Apps
The latest news on all your favorite apps.
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Twitter will let you pin your favorite lists in its app
The lists feature hasn't received a ton of love from Twitter over the years outside of Tweetdeck, but lists can be extremely useful for organizing accounts by interest or to quickly see the latest tweets from your closest friends. Last month, though, Twitter gave lists a bit more prominence by testing them on the Home tab of its app, and now it's testing an option to quickly switch between tweets about your favorite show or some travel inspiration accounts.
Tinder Lite brings the dating app to countries with limited data
Tinder is finally ready to take the wraps off its lightweight dating app. The company has formally unveiled Tinder Lite for Android, a version of the service designed for areas with limited data and lower-cost phones. It still has the familiar swipe-based matching, chats, "super likes" and paid features like seeing everyone who has liked you. For the most part, it's just a leaner app that should perform better in less-than-ideal conditions.
Facebook is working on 'entirely new' apps and 'experiences'
Today, Facebook announced a New Product Experimentation (NPE) Team that will be responsible for developing new apps. The goal is to give people "entirely new experiences for building community" and to do so outside of Facebook's existing platforms. According to Facebook, it's a way to create small, focused apps and gauge users' interest. Some features may be rolled into Facebook's other products, but it's too soon to say for sure.
Google and Amazon bring the YouTube app back to Fire TV
Months after Amazon and Google ended their fight over streaming video, the official YouTube app is once again available on Fire TV devices. As of today, some Fire TV devices (multiple Fire TV Stick variants and the Fire TV Cube) and TV sets (from Element, Insignia, Toshiba and Westinghouse) can natively play videos, keep tabs on subscriptions and otherwise do what... well, most other YouTube-equipped devices can do. This includes playback for 4K HDR video at 60 frames per second, not to mention expanded Alexa integration -- you don't have to mention YouTube by name if you're already inside the app.
Microsoft's Windows 1.0 announcement was about 'Stranger Things'
Microsoft set the internet abuzz last week when it made a cryptic announcement about the "all-new" Windows 1.0 -- and now we know why. As we'd already speculated, it's all about Stranger Things. To celebrate the return of the show -- set in 1985, Microsoft's banner year -- the company is launching the Windows 1.11 app. It features classic Paint and Terminal programs, as well as Stranger Things-themed puzzles and exclusive content. No floppy disk required.
7-Eleven Japan's weak app security led to a $500,000 customer loss
7-Eleven Japan's mobile payment app had such poor security measures, the company had to shut it down just a couple of days after its release. In an announcement explaining the issue, the company admitted that hackers were able to break into 900 users' accounts and to charge 55 million yen ($507,000) in illegal purchases to their debit and credit cards on file within that period, from July 1st when the 7pay app rolled out to July 3rd when the service was shut down.
Capcom's 'Teppen' card game pits Chun-Li against Dante
Capcom clearly couldn't resist the temptation to hop on the card game bandwagon. The gaming giant has teamed up with GungHo to release Teppen (no, not Tekken), a card battler for Android and iOS that revolves around better-known characters from Street Fighter, Devil May Cry, Darkstalkers and other classics. If you've ever wanted to see Chun-Li fight Dante or Morrigan take on Mega Man, you can make it happen.
MoviePass temporarily shuts down service to work on its app
The monthly movie ticket subscription service MoviePass temporarily shut down today. The company claims it did so to complete work on its mobile app. It's unclear how long the outage will last, but in a tweet MoviePass said the service could be down for "several weeks."
Instagram's latest Stories sticker is a direct link to group chats
Instagram is introducing a new feature that will let users start private group messages around specific Stories. The company announced the change on Twitter today. Users will soon be able to add a "join chat" sticker to their Stories. If followers tap the sticker, they'll be added to a private group chat -- though the author will have the ability to approve or deny requests.
Chinese officials reportedly installed a surveillance app on tourists' phones
Chinese border guards are reportedly installing surveillance apps on the phones of some travelers. According to an investigation by the Guardian, The New York Times and Süddeutsche Zeitung, the app extracts emails, texts and contacts, as well as info about the device. Without notifying phone owners, border guards have installed the app when people attempt to cross from the Kyrgyzstan region to the Xinjiang region, an area where the Chinese government has long restricted the freedoms of the Muslim population.
