Android 7.0 Nougat Developer Preview 5 now available
Fifth and final preview build for Nexus devices comes with ‘near final’ system images.
Right on schedule, Google has released the fifth and final Developer Preview of Android 7.0 Nougat. Per the Nougat preview roadmap, these builds include “near final” system images for late testing before the final, stable release of Android 7.0 later this summer. As for build numbers, we’re looking at build NPD90G
According to Google, the new preview images include:
- The final N APIs (API level 24) and latest system behaviors and UI
- The latest bug fixes and optimizations across the system and in preinstalled apps
As such, we should expect this build to be a reasonable approximation of what Nougat in its finished form will look and act like. We’ll have more on any significant changes once we’ve gotten a good look at the new preview.
System images for the new preview are live now on Google’s developer site, and over-the-air updates should be rolling out for those enrolled in the Android Beta Program starting today.
More: Android Developers
Android Nougat
Android N (currently in Developer Preview status) is now Android Nougat! It’s the 12th nicknamed version of Android and will be released to the public in the fall of 2016. Here’s everything you need to know so far!
- What’s new in Android Nougat
- All Android Nougat news
- Should you use the Android N Dev Preview?
- About the Android Beta Program
- Join the Discussion
There’s still no Easter Egg in Android Nougat Developer Preview 5 :(
Nope. Nothing at all when you tap the “N” graphic in the latest Android 7.0 Developer Preview. Just a cat emoji and a no entry sign. Looks like we’ll have to wait for the final Nougat release.
Touché, Google.
Android Nougat
Android N (currently in Developer Preview status) is now Android Nougat! It’s the 12th nicknamed version of Android and will be released to the public in the fall of 2016. Here’s everything you need to know so far!
- What’s new in Android Nougat
- All Android Nougat news
- Should you use the Android N Dev Preview?
- About the Android Beta Program
- Join the Discussion
Server capacity delayed Japanese ‘Pokémon Go’ launch
Pokémon Go may be a smash hit in the US, Canada, UK, New Zealand and about 20 other countries — but did you know that nobody is playing the game in the Japan? It’s not for want of trying. Despite being the franchise’s homeland, Pokémon Go still isn’t available to Japanese users. What’s the deal? According to Niantic’s CEO, Japan’s servers just aren’t good enough to handle the game.
“At present, the server capacity in Japan is not powerful enough,” Niantic’s John Hanke told Forbes. “We are working hard with our partners in Japan to enable the servers to keep up with demand once the game goes online there.” That should sound familiar to players who already have access to the game. Pokémon Go has dealt with server issues ever since day one, and international expansion was slowed to ensure that new markets were able to handle the popular augmented reality title.
Even so, it’s a bit odd to think that Japan, of all places, is having to do without a Pokémon game — at least for now. Niantic says it expects to launch the title in its home country by the end of the month.
Via: Siliconera
Source: Forbes
Apple Seeds Third Beta of iOS 10 to Developers
Apple today released the third beta of iOS 10 to developers for testing purposes, two weeks after seeding the second beta and more than a month after first unveiling the new operating system at its 2016 Worldwide Developers Conference.
Today’s update is available as an over-the-air download to those who installed the first beta or the beta configuration profile and it’s available for direct download through the Apple Developer Center.
iOS 10 is a major iOS update with a host of new features and design tweaks, including a new Lock screen experience with 3D Touch-enabled notifications, a more easily accessible camera, a redesigned Control Center, and a new widgets screen.
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Messages has been entirely overhauled with features that include background animations, bubble effects, Digital Touch, handwritten notes, Tapback replies, predictive emoji, and its own dedicated App Store, and Photos has gained impressive facial and object recognition capabilities along with a Memories feature for rediscovering forgotten moments.
Over the beta testing period, Apple will tweak the features introduced in iOS 10, and in iOS 10 beta 2, Apple launched the Messages App Store and added organ donation signup functionality, among other changes. New changes in beta three will be listed below.
iOS 10 is currently available to developers and public beta testers, with a full public release planned for the fall. For full details on iOS 10, make sure to check out our iOS 10 roundup.
What’s new in iOS 10 beta 3:
Locking haptic feedback – When locking an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus, there’s a small haptic vibration to let you know the device has been properly locked. On other devices, there’s a new sound when pressing the power button.
Touch ID – There’s a new Accessibility option that allows users to open an iPhone with Touch ID with just a finger on the button, which is the way Touch ID worked in iOS 9.
Keyboard sound – The muted popping-style keyboard sound that was introduced in beta one and removed in beta two has been reintroduced in beta three.
Related Roundup: iOS 10
Discuss this article in our forums
Apple Debuts iTunes Match With Audio Fingerprint for Apple Music Users
Apple has introduced a fix for a persistent and frustrating Apple Music bug that caused pre-existing music libraries to sometimes be improperly matched with Apple Music songs, reports The Loop.
To make sure songs are correctly matched, Apple is now using iTunes Match audio fingerprint for Apple Music, a more accurate matching method than the metadata matching that was previously employed. Apple Music matching now also offers up DRM-free music files, just like iTunes Match.
