Toyota brings Alexa and CarPlay to 2018 Camry and Sienna

Good news: you don't have to buy a brand new Toyota (or score a very lightly used model) just to get modern mobile conveniences. The automaker has announced that you can add Amazon Alexa and Apple CarPlay (sorry, no Android Auto) to the 2018 Camry and Sienna. If you're itching for an upgrade, you can book an appointment for an installation at a dealership. While this isn't going to be much consolation if you're driving another model, this could prove a treat if you've been kicking yourself for buying a Toyota a little too soon.

Via: Autoblog

Source: Toyota

Toyota brings Alexa and CarPlay to 2018 Camry and Sienna posted first on https://www.engadget.com

A closer look at the redesigned Facebook app

Out of all the announcements Facebook made at its F8 2019 developers conference, one of the most important was the redesign of its core smartphone app. The new application, which has been updated with what Facebook is calling the "FB5" version, is now cleaner, faster and puts Groups front and center. And, as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, "The app isn't even blue anymore." That's the first thing you'll notice when you check out the new app, which is rolling out to users starting today. If you use Messenger, the white-covered design of the FB5 Facebook app will feel quite familiar.

A closer look at the redesigned Facebook app posted first on https://www.engadget.com

New York City's MTA will support Apple Pay in early summer

If you're a New Yorker, you won't have to wait long to use Apple Pay for mass transit. As part of a call discussing Apple's latest earnings, Tim Cook revealed that New York City's transit system would support Apple Pay in early summer, narrowing down the generic "later this year" mentioned in March. He didn't say just which services and routes would be covered, but the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's tap-to-pay OMNY system is supposed to launch May 31st with coverage on the 4, 5 and 6 subway lines as well as Staten Island buses.

Source: Apple

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Slack vocab game that gave away money for no real reason is getting shut down

Workplace communication platform Slack says it will be deactivating a public channel dedicated to giving away $1,000 per day to anyone that can guess that day’s selected vocabulary word, citing company policies. The game, called The Word of the Day Is, was started by Gabriel Whaley last week as an experiment. It used a Slack bot to monitor entries, which were any one-word messages entered into the public channel. Winners were then sent the money via Venmo.

Whaley, the founder and CEO of a New York City-based creative agency called MSCHF Internet Studios, told The Verge at the time that he was “just trying to keep the internet a fun place and an escape.” In quick order, the game gained popularity and write-ups from major news...

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All the important stuff from Facebook’s F8 keynote

Facebook hosted the opening keynote for its annual developer's conference today and announced several updates to its main social network as well as Instagram, Whatsapp and Messenger. Privacy seems to be the name of the game this year, as Facebook tries to rehab its damaged reputation and regain the trust of its users. Only time will tell if Facebook made any progress today.

Source: Facebook

All the important stuff from Facebook’s F8 keynote posted first on https://www.engadget.com

Facebook will let users chat across Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp

There were rumors that Facebook was going to make its messaging products interoperable, but now it appears they're about to be a reality. At F8, Messenger's head of consumer product Asha Sharma said that in the future, users will soon be able to send messages across Facebook's three different messaging platforms: Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. "We believe people should be able to talk to anyone anywhere," she said.

This interoperability is just one of many features of the new, upcoming Messenger 5. All messages will also be end-to-end encrypted, which is part of Facebook's recent privacy-focused mantra. It's unclear just yet when this will roll out to users, but it sounds like it'll be some time this year.

Facebook will let users chat across Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp posted first on https://www.engadget.com

Instagram lets you buy what Kim Kardashian wears right from the app

With over 1 billion monthly active users, Instagram sees a major opportunity to disrupt online shopping. And, over the past year or so, the company has been working hard to make shopping a cornerstone feature of its app. Just last month, it started allowing users buy products from a select group of brands without leaving the application, and now it's taking that one step further by opening up these features to celebrities, athletes and influencers. Starting next week, Instagram will make it easy for you to shop looks from your favorite creators: They'll now be able to tag products in their posts, giving you the ability to buy whatever they may be wearing (from apparel to cosmetics) directly from the app.

Instagram lets you buy what Kim Kardashian wears right from the app posted first on https://www.engadget.com

Instagram will start hiding 'Like' counts for users in Canada

As rumored, Instagram is indeed getting ready to roll out a test that hides "Like" counts from people looking at your pictures and videos. The company made the announcement at Facebook's F8 developers conference, where it revealed that it will start doing this with users in Canada next week. With the test, Instagram plans to remove the total number of likes from photos and videos on that show up on the main feed, profiles and permalinked pages.

