Apps
The latest news on all your favorite apps.
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Parents may be able to spot ear infections with a paper cone and an app
Researchers are working on a smartphone app that could help diagnose ear infections. As NPR reports, the app uses the phone's microphone, its speaker and a small paper cone. In its current form, the app sends short, sound pulses through a funnel and into the ear canal. It then measures the echo of that sound, and an algorithm uses the reading to predict if there's fluid behind the eardrum, one of the common symptoms of infection.
Google's experimental Rivet app helps kids learn to read
Far too many kids struggle to read at an age-appropriate level, but Google is betting that technology could help them get up to speed. The company's experimental Area 120 unit has released Rivet, an app for Android and iOS that aims to make reading practice both accessible and rewarding. It offers more than 2,000 books ranked by difficulty, and uses speech technology to coach kids on their pronunciation. Rivet can read words or whole pages, highlighting words as it goes along, but it can also listen to a child's own reading and offer feedback on the words they didn't get right.
Volvo's new app tells you what to do after a car accident
Being in a car accident is stressful -- even the smallest bump can send your nerves sky high, and in times of extreme tension it's easy to forget the usual protocols. But Volvo is here to make the whole unfortunate experience a little easier to manage. The company has just released a mobile service, Car Accident Advisor, that will guide you through what to do in the event of a crash.
Thanks to AR, the Statue of Liberty is more accessible than ever
Rather than build the Statue of Liberty in such a way that its 200,000-lb copper shell stood upright on its own, Gustave Eiffel — the man behind the eponymous tower — designed it around a massive inner framework. You might have already known this, but it's the kind of detail that doesn't often spring to mind unless you're 1) a French/American history buff or 2) someone who has already been inside the thing. Thankfully, to coincide with the opening of the official Statue of Liberty museum this week, there's a new AR-focused iOS app to give visitors and the far-flung curious an up-close look at France's majestic gift to the US.
Spotify tests a version of Stories for artists
Count Spotify among the ranks of internet giants duping Snapchat's Stories feature. The streaming music service has confirmed an Android Police report that it's testing a Storyline feature where musicians can share Stories-style content, whether it's making-of trivia or a song's influences. This isn't the same as Behind the Lyrics, which pulls data from Genius -- artists and their managers have to work with Spotify directly.
Apple: The App Store isn't a monopoly 'by any metric'
This morning, the Supreme Court decided to allow iPhone owners to proceed with a lawsuit against Apple. The plaintiffs claim that Apple has a monopoly through the App Store. Apple tried to argue that developers are the ones who pay Apple's commission, so they would need to file a lawsuit on the issue. But the Supreme Court has ruled that the case may continue as is. In a statement, released to CNBC this afternoon, Apple says it is confident it will prevail when the facts are presented.
Tinder preps 'Lite' version of its dating app for data-limited areas
Add Tinder to the growing list of tech giants launching lightweight apps to reel in more users. As part of an earnings call, Match Group divulged plans for a Tinder Lite app that would be smaller and better-suited to area where cellular data "comes at a premium." CEO Mandy Ginsberg made no mention of features or a release date (other than "soon"), but did point to Southeast Asia as a high priority when there's an influx of young people into packed cities.
Facebook sues firm for allegedly misusing app data to target ads
Facebook is trying to preempt Cambridge Analytica-style scandals with legal action. The social network has sued the South Korean analytics firm Rankwave for allegedly misusing its app data for ad targeting (thus breaching its contract) as well as failing to comply with a mandatory audit to show that it honored Facebook policies. Rankwave reportedly used data plucked from its "social influence score" app (such as post interactions and location check-ins) for its own business purposes, including consulting for marketers, rather than improving the functionality of the app itself.
Livescribe is giving the smartpen another shot
We haven't heard much from Livescribe in the past couple years, but today, the company announced it's back with a next-gen smartpen, improved apps and an Office plug-in. Like past models, the streamlined Aegir smartpen lets you digitize handwritten notes. But this model is sleeker -- about the size of a traditional ballpoint pen -- and powered by new Livescribe+ apps for mobile and desktop. There's also a Microsoft Office plug-in that lets users to print any document with the Livescribe dot pattern. Notes made with an Aegir pen will be synced to the master document when the smartpen is connected to the computer.
Waze integrates Pandora for seamless road trip tunes
Pandora users can now access their music through Waze, meaning you won't have to flip between the apps as you drive. From the Waze app, iOS and Android users can simply click the music icon in the top right corner and select Pandora. If you're in the Pandora app, you'll also see the next step of your Waze journey.
How to digitally track everything your baby does
There are plenty of ways to be a data-conscious parent today, including gadgets, apps and some decidedly old-school methods.
GOAT lets you preview sneakers in AR before they launch
Today, the secondary sneaker seller GOAT released an augmented reality feature that will let users see pre-release sneakers in AR. This isn't the first time a company has let users view sneakers in AR, but GOAT users will be able to preview the shoes before they launch.
Google Assistant can tell apps to order food or track your run
Google Assistant's Actions are about to become decidedly more useful in daily life. Google has expanded App Actions' reach to offer shortcuts for health, finance, food and ridesharing. You could tell your fitness app to start tracking a run, pay a friend for last night's dinner or order your favorite tacos without having to wade through their respective apps first.
App stores pull dating apps after FTC warning about underage users
You'd think that dating app developers would be sure to keep children from signing up, but that's not always the case. Apple and Google have removed three Wildec dating apps (FastMeet, Meet24 and Meet4U) from their respective stores after the FTC found that the titles were allowing sign-ups from kids under 13, violating COPPA and the FTC Act in the process. The developer was aware it had underage users, the FTC said, and there were "several" people who'd faced criminal charges for contacting kids through these apps.
Alexa takes hands-free voice commands on Windows 10 PCs
Amazon's Alexa app for Windows 10 now behaves more like you'd expect it to -- that is, it behaves more like an Echo speaker. An update to the software has introduced the option to invoke Alexa solely through your voice, whether or not the app is in the foreground. As long as you're within earshot of the microphones, you won't have to sit right at your PC to turn on the lights or check the weather. Push-to-talk is still an option if you don't want to risk accidentally waking your voice assistant.
Moment's big Pro Camera update brings its Android app up to speed
Moment has announced its biggest ever update for Pro Camera, which adds a bunch of cool new features to the app, and brings the Android version up to parity. And to celebrate, if you download the app for the first time you'll get 15 percent off in the Moment Shop, which carries more than 20 photography and travel brands.
Apple Aperture won't run in macOS after Mojave
You'll need a backup plan if you've been hanging on to Aperture years after its retirement. Apple has warned that its pro photo editing tool won't run in versions of macOS released after Mojave (that is, the upcoming 2019 release and beyond). If you want to access your Aperture libraries beyond that, you'll have to migrate them to either Photos or Adobe's Lightroom Classic. This isn't a total shock when Apple hasn't updated the software for five years (and hasn't even offered downloads in four years), but it could prove a headache if you've been deeply attached to Aperture's methods.
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.
Uber adds London's public transportation info to its app
Londoners can now compare their public transport and ridesharing options in the Uber app. Tuesday, the company added real-time Underground, bus, train and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) info to a new "Public Transport" feature, which appears next to the UberX and UberPool options. When users search a destination, the app now generates a list of the fastest public transit routes, real-time schedules and walking directions to and from stations or bus stops.
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.