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The latest news on all your favorite apps.
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Spotify will recommend podcasts even if you’ve never listened before
As part of its ongoing push into the increasingly lucrative world of podcasting, Spotify is making it easier for free users to get hooked on the audio format. If you've never listened to a podcast through Spotify before, the next time you scroll through the app's home screen, you'll see a new icon titled "Get podcasts for you." Tapping on it will prompt you to pick a couple of topics that interest you, after which Spotify will generate a list of personalized recommendations.
VSCO buys 360 camera company Rylo to create mobile editing tools
VSCO, the popular photo editing app and inspiration for the VSCO girl meme, just acquired Rylo, a video camera and editing company. With the deal, VSCO is doubling down on its commitment to video and plans to "accelerate the delivery of innovative video editing features."
Waze can warn you about unplowed roads during winter
Winter is full of driving challenges, particularly unplowed roads -- they're slogs at best, and downright dangerous at worst. Waze might help you steer clear, though. It just updated its Android and iOS apps with the ability to report unplowed roads in real-time. You'll know if last night's snowfall will lead to some detours on your way to work.
Bose made a 360-degree audio AR experience for the new 'Star Wars'
Audio-based augmented reality has taken something of a backseat to the more visually-driven stuff, but that doesn't mean there's a shortage of cool things happening in the area. Today, Bose is launching a brand new audio AR experience through the official Star Wars app, to coincide with the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Cadillac will help you shop for cars in a live virtual showroom
Cadillac is moving some of the car shopping process online... if not necessarily the parts you'd want the most. The automaker has launched a Cadillac Live service that lets you check out car features and ask questions through a live video connection to a showroom with iPhone-toting specialists. Effectively, you can conduct the usual dealership tour without having to travel halfway across town. Representatives can also share options like accessories, colors and wheels through a digital interface -- just in case that Escalade on display isn't baller enough.
Google's powerful Recorder app now works on older Pixel phones
Over its last few Pixel cycles, Google has made a point of bringing some features of its most recent phone to other devices. This week, for instance, Pixel 4's live audio captioning tool expanded to Pixel 3 and 3a devices. Now, owners of older Pixel handsets can check out one of Pixel 4's niftier aspects: the Recorder app that can capture and transcribe audio simultaneously.
Craigslist only took 11 years to make its own iOS app
Considering the App Store has been around for 11 years and Craigslist for 13 years before that, it's astonishing the bastion of online classified ads hasn't bothered to create an official, first-party iOS app until now. It just hit the App Store and, like Craiglist's website, it's pretty straightforward with a simple design.
Peloton's Fire TV app guides you through living room workouts
Peloton isn't just adding an app for your wrist -- there's now one for your living room as well. The fitness firm is releasing a Fire TV app (the exclusive app for TVs, Amazon said) to guide you through live and on-demand fitness classes, particularly those beyond its signature bike and treadmill. While there are bike and treadmill workouts for those who'd rather use their own gear, the emphasis is on strength training, yoga and other more complementary exercises. You can hit the weights after you've built up your heart rate on the bike, or practice meditation to clear your head after work.
Peloton's Apple Watch app will offer detailed metrics for indoor runs
If you're a Peloton fan, you might be pleased to learn the company has released an Apple Watch app. Though you would have already been able to view exercise data via Watch's native workout tracker, the Watch app should offer more options and detailed metrics.
Pandora makes its redesigned mobile app available to everyone
Pandora started rolling out its redesigned and more personalized mobile experience in October beginning with a select few, and it's now available for all the service's users across various tiers. The redesigned app, which came out shortly after a redesigned desktop application, has simpler navigation and features a "For You" section the shows a curated list of music and podcast recommendations. Meanwhile, the new Pandora Modes feature gives you a way to customize your listening experience, like using the "Crowd Faves" filter to hear songs liked by other listeners or the "Artist Only" filter to hear only songs from a particular artist.
Microsoft's Seeing AI app helps the blind in five more languages
Microsoft's Seeing AI has been helpful for describing objects and text to the blind, but there's been a key problem: it has only been available in English, making it a non-starter if you don't speak the language. That won't be a problem for some people from now on. Microsoft has updated the iOS-only app with support for Dutch, French, German, Japanese and Spanish, letting many more people read signs, interpret someone's facial expressions and otherwise navigate the world using spoken cues in their native tongues.