Instagram will start hiding 'Like' counts for users in Canada posted first on https://www.engadget.com

Facebook’s Dating app wants to connect you with your secret crush

If you've ever wanted to let Facebook know who your romantic crush is -- and no, "poking" doesn't count -- soon you'll have the chance to do just that. Today, at its F8 2019 developers conference, the company announced Secret Crush, a new feature that will let you use Facebook Dating to express interest in someone from your friends on the site. Facebook says that users have told it they believe there's an opportunity to explore romances within their own extended circle of friends on Facebook, and that's how the idea for Secret Crush came to be.

Facebook’s Dating app wants to connect you with your secret crush posted first on https://www.engadget.com

Facebook helps you grow your social circle with ‘Meet New Friends’

Facebook is introducing a feature called "Meet New Friends" at F8 2019, its annual developers conference, as part of a major redesign to its mobile app. The company says that Meet New Friends is designed to help users start friendships with others from their shared communities on Facebook, such as the city you live in, the school you go/went to or the place you work at. Since this may raise privacy concerns, which is the last thing the company needs right now, Facebook is quick to point out that Meet New Friends is an opt-in tool. That means you'll only come across other people who have turned the feature on, and the same goes for you populating on someone else's feed.

Facebook helps you grow your social circle with ‘Meet New Friends’ posted first on https://www.engadget.com

Facebook is redesigning its core app around the two parts people actually like to use

Facebook announced an overhaul of its main mobile app today that puts more emphasis on two of its most critical features: events and groups. The company says it’s placing groups front and center as a cornerstone of how it wants users to think of the main Facebook app, while events is getting a fresh coat of paint as one of the most-used parts of the app that keeps users coming back day in and day out.

“There are tens of millions of active groups on Facebook. When people find the right one, it often becomes the most meaningful part of how they use Facebook. And today, more than 400 million people on Facebook belong to a group that they find meaningful,” the company said in a blog post. “With this in mind, we’re rolling out a fresh new...

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Instagram is launching a camera redesign and dedicated shopping tags for creators

Instagram is announcing a couple of new features today that are designed to make the app more appealing to influencers, creators, and online business owners. It’s part of a broader shift within the company to position its photo-sharing app, which is now used by more than 1 billion people every month, as a kind of Facebook replacement. Younger users have for years been leaving the main app for greener, more hip pastures, and Facebook seems to recognize that Instagram is now at a scale and level of cultural ubiquity that it can begin carrying the torch — at least partially.

The first new feature, announced today at Facebook’s F8 developer conference, is a redesigned camera with what Instagram is calling Create Mode. The new mode will make...

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says the ‘future is private’

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says he’s committed to turning his company around. Onstage at Facebook’s F8 developer conference, the chief executive says that privacy will be the defining pillar of his social network’s sprawling empire going forward.

His opening statements build on the massive shift in Zuckerberg’s vision for the company that he first outlined early last month when he announced Facebook would transition away from the News Feed and public posts and toward a “privacy-focused communications platform” that unified its messaging products around concepts like ephemerality and encryption.

“The future is private,” Zuckerberg told the crowd, noting that Facebook’s most dominant vision over the last decade was to build global...

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YouTube will exclusively stream 13 MLB games this season

YouTube will live stream 13 Major League Baseball games in the second half of this season, the company announced today. The schedule of which games those will be hasn't yet been announced, but the news is another example of pro sports looking to platforms beyond traditional TV and their own dedicated streaming apps to bring in new audiences. YouTube will have exclusive rights to those games in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico. They’ll be viewable from the MLB’s main YouTube page and via an upcoming channel that’s being added to YouTube TV for subscribers of that $50-per-month service.

That said, it’s not as if YouTube is about to give MLB.TV any competition: 13 games are just a drop in the bucket when you factor in the entire 162-game...

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Watch Facebook's F8 keynote at 1PM ET

Facebook's annual F8 developer conference keynote is upon us at 1PM Eastern, and that means a lot of news whether or not you're a coder. This year, the company is not only outlining the future of social networking and technologies like VR -- it's likely addressing privacy questions in response to a string of scandals. Thankfully, there are multiple ways to watch such a definitive event. The company is livestreaming F8 through multiple channels, including its main F8 page and its Facebook page for developers. And if you're an Oculus device owner, you can even watch in VR through Venues. These events are seldom short, but they're worthwhile if you want to know where Facebook is headed for years to come.