Spotify Stations radio app now works with CarPlay
Stations is Spotify's answer to Pandora, letting you tune in and listen to curated music without having to lift a finger. That convenience made it an immediate hit when it launched last month, but one important feature was missing for iOS users: CarPlay support. Spotify has quietly fixed that issue by (as spotted by a Reddit user),and now lets you control your music directly from your in-dash entertainment system.
Firefox revamp for Android promises privacy without losing features
Mozilla will no longer force you to choose between the privacy-first design of Firefox Focus and its full-featured regular browser... at least, if you're using Android. It's releasing a Firefox Preview for the platform that's "more like" Focus, but still offers the kinds of features you'd expect from a standard version of Firefox. Tracking protection is still on by default, and you'll still have a minimalist address bar, but you'll have everyday features that include Collections, a way to quickly visit a group of sites whether it's your morning routine or your shopping plans.
Google Maps can warn you if your ride goes off-route
Many ride-hailing passengers are understandably anxious about their vehicles going off-route due to the potential for sexual assault. However, Google hopes it can set minds at ease until there really is cause for worry. It just introduced optional off-route alerts that let Google Maps users on Android know if their ride veers more than 0.5km (about 0.3 miles) from the suggested route. Enable the feature and you'll get a "prominent notification" as well as a view of where you are relative to the suggested path. From there, you can share your live trip details if you want others to be aware or take action.
Now Duolingo teaches the world's five most common languages
Duolingo's expanding language repertoire might just help you with a trip to the Middle East. The service now offers a course that teaches Arabic to English speakers -- specifically, a conversational version of the relatively universal Modern Standard Arabic. The program gradually introduces the alphabet, grammar differences and phonetics of the language to ensure that you're comfortable with the relatively difficult-to-learn linguistic structure.
Firewall app promises to keep robocalls from ringing your phone
Ad Hoc Labs, the creators of temporary phone number app Burner, announced a new tool designed stop robocalls from blowing up your phone. Meet call screening app Firewall for iOS. According to its creators, the app is the "first and only" service that filters out unknown callers and likely auto-dialers, allowing only approved calls to even cause your phone to ring.
KitchenAid’s $3,199 SmartOven+ connects to Google Home and Alexa
KitchenAid's water- and sauce-resistant Smart Display got most of the attention at CES 2019, but the company also announced a smart oven, which it promised would come with powered grilling, steaming and baking stone attachments. Now, the SmartOven+ is ready. You can purchase the single configuration for $3,199 or the double for $4,799; a combo set-up will arrive later this year. As for the attachments, the powered grill add-on ships with the oven, but you'll have to order the others separately.
7-Eleven can deliver your Slurpees to parks and beaches
7-Eleven has a way for its 7Now deliveries to stand out from the herd: let you order in all kinds of public spaces. An update to its 7Now app for iOS lets you ask for delivery to "pins," or commonly accessible locations like parks, beaches, concert venues and other spaces where an address isn't an option. This doesn't mean you can order from absolutely anywhere, but it's far more convenient if you're feeling like some Slurpees on a hot summer's day.
'Harry Potter: Wizards Unite' rolls out to 25 more countries
If you were disappointed at being left out of the initial Harry Potter: Wizards Unite launch, don't worry -- there's a good chance you can play now. Niantic's augmented reality sorcery is now available on Android and iOS in 25 more countries. This includes Canada and Mexico in the Americas as well as several European and Scandinavian countries, including France, Ireland, Germany, Norway and Sweden. You can also expect to play in a handful of other places around the world, such as India, Indonesia and the Philippines.
YouTube tests moving comments to a separate window on mobile
Internet comment sections are notoriously awful, and comments on YouTube can be especially dark. Earlier this year, the platform turned off comments on videos of children after a disturbing amount of pedophilic comments were discovered, and there's plenty of hate speech circulating, as well. Now, YouTube is testing a change that could relocate the comments on mobile apps. It would require users to willingly seek them out.
'Harry Potter: Wizards Unite' is available to play a day early
Niantic's Harry Potter: Wizards Unite officially debuts on June 21st, but you won't have to wait until then to play if you live in the right country. The location-based game is already available for would-be Android and iOS spellcasters in the US and UK -- not surprisingly, Niantic is welcoming early adopters in a likely effort to minimize Pokémon Go-style server overloads. Australia and New Zealand have had the game for weeks in a pseudo-beta test, but Niantic is clearly expecting the broader launch to be particularly demanding.