Subscription Service Archives - Gizmochina

Philips Hue Sync TV subscription: Is it really worth paying just to sync lights with your TV?

Sean — Thu, 09 Jan 2025 14:00:57 +0000

Philips Hue just announced an expansion to its subscription service. The Philips Hue Sync TV app subscription was initially supported on Samsung smart TVs (Tizen) but it’s now also arriving on LG (WebOS) branded smart TVs. So let’s see whether the subscription is worth it or just an unnecessary way of monetization.

Philips Hue Sync TV subscription

Philips Hue Sync TV Subscription: What does it offer?

Philips Hue’s popular Hue Sync TV app is expanding beyond Samsung TV. To recall, it allows users to synchronize up to 10 Hue lights with the movies or games they have running on their TV. This creates a more immersive ambient lighting effect without needing an external bridge or box. While this was limited to Samsung, LG is also receiving support for this app starting in Spring 2025.

So how do you get it?

Well, this is where the first issue starts. People who own an LG WebOS powered smart TV do get access to this subscription, but the app will basically have you spend around $130. For $100, the pretty lighting is already quite expensive.

If you don’t want to pay outright, you can also opt for the $3 monthly subscription service. This is identical to the service model offered via Samsung TVs. John Smith, Business Leader Philips Hue at Signify stated that they are “making it easier than ever for our users to enjoy immersive entertainment lighting direct from their TV”, however, this doesn’t really make sense to me.

The Nitpick

Philips Hue as a brand is known for smart home products especially smart lighting products like smart LED lights and others. These gadgets by design are meant to offer an additional layer of intuitive control or customizability over traditional lighting. While individual interaction is still there, the advantages of these smart IoTs only shine when paired together. Asking your customers to pay for a feature like this just makes it unnecessary monetization.

So who is it for?

Not everybody has the time, patience, or know-how to set up their own hub for light controls. Most people just want a quick and efficient solution to improve the aesthetic of their homes. In that regard, Philips Hue is most definitely offering a good answer.

The subscription isn’t surprising either considering the amount of subscription services that are in the market right now. This ranges from your new cars, apps, streaming platforms, and whatnot.

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The post Philips Hue Sync TV subscription: Is it really worth paying just to sync lights with your TV? appeared first on Gizmochina.

Twitter verification may cost you $20 every month

Sean — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 10:27:36 +0000

Twitter is apparently planning on launching a new paid plan for verifications. The company is rumored to soon charge a per month fee for verifications among other plans. So let’s have a look.

For those unaware, this news follows soon after Elon Musk finally sealed the deal for acquriing the microblogging website for a hefty sum of 44 billion US Dollars. This was also followed by Musk firing the CEO and CFO of Twitter. Now, sources close to the matter have claimed that the brand will soon turn Twitter Blue, which is its optional 4.99 US Dollars subscription service that offers additional features, into a new paid subscription that is more expensive and even verifies its users.

Image Via Reuters

This new Twitter Blue service will reportedly cost around 19.99 US Dollars per month. Furthermore, users that are verified already will have around 90 days under the current plant to subscribe or face losing their blue tick mark. A couple of days prior, the employees of the social media blogging platform were also told that they must launch the new features by the 7th of November 2022, or they will be fired. This is in like with Elon Musk’s directive to terminate workers that are failing to meet deadlines.

Twitter Blue initially helped offer an ad free experience and even changes the app’s home screen symbol. It was launched around a year ago and it was a new source of revenue for the brand that lived mostly from advertising. On the other hand, Elon Musk wishes to change the revenue stream by having subscriptions make up about 50 percent of the total revenue. He also added that he wants to change the way the company validates accounts and handles bots as well.

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Snapchat+ launched in India at Rs. 49 per month with 6 exclusive features

Sudhanshu — Thu, 11 Aug 2022 07:37:07 +0000

After the launch of Snapchat+ in regions like America and Europe, the company has now launched the subscription service in India.

For just Rs. 49 per month, Snapchat users in India can now get access to the special features as well as the experimental features of Snapchat.

Users who subscribe to Snapchat+ gain access to six more features, such as the ability to change the app icon and track how many people are rewatching their stories. Snapchat+ users can now follow Ghost Trails on Snap Map to follow friends’ approximate directions if they have given their permission to share their whereabouts. Additionally, users can also add someone to their profile as their best friend.

Previously, in late June, Snap introduced the $3.99 Snapchat+ membership service in a number of nations, including the US, the UK, and Canada.

Speaking on the introduction, Lakshya Malu, Interim – Market Development Lead, Snap Inc, in a statement, said

“At Snap, our focus remains on creating relevant experiences for users through product developments, creative tools and community engagements. India is an important market for Snap and investments in localizing the app experience has been key to our growth in the region. We’re very excited about offering exclusive, experimental, and pre-release features to our Indian Snapchatter community who is eager to try our new products and features.”

Snap announces new Snapchat+ subscription service that costs $4 per month

Jeet — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 08:07:05 +0000

Snap has announced that the company is rolling out its subscription plan costing $3.99 per month for the social media platform Snapchat. The service, which is called Snapchat+, gives access to some exclusive and pre-release features.

The development comes at a time when the company’s primary source of revenue have been impacted and the company has given a disappointing sales outlook for the current quarter a couple of months back.

Although the new subscription service is a part of the company’s strategy of a new revenue stream, Jacob Andreou, Snapchat’s senior vice president of products doesn’t expect it to become the primary revenue source for the company.

Currenlty, Snapchat+ includes pre-release, experimental and exclusive features such as pining close friend as a BFF and customizing the app’s icon. The company says that it is intended for the “most passionate members” of Snapchat.

It is now available in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

There are other social media platforms that have introduced subscription services. Last year, Twitter announced the Blue subscription for ad-free access to the platform, costing $2.99 per month. Recently, Telegram introduced a new Telegram Premium service.