Source: Facebook F8, Facebook, Oculus

Watch Facebook's F8 keynote at 1PM ET posted first on https://www.engadget.com

How to watch Facebook’s F8 developer conference

Facebook’s developer conference has become a strange affair. Each year in April, the social network convenes a gathering dedicated to its sprawling platform in San Jose, California, for the thousands of companies, creators, and programmers that depend on it. The conference typically includes announcements for new features coming to Facebook’s suite of apps, along with updates on its more experimental efforts in virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence.

In recent years, the conference has been overshadowed by controversies related to data privacy, security, moderation, and other topics revolving around Facebook’s struggle to police its platform and reckon with its global influence. Last year, Facebook reportedly delayed...

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The UK gets its first checkout-free grocery store

The days of spending your precious lunchbreak standing in line for a sandwich are increasingly numbered, as supermarket chain Sainsbury's has launched the UK's first ever till-free grocery store. The busy store in London's Holborn Circus has been given a mobile-first makeover, so customers can scan and pay for their goods via their smartphone, while staff previously chained to checkout areas are free to spend time helping customers on the shop floor.

Source: Sainsbury's

The UK gets its first checkout-free grocery store posted first on https://www.engadget.com

The Morning After: Samsung's Snapchat-ready TV

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Would you buy a 43-inch TV that works in vertical mode? Why didn't you buy Anki's cute toy robots? When are you going to try that meatless Burger King Whopper? So many questions, and it's only Tuesday.

The Morning After: Samsung's Snapchat-ready TV posted first on https://www.engadget.com

Energizer's giant battery phone reached just 1 percent of its funding goal

Remember the comically enormous phone that Avenir Telecom showed off under the Energizer brand at this year's Mobile World Congress? Its subsequent crowdfunding campaign has crashed and burned, as The Verge points out.

Via: The Verge

Source: Indiegogo

Energizer's giant battery phone reached just 1 percent of its funding goal posted first on https://www.engadget.com

Samsung faces 60 percent drop in profits, still plans foldable phones

A few weeks ago, Samsung warned investors that its Q1 profit would drop about 60 percent from the same period in 2018. Now the detailed report has arrived, confirming that projection with an operating profit of $5.4 billion that reflected a 23 percent drop in revenue from its memory chip business. Samsung also suffered smaller drops in the mobile and consumer electronics divisions.

Still the company claims "the newly launched Galaxy S10 smartphone logged solid sales." Paired along with its midrange A series, it expects market demand to increase slightly in the next quarter even as prices drop.

Once item it didn't mention in the report is the now-delayed Galaxy Fold, however the future of foldable devices is still expected to increase profits in its display division. It still believes foldable devices, along with the Galaxy Note and 5G will help "strengthen" its leadership in premium smartphones. Its earnings call is still ongoing, if there's any notable news we will update this post.

Source: Samsung

Samsung faces 60 percent drop in profits, still plans foldable phones posted first on https://www.engadget.com

T-Mobile and Sprint push merger deadline to July 29th

T-Mobile and Sprint have pushed back the deadline to complete their $26 billion merger, reports Reuters. The companies will now have until July 29th to earn the approval of the US Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission.

Source: Reuters

T-Mobile and Sprint push merger deadline to July 29th posted first on https://www.engadget.com

Motorola's foldable RAZR appears in supposed leak

Images of an unannounced new version of the Motorola RAZR appear to have leaked online. The renders, which first appeared in a post on Weibo and were reuploaded to SlashLeaks, depict a vertically folding screen design. They also show off a wireless charging station and range of accessories, all of which seems to fit in a triangular box.

Via: The Verge

Source: SlashLeaks

Motorola's foldable RAZR appears in supposed leak posted first on https://www.engadget.com

Samsung imagines a wraparound smartphone display

If that whole folding smartphone thing doesn't work out, Samsung has lot of other ideas cooking. It recently received patent approval for a continuous display that covers the front, while folding around the top and part of the rear of the phone, as spotted by Let's Go Digital. That would make for some interesting applications, like letting subjects see how they look before you take a photo or showing live language translations on the rear display.

