Apps
The latest news on all your favorite apps.
Latest
Wunderlist creator wants to buy the app back from Microsoft
Microsoft's acquisition of the Wunderlist team is creating friction years after the fact. The founder of 6 Wunderkinder, Christian Reber, has offered to buy back the task app to prevent Microsoft from shutting it down. There are people who "still love and use it," Reber explained, and this would avoid their wrath while Microsoft shifts its focus to its To-Do app. Microsoft could keep the team and its priorities -- the developer just wants his pride and joy to remain intact.
Twitch finally releases Apple TV app as public beta
It's been easy to find official Twitch apps for consoles, mobile devices and a handful of media hubs, but Apple TV owners haven't had any such luck -- you've had to turn to third-party apps that don't quite match the experience you find elsewhere. There's a native app at last, though. Twitch has released a public beta version of its Apple TV app through Apple's TestFlight program, letting you tune into your favorite livestreamers from tvOS-based devices. The layout will be familiar if you've used any of Twitch's other recent apps, but that's not a bad thing -- you'll have the same live channel previews, on-screen chat, your followed channels and suggestions for popular games and broadcasters.
DoJ pushes Google and Apple to ID 10,000 users of a gun scope app
The US government has reportedly ordered Apple and Google to hand over the names, phone numbers and IP addresses of at least 10,000 users of a gun scope app. The data request is part of an investigation into weapons export violations, but it has privacy experts understandably concerned. According to Forbes, this is the first known case of US investigators demanding personal data from users of a single app from Apple and Google.
Sony’s headphone app will soon analyze your ears for 360 audio
Back at CES, Sony unveiled 360 Reality Audio, a new standard/format/ecosystem for immersive sound on headphones and speakers. The headphone demo at CES was very technical and quite sensitive as calibrating sound profiles to your ears required a thin wire underneath some studio-grade cans. The company was clear in January that the goal would be for anyone to do the calibration with their phone, by taking a picture of their ears. At IFA, Sony is showing off how that feature will work inside its current Headphones app.
Sphero Mini Activity Kit offers a mini-bot and 15 lessons for $80
For years, Sphero has pushed to bring robotics into the classroom. Now, the company wants to bring robotics and coding lessons to the living room, too. Today, the company unveiled the Sphero Mini Activity Kit: 15 step-by-step activities that can be done at home, as well as app updates aimed at budding coders.
Google Assistant and Maps are coming to GM vehicles in 2021
GM and Google are working to bring a voice assistant, embedded navigation and in-vehicle apps to Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles beginning in 2021. The companies announced the partnership today, and according to GM, it plans to eventually roll the tech out in all vehicle brands.
The band X Ambassadors created a music video for the visually impaired
For people who are blind or visually impaired, listening to a music video is often just like listening to the track. The band X Ambassadors wants to change that. They've teamed up with Microsoft to create an "audio-only music video" that's meant to allow blind, low-vision and sighted fans to enjoy the single "Boom" in a new way.
Form's Swim Goggles display heart rate data in the pool
You might have thought Form already perfected the Swim Goggles, but the company is about to add another welcomed feature: heart rate tracking. Today, Form announced that it's teamed up with the fitness wearable company Polar to introduce the heart rate tech. Beginning in November, a free software update from Form will make the Swim Goggles compatible with Polar's OH1 and OH1+ heart rate sensors.
'Harry Potter: Wizards Unite' will track activity without running the app
Pokémon Go players have had the luxury of syncing their activity tracking with the game, but not Harry Potter: Wizards Unite fans. If you've wanted to unlock Portmanteaus or otherwise complete distance-based goals, you've had to keep the app running and kill your battery in the process. You might not have to put up with that for much longer, thankfully. Niantic has reportedly been emailing users promising that Adventure Sync is "coming soon" to Wizards Unite, letting players tie activity from their phone's fitness tracking to accomplishments in the game.
After Math: More, more, mooooooore
Woke up this morning with the "more, more, mooooooore" refrain from Lady Marmalade stuck in my head despite not having heard that song in close to a decade because sure why the hell not. So, since I can't get the demonsong out of my ear, let's get it into yours while we take a look at some of our more, more, mooooooore expansionary headlines of the week. We're getting itchi gitchi ya ya here.
