We've compiled a top 10 list of our favorite iOS apps to hit the App Store in November 2018. The apps highlighted in this video include Mendo, Photomyne, Flip Skater, Breath of Fire, Visionist, Flora, Calculator 2: The Game, FourEyes, AirForShare, and Super Fowlst. Which app is your favorite?
After launching the Vivo Nex with a pop-up selfie camera earlier this year, a new leak has shown that Vivo's got another unique design planned for it next Nex phone.
Leaked photos claim to show the Vivo Nex 2 with front and rear displays. On the front is an edge-to-edge display with rounded corners, and around back there's a triple camera setup with a smaller display below it. Just like the Nubia X, this secondary display is likely there to help you take selfies.
There aren't really any spec details available for the Vivo Nex 2 quite yet, but the device is said to have an RGB LED ring placed around its triple rear camera setup. This ring could be used for incoming notifications.
As manufacturers work to reduce bezels and have edge-to-edge displays on their phones, we're seeing them come up with interesting ways to avoid having a notch or cutout for the front camera. Some have used pop-up camera mechanisms, like the original Nex, and now we're seeing devices that just put the front camera on the back of the phone and give you an entire second screen for your selfies and video calls. We're not sure if this is a design that'll really catch on, but having two screens on a phone sure does look pretty cool.
The Vivo Nex 2 is rumored to be launching in December. Would you use a phone with front and back displays like this Vivo Nex 2?
We've compiled a top 10 list of our favorite Android apps to hit the Play Store in November 2018. The apps highlighted in this video include Old School Runescape, Three.do, Opera Touch, Asolo, Trivia Crack 2, Hyperion Launcher, InboxIt, Assistant Shortcuts, Air Combat Pilot, and Parsec. Which app is your favorite?
While Apple's AirDrop feature makes it simple for people to share photos, videos and documents with each other, it unfortunately also makes it really easy for people to anonymously send unsolicited images to others nearby. The technology has opened up unsuspecting iPhone users to a practice now dubbed cyber-flashing, wherein someone with an Apple device can AirDrop an unsolicited nude photo to any other nearby Apple user with their AirDrop setting open to everyone. But lawmakers in New York City are now looking to criminalize cyber-flashing, making it punishable by a $1,000 fine or jail time.
Via: Gizmodo
Source: New York City Council
The days of Google Hangouts for consumers may be coming to an end in 2020, according to a report from 9to5Google today. Hangouts has been suffering from an identity crisis since Google launched it as a replacement for Gchat in 2013, and it’s actually been losing features in recent years as the company stopped updating the app and took away SMS messaging. That change was part of Google’s new focus for Hangouts, which will stay safe for now as a workplace communication tool in the form of G Suite’s Hangouts Chat, as well as video conferencing platform Hangouts Meet.
Google hinted at “giving up on having its own consumer messaging app” back in April, when it announced a new RCS Chat feature within Android Messages. Chat hasn’t officially...
After pivoting into a more business-focused app in 2017, it appears that the consumer version of Google Hangouts will soon be killed off.
Google is planning to shut down Hangouts for consumers in 2020, according to a new report from 9to5Google. The exact timing of the shutdown isn't known, but it does sound like 2019 will be the last full year that you'll be able to use the consumer version of Google Hangouts.
Hangouts originally launched as Google's latest messaging service in mid-2013, allowing users to chat on Android, iOS, and the web. The app offered features like group chats, video chats, and synced notifications, and it became a popular option for folks that wanted a cross-platform messaging service. The app never seemed to gain significant traction with consumers, though, and recently Google rebooted Hangouts into a business-focused service and has been pushing Android Messages for consumers, including rolling out a web version.
Considering the move to a business-centric version of Hangouts and Google's focus on Android Messages for consumers, the news that Hangouts for consumers will be shut down isn't too surprising. Still, there are bound to be some folks out there disappointed by this news. At least Hangouts users have all of 2019 to find an alternative messaging service.