Via: Let's Go Digital

Source: WIPO

Samsung imagines a wraparound smartphone display posted first on https://www.engadget.com

Chrome exploit uses a fake address bar for phishing attacks

Cyberattackers don't need to find obscure technical flaws to launch phishing attacks -- they might just need a screen capture and some clever web coding. Developer James Fisher has found a relatively simple exploit in Chrome for mobile that takes advantage of how the app displays the address bar. When you scroll down from the top of a page, the approach displays a fake address bar that won't disappear until you visit another site. The attacker can even craft the page to prevent you from seeing the real address bar when you scroll up.

Via: 9to5Google

Source: James Fisher

Chrome exploit uses a fake address bar for phishing attacks posted first on https://www.engadget.com

Action Launcher revamp comes with ad-supported searches

Action Launcher has received a tune-up for the spring, but its biggest change may be how it makes money. Version 40 of the Android launcher has introduced an Action Search feature that looks across apps, contacts, settings and the web, but also displays ads whenever you hunt for something that isn't on-device. If you want Action Search to query Google for web results, you have to both purchase a one-time $7 Plus upgrade and the once-a-year $5 Supporter Pack.

Source: Action Launcher (1), (2)

Action Launcher revamp comes with ad-supported searches posted first on https://www.engadget.com

Apple explains why it’s cracking down on third-party screen time and parental control apps

Following the introduction of Apple’s iOS Screen Time feature, a number of app developers who created screen-tracking and parental control apps have been asked to change their products, or have been booted from the App Store completely, according to a new report in The New York Times.

The Times says that “Apple has removed or restricted at least 11 of the 17 most downloaded screen-time and parental-control apps,” as well as a number of others. The report points out that Apple’s Screen Time app has some drawbacks compared to some of the third-party alternatives, giving users fewer ways to block kids (or themselves) from accessing unwanted apps, less-granular scheduling, and that children were able to work around Apple’s web-filtering...

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Overcast can create clips from any public podcast

It can be a headache to share a favorite podcast moment with your friends. Unless you're willing to dive into the file with a media editor, you'll usually have to share the whole episode and make a note of the time. Overcast, however, might have just made sharing relatively trivial. An update to the iOS-only app makes it possible to create shareable minute-long clips from any public podcast, whether it's audio or video. Choose to share a clip and you'll get a basic timeline editor, complete with different aspect ratios to make video clips social-friendly.

Source: Marco.org, App Store

Overcast can create clips from any public podcast posted first on https://www.engadget.com

Vimeo’s new feature will allow creators to create Smart TV channels

Vimeo announced (via TubeFilter) that it is releasing a new toolkit called Showcases that will allow creators to show off their videos, including customizable portfolio sites and Smart TV channels.

The company describes Showcase as a new way for users to highlight their portfolio online, and brings three tools to the table: a customizable portfolio / video site, the ability to embed video playlists on existing websites that creators might have, and TV apps for Pro users, which will allow creators to build their own Smart TV channels, which can be distributed via Roku and Amazon Fire TVs.

The feature will replace Vimeo’s Album feature (it says that it’ll update the design and keep “all the features that you love while adding new ones.”)...

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Apple poached Intel's 5G leader weeks ahead of Qualcomm truce

Intel's decision to bail on 5G modems may have gone hand-in-hand with Apple's truce with Qualcomm, but it's now clear there were hints of a shift weeks earlier. The Telegraph has learned that Apple poached Intel's 5G phone modem leader, Umashankar Thyagarajan, in February. While the departure itself wasn't a complete secret (Thyagarajan's LinkedIn profile confirms the switch), the news outlet claims to have email showing that the ex-director was the project engineer for the XMM 8160 chip at the heart of Intel's plans. He also "played a key role" creating the Intel modems used in the iPhone XS and XR.

Source: Telegraph, LinkedIn

Apple poached Intel's 5G leader weeks ahead of Qualcomm truce posted first on https://www.engadget.com

Windows preview brings Android notifications to your PC

Microsoft has fulfilled one of the larger promises behind its Your Phone software -- if you're willing to experiment a bit. The developer has released a Windows Insider Preview that displays Android notifications on your PC. If you allow apps to display alerts, you can find out about an important message or status update without reaching for your handset. You can clear notifications one at a time or all at once, and anything you dismiss on your PC will be reflected on your phone.

