New Snapchat Spectacles now available with water resistance

We heard last month that Snap, Inc. was working on a new pair of Spectacles, and today the updated pair of camera-equipped sunglasses have been unveiled.

The new Spectacles have a design that's not dissimilar from the original model, but there are quite a few changes that make them a worthy upgrade. They're lighter than the previous version and look a bit more adult, offering more subdued color options and ditching the bright yellow ring around the camera for one that matches the color of the glasses themselves.

Spectacles are now water resistant, too, letting you use them in the rain, in shallow water, or while you're working out. Snap does say not to keep them submerged for more than a few Snaps, though, so you've got to be careful to not get them too wet.

Also of note is that the new Spectacles can take photos as well as video. Just press and hold the capture button to snap a picture, or press it to record a 10-second video. Photo resolution is 1642x1642, while video resolution is 1216x1216.

Other new features of Snap's updated Spectacles, as noted by The Verge, including faster downloading of your photos and videos from the Spectacles to your phone, slimmer designs for the glasses and their charging case, and a second microphone. Battery life is rated to let you capture and transfer up to 70 videos on a single charge.

Snap's new Spectacles are now available for $149.99, $20 more than the previous version. Customers can choose from Onyx, Ruby, and Sapphire color options, and you can even order custom Spectacles for your prescription.

The original Spectacles got off to a big start but couldn't keep up that momentum, and Snap ended up losing near $40 million because it made more units than it could sell. After that, you may think that Snap may not want to try selling another pair of Spectacles, but this new model does have quite a few improvements over its predecessor. It's a bit pricier, too, but perhaps the more subdued design and the ability to capture photos will help get people interested in Snap's camera-equipped sunglasses again.

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New Snapchat Spectacles now available with water resistance originally posted at http://phonedog.com

Snapchat will test unskippable ads in May

Snapchat is considering a new-but-familiar way to profit from its content: According to DigiDay, the company will start testing six-second TV commercial-like ads starting around May 15. By "commercial-like," we mean you can't skip them at all -- as it is, you can easily tap on a Snap ad to dismiss it. The company is reportedly planning to run the ads, aptly called "Commercials," in select shows produced by publishing partners like MTV-owner Viacom, such as Cribs and Girl Code. In other words, they're the kind of shows you'd usually expect to be interrupted by commercials if they're shown on TV.

Source: Digiday

Snapchat will test unskippable ads in May posted first on https://www.engadget.com

Samsung shows record profits despite weak demand for mobile OLED

With its latest earnings report, Samsung notched its fourth straight quarter showing record operating profits of $14.4 billion. As predicted, that's mostly due to the memory chips it makes that go inside its phones as well as many other devices, but the most notable element of the report might be its warning of slow OLED sales.

Samsung makes the OLED screen fronting Apple's iPhone X, and like other iPhone suppliers, its results imply that shipments and demand have been lower than anticipated. Still, Samsung appears to be expecting a follow-up version in the second half of this year when "OLED panels in the smartphone industry are expected to see a rebound in demand." Apple will report its earnings May 1st, although it doesn't usually provide information on sales of specific iPhone models.

As far as its own devices, sales of the Galaxy S9 family were strong along with unexpectedly high numbers for the outgoing Galaxy S8. That's all while Samsung prepares for its next flagship phone later this year, which should be a new Galaxy Note.

In TVs, sales were slightly down, but we're keeping an eye on updates about the stunning 8K and MicroLED Wall displays shown off at CES. According to the report, those are both still in the works for a launch in the second half of this year.

Source: Samsung

Samsung shows record profits despite weak demand for mobile OLED posted first on https://www.engadget.com

Snapchat plans to test unskippable six-second ads

In its quest to turn a profit, Snapchat parent company Snap Inc. is looking for more ways to generate revenue while preventing users from defecting to other platforms. But Snapchat users may have to endure more ads in the process — and soon those ads will be ones that can’t be skipped.

Snapchat will start testing a six-second ad aptly called “Commercials,” Digiday reported Wednesday. The test, scheduled to start in the middle of next month and which the company confirmed, will appear in some shows, but not in personal stories or the Discover news section. People familiar with the test told the publication that the move is an attempt to see how many ads users will tolerate. Commercials is expected to consist of high-quality ads from...

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Snapchat plans to test unskippable six-second ads appeared first on http://www.theverge.com

Parents can now limit YouTube Kids to only show human-approved videos

Earlier this month, a report said that YouTube was planning on releasing a non-algorithmic, whitelisted version of its YouTube Kids app in the near future. Today, Google confirmed this, announcing new parental controls for YouTube Kids. These new controls can restrict YouTube Kids to only display handpicked videos instead of ones algorithmically curated, as reported by TechCrunch.

Now, when parents disable search on a child’s profile, a new option for “approved content only” can be turned on. This means that a parent can turn search off, and also limit recommended videos to those that have been approved by humans.

There’s also additional ways to customize within the “approved content only” section. Parents can pick from collections of...

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Parents can now limit YouTube Kids to only show human-approved videos appeared first on http://www.theverge.com

Constant controversy hasn't stopped Facebook from making money

When it comes to public perception, Facebook hasn't had the best 2018 so far. Over the past few months, the company's been working to clean up its image after dealing with a series of issues, including the idea that the site was becoming toxic and, most recently, the Cambridge Analytica data privacy scandal that led CEO Mark Zuckerberg to testify before US Congress. But business goes on, and today the company released its Q1 2018 earnings report, which shows it made a revenue of $11.97 billion, a 49 percent year-over-year increase. That puts its profits up 63 percent compared to the same period in 2017, while its daily and monthly active user numbers continue to grow at a steady pace.

Developing...

Constant controversy hasn't stopped Facebook from making money posted first on https://www.engadget.com

YouTube adds more rigorous parental controls to its Kids app

Google and YouTube have been struggling with how to let kids watch videos without also exposing them to inappropriate content. Even the YouTube Kids app has suggested not-for-kids conspiracy theory videos. In response, the video platform started looking at handpicking content for its app earlier this month. Now the company is making changes to YouTube Kids to help keep the little ones a little safer, including curated collections, parent-approved content and an improved ability to turn off search in the app.

Via: The Guardian

Source: YouTube

YouTube adds more rigorous parental controls to its Kids app posted first on https://www.engadget.com