The first time many of us heard about China's use of facial recognition on jaywalkers was just this week when a prominent Chinese businesswoman was publicly "named and shamed" for improper street crossing. Turns out, she wasn't even there: China's terrifyingly over-the-top use of tech for citizen surveillance made a mistake. The AI system identified Dong Mingzhu's face from a bus advertisement for her company's products.
Google's Pixel 3 takes portrait photos that are more accurate than its predecessor could take when new, which is no mean feat when you realize that the upgrade comes solely through software. But just what is Google doing, exactly? The company is happy to explain. It just posted a look into the Pixel 3's (or really, the Google Camera app's) Portrait Mode that illustrates how its AI changes produce portraits with fewer visual glitches.
Source: Google AI Blog
Instagram's got another new feature rolling out.
Instagram now lets you share Stories only with a selection of your close friends. To enable this feature, go to your profile and tap on "Close Friends" in the side menu. Then when you share Stories, you'll have the option to share with only the people on your Close Friends list.
Only you can see your Close Friends list, and no one can request to be added to your list. If someone has added you to their Close Friends list, you'll see a green badge when you're viewing their stories and a green ring around their profile in the Stories tray.
This new Close Friends feature is rolling out globally today on both Android and iPhone. A lot of Instagram users like to create "Finstagrams", or fake Instagram profiles, so that they can share Stories with a select group of people. Now Instagram is making that an official feature of the app so that you don't have to create a whole new profile just to share Stories with a select group of people.
Some of the most popular mobile games have player bases far exceeding those of big-name, AAA console titles. And where simple but addictive puzzlers like Candy Crush Saga used to be the pinnacle, we now have much more elaborate and engaging games like PUBG Mobile and Arena of Valor. Already this year, we've seen a resurgence of devices aimed specifically at the 'mobile-gamers' demographic. In Europe, there's now one more: The Black Shark, which recently went on sale, starting at the introductory price of €469/£409 (roughly $525).
We've seen Android Pie slowly spreading to non-Google Pixel phones over the last couple of months, and this week another device is getting is helping of Pie.
The HTC U11 Life is receiving its update to Android 9.0 Pie. This makes the U11 Life the first HTC phone to be updated to Pie, as we haven't heard anything about when the HTC U12+ flagship will be getting its update.
HTC U11 Life - Android 9.0 Pie Update Now Rolling Out OTA@htc @HTCro @HTCelevate @LlabTooFeR pic.twitter.com/9F35fezAE4
— Raul Gabriel (@raulgabriel96) November 29, 2018
The Pie update appears to be rolling out to the international version of the HTC U11 Life with Android One. It's 720.3MB in size and includes the October 2018 Android security patches.
Because it's running Android One and not HTC's custom Sense UI overlay, it's not too surprising that the HTC U11 Life is getting Android Pie before HTC's U12+ flagship. The good news is that HTC has confirmed that the U12+, U11+, and U11 will all be updated to Android Pie as well, we just don't yet know exactly when those updates will begin rolling out.
After adding major new features like friends and trading earlier this year, it looks like Pokémon Go is soon going to add another heavily requested feature.
Pokémon Go will soon gain player vs player (PvP) trainer battles. The news was confirmed this morning on the official Pokémon Go Twitter account, which says, "Get prepared... Trainer Battles are coming soon to Pokémon GO ! #GOBattle".
Get prepared... Trainer Battles are coming soon to Pokémon GO #GOBattle pic.twitter.com/AUWyhNGlT7
— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) November 30, 2018
One of the main features of the core Pokémon games is to battle other players using the Pokémon you've captured and trained while playing. That feature has been missing from Pokémon Go ever since its launch nearly two and a half years ago, though, as players have mainly used their monsters for battling at gyms and raid battles. Now PvP trainer battles are finally coming to Pokémon Go, and while we don't know much about the feature beyond that, there are likely lots Pokémon trainers that are happy to see that PvP battles are finally coming.
Are you playing Pokémon Go?