Via: Android Police

Source: Microsoft

Windows preview brings Android notifications to your PC posted first on https://www.engadget.com

This gaming phone has a built-in cooling fan and can record 8K video

We've already seen the likes of ASUS and Black Shark offering external cooling fans for their gaming smartphones, but the folks over at Nubia reckon it's about time to stuff a fan inside a phone (I mean, what else would you expect from a company that brought back the wearable phone?). Today, the Chinese brand unveiled the Red Magic 3 which not only packs a "liquid cooling" copper heat pipe, but also an internal cooling fan.

This small fan can spin up to 14,000 rpm while apparently staying relatively quiet, and it has an IP55 rating plus its own isolated chamber, so you won't have to worry about liquids and dust getting in. It's apparently good for over 30,000 hours of continuous use, though Nubia didn't specify the speed used for the test. Regardless, combining this fan with the heat pipe, the phone's heat transfer performance is apparently five times better than conventional passive cooling methods, thus ensuring a smooth gaming experience for a longer period.

This gaming phone has a built-in cooling fan and can record 8K video posted first on https://www.engadget.com

AT&T says it's the first US network to reach 2Gbps speeds on 5G

The chest-thumping over 5G continues. AT&T has reported that it achieved the first 2Gbps speeds on a 5G network in the US. It achieved the feat using a Netgear mobile router on the carrier's public-facing network in the Atlanta area. The performance comes less than a month after the provider cracked the gigabit mark in multiple cities.

Source: AT&T

AT&T says it's the first US network to reach 2Gbps speeds on 5G posted first on https://www.engadget.com

Overcast introduces new clip-sharing feature

Overcast is one of the best podcasting apps out there, and it’s introducing a new feature that should make it even more useful to listeners: the ability to share clips of episodes to share online.

The app’s latest update allows users to converts an excerpt of a podcast into a short video, which can then be shared on social media, (or by email or text message). Developer and Overcast founder Marco Arment notes in a blog post that people have long been able to share podcast episodes, but that it’s been a cumbersome process, and that it’s easier to share a short video than it is an audio link.

To share a clip in the app, click on the share icon in the top right-hand corner, and select the “Share Clip” option. That will bring you to the...

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Apple accused of clamping down on apps competing with Screen Time

The introduction of Screen Time in iOS 12 was ostensibly a boon for parents and anyone else wanting to keep a lid on device use, but there are concerns that it's cracking down on apps that compete with that feature. The New York Times and Sensor Tower have learned that Apple has either pulled or requested feature limitations for "at least" 11 of the 17 most popular parental control and screen time apps, and leaders at those developers claim it's trying to discourage apps that rival Screen Time's functionality. The creators of two apps, Kidslox and Qustodio, filed an EU competition complaint on April 25th.

Source: New York Times

Apple accused of clamping down on apps competing with Screen Time posted first on https://www.engadget.com

How to organize your Google Photos collection

Google Photos makes it possible to store a lifetime of memories, often without paying a single dime. But when you have thousands upon thousands of images, actually appreciating all of them isn’t always easy.

Luckily, Photos is filled with tools to help you organize your collection and make it more manageable, and most of them require little to no effort to embrace. Take a mental snapshot of the following possibilities, and get ready to experience your memories in a whole new way.

Assemble albums

The most basic method for organizing Google Photos is the good old-fashioned photo album.

• Select the images and videos you want to include. On the web, hold down Shift and click on each item you want; in the mobile app, hold down your finger on...

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Intel is trying to sell its smartphone-modem business

Intel is looking to sell its smartphone-modem business, now that it's officially out of the race for 5G chipsets, The Wall Street Journal reports. In fact, Apple considered acquiring part of Intel's modem ventures in talks that began last summer, but that deal stopped short just as Apple and Qualcomm reached a settlement in a contentious patent-royalty legal dispute. By the end of that court battle, Apple and Qualcomm had signed a multi-year chipset-supply deal -- which meant Intel was out.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Intel is trying to sell its smartphone-modem business posted first on https://www.engadget.com

MoviePass competitor Sinemia is shutting down just as Avangers: Endgame hits theaters

While MoviePass continues to experiment with ways to prevent going out of business, competing movie theater subscription service Sinemia is calling it quits ahead of what is shaping up to be one of the biggest theatrical events of all time.

Just as Avengers: Endgame has started breaking box office records on its first day, Sinemia says it is ceasing operations in the US due to mounting pressure from competing subscriptions from theater chains and legal action brought against the company for its pricing tactics. The news confirms a report from Bloomberg earlier this week that said Sinemia was considering closing its consumer business to focus more on building membership programs for existing theater chains.