HTC's unlimited VR service comes to Valve Index headsets
You'd think that Valve's Index headset would have supported Viveport Infinity from the outset given the premium price and backwards compatibility with HTC gear, but not so -- it's only just arriving now. As of August 29th, the Index has access to the unlimited VR service and its library of games, apps and videos. It costs the same $13 per month ($9 if you commit to a year), but there is a perk for splurging on the headset. Anyone with an Index can claim two months of free Infinity access during a promo lasting through all of September, whether or not you're already an Infinity member.
Huawei's Mate 30 may launch without the Play Store and Google apps
Huawei is pushing ahead with the launch of its new Mate 30 smartphones, even though they won't come with Google's official Android operating system, and by extension, popular apps such as Maps, Search and YouTube.
'Pokémon Masters' is out for Android and iOS
You no longer have to wonder how different Pokémon Masters is from the franchise's other games. The mobile title is now available for both Android and iOS devices just over a month after pre-registrations opened to the public. Pokémon Masters brings back familiar faces from the mainline games, old trainers you may have grown fond of like Brock and Misty. The game is set on an island where the Pokémon Masters League is held, pairs up each of your trainer with a Pokémon and pits you against AI in 3v3 matches.
Microsoft brings Dark Mode to Outlook mobile apps and Office.com
Microsoft's Dark Mode support in Office was just really just the start of a much larger (and darker) trend. The software giant has started rolling out Dark Mode to its Outlook mobile apps on Android and iOS, not to mention Office.com. There's not much mystery to how it works -- surprise, it's darker -- but it should go a long way toward reducing eye strain when you're checking email on the bus home or finishing a project late at night. It should extend battery life on devices with OLED displays, too.
Google pulls Android app with 100 million users after it spread malware
CamScanner, a popular app used to scan PDF documents, was reportedly spreading malware. The app has been around since 2010, and it's been downloaded more than 100 million times. As the Russian antivirus firm Kaspersky discovered, the app recently began spreading malware on Android devices. Google has since pulled CamScanner from the Google Play Store.
Duolingo helps history nerds learn Latin
Duolingo is usually focused on teaching languages that are immediately relevant, even if they're only useful at sci-fi conventions. This, however, isn't one of them. The service has introduced a Classical Latin course that, with the help of the Paideia Institute, will help you learn a language that hasn't been commonly used for centuries -- it's not even the Ecclesiastical Latin still used in churches. The learning process works much like it does in other Duolingo courses, although Latin's complexity could pose a serious challenge. It'll be a while before you're translating ancient murals.
Popeyes pushes its mobile app as a way to find the sold-out chicken sandwich
We're still not sure how a chicken sandwich turned into the latest viral craze, but after about two weeks of hype Popeyes has announced that The Sandwich is officially sold out -- everywhere. Since it's 2019, the answer provided to anyone still trying to get a bite of one is simple: install the app. The company's mobile apps for Android and iOS promise push notifications that will let you know when the sandwich is once again available (for good, not just a limited time item), and hopefully beat everyone else to it. Popeyes has been relatively late to the game in adding features like delivery or mobile ordering, despite, or perhaps related to, its reputation for customer service. Whenever the sandwich is on sale again -- it only launched nationwide as of August 12th -- hopefully it's prepared in a way that gives employees a break from crazed fans and maybe makes getting one easier than standing in a long line and hoping. Meanwhile, over at KFC things are looking a little different...
Verizon will automatically opt Android customers into its anti-robocall app
Verizon (Engadget's parent company) rolled out a free version of its spam filter earlier this year in a bid to counteract the tiresome robocalls that so often plague our lives. Now, if you're on Android, you'll get it as standard, so you don't need to do anything to avoid the nuisance.
Microsoft's 'Your Phone' screen mirroring app is down
Microsoft's Your Phone feature has been down for most of the day. When it's working, the new app lets users mirror their Android device's screen on a Windows 10 PC. But the app has been struggling to connect since early this morning. "We've identified a potential issue within infrastructure responsible for processing service traffic," Microsoft's service outage page says. "We're taking corrective action and we'll closely monitor the service to ensure recovery."
Apple re-fixes a bug that let users jailbreak iPhones
Apple fixed a vulnerability that temporarily allowed hackers to jailbreak iPhones. The bug was first fixed in iOS 12.3 but reintroduced in iOS 12.4. Hackers discovered the flaw earlier this month and shared a free public jailbreak just for the fun of it. Today, Apple released iOS 12.4.1, which should take care of the vulnerability once and for all.