Amazon Echo is gaining a major new feature next month.
Amazon announced today that its Echo speakers will gain support for Apple Music on December 17. That means that Apple Music subscribers will be able to ask Alexa to play tunes from Apple Music, including playlists and radio stations.
To enable Apple Music playback on their Amazon Echo devices, customers will need to enable the Apple Music skill in the Alexa app and link their Apple Music account.
Amazon Echo already supports music services like Spotify, Pandora, and iHeartRadio, but the addition of Apple Music is big. Not only does Apple Music have a large subscriber base, but up until now, you'd needed an Apple HomePod if you wanted a smart speaker that could play Apple Music. Much like bringing Apple Music to Android, though, it's important for Apple to expand Apple Music's availability if it wants to grow the service and get people interested in trying it, and allowing Apple Music playback on Echo devices helps to make Apple Music better.
TikTok is inescapable right now, and it’s not just teens paying attention — it’s rocked the business world as well. Bytedance, the owner of the wildly popular short-form video app, is now valued at more than $75 billion following a new round of investment. This means Uber has unexpectedly lost its long-held title of the world’s most valuable tech startup to a low-profile challenger from China.
You could be forgiven for not having heard the name Bytedance before the recent news. The founder, 35-year-old Zhang Yiming, rarely gives interviews, and the company’s Western-facing media presence is close to nonexistent. But the company’s global ambitions are real and so are its chances. Bytedance is the first Chinese internet company with a...
Looks like the Moto G7 Play isn't the only upcoming Motorola phone that's been leaked by the FCC this week.
The FCC has spilled details on the Moto G7 Power, another upcoming variant of Motorola's Moto G7 family. Perhaps the most notable tidbit of info revealed by the FCC entry is that the Moto G7 Power will have a massive 5000mAh battery.
Meanwhile, a report from XDA Developers claims that the Moto G7 Power will include a Snapdragon 632 processor, like the Moto G7 Play that leaked earlier this week. Also said to be include in the Moto G7 Power is a 12MP rear camera and 8MP frong-facing sensor, a 6.22-inch HD+ display with a notch, and Android 9 Pie. Motorola is expected to offer versions with 2GB, 3GB, and 4GB of RAM as well as 32GB and 64GB of built-in storage.
Last year's Moto G6 Play offered a 4000mAh battery, but the Moto G7 Play leak that we got our hands on revealed that the new model's battery will be a considerably smaller 2820mAh battery. That's why it's good to see this Moto G7 Power, because its 5000mAh battery will make it an option for folks who value long battery life above all else in a smartphone. Now we just have to wait for Motorola to announce the thing so we know how much it'll cost and when it'll be available.
The fact that the OnePlus 6T lacks a 3.5mm headphone jack has earned the device some criticism, but today it's been confirmed that the flagship does have some audio features to try and make up for its lack of a jack.
Dirac Research today confirmed that two of its audio features are included with the OnePlus 6T to help it "produce a sophisticated, premium listening experience." The OnePlus 6T's speaker is optimized by Dirac Power Sound, which the company says helps to deliver clearer, more natural sound as well as richer details and more powerful bass.
Dirac and OnePlus also worked together on the OnePlus Bullet earphones, using Dirac HD Sound tech to measure and correct the impulse and frequency response of the headphones to help improve sound quality.
Lots of people rely on a 3.5mm headphone jack to listen to music on their smartphone, so when a device is missing that port, it can be a bit of a pain. OnePlus tried to make up for ditching the 3.5mm headphone jack by working with Dirac to improve the sound output of the OnePlus 6T's speaker and headphones. Considering many people rely on their phone for consuming audio and video content, this is good news.
If you have a OnePlus 6T, what do you think of its speaker and headphone performance?
I can still remember a time when a VGA camera in a phone was something to get excited about. Well, maybe not excited, but at least the phone had a camera at all. But back then it wasn't uncommon to still see standalone cameras more often than not. Those were just the better alternative for someone --anyone-- who thought they might want to take a photo or two.
