Snapchat scored an update on iOS today that finally brings the ability to snap while playing muisic and other audio from your phone. This is sure to be a welcome change for many, as avid Snapchatters will no doubt be aware of the frustration that occurs when the app cuts all audio coming from your phone the second you press that record button.

Other than the ability to play music and snap at the same time, there isn’t much in this update other than bug fixes. You can hit up that store link below to snag the update and finally start annoying your friends with snaps of you lipsyncing Mariah Carey songs (just me?).

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Whether we’re talking about existing products like Apple’s infortainment intermediating CarPlay, or rumored products like a full on Apple Car, they’ll be competing for attention and usage with other software companies like Google and Android Auto, and with manufacturers and their own in-car offerings. Apple’s usual strategy is to fight on the experience level — to make a product that solves real problems and engenders real delight. Could that same strategy win inside the car, or inside the car industry? Sam Abuelsamid:

It’s all about the total user experience and overall Apple has executed that better than anyone else in the markets in which they have chosen to compete. They aren’t perfect by any means, but they have an amazing track record.

So we have an industry where user experience is critically important but the incumbent players have done a decidedly haphazard job of executing. On the other hand, we have a company that believes that executing on user experience is an absolute necessity to maximizing profitability.

Now Apple wants to enter this entirely new field of endeavor at the same time that the market is changing in a way that may well make its entire user experience-centered model, utterly irrelevant.

Sam worries, rightly, that cars-as-a-service — and their ride-share apps on our screens — will commoditize the industry to the point where Apple will see little to no value in entering it. What place is there for Apple in world of ubiquitous, potentially autonomous Uber- and Zipcar-like services?

Right now, at least, Apple seems to be gearing up for a future where their customers enjoy the best experience regardless of who owns — or rents — the screen.

Like the G3 before it, there are a couple of ways to capture what’s on the G Flex 2’s curvy screen

Like the majority of Android handsets, taking a screenshot on the LG G Flex 2 is a simple enough affair. It’s just a matter of knowing the right button combinations and menu items. Then — boom — your screen’s image is saved for posterity in the related folder within the Gallery app.

What’s more, there’s also a secondary way to grab a screenshot and annotate it, using the built-in QMemo+ application. Let’s take a look at both after the break.

If you bought a Lenovo computer recently, chances are it may have come with factory-installed adware. The world’s largest PC manufacturer was found to install an adware called Superfish — which injects third-party ads on Google search results and other websites — on new machines.

SHAREit is a file sharing app for Windows Phone that has just been bumped to version 1.4. This latest release introduces some handy features for those who wish to quickly share files between devices, but don’t have an active cellular or Wi-Fi connection. It’s now possible to share files over a hotspot created by a Windows Phone.

Asus announced the next-generation Zenfone 2 — one of the first devices to boast 4GB RAM — at CES earlier this year, and now the device is up for pre-order in Chinese retailer Alibaba’s marketplace AliExpress. There are two variants of the device available for choosing: a version with 2GB RAM that is priced at $299, and the 4GB model, which is on pre-order for $439.

The Oppo R5 — one of the thinnest smartphones available today — will be available in a limited edition golden-trim in India from February 20 for Rs. 29,990 ($482). The standard variant of the device has been on sale in India for some time now, and joins the likes of Gionee’s Elife S5.1 and Vivo X5 Max in the country.

Google has released its Inbox app for iPad. The invite-only email client for tablets is already available for Android, promising to provide a new way for consumers to interact with incoming mail. It’s not for everyone, but should you be on the hunt for a new client on iOS, the new Google Inbox may be worth checking out.

The app listing itself isn’t new (since it’s already out for iPhone), but the company has bumped it to version 1.2, offering an optimized interface for iPad users. It’s an interesting way to use email for sure, having Google sort through email and prioritize messages the service feels are more important to you.

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Via: TechCrunch