“Today, with a heavy heart,...

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TurboTax intentionally hides its free tax filing service from Google search results

Tax day might have already come and gone, but that doesn’t mean ProPublica is done highlighting the questionable tactics of TurboTax’s parent company, Intuit. According to a new report, Intuit purposefully stopped Google from surfacing its free tax filing service in search results in an effort to steer all consumers — no matter their income — toward the company’s paid services. Intuit added code to the robots.txt file on its website that instructed Google to leave TurboTax Free File out of search results.

The Free File service came about as part of an agreement between the IRS and tax software companies, including Intuit and H&R Block. The last thing these businesses want is for the IRS to create a free, government-run e-filing process,...

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Google bans developer will half a billion app downloads from Play Store

Google is banning a major Android developer DO Global and removing its apps from the Google Play Store after it was discovered the company was committing ad fraud. Nearly half of the developer's more than 100 apps have already been removed from Google's app marketplace and it's expected the rest will disappear in the coming days, according to BuzzFeed. Apps published by DO Global, which is in part owned by massive Chinese tech firm Baidu, have racked up more than 600 million downloads in the Play Store.

Source: BuzzFeed

Google bans developer will half a billion app downloads from Play Store posted first on https://www.engadget.com

AT&T’s fake 5GE icon is available in the Android Open Source Project

AT&T is still in hot water over its 5GE logo, but that's not slowing the company down. This week, the not-really-5G icon showed up in the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). Meaning, whether you like it or not, 5GE could start showing up on Android smartphones using AT&T. According to XDA Developers, the AOSP code suggest that phones will only need to use 4G LTE with Carrier Aggregation to prompt the icon, so as critics have said, there's no guarantee that the logo will be anything more than a visual change.

Source: XDA Developers, Android Open Source Project

AT&T’s fake 5GE icon is available in the Android Open Source Project posted first on https://www.engadget.com

iFixit pulls its Galaxy Fold teardown at Samsung's request

The Galaxy Fold won't make its planned launch date as Samsung looks into problems experienced by several reviewers with test units. In the meantime, the folks at iFixit did what they do best and pulled one apart, but on Thursday explained their choice to "withdraw" the teardown. While iFixit usually gets a device specifically for the purpose of pulling it apart, this one was apparently provided by a third party. Samsung then asked that "trusted partner" to have the teardown removed and iFixit -- while insisting it didn't have to -- acquiesced to keep the peace.

We still don't know exactly what Samsung might tweak before the Galaxy Fold is rescheduled for a proper retail launch, but it's possibly that the company doesn't want to expose problems, or any secrets before the thing is actually on sale. Either way, the teardown is out there now, and preserved in the Internet Archive if someone really wants to what a Fold test unit has inside and, perhaps more importantly, what it might lack in protection that would allow debris inside.

Source: iFixit

iFixit pulls its Galaxy Fold teardown at Samsung's request posted first on https://www.engadget.com

Amazon Prime shipping could shrink to just one-day

One of the perks of Amazon's Prime membership is free two-day shipping on Prime-eligible purchases. That, however, might change. In a call to investors following Amazon's first quarterly earnings report today, CFO Brian Olsavsky said that the company is working on changing the two-day default to just one.

Amazon already offers one-day Prime shipping on select orders, but two-day shipping is still the default. Olsavsky says that could change. "We're currently working on evolving our Prime shipping program, which has historically been a two-day program, to a one-day shipping program," he said. "We'll be building most of this capacity through the year in 2019."

One of the ways Amazon hopes to do to this is by updating its infrastructure, building out fulfillment centers, and spending about $800 million to facilitate this change. Yahoo Finance reported that Amazon has shifted thousands of employees in an effort to increase fulfillment.

The one-day shipping goal won't just be through Amazon's delivery service, but also through partners like UPS, FedEX and the US Postal Service.

It's unclear if this will be a reality come this holiday season, but Olsavsky says that it is making "steady progress" towards this goal.