Of course, while the standalone cameras out there are still the best way to take a photo or video, smartphone cameras are ridiculously good for most people. The best camera to have now is the one in your pocket, because smartphone manufacturers have put such a huge focus on that one part of the phone.
Maybe it's because the smartphone really isn't a phone anymore, and the camera has just taken over as the most important detail.
That's certainly the case for me. While I'm not taking as many photos as I normally do right now, the camera in my phone is 100% more important than my ability to make a phone call or answer one. That's one of the reasons why when a company talks about the camera in their phone, I listen. But then I wait for the reviews and eventually try it out for myself before making a final decision.
The one thing that I've come to realize is that quality over quantity is very much a thing, and while some manufacturers out there are starting to go a little crazy with the number of cameras they are offering, I just want them to work and offer up fantastic images more than I want anything else. Sure, it's great that you've got four cameras on the back of your phone, but are they any good? Are they as good as the phones with two, or even one on the back? If not, then what's the point?
I mentioned not too long ago that I switched to the iPhone XR over the XS Max, which obviously sacrifices one of the rear cameras in the switch. I thought it would bother me, and while I am definitely missing some features, the camera in the iPhone XR is still fantastic with its single sensor. And the same can be said for Google, which continues to launch its Pixel smartphones (even the big ones) with a single rear camera.
And then there's LG, which apparently has a patent app out there that details a smartphone with 16 cameras on the back of it. I get the gimmick, but I can't for the life of me think that's going to help LG in any meaningful way make up any ground in the smartphone market. But that's just because I think this is more of a play on fancy marketing and bullet points on a sheet, rather than any meaningful change for someone who might own the device.
It's a bit pessimistic, I know, and there's no way of knowing right now if LG actually plans on launching a smartphone with 16 rear cameras anytime soon. But, unless LG can actually show a worthwhile benefit, and something that's better than what's out there from companies that aren't stacking a ridiculous number of cameras in their phones, it won't even be a blip on the radar.
I want quality over quantity. Just having a higher number of cameras than the competitor doesn't mean anything unless the results show it. Do we need smartphones with more than two cameras, or even one camera for that matter? Maybe not. But that's not going to stop the manufacturers from trying to make it happen anyway.
How do you feel about the number of cameras going into phones these days? Are you a quality over quantity person as well? Or do you prefer having as many cameras, and features tied to them, as possible? Let me know!
T-Mobile is getting back into the mobile banking game. The company is launching T-Mobile Money, a checking account that will offer perks to T-Mobile subscribers. The company hasn't officially announced the launch of T-Mobile Money, but mobile apps are available for iOS and Android, and the website for the service went live today.
Via: 9to5Google
Source: T-Mobile
OnePlus recently teased that it and McLaren are making an announcement on December 11, and today we may have gotten more info on what the two companies have planned.
A special McLaren Edition of the OnePlus 6T is in the works with 10GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, according to a new report from MySmartPrice. There's no word on how much the device might cost, but the top-end OnePlus 6T with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage costs $629, so don't be surprised if this McLaren Edition comes in with a price tag nearing $700.
If today's report is true, the OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition will be OnePlus's first smartphone with 10GB of RAM. We've had no complaints about the OnePlus 6T's speed in the time we've spent with the device, but some folks like to have the most specced-out device possible, which can help with future-proofing. One feature that'd really tempt us to upgrade to the OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition, though, is if it comes in the supercar maker's signature orange color.
Based on what we've heard about it so far, are you interested in this OnePlus 6T McLaren Edition?
YouTube is rolling out its Instagram-style Stories feature to more creators starting today, according to a report from The Verge. The latest expansion of the feature, which YouTube first started testing last year, will allow creators with more than 10,000 subscribers to post the temporary videos.
Source: The Verge
Google Assistant isn't the only Google service getting an upgrade today, as Android Auto is gaining several new features as well.
