said in a statement. "Upgrade any post-life experience with this latest revolution in being dead."

The urn has a wireless Bluetooth speaker embedded in the lid and can be charged with a USB-C cable. Liquid Death says there will be only 150 urns available for purchase, priced at $495 each.

The Eternal Playlist Urn is the latest creation from a beverage company that likes to push the envelope with a morbid motif. Its drink lineup includes flavors such as Berry It Alive, Convicted Melon and Severed Lime.

Admittedly, an urn seems an odd spot for music, which is likely the joke. Although some people bury their loved one's urn with cremains inside, others keep Grandpa's ashes displayed on their shelf or fireplace mantel, so at least that way, you'd be able to hear the tunes.

Create your afterlife playlist

You may not want to buy a musical cremation urn, but Spotify has another gimmick. It'll help you create the playlist it thinks you'll want to listen to after death. Go to the Eternal Playlist Generator on the Spotify mobile app, then select Let's Go at the button at the bottom. It'll create your eternal playlist after you answer some questions.

The first question was, "What's your eternal vibe?" I chose Very, very chill. Then, "Fill in the blank: Rest in -----." I chose Bass. "What's your getting-ready-to-haunt music?" Pump up tracks. Lastly, "What's your go-to ghost noise?" I selected Bwaah Mwahahaha.

Spotify then gave me my eternal playlist, which included Tears by Sabrina Carpenter, Attention by Charlie Puth and That's What I Like by Bruno Mars, among others. It's not a list of death-themed tunes, although there are certainly enough songs like Seasons in the Sun, Don't Fear the Reaper and Tears in Heaven that could've made a death-themed list. Apparently, it's supposed to be the list your cremains wouldn't mind hearing over and over again.

I'm ready for the urn! Whenever that may be.

Nintendo sure does love teasing us with Game Boy things. 

First, a collectible Lego Game Boy model last year that almost looked like a real Game Boy (but wasn't). Now, for the 30th anniversary of Pokemon, Nintendo and the Pokemon Group are selling a collectible music player that looks like a tiny Game Boy and plays authentic original Pokemon Red/Blue songs on swappable cartridges, one per song. 

The Game Boy Jukebox is being sold on the Pokemon Center site for a whopping $70. It's so small, it uses button batteries (which aren't included). You can buy this music-playing Game Boy simulacrum in-person at Nintendo Stores, too, if you're near one.

This level of absurdity is standard issue for Nintendo: Just in the last 18 months, we've had Alarmo, a talking Super Mario flower and a Virtual Boy recreation. This new collectible is so tempting precisely because it looks like a little, even more pocketable Game Boy. Except it isn't a Game Boy at all. It's just a music player. Even the dot-matrix "screen" is fake -- it's just an overlay that the cartridges display when they're slotted in.

The music this thing plays is Game Boy-accurate, down to the little boot-up ping. It just makes my skin itch for a new Game Boy (one that isn't already made by several other companies).

But come on. Make a real Game Boy collectible with preloaded games. One that plays Pokemon Classic games and Tetris and more. You know you want to, Nintendo. It's only a matter of time. 

In the meantime, if you're desperate for all 45 Pokemon Red and Blue songs on a little Game Boy music player, now's your chance.

Your home could get smarter with Apple's Siri, but it will have to wait a few more months. Bloomberg reported the iPad-shaped AI home hub won't be ready until September, several months after the company was hoping to launch it this spring. Apple engineers first need to complete work on a new and improved Siri assistant for the home device, code-named J490, according to Bloomberg.

Apple was hoping to release J490 this month, along with a slew of other new devices, including the iPhone 17e, MacBook Neo, MacBook Air M5, new Pro models, and iPad Air M4. Apple first teased the smart home display in November 2024.

A representative for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Siri is Apple's virtual assistant that uses voice recognition and AI to fulfill a variety of tasks and commands, along with intriguing uses. You might use Siri to find your iPhone -- "Hey Siri, where are you?" -- or to hear the weather forecast -- "Siri, what will the weather be today?" Siri is available on iPhones, MacBooks and iPads. It was launched in 2011 as a feature of the iPhone 4S.

As CNET reported last month, Apple engineers have struggled to push the upgraded Siri assistant out the door. It isn't fast enough, gets confused by complex commands and doesn't interact well with other Apple AI models. The company is also wrestling with how much personal data to access to inform the AI, and the new Siri is not yet able to complete in-app tasks, such as finding a photo and posting it to socials, all with one command.

It has been nearly two years since Apple announced that it would give Siri a major upgrade. In the meantime, competitors like Alexa Plus and Gemini for Home have entered the marketplace.

Tech tester Jon Rettinger, whose YouTube channel has 1.66 million subscribers, says the repeated delays in upgrading Siri can "erode" confidence in Apple's ability to keep up in the AI race.

"Apple as a whole is still one of the strongest companies on the planet. But their AI play is clearly the weakest link in an otherwise very strong chain," Rettinger told CNET.

Rettinger said he has had issues getting Siri to complete basic commands, such as setting two alarms at the same time, and that it's a bit of "a mess" right now.

"Having said that, the iPhone has such massive market penetration that I'm not sure it will actually matter in the end. Which is kind of wild when you think about it," Rettinger said.

Facial recognition for residents

The hardware for the forthcoming smart home display has already been finished. It resembles an iPad and can be either attached to a wall or rest on a half-domed-shaped base, the Bloomberg report said.

The device will be equipped with facial recognition, so when residents walk up to it, they will be shown personalized data such as music preferences, news headlines, appointments, reminders, tasks and so on.

The screen interface will include a bunch of circular app icons, similar to the display on an Apple Watch. The Bloomberg report said the smart home display will be the first of several home devices by Apple. Future products include a tabletop robotic limb with a 9-inch screen, a smart security camera and a Face ID-enabled smart doorbell.