Amazon Prime arrives on cable-provided TiVo boxes
There's no such thing as regular ol' TV anymore. There's cable and satellite, and a seemingly endless selection of streaming services and content platforms, so clicking around your options can be a bit time consuming and clunky. But TiVo is trying to streamline the process. From today, Amazon Prime members will be able to access Prime Video content directly through their TiVo box. Sitting alongside other video streaming apps already offered by TiVo, the Prime Video app will also include select 4K Ultra HD and HDR content, as well as behind-the-scenes exclusives for top movies and TV shows. Find it through TiVo's OneSearch function.
Putin signs law requiring Russian apps on smartphones, TVs and PCs
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed legislation that bans the sale of smartphones, computers and Smart TVs without Russian apps pre-installed. The law will come into force on July 1st of next year, but before that, the government will create a list of Russian applications that must be pre-installed on various devices, according to Reuters.
Apple highlights some of the best (and most popular) apps of 2019
As expected, Apple's event today wasn't about heralding any new hardware -- it was about shining some light on some of the year's standout apps. (If Android is more your thing, expect Google's own list of first-class apps to drop shortly, too.) Apple's selections this year run the gamut from artsy -- Spectre Camera helps people take long-exposure photos with their iPhones -- to practical fare like Affinity's desktop publishing app for the Mac. With that said, a few of the choices here are particularly interesting.
Transit's Apple Watch app returns after two-year hiatus
More than a few well-known developers pulled their Apple Watch apps in the past couple of years due to technical obstacles or just a lack of interest, but one of those apps has come roaring back. As promised back in September, Transit has re-launched its Apple Watch app after a nearly two-year break -- and with significant improvements, to boot. The popular public transportation tool is now a native app, of course, but it also gives you considerably more detail than just arrival times, including future arrivals and a map indicating where to go. This isn't the only app that can help you take mass transit, but it could be vital if you're racing to catch a can't-miss bus or train.
'Steven Universe: Unleash the Light' arrives on Apple Arcade
There's now a way to continue the Steven Universe role-playing saga -- if you have Apple gear. Cartoon Network has released Steven Universe: Unleash the Light as an Apple Arcade title for Apple TV, iOS devices and Macs. The game has you once again leading Steven and pals, this time as they fight two Prism-toting Gems who threaten to disrupt the peace you fought so hard for the last time. The network isn't skimping on talent -- the story is co-written by SU creator Rebecca Sugar, and touts voice acting from the TV show's cast.
Heart Analyzer's new Apple Watch app puts detailed data on your wrist
Your Apple Watch can provide some health data on your wrist, but not a lot -- and even the Health app on your iPhone will only say so much. There may be an option if you're looking for more comprehensive data on your watch, though. Helix Apps has released a revamped Heart Analyzer app for the Apple Watch that lets you dive deep into your ticker's data without reaching into your pocket. You can get rich graphs for both your recent and daily heart rate info, and track your activity and cardio data for the past week if you need a longer-term view. If you're a fitness maven, you'll also get a slew of detailed workout info from the past week as well.
Google adds another 37 apps to its Play Pass subscription service
Rather than buying hundreds of individual apps for your mobile device, companies are increasingly offering subscriptions where you pay a single monthly fee to access all the apps you want. Play Pass, Google's Android app subscription service, launched in September with a catalog of more than 350 apps. The service faces stiff competition in the form of Apple Arcade though, so Google has now expanded its program to offer a further 37 games and apps.
Bitmoji's custom clothing makes your avatar more true to life
It's now easier to be a rugged individualist... as far as a digital avatar will allow, anyway. Snap is rolling out a Mix and Match option for Bitmoji on Android and iOS that, as the name implies, lets you customize your virtual persona's clothing on a piece-by-piece basis. Venture into the Avatar Designer in the Bitmoji or Snapchat apps and you can choose different tops, bottoms, shoes and other apparel that matches what you actually wear, or at least what you'd like to actually wear. Want to dress like a hypebeast? You can probably get close enough to let everyone know your tastes.
Facebook built a facial recognition app that identified employees
Facebook's stance on facial recognition has changed as of late, but its past enthusiasm for the technology may have been stronger than previously thought. Business Insider has learned (subscription required) that Facebook developed an internal mobile app between 2015 and 2016 that used facial recognition to identify coworkers and their friends. You only had to point the phone at someone to get their name and profile picture -- helpful if you were struggling to remember the name of a colleague you met at a party once.