Android Auto is getting an improved media layout with large album art views to make it easier for you to identify what you're looking at and find what you want to play. You can also use Android Auto's improved voice search to say something like "Ok Google, play 80s music" and you'll get more categorized search results on the screen.
There are some messaging improvements to be found, too. Google says that when you get a new message, Android Auto will show you a short preview of the text when your vehicle is stopped. You can enable this feature in Android Auto's settings menu.
Additionally, Android Auto now supports apps that use MMS and RCS, meaning that messaging apps can now offer additional capabilities in your car.
These new features will be available in the coming days. They sound like solid features to Android Auto, making Google's in-car user interface easier to use and requiring fewer taps, which should help you keep your eyes on the road and drive more safely.
Some recent analyst reports have suggested that the iPhone XR is suffering from weak initial sales, but an Apple exec says that that's not the case.
Apple vice president of marketing Greg Joswiak says that the iPhone XR has outsold the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max every day since its launch on October 26. The iPhone XR has "been our most popular iPhone each and every day since the day it became available," Joswiak told CNET.
Of course, Joswiak didn't say exactly how many iPhone XR units have been sold. And now that Apple will no longer report unit sales for iPhone, it's unlikely that we'll ever find out exactly how well the iPhone XR has sold.
The iPhone XR is Apple's lower cost iPhone for this year, coming in at a starting price of $749 while the iPhone XS starts at $999 and the iPhone XS Max starts at $1099. Despite its lower price, the iPhone XR offers the same A12 Bionic chipset as the XS and XS Max as well as an edge-to-edge notched display, a 12MP wide angle rear camera with Portrait Mode, and six color options: red, yellow, white, coral, black, and blue.
Have you tried the iPhone XR yet? If so, what do you think of it?
Microsoft-owned SwiftKey is getting web search built into its keyboard on Android. The company is hoping that users will find the feature makes looking up information faster within a conversation.
To access the feature, simply open the toolbar on the keyboard through the + symbol and select the Search icon to type in any search terms. Given the Microsoft connection, it makes sense, but is still unfortunate that the search bar is powered by Bing, and there doesn’t seem to be any way to change this to Google search.
Through the feature, you can access search results that appear in a browser tab overlay. You can then tap to screenshot, crop, and share with contacts. When you send a screenshot, it also comes with a small hyperlink to the...
SwiftKey recently gave users the ability to translate conversations without having to leave their apps, and now it's making it easier to search the web. SwiftKey for Android has added a search function, allowing users to search for what they need right from their keyboards. Just open the Toolbar by tapping the "+" on the top left of the keyboard, tap the search icon and type in your search. If you're typing in words, the search function will bring up results from Bing while typing a URL will take you right to that page. You can then share links or screenshots without having to leave your app.
The holidays are coming fast, and Google is gifting us some new Google Assistant features.
A new feature called Pretty Please will help to encourage polite behavior. If you include the words "please" or "thank you" with your command to Google Assistant, you'll get a special response. For example, saying something like "Hey Google, please set a timer for five minutes," the Assistant will respond with, "Thanks for asking so nicely. Alright, five minutes. Starting now."
Google Assistant can now help you keep track of your notes and lists using your voice. Just ask Google to do something like "Create a gift list" or "Show me my last note" and it'll manage your lists and notes for you. Google is also adding support for Google Keep, Any.do and Bring!, and Todoist.
Google Assistant is also learning more stories to tell. Disney's "Mickey's Christmas Carol" Little Golden Book is now available just by saying, "Hey Google, let's read along with Mickey's Christmas Carol". Google is adding more books from Disney in the coming weeks, like "Frozen", "Aladdin", "Mulan", and "The Lion King".
You can also get Google Assistant to help you contact Santa. Just say "Hey Google, call Santa" and you can help Santa Claus figure out the best way to play a song that he's rehearsing for a musical concert.
Rounding out the new Google Assistant features are a handful of updates for smart displays. You can use your smart display to speak with a guest at your door using the Nest Hello and the new two-way talkback feature, and your smart display can also show synchronized lyrics for select songs from Google Play Music. Just say something like, "Hey Google, play 'Jingle Bell Rock' on Google Play Music" and you'll see the words on your screen.