Apple has been quietly rolling out iTunes Match audio fingerprint to all Apple Music subscribers. Previously Apple was using a less accurate metadata version of iTunes Match on Apple Music, which wouldn’t always match the correct version of a particular song. We’ve all seen the stories of a live version of a song being replaced by a studio version, etc.
Using iTunes Match with audio fingerprint, those problems should be a thing of the past.
According to The Loop, the version of iTunes Match that is now available to Apple Music subscribers is actually the same iTunes Match service that iTunes users have been paying for as a separate subscription, with all Apple Music subscribers now eligible to use the full version of iTunes Match at no cost. Confusingly, while Apple Music had song matching available previously, it was not the same service that was offered through iTunes Match.
Current Apple Music and iTunes Match subscribers can let their iTunes Match subscriptions expire while continuing to get the same functionality, and should see no changes.
iTunes Match users who are not Apple Music subscribers will need to continue to pay for iTunes Match. Apple Music subscribers will know if they have access to iTunes Match because there will be a “Matched” label in the iCloud Status of iTunes on the Mac.
Users who had songs matched incorrectly via iTunes Match will see their songs rematched to the correct song thanks to the changes that Apple has implemented, and no downloaded copies of songs will be deleted.
Apple is gradually rolling out access to iTunes Match, switching one to two percent of Apple Music subscribers over to the new version each day. The rollout will take some time, and Apple is monitoring the process to make sure there are no issues.
Tags: iTunes Match, Apple Music
Discuss this article in our forums
Join the tech revolution: a 10-year ‘.tech’ domain subscription is now 80 per cent off
A tech revolution demands an overhaul of the tried-and-true. We’re all familiar with the .com, .net, .edu, and .gov domain extensions, but a new era has arrived with the .tech domain.
With a nearly endless array of options for prime domain names, you can join the .tech movement with a tech-centric site from Radix, offering a 10-year domain subscription at an impressive 80 per cent off from Pocket-lint Deals.
Don’t get stuck with a .com or, heavens forbid, a .net domain extension when building your tech brand, when you can establish your company in a more specialized manner. Follow in the footsteps of Microsoft (rewards.tech), The Consumer Electronics Show (ces.tech), The Next Web (tnw.tech) and many others with a .tech domain name that categorizes your business properly and reflects your tech expertise.
Your new .tech domain extension will impress users and help establish familiarity and industry respect, as you join industry leaders in embarking on a new standard of domain identification. It’ll make your site stand out, to say the least.
Leading names in the industry are already making serious headway with .tech domain extensions. Now it’s your turn to join the .tech revolution! Pick up a Radix .tech domain, with a 10-year subscription to establish your brand and develop a consistent resource in your area of expertise for only £35.33 ($49.99) from Pocket-lint Deals. Grab the deal now, while it’s still available.
Go hands-free virtually anywhere with the Anti-Gravity iPhone case
Skip the selfie sticks and unreliable, sticky phone mounts with the Anti-Gravity iPhone 6/6S case, offering an entirely new way to interact with your smartphone and capture life’s most important moments. For a limited time, you can pick up one of your own for only £20.79 ($29.99) on Pocket-lint Deals.
The stylish Anti-Gravity case delivers a minimalistic design with grip-friendly TPU case edges, and that’s only the beginning of what this great case offers. It sticks to most smooth-flat surfaces without the stickiness of adhesive. Just picture countless tiny suction cups securing your phone wherever you see fit for hands-free selfies and so much more.
With the Anti-Gravity iPhone case, you can make your own demonstration videos of any kind without propping up your phone on an unsteady surface or holding it at an arm’s length.
At-a-glance visual reference makes cooking that much easier, or watching game highlights from your bathroom mirror while executing the morning preparation rituals. FaceTime with loved ones in hands-free fashion, or follow recipes on your cupboard-mounted phone without risk of spills, drops or worse happening
The Anti-Gravity case allows you to charge your phone without the hassle of removing the case. It’s currently available for your iPhone 6/6S, as well as the iPhone 6 Plus/6S Plus (view drop-down for details). This offer also includes free shipping – even internationally!
Pick up your own Anti-Gravity iPhone case and take 25 per cent off the retail price for a limited time on Pocket-lint Deals.
NASA brings a DNA sequencer to space for the first time
SpaceX’s after-midnight Falcon 9 launch didn’t just advance the state of the art in rocket landings… the cargo it launched is groundbreaking, too. NASA notes that the mission is the first to bring a DNA sequencer to space. The Biomolecule Sequencer will not only demonstrate that you can sequence genes in microgravity, but provide a valuable service to the International Space Station’s crew. They can use it to check up on crew health, identify microbes and maybe (just maybe) detect life beyond Earth. It’s dramatically more convenient than before, when astronauts had to wait months to send DNA samples back to Earth.
This isn’t the only useful cargo, of course. NASA is also testing a Phase Change Heat Exchanger that could help maintain temperatures in space (notoriously difficult today), an extra-efficient 3D solar cell and studies into both bone loss as well as microgravity’s effects on the heart. All told, this one delivery could do a lot to advance science.
Via: CNET
Source: NASA (1), (2)
HP’s Elite X3 Windows Phone launches next month for $699
Been waiting for a phone that