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🎧 AI in KFC, Lossless Spotify, $795 Chase Card

🎧 AI in KFC, Lossless Spotify, $795 Chase Card

From fast food to fintech, here’s what’s changing (and charging) in your digital life today.

June 20, 2025

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👋 Good Morning. KFC managers now talk to AI through their earbuds. Spotify’s lossless tier just resurfaced like Bigfoot. And Chase is testing how much you’ll pay for lounge snacks and StubHub credits.

Tech’s rewriting the fine print—whether you’re streaming, spending, or staffing a kitchen.

Let’s break down what’s actually worth your scroll today.

(Spot a great story or AI tool? Hit reply—I read every message.)

What’s Merging Today:
• 🍗 Yum China gives restaurants AI control
• 🎵 Spotify’s lossless audio finally leaks in code
• 💳 Chase Sapphire Reserve fee jumps to $795
• 🛠️ New AI tools to analyze, automate, and scale you
• 🤯 Glow-in-the-dark humans and invisible colors

MERGE MINDBLOWERS

🩸 You have gold in your blood
Every human has ~0.2 mg of gold in their bloodstream—just enough for a single cell-wide ring.

💡 Sharks are older than trees
Sharks have existed for over 400 million years. Trees? Only 350 million.

📸 You can “smell” images
A small group of people with synesthesia can literally smell certain colors or photos. It’s a real, brain-wired phenomenon.

☁️ Clouds weigh tons
The average cumulus cloud weighs about 1.1 million pounds—roughly the same as 100 elephants floating above your head.

🎨 Octopuses see with their skin
They don’t just change color for camouflage—they can sense light through their skin thanks to special proteins.

TODAY IN AI

Yum China introduces Q-Smart AI

A KFC outlet in Shanghai. (Photo by Wataru Suzuki)

Yum China just switched on a hands-free AI assistant for managers across 13,000+ KFC and Pizza Hut locations. Via earbuds or smartwatches, Q-Smart can:

Forecast sales and auto-flag low inventory before the dinner rush.
Build schedules that balance labor costs and peak foot-traffic.
Run voice-guided food-safety walks (no more clipboard marathons).

The pilot sits atop Yum’s decade-long digital push that already counts 540 million loyalty members and in-app ordering rates north of 40 %. The company seeded a ¥100 million ($13.9 M) “Frontline Innovation Fund” to expand Q-Smart chain-wide next year.

Why it matters: A single percentage-point drop in waste or idle labor could add $60–80 M to annual EBITDA, analysts estimate. If Q-Smart sticks, expect McD’s and Starbucks to roll out copycats—fast food is becoming voice-controlled fast tech.

TODAY IN TECH

Spotify’s lossless tier pops up (again)

Image Credit: Getty Images

Reverse-engineering legend Chris Messina found new “Lossless” strings in Wednesday’s desktop build plus a dormant toggle inside the mobile app. Help cards promise:

Up to 24-bit / 44.1 kHz playback (“best sound quality on Spotify”).
Notices when tracks aren’t available in lossless or when bandwidth dips.
A prompt to upgrade to a rumored “Music Pro” plan later this year.

Spotify first teased HiFi back in 2021, but licensing delays stalled rollout. New 2025 deals with Universal and Warner could finally clear the runway. Meanwhile Apple, Amazon, and Tidal already offer CD-quality or better at no extra cost—putting pressure on Spotify to stop dithering.

Why it matters: With 600 M users, even a $5/month Lossless upsell to just 5 % of subs could add $1.8 B in annual revenue—and give audiophiles a reason to stay put instead of defecting to Apple Music.

TODAY IN BUSINESS

Chase Sapphire Reserve fee rockets

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Starting June 23, new applicants—and renewing cardholders after October 26—will pay $795 annually, up from the current $550. That’s a $245 jump, making it one of the most expensive mainstream rewards cards in the U.S.

To help offset the sting, Chase is introducing over $1,000 in new perks, including a $300 StubHub credit, a bundled Apple One subscription worth $250 (Music, TV+, Arcade), and monthly DoorDash credits totaling $192 per year. There’s also a luxury hotel booking platform offering 10x points, and a $120 Peloton digital credit.

But there’s a catch: many perks are doled out in small increments, have redemption hoops, or require spend on Chase’s portals. And the authorized-user fee is jumping too—from $75 to $195.

Why it matters: Chase is betting that premium consumers—especially travel-happy Millennials and Gen Z—will stomach the increase for convenience, status, and stacked perks. But for most users, the math only works if you’re maximizing everything. If you aren’t regularly flying, streaming, ordering delivery, and buying concert tickets, you’re probably overpaying to feel premium.

MERGE TOOLS

AI tools worth your time

📚 Course.im
Build and embed engaging online courses on any site with AI tools and Notion-style simplicity.

📣 Freepik
Create polished visuals fast with AI design tools and top-tier stock assets.

✈️ SpeakSpots
Instantly plan your entire trip with an AI travel assistant that maps it all out.

🔍 Findr
Connect your knowledge across apps, docs, meetings, links, and more—all in one AI-powered workspace.

📈 LiftKit
Execute proven GPT‑4o marketing strategies to drive revenue and boost conversions.

🛠️ Want More? Check out our Top 50 AI Tools.

PRESENTED BY 1440 MEDIA

Fact-based news without bias awaits. Make 1440 your choice today.

Overwhelmed by biased news? Cut through the clutter and get straight facts with your daily 1440 digest. From politics to sports, join millions who start their day informed.

WHAT ELSE IS MERGING

Beyond the feed

💰 SoftBank’s Masa Son pitches a $1T “AI Super-Hub” in Arizona
The Japanese billionaire wants to build the world’s largest AI manufacturing and R&D hub—with help from U.S. chipmakers and deep-pocketed partners.

📰 BBC threatens to sue Perplexity AI over content scraping
Tensions spike between media and AI startups as the BBC accuses Perplexity of lifting full stories without permission.

📱 Samsung confirms Galaxy M36 5G India launch on June 27
The mid-range phone features “Circle to Search,” bigger battery life, and AI camera tricks—all at an aggressive price point.

🧠 Kioxia debuts 8th-gen BiCS Flash SSDs for AI/edge workloads
The new chips offer higher density and longer life—just in time for AI data centers and portable inference tools.

🛡️ UK Cyber Growth Plan commits £16M to homegrown security tech
The British government aims to fuel domestic cybersecurity startups and cut dependency on foreign software in sensitive sectors.