New Apple Watch Hermès bands announced, complete colletion to be sold separately

Apple has announced that from 19 April anyone will be able to get their hands on new and previously released Hermès straps for the Apple Watch, as they will be sold individually.

Until now the only way to sport an Hermès Apple Watch strap was to buy the whole setup, watch and all.

Plenty of options will be available to buy including a selection of Hermès Single Tour and Double Tour Bands plus an Hermès Cuff.

Adding to the styles introduced initially will be new bands in the same style. All the bands, new and previously released, will be available separately for the first time.

Apple

The Apple Watch Hermès Single Tour Band will cost £270 and be available in both 38mm and 42mm in Fauve Barenia, Noir Box, Blanc Epsom, Bleu Saphir and Feu Epsom. In 38mm only will be the Capucine Swift and in 42mm only will be the Etain Swift and Bleu Pacon Epsom.

The Apple Watch Hermès Double Tour Band will cost £420 and be available at 38mm in Fauve Barenia, Etain Swift, Capucine Swift, Bleu Jean Swift, Bleu Paon Epsom, Bleu Saphir Epsom, Blanc Epsom and Feu Epsom. It will come in 38mm and XL for the Fauve Barenia.

The Apple Watch Hermès Cuff will sell for £670 and come in Fauve Barenia in 42mm only.

All the the Apple Watch Hermès straps will be available to buy from 19 April.

READ: Apple iPhone 7 may censor your music to stop swearing

Apple

Nintendo NX: Release date, specs and everything you need to know

There’s no hiding from the fact that Nintendo has suffered some rocky times over the last couple of years. The Wii U is shaping up to be the company’s biggest console flop to date (excluding the odd and not widely available Virtual Boy) and its more recent financial results have made for uneasy reading, even for die-hard fans.

Not all is lost, however.

Although the Wii U has failed to shift in significant numbers, it has still been home to some incredible games over its three-and-a-half year lifespan. And that gives hope that Nintendo still knows how to cut it in the home. That particular machine might have failed to ignite mass consumer interest, but its licences and games are still as popular as ever.

Which is why Nintendo is not giving up the ghost quite yet. It will have at least one more stab at the home console market in the shape of the illusive Nintendo NX.

The company has to get it right this time or Sony and Microsoft will be left to share the gaming market between them, but if there was ever a firm that oozed optimism from every pore the home of Mario is surely it.

So here is what we currently know about Nintendo’s most important kit launch in years, based on rumour and speculation. We’ll update as new information comes to light, but here’s everything you need to know for now.

What is Nintendo NX?

While under a lot of pressure about falling financial forecasts and the failure of the Wii U in sales terms – and also while we were ironically travelling to Germany to play the excellent Splatoon before its release – the late Satoru Iwata revealed his company was working on a new games console.

Codenamed Nintendo NX (but reported to be “Project NX” originally), the new console was said to be “a brand-new concept”.

“As proof that Nintendo maintains strong enthusiasm for the dedicated game system business, let me confirm that Nintendo is currently developing a dedicated game platform with a brand-new concept under the development codename ‘NX’. It is too early to elaborate on the details of this project, but we hope to share more information with you next year,” Iwata said.

Sadly, he passed away last summer, so would not get to deliver that machine himself.

Other than those comments, nothing more has officially been revealed about the machine. Instead, we’re expected to find out more later this year.

Nintendo NX release date

When it was first announced last year, it was revealed that we would find out more “in 2016”. That lead many to believe that Nintendo would use the E3 videogames show in Los Angeles in June to first show the device, much like it did the Wii U originally.

Since that launch, however, Nintendo ditched its annual E3 press conferences in favour of the cheaper, more effective Nintendo Direct online video streams. It is now thought, therefore, that it will not show or announce anything on the NX at E3 at all. Instead, it will present a special Nintendo Direct at a different time – maybe even in April, if some reports are to be believed. 

In terms of release date, there are two schools of thought. Originally it was thought to be coming in 2017, but more recently suggestions are that the console could be rush released to balance the books, with Nintendo aiming to capitalise on the Christmas market this year.

Nintendo NX price

Without even seeing the console yet it is impossible to know how much the Nintendo NX is likely to cost. However, we can take a punt at an estimate based on the prices of former Nintendo consoles on launch over the years.

The Nintendo Wii U, for example, cost $300 when first released in the US. The Wii cost $250, the GameCube $200, as did the N64, SNES and NES.