Starting next week, smart display and smart speakers can reply to broadcast messages sent using Google Assistant, and you can also quickly set an alarm on your smart display by swiping up from the home screen and tapping the new timer button. Finally, when smart display users see a photo that they'd like to share, they can quickly do so by saying "Hey Google, share this photo with _____".
Samsung opened its One UI beta to the Galaxy S9 and S9+ earlier this month, and now it's extended to another flagship.
Samsung's One UI beta is now available to the Galaxy Note 9. Specifically, some owners of the unlocked Galaxy Note 9 in the U.S. have begun getting into the One UI beta through the latest Samsung+ app. Users on both Sprint and Verizon have joined the program so far, but they've all had the unlocked Note 9 with the model numebr SM-N960U1.
If you've got an unlocked Galaxy Note 9 in the U.S. and you'd like to try Samsung's Android 9.0 Pie-based One UI, go to APK Mirror to get the latest version of the Samsung+ app and be on the lookout for the beta alert.
One UI brings several improvements to Samsung's custom user interface. These include a system-wide dark mode and a regrouped Settings app that'll show your most used settings toggles first. Samsung is also working to make its UI easier to navigate on big phones, which should be useful on the Note 9 and its 6.4-inch display. Samsung does this by keeping the relevant content that you interact with on the bottom half of the screen, while placing the content you want to view in the upper half.
Samsung has said that it will run a beta test of One UI starting this month. It plans to begin updating the Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9+, and Galaxy Note 9 to One UI in January 2019.
Have you tried Samsung's One UI yet?
The Huawei Mate 20 is one of the best premium smartphones not available in the United States. While it does work with T-Mobile, it doesn't support all of T-Mo's LTE bands and Wi-Fi calling is not available either.
After launching at Walmart last month, the new Aqua version of the Google Home Mini has expanded to Google's own shop.
The Google Home Mini is now available in Aqua from the Google Store. Pricing is set at $49, just like the Chalk, Charcoal, and Coral versions of the Google Home Mini that've been available for a year now.
The Mini is Google's smallest, most affordable smart speaker, giving you access to the Google Assistant in a puck-sized package. You can use the Google Home Mini to answer questions, control smart home devices, play music, check your calendar, get reminders, and more.
It's great to see the Aqua version of the Google Home Mini finally land in the Google Store, because having more options when it comes to buying a new gadget is always a good thing. What do you think of the Aqua color on this Google Home Mini? Where does it rank among all four colors for you?
Three years after its debut, Google's Fi is no longer just a "project." The company announced today that its wireless service has matured enough to not only get a rebrand, but also much wider device support. More importantly, not only will Fi be compatible with more Android phones, it'll work with the iPhone too. It's a big step forward for Google Fi, which until today has been self-limited in reach. The question now is, will this be enough to get people to switch over?
Mobile gaming has come a long way from Candy Crush, with more graphically intense games and esports coming to smartphones in recent years. Chinese manufacturer Nubia is looking to service the gamer-on-the-go with its Red Magic Mars smartphone, a device packed with a powerful Snapdragon 845 processor and up to 10GB of RAM.
Source: Engadget China
When you think of T-Mobile, you probably think of the color magenta, CEO John Legere, and Un-carrier moves. One thing you may not think about is banking, but T-Mobile wants to change that.
T-Mobile Money has launched as a new banking service from T-Mobile. There are no account fees, maintenance fees, or minimum balances with T-Mobile Money, and T-Mo says that customers will have access to 55,000 no-fee ATMs through Allpoint. T-Mobile Money offers a physical debit card associated with Mastercard, but it also supports the Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay digital wallets.
You can find the T-Mobile Money app for Android here, and the iOS app is available here.
