Five million subscribers later, Netflix slows down
When we wrote about Netflix’s staggering subscriber count totalling 260 million in January, we thought that was the end of it. Despite cancelling some of our favourite series and subsequently greenlighting even more of Zack Snyder’s work, the platform somehow continues to gain subscribers. It brings the figure up to 287.7 million after Q3 in 2024 – a five million rise from Q2 2024.
Revenue, unsurprisingly, is also up. That’s all apparently thanks to shows such as The Perfect Couple and Nobody Wants This rather than the budget-heavy Kaos that saw the door just two months after it released on the service. Even so, Netflix is slowing down. The platform’s five million subscriber jump pales compared to the 8 million increase recorded by the streamer in the same period last year.
Buoying the platform even higher is the company’s ‘with-ads‘ tier which has yet to land in South Africa. Netflix says the tier saw a 35% jump compared to the previous quarter, almost confirming that it’ll reach South Africa’s shores eventually – possibly ousting the cheapest ‘without ads’ tier available like it did in available countries.
The Galaxy Z Fold 6 Special Edition is here
We hope you’re happy with your Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 because the South Korean outfit has brought out a slimmer, lighter, and better version of its newest foldable. It’s called the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Special Edition (because of course it is), and it’s currently only available in Samsung’s homeland for 2,789,600 SKW or R35,000 by today’s conversion. Or at least, it will be once it goes on sale this Friday.
We can’t picture Samsung leaving potential profits on the table, so don’t be surprised to see this eventually arrive in South Africa with an inflated price tag, likely surpassing that of the original Fold 6’s original R43,000 launch price. For now, however, the only other confirmed market is China.
If it does turn up, it’ll bring a refreshed chassis sporting measurements 1.5mm thinner and 3g lighter than the original. Also included are larger displays on both the inside and out – 8- and 6.5in respectively – with 16GB RAM being the standard to bring out the best of Galaxy AI. Oh, and there’s a 200MP wide-angle sensor included, too.
Instagram brings the tunes directly to you
Have you ever wanted to add that remix of No Surprises to your playlist when scrolling through Reels, but can’t quite figure out where it came from? Instagram is removing the middle-man (you) and giving users the option to add songs they hear through the company’s TikTok-like shorts feature directly to their Spotify profiles.
“We know that music is all around you and sometimes that means right on your social media feed. That’s why beginning today, Spotify is excited to unveil a new integration with Instagram that makes it even easier to capture and instantly add songs to Spotify from Instagram with just one simple tap,” Spotify said to 9to5Mac.
The idea, obviously, stems from TikTok, which already includes this very feature – though with expanded functionality that allows users to not only add songs directly to Spotify, but to Apple Music and Amazon Music as well. If Instagram mimics others, we hope they at least do things properly.
Now when users tap on audio in their Reels or Story feeds, they’ll be taken to the usual landing page that allows them to use the audio and see its credits – but with a new ‘Add’ button in the mix. Users will need to link their Spotify accounts to Instagram, after which saved songs will appear in the “Liked Songs’ tab.
Spider-Man 2 on PC is real, but story DLC is not
After listening to PS5 players cite Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 as one of the greatest games of all time for months, PC players will finally have the chance to check it out for themselves come 2025. Announced at Marvel’s New York Comic Con stage, Spider-Man 2 will be released on 30 January via Steam and the Epic Games Store.
Nixxes Software will handle the PC port (closely monitored by Insomniac and PlayStation), making sure the PC Master Race can make full use of the “suite of enhanced features,” which includes ray-tracing. There’s just one problem. Despite months of rumours, story DLC is officially a no-go according to the folks at Insomniac.
“While we have no additional story content planned for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, we’re delighted to bring all of our previously released post-launch content to the PC version, including New Game+, new suits and colour variants, Photo Mode features, and more.”
DLC content will instead be limited to extra suits and… “additional photo mode items.” That’s, of course, only if PC players pick up the Digital Deluxe Edition, which includes early-unlock suits, and five exclusive suits for Peter Parker and Miles Morales. Picking up the Standard Edition nets you all those features added to the PS5 version since launch, including New Game+ and ’14 new suits’.