Nintendo has always aimed to be more family friendly than rivals with its games machines, so traditionally prices them lower to attract a wider userbase. But that usually comes with caveats.

The tech specs of the Wii U, for example, are less attractive than those of the Xbox One and PS4, which came just one year later. That kept the cost down but seemingly at the price of adoption.

Instead, we feel that Nintendo will ensure its next, make-or-break console will be highly spec’ed and will come with a price tag to match. Expect it to be at least $400. That would also make sense in the natural increases for each Nintendo console generation anyway.

Nintendo NX design

The biggest rumour about the Nintendo NX that has been circulating for almost a year is that the console comprises two parts. The original rumour stated that it will be a home and handheld games console.

The idea is that you can play a game at home on the big screen and then carry on with your progress when out and about too.

However, more recent noise coming out from Reddit and other sources claim that it is a home games console only, albeit that it will come with a couple of “gimmicks” – it is a Nintendo console after all.

What it will look like is currently unknown, although some concept artists have been having fun with different ideas.

Mesut G Designs

Most of them show an oblong machine with slightly curved edges, much like the bit of the Wii U you barely see. Somehow we doubt that, but until there’s reports to the contrary, those are seemingly sticking.

Another concept design that did the rounds recently was that of a prospective controller. It was actually published by many sites, including Dual Pixels, as being a leaked shot, but turned out to be fake.

Dual Pixels

Like many concepts though, there is some basis for its look and design. Nintendo was found to have filed patents with the US Patent office for a control device that formed an oval and had a capacitive touchscreen on the front. You can find the pdf of the patent application with images here.

Free Patents Online

New rumours also suggest that there could be more than one controller available, which wouldn’t exactly be a departure for Nintendo considering there often is with a new console launch.

Nintendo NX hardware and specifications

As there are development kits thought to be out there, amongst the studios, some hardware specifications rumours have been doing the rounds.

An official survey, commissioned by Nintendo, suggested that games will run at 900p and in 60 frames per second, while it will also be capable of 4K Ultra HD video streaming.

There is a word of caution however, as surveys can often throw misinformation at the person partaking in order to gauge reaction to possible rather than definitive features. And as the same GfK release stated that the Nintendo NX would have gameplay that flowed “between Nintendo NX console and Nintendo NX handheld device” – something since debunked – there seems to be a lot of smoke and mirrors surrounding this particular source.

The 4K part has been repeated elsewhere though, with some thinking that it goes beyond video streaming and the console might even upscale games footage to 4K. Even in that case, games will still run in 1080p at best, however.

Other rumoured spec (as reported by Nintendo Insider) include an AMD GPU and “between 6GB and 8GB of RAM”. However, these come from Reddit user untypedhero, who claims to be a Nintendo employee or close to the company. Reddit has apparently verified his validity, but there is still come doubt as to his credentials, so take it with a pinch of salt.

Nintendo NX software

An interesting rumour that emerged in the middle of last year is that the Nintendo NX operating system will be based on Android.

This was based on the fact that the company is working with mobile gaming platform company DeNA on its mobile applications, which started recently with Miitomo.

To be honest, we’ve not heard much recently to back up the claim, so it might be a rumour that has faded since.

Nintendo NX games

The strongest two rumours surrounding games for the new console are that the long-awaited, much-delayed Wii U Zelda might never appear for the Wii U after all, and that Unreal Engine 4 will be used for some games – most likely third party ones.

The latter would be amazing as it seems that the Nintendo NX will be at least as powerful, graphically, as the PS4 and Xbox One.

Indeed, independent coders have recreated a couple of games demos in Unreal Engine 4 recently to give an idea what a typical Nintendo title could look like using the graphics engine.

Our particular favourite is a level of the classic Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time recreated using UE4 by YouTuber CryZENx. It is quite simply superb.

Other games so far speculated to be coming for the Nintendo NX include a new Mario title that will be a bit like Mario Sunshine – although we’re not sure if that’s more wishful thinking than fact.

We will update this round-up as and when we hear more rumours, substantiated and otherwise. Hopefully, you’ll return often.

Rhapsody’s Listener Network makes finding new music easier

All of the big music services have pretty much the same catalog, high profile holdouts like Taylor Swift aside. At this point, most of the innovation happening in streaming music is around trying to surface songs from those massive catalogs that users haven’t heard before. Apple Music has its curated editors playlists, Spotify has Discover Weekly, Google Play Music has its Songza-powered radio stations, and now Rhapsody (aka Napster) is ready to unveil its own solution. It’s called the Listener Network, and it leverages all the info the company has about what music its users play to find new songs and albums you might enjoy.