With T-Mobile Money, everyone will earn a 1.00 percent annual percentage yield (APY), but T-Mobile customers with a qualifying plan can get a 4.00 percent APY on checking account balances up to $3,000 when they deposit at least $200 per month. T-Mo customers also get a feature called Got Your Back. With it, T-Mobile subscribers on an eligible postpaid plan who make a one-time deposit of $200 can get up to $50 of spending in overdraft with no fees.
Other features of T-Mobile Money include automatic bill pay, direct deposit, and mobile check deposits. If you want to want to deposit cash into your T-Mobile Money account, things get a bit more complicated. T-Mo says you can't deposit cash at a T-Mobile store or an ATM, so you'll need to make a money order out to yourself, ask another bank for a cashier's check made out to yourself, or make a deposit at another bank and then transfer that to your T-Mobile Money account.
Since T-Mobile is actually a wireless carrier and not a bank, the carrier teamed up with BankMobile on its T-Mobile Money service. BankMobile is a division of Customers Bank and is an FDIC member. Your T-Mobile Money account is insured up to $250,000.
It's kind of strange to see T-Mobile get into the banking game, but this actually isn't the first time that T-Mo has done it. The carrier launched a Mobile Money program in 2014 that offered a physical debit card for making payments and withdrawing cash from ATMs. That program was discontinued in 2016, and now T-Mobile is back with another banking service. Between its mobile service, its upcoming television service, and now a banking service, T-Mo is trying to make its way into more and more parts of your life.
What do you think of T-Mobile Money? Are you thinking about giving it a try?
If it wasn't already clear that Nike sees augmented reality as a big deal for footwear, it is now. The company is using AR inside its SNKRS app to offer a peek at its biggest shoe release of the year, the Air Jordan 11 Concord, days before you can buy it on December 8th. The immersive feature is no longer there just to help in "the hunt" or serve as an "unlock trigger," a spokesperson tells Engadget. Rather, it's there to "enhance the shopping experience" in your feed.
Source: App Store
The latest updates to Instagram are aimed at improving the app's accessibility.
Instagram today announced two new features to its app. First up is automatic alternative text, which will let you hear descriptions of photos through a screen reader in the Feed, Explore, and Profile sections of Instagram. This feature uses object recognition tech to generate a description of a photo for screen readers so that you can hear a list of items that a photo contains while you browse Instagram.
Also coming to Instagram is custom alternative text so that you can add your own description of your photos when you upload them. People using screen readers will hear these descriptions.
Improving accessibility is always a good thing, and so it's great to see Instagram adding these alternative text features for visually impaired users. Instagram says that these features are "just first steps toward creating a more accessible Instagram", so expect to see more accessibility-focused features in the future.
DJI has become known for offering some of the best gimbal setups for video creators, and its latest product is quite promising. The new Osmo Pocket, which leaked earlier today, is a 12-megapixel camera that can shoot 4K video at up to 60 frames per second. And, as its name suggests, one of its main traits is that it's small enough to fit in your pocket -- so long as your jeans aren't too skinny. It weighs a mere 119 grams (or about four ounces), has 3-axis mechanical stabilization and a 140-minute battery life (at 4K 30p).
We've seen several smartphone makers embrace the notch as a way to offer a bit more screen on their devices, but soon Huawei will launch a device that uses a different method to get more screen real estate.
New images show what's said to be the Huawei Nova 4, an unannounced device with a hole in the upper left corner of the screen. This hole is home to the front-facing camera, meaning the Nova 4 doesn't have to have a notch at the top of its screen. We can see a bit of a chin at the bottom of the display, too.
While Huawei hasn't made any official announcements about this device, an image from the company appears to tease an upcoming phone with a cutout in its upper left corner.
Some folks really don't care for smartphone notches, so this display cutout could be a good alternative. It appears to be in a spot where it'll live in an Android phone's status bar, taking up less space than most notches and being off to the side of the screen rather than centered.