Amazon Prime shipping could shrink to just one-day posted first on https://www.engadget.com

Apple fixes 'terms and conditions' iOS bug that blocked app downloads

If you're one of the people who has been unable to install new apps or download updates from Apple's iOS App Store, don't worry. A fix is on the way. Apple has issued a server-side fix to address a bug that has prevented people from completing downloads, according to a report from AppleInsider. Users who have experienced the issue have been presented with a prompt regarding new terms and conditions but are not able to clear the notification no matter how many times they attempt to agree to the changes.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: AppleInsider

Apple fixes 'terms and conditions' iOS bug that blocked app downloads posted first on https://www.engadget.com

Snapchat will let you play as your Bitmoji in games

You'll soon be able to play as your Snapchat Bitmoji avatar in a wide variety of video games. Snapchat on Thursday launched a Bitmoji for Games SDK that will let video game developers replace their characters with the app's iconic Bitmoji. Players will be able to scan an on-screen Snapcode to unlock their avatar on any supported games.

Source: Bitmoji for Games

Snapchat will let you play as your Bitmoji in games posted first on https://www.engadget.com

Podcast startup Luminary’s launch week keeps getting worse

Major creators are continuing to remove their shows from Luminary, the $100 million subscription podcast startup, over its business model, and even more are leaving after the company was exposed for using a proxy server that hides listener data from creators.

Joe Rogan’s popular show was pulled from the platform yesterday, and Barstool Sports CEO Erika Nardini said her network’s shows would be pulled, too. The New York Times was already withholding its blockbuster hit The Daily, and Gimlet Media, Anchor, and Parcast — which are all Spotify-owned companies — also didn’t make their shows available at launch.

Now, smaller creators, including Ben Thompson, Owen Williams, and Federico Viticci, are pulling their podcasts, too. Their withdrawal...

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Podcast startup Luminary’s launch week keeps getting worse appeared first on http://www.theverge.com

Samsung's Galaxy S10 5G is available for pre-order at Verizon

Verizon (Engadget's parent company) has opened pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G. You'll need access to 5G connections to get the most out of the device of course, so the provider has also named 20 more cities in which it will turn on its mobile 5G network this year.

Source: Verizon

Samsung's Galaxy S10 5G is available for pre-order at Verizon posted first on https://www.engadget.com

Apple users: Review your iPad Pro 12.9!

According to senior mobile editor Chris Velazco, Apple's iPad Pro 12.9 is a lot of things: specifically, sleeker, faster, and more flexible than previous iterations. However, he also noted in his review that the upgraded device is expensive, that its OS is still limited and that the overall experience remains somewhat disappointing. Ultimately, the iPad Pro 12.9 garnered a good, but not great, score of 84. There's certainly plenty to love about this version of the tablet like its A12X Bionic chipset and precise Pencil input, but it doesn't quite match Apple's vision of replacing a laptop for day-to-day work.

Apple users: Review your iPad Pro 12.9! posted first on https://www.engadget.com

The NSA says it's time to drop its massive phone-surveillance program

The National Security Agency (NSA) has formally recommended that the White House drop the phone surveillance program that collects information about millions of US phone calls and text messages. The Wall Street Journal reports that people familiar with the matter say the logistical and legal burdens of maintaining the program outweigh any intelligence benefits it brings.

Source: Wall Street Journal

The NSA says it's time to drop its massive phone-surveillance program posted first on https://www.engadget.com

The Morning After: Nintendo Switch rumors and mobile 'Mario Kart'

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Nintendo's Switch continues to climb the pantheon of iconic consoles. According to today's earnings report, it's now outsold the Nintendo 64. Meanwhile, Microsoft admits password-expiration policies are useless, and a Galaxy Fold teardown reveals what most of you already know -- the darn thing's pretty fragile.

The Morning After: Nintendo Switch rumors and mobile 'Mario Kart' posted first on https://www.engadget.com

'Mario Kart Tour' beta will arrive on phones next month

It's almost here! Today, Nintendo announced a "Closed Beta Test" for Mario Kart Tour, a long-delayed mobile spin-off that we currently know diddly-squat about. (Seriously, Nintendo hasn't released a single screenshot.) The sneak-preview will be available to Android users in the US and Japan between May 22nd and June 4th. (The final game, of course, will also be available on iOS devices.) If you're intrigued by the title, you can sign up using the QR code on the official Mario Kart Tour website. The long-delayed app is scheduled to come out in "summer 2019," the same time as Doctor Mario, a new game co-developed with messaging titan Line.

Via: Bloomberg

Source: mariokarttour.com

'Mario Kart Tour' beta will arrive on phones next month posted first on https://www.engadget.com