That data is used to find you new music to listen to in a variety of ways, one of the most important of which is called Music Match. This looks at everything you’ve added to your library as well as everything you’ve favorited and compares that listening history with other users. So now, when you click on a user, you’ll see a “match” percentage telling you how much your musical tastes overlap. Someone with a 15 percent match you probably won’t be interested in following, but someone with a 75 percent match seems a lot more likely to surface music you’ll care about. (I confirmed that someone with a 95 percent match probably won’t have a lot new for you to discover; Rhapsody will use its algorithms to surface people who have high match ratings that still have some room for finding new songs.)

Naturally, you won’t have to go hunting for users to follow. For starters, Rhapsody will offer a playlist specifically containing music from people with high Music Match scores, and all of the songs on it will be things you haven’t yet played. When you click on songs in the playlist, you’ll be able to drill down to the user that Rhapsody’s algorithms pulled the song from. From there, you can start following that new user if you want to see more of their musical tendencies in your feeds. You can also get a similar playlist but only based on music trending from people you already follow, if you want to play it safe. When you’re visiting the profile of any user that you have a good music match with, you can also listen to a “matched playlist” of songs based on your similar tastes.

These trending playlists feel like an answer to Spotify’s aforementioned Discover Weekly feature, which surfaces a playlist of new songs you might be interested in every Monday. But while it’s not entirely clear how Spotify pulls together that list for you, Rhapsody wants you to be able to see every listener using the service and how their tastes influence what you’re hearing. And to one-up Spotify, those playlists are updated every single day, so there’s always a fresh stream of songs coming in both from users you directly follow as well as users who you might not know with tastes that intersect.

Rhapsody gave me a preview build of the app for iOS, but unfortunately I haven’t used the service enough for it to surface any meaningful recommendations or playlists. But, it seems like a smart and unique feature that most other music services in the market don’t have. Spotify makes it easy to see exactly what everyone you follow is listening to at a given moment, but trying to get a holistic overview of what’s trending amongst those friends is more of a challenge — and it’s also not that easy to find users who have similar tastes.

The notion of surfacing what’s trending amongst your entire listener network actually feels a lot like a feature the dearly departed Rdio used to offer — it was dead simple to start a station based on what was trending in your network, and Rdio was also very good at suggesting albums based on the listening habits of your friends. As someone who misses Rdio quite a bit, I could definitely see this feature being useful. Of course, for starters, you’ll need to both build up a listening history and find some friends; I have no listening history on Rhapsody right now, and none of my Facebook friends use the service. But for the 3.5 million current Rhapsody subscribers out there, this has the potential to be a solid set of new discovery features. I plan to spend some time with Rhapsody to build up a listening history over the next few weeks and see just how good it can get at helping me on the never-ending quest for new tunes.

Adidas tries to make buying Yeezys fair, but misses the mark

Buying Yeezy Boost sneakers online is tough. It comes down to this: Supply cannot meet demand. The shortage is so acute that if you don’t buy them at launch for retail price — between $200 and $350, depending on the model — you’ll have to pay upwards of $2,000 on eBay or another site to get your hands on a pair. Reselling Yeezys has become a business, and both Adidas and Nike (with its retro Jordans) are turning to tech to make the shopping experience fair and safe for everyone.

Unfortunately, leveling the playing field for customers is easier said than done. Right now, Adidas releases the highly coveted Kanye West-designed shoes on its website and through its “Confirmed” app, which lets iOS and Android users in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City reserve a pair for pickup at a nearby retail store. The problem with these methods is that once Adidas takes to Twitter to announce the sneakers are up for grabs, the company struggles to keep up with the heavy online traffic that follows. Seriously, you probably have a better chance of winning the lottery than getting to the purchase or reservation page.

The Yeezy Boost 350 “Pirate Black.” [Image credit: Arturo Avila/Flickr]

To keep it fair and, most importantly, stop resellers from hoarding all the stock, Adidas limits Yeezy Boost purchases to one per customer. At least that’s what the company’s website claims. But, as Adidas searches for the right formula to contain people looking to make a profit, the sportswear juggernaut appears to be hurting honest buyers in the process. Judging from personal experience, Adidas is going beyond the one-per-customer restriction on the site. Its checkout system is blocking the use of duplicate credit cards as well as email, billing, shipping and, interestingly enough, IP addresses on any Yeezy order.