Huawei isn't the only company that's expected to launch a new phone with a cutout in its display. Samsung, which teased its Infinity-O screen with a cutout earlier this month, is reportedly planning to launch the Galaxy A8s with a front-facing camera cutout in the screen. The Galaxy A8s is expected to arrive sometime in the next couple of months.
T-Mobile is on a streak of launching deals lately, and after rolling out Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers, T-Mo's got another promotion launching later this week.
Beginning Friday, November 30, T-Mobile will offer a free Samsung 50-inch 4K UHD Smart TV with the purchase of a flagship Samsung smartphone. Existing T-Mo customers will need to buy a Samsung phone on an Equipment Installment Plan (EIP) and add one voice line, while new customers must buy a Samsung phone and add two new voice lines.
The Samsung phones that are eligible for this offer include the Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy S9 and S9+, Galaxy S8, and Galaxy S8 Active.
If you're interested in this deal, you'll need to visit a T-Mobile store to take advantage of it. T-Mo also says that supplies are limited and orders are filled on a first-to-submit basis, so you should act fast if you want to add a new Samsung 4K TV to your living room.
Are you going to take advantage of T-Mobile's latest deal?
Instagram announced today that it’s going to roll out new features specifically catered to people with visual impairments. The first will involve “automatic alternative text,” that’ll read descriptions of photos aloud when someone browses their feed, Explore page, or a profile. It relies on object recognition technology to create these descriptions. The company’s also introducing “custom alternative text,” where users can add more descriptive captions for their photos so that people using screen readers — software that describes the elements displayed on a screen — can hear that description.
While this is a first for Instagram, Facebook has been using AI to describe photos to blind users for years. This video gives a pretty good sense...
It's official: Project Fi is now Google Fi, and it's gaining support for many more phones.
Google today confirmed that it's rebranding Project Fi, three and a half years after it first launched the wireless service. Along with the new name, Google Fi now works with "the majority of Android devices" as well as Apple's iPhones, marking the first time that you can officially use an iPhone on Fi. Google does say using an iPhone on Fi is in beta and that there are some extra steps to getting an iPhone working on its service, but users will be walked through the process in the Google Fi app.
While Google Fi does support more Android and iPhone devices, Google does caution that some plan features will depend on the device you're using. The company explains that if you want the full Google Fi experience, including Fi's technology for seamlessly switching between multiple cellular networks, you should get a phone that's "designed for Fi" and sold by Fi, like the Pixel 3 or Moto G6.
Google does offer a website that'll show you which Google Fi features your phone is compatible with. For example, a newer iPhone works with 4G LTE speeds and no roaming fees in more than 170 destinations, and iMessage works out of the box. You may need to tweak some settings to get texts to non-iPhones working, though, and voicemails won't show in the Visual Voicemail app. Additionally, you won't get features like switching between multiple networks, using a Fi VPN to keep your data connection encrypted, and Wi-Fi calling.
Say “hi” to Google Fi. https://t.co/ygtx4v7pgY pic.twitter.com/httTL8llbx
— Google Fi (@Googlefi) November 28, 2018
The basic features of Google Fi remain. Customers start paying $20 per month for unlimited calls and texts, and then data is charged at a rate of $10 per gigabyte. The cost for data tops out at $60 per month with Fi's Bill Protection feature. You can add more people to your plan for $15 each, and the Bill Protection for data cost will slowly grow as you add more people. For example, data pricing will top out at $100 per month for 10GB for two people. Anyone who uses more than 15GB of data in a single month will have their speeds slowed.
Google Fi also offers roaming usage in more than 170 countries and territories around the world. Voice calls cost $0.20 per minute in these destinations, SMS texting is unlimited, and data is priced at $10 per gigabyte. You can see the list of supported destinations here.
If you're an iPhone users looking to change mobile carriers, you have one more option to add to your list. Google is finally expanding its Project Fi wireless service to support Apple's flagship phones, along with a wide variety of Android devices. The opening up of the previously gated program also comes with a name change. The tech giant is dropping "Project" from the title and simplifying things to Google Fi.
Source: Google