Sure, you can argue that’s a reasonable way to give everyone a fair chance to buy the shoes. However, that becomes a problem if you have other people living under the same roof. For example, during the latest Yeezy Boost 350 “Pirate Black” release, on February 19th, I had been waiting almost two hours for Adidas to flip the switch on the launch. After it did, it took another hour to finally pick my size, enter personal info and, lastly, check out. Still, by no means was that a smooth experience, as the site kept crashing, leading to what seemed like a never-ending loop of page refreshes. Until then, I had never been able to buy a pair of Yeezys from the Adidas site.

At the same time, next to me in my apartment was my wife, who also wanted a pair for herself. Like me, she had waited hours to see that rare sight: Adidas’ checkout page on Yeezy Boost day. But that Friday, she did. As she entered her information, her face radiating, she clicked that glorious “Check Out Now” button, only to be denied. We stared at each other, trying to figure out what we did wrong. The credit card numbers were right and so was the billing address. I called Adidas customer service to try and figure out why her order didn’t go through.

A sold-out message on Adidas’ website.

On the phone, an Adidas representative told me her order was blocked because the same credit card had been used for another Yeezy Boost order — the one I had placed minutes before. To be safe, before attempting again, the rep suggested changing any other information that may be the same. So we entered our debit card number instead and a different shipping address; the billing address had to stay the same, otherwise the bank would block the transaction. That didn’t work either. I called again and another representative — one who claimed to work “closely” with the Adidas Originals team, the group in charge of the Yeezy Boost brand — said the system was likely blocking my IP address since I had already placed an order.

In other words, Yeezy Boost sales aren’t one-per-customer, but rather one-per-IP address. That’s bizarre. While Adidas may have good intentions (read: slow down resellers), it seems as if the company didn’t stop to think about families in single households. But the problem goes beyond the husband and wife who want the same sneaker: What about people who live in dorms, or people with roommates? One solution, in cases like these, could be that one person uses a home WiFi signal and the other a hotspot device, which would relay a different IP address. But most people don’t have that option.

All told, we ended up with roughly $800 in pending charges from Adidas, due to the failed orders, and only one pair of Yeezys.

Jaime Rojas, a retail associate at The Mag Park, an apparel boutique in Burbank, California, doesn’t see a problem with the company’s approach. “Adidas isn’t doing anything wrong in particular,” he says. “They have released the most popular shoes of the past year, so the demand is just so big that it’s bound to happen, and people will [complain] and get mad at something Adidas has no real control of.” Rojas notes he could be considered a reseller, since he’s purchased Yeezys in the past and sold them for a profit. “There’s no right or wrong thing these companies are doing. It’s just hard to try to figure out how to control [resellers], which is kind of impossible,” he added.

@adidasoriginals I got to the checkout page and then the website crashed!!! Adidas you robbed me out of my pair!!! pic.twitter.com/ZgFLLe44KX

— Ezekiel Roman (@Eazy3445) February 19, 2016

Other interested consumers had it worse, though. If you look at the replies to this Adidas tweet, in which it let followers know that the Yeezy Boost 350 had sold out, you’ll find a barrage of angry replies and sad memes — including, yes, the notorious “crying Jordan.” It took less than two hours for Adidas to sell however many Yeezys it made available that day.

When I asked Adidas for comment, the company neither confirmed nor denied that its online system was blocking IP addresses. That said, an Adidas Originals spokesperson did give Engadget the following statement:

“The Yeezy Boost franchise is experiencing unprecedented demand from customers worldwide and Adidas Originals continues efforts to provide an amazing purchase experience. After every limited release, we work to improve our back-end and front-end systems to accommodate the growing demand — a commitment squarely focused around providing a fair and unbiased purchase experience. Adidas Originals continues to develop programs like Adidas Confirmed which is a revolutionary tool meant to automate the sneaker lottery system, but we are aware that not all demand can be supplied. We value feedback from customers — good or bad — on their purchase experience, as it only helps to improve the system moving forward.”

Kanye West wearing Yeezy Boost 750s. [Image credit: Getty Images]

Last year, Brandon Beaty, director of brand communications at Adidas Originals, told me the business strategy around Yeezy Boost was a work in progress. “One thing we could do, is you make more product available and then it doesn’t sell out as quickly,” he said. “That’s not something strategically that you just turn the faucet on right away. We have a plan; we’re going to build that business, in a very smart way over time.” Of course, you can always buy at launch from third-party retailers, such as EastBay, FinishLine and FootLocker, but those websites are riddled with bots. That’s one of the reasons Adidas created the Confirmed app.

. @Adidas is making a million Yeezys this year, opening up new factories…

— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) March 9, 2016

As for Adidas’ own site, one of the customer service reps I spoke with put it simply. “I don’t think our website has the capabilities of handling this [Yeezy Boost releases],” she said. For sneakerheads who want Yeezys in their collection, though, there might be light at the end of the tunnel. Back in March, Kanye West said in a tweet Adidas was “making a million Yeezys this year,” which would help meet part of the insane demand for them.

But then again, he also said The Life of Pablo would never hit Apple Music and we all know how that turned out. Take that as you will.

FBI bought ‘a tool’ to crack the San Bernardino iPhone

Last week, the US Justice Department dropped its encryption case against Apple thanks to a helping hand from a “third party.” With some help, the government said it was able to access the contents of San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook’s iPhone 5C, and this week FBI director James Comey provided a few more details. It turns out the US government bought what Comey refers to as “a tool” from that unnamed third party to do the hacking. Comey didn’t give any indication as to whether or not the method existed already or if it was constructed after the legal battle began.

“Litigation between the government and Apple over the San Bernardino phone has ended, because the government has purchased, from a private party, a way to get into that phone, 5C, running iOS 9,” Comey explained. He went on to say that the tool only works on a “narrow slice of phones,” which we know includes the iPhone 5C. However, CNN reports that the method doesn’t allow access to models like the iPhone 5S and newer handsets.

As you might expect, the FBI remains tight-lipped in regards to the identity of the third party who provided the help, offering only vague statements. “The people we bought this from, I know a fair amount about them, and I have a high degree of confidence that they are very good at protecting it,” Comey said. “Their motivations align with ours.”

The government is also considering whether or not to tell Apple how it access the information, but from the FBI director’s statements, cooperation doesn’t seem likely. “We tell Apple, then they’re going to fix it, then we’re back where we started from,” Comey said. The FBI has, however, starting telling members of Congress how it hacked the phone, briefing high-ranking officials over the last week. We reached out to the FBI for more information on the matter and we’ll update this post when/if we hear back.

Source: CNN Money

Panasonic’s airline seat puts you in a high-tech cocoon

Panasonic has launched the most techie airplane seat we’ve ever seen, complete with its own app, user programmable mood lighting and a 4K TV. It revealed the product, called “Waterfront,” at Hamburg’s Aircraft Interiors Expo (yes, there’s a show for everything), where it was spotted by The Points Guy. Since this is Panasonic’s first foray into high-end airliner seats, it teamed up with B/E Aerospace, Formation Design Group and Denny e-bike designer Teague.

The most you might expect from an airline seat is WiFi and a private screen, but Panasonic’s Waterfront goes way beyond that. To start with, it has an app that pairs with your seat via pulsing lights from the in-flight screen. Once it’s set up, you can use it to tweak seat lighting down to individual zones like the water bottle and front pocket. It also controls the entertainment system, which features a 24-inch 4K TV, the first Ultra HD in-flight system so far. To take full advantage of that, it’ll presumably need some kind of 4K airliner streaming player, which doesn’t exist right now as far as we know.

Zach Honig/The Points Guy

The app lets you program a video and music playlist and remembers your settings for the next flight. It also adjusts your seat, puts up a “do not disturb” sign (complete with a wake-up call time for the crew) and tells you where to claim your bags on arrival. Other high-tech features include wireless phone charging, universal power, an HDMI input to let you watch your own movies, and even a built-in camera (for video chats, presumably). The seat is apparently as comfy as you’d expect, considering the price you’ll have to likely pay to claim it. However, it won’t arrive until 2019, so there’s plenty of time to save up.

Zach Honig/The Points Guy

Source: The Points Guy

Watch the BAFTA Games Awards live right here!

For over a decade the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has held an awards ceremony to highlight the best video games. These mirror its prestigious movie and TV awards, recognising developers, composers and writers that have impacted the industry. You can watch this year’s ceremony live on Twitch from 5:45pm BST (12:45pm ET/9:45am PT), which is being hosted by comedian and video game fan Dara O’Briain.

There are 16 categories, including best game, British game and debut game. There are technical awards too for artistic and audio achievement, as well as story, music and game design. Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture leads the field with 10 nominations, followed by The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Her Story with seven nominations apiece. Rocket League, Life is Strange and Batman: Arkham Knight all have five, while Metal Gear Solid V, Ori and the Blind Forest and Until Dawn enjoy four. A deluge of games fill up the remaining slots, including Splatoon, Fallout 4 and Bloodborne.

Source: BAFTA (Twitch)

Major League Baseball team uses VR for batting practice

Virtual reality made its way into the NFL last year, when the Dallas Cowboys became the first team in the league to use the technology for training. Now, on the Major League Baseball side, a similar path is being followed by the Tampa Bay Rays. The team has started utilizing a simulator from EON Sports VR known as iCube, which lets players step inside a virtual batting cage and practice their swing. Coaches are fans of this method because it takes less physical wear on an individual, plus it allows batters to experience throws that mimic those of pitchers across MLB — like Giants’ own Madison Bumgarner.

“Nothing can replace the at-bat experience,” Brendan Reilly, CEO of EON Sports VR, said in a press release. “But our technology enables players to maximize repetitions and their performance in the batters’ box. This is invaluable technology for teams looking to gain a competitive edge against their opponents.” And it’s only the beginning: Reilly told Engadget recently that the goal is to bring the virtual simulator to as many teams as possible.

SYNEK’s wine system ensures a perfect pour across styles

Nearly two years ago, SYNEK launched a Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund its countertop beer system to keep fresh suds available on tap at home. After raising $650,000, it launched successfully and received a warm reception for that product. Now the company is tackling another vice: wine. As you probably guessed, the Somm by SYNEK is also a countertop system that holds 2.25-liter canisters of vino — that’s about three standard-size 750ml bottles worth. Somm, which we’d guess is short for sommelier, adjusts temperature and aeration to fit the wine being poured in an effort to give your a perfect pour every time.

There’s a companion app that allows you to keep tabs on supply levels and get more info on the wine you have resting inside. The software also allows you to browse Somm’s selection of wine and offers suggestions based on your drinking preferences. Currently, there are 10 styles and over 30 varieties available to choose from, and that’s just the beginning. SYNEK has an in-house sommelier team that handles the curation, tasting wines before they’re made available and selecting new options based on user ratings.

When it comes to the canisters, or Sylos, over two liters is a lot of wine to get through before drinking something else. Don’t worry, though, you can easily swap out the container for another one and SYNEK says it’ll retain its shelf life. In terms of price, each Sylo will set you back $30 and when it comes time to re-order, you can do so through the mobile app. If the canister system sounds somewhat familiar, Kuvee’s smart wine bottle that we recently put through its paces handles the wine supply in a similar fashion, albeit in smaller quantities.

While SYNEK’s beer setup has a stainless steel exterior, Somm offers designs that borrow aesthetics from the barrel room of a vineyard. You can choose from beachwood and dark oak outer shells that give the dispenser a more natural look. There’s also a stainless steel option if you don’t care for the wood-grain material. If all of that sounds too good to pass up, Kickstarter backers are privy to a $100 discount on the Somm, cutting the price to $200. Backers will also get the chance to order exclusive wines that won’t be available to everyone. What’s more, SYNEK says unlike the beer gadget, it’s ready to go into production with this wine version and plans to ship in November of this year.

Source: Kickstarter, SYNEK

Reddit’s official mobile app launches on iOS and Android

Reddit has launched its official iOS and Android apps, three months after revealing that it was working on the latter. The company has historically neglected its mobile users, and bought the unofficial iOS client Alien Blue at the back end of 2014. This new app lets users browse, update and view the site through customized themes as well as a day / night mode for reading. If you’re looking for an excuse to get the app tout suite, the site is offering three months of Reddit gold to those who sign up during the launch week.

If you’re an Alien Blue loyalist, there’s a mixture of good and bad news if remarks made by product manager Ashley Higgins are anything to go by. In a posting to the relevant subreddit last month, she revealed that Alien Blue would linger around for existing users who wanted to stick with it. Then again, the team behind the app will move over to “focus our energy on the new flagship app.” She added that “Alien Blue will be unavailable for download by new users once the new app is released.”

Via: Android Police

Source: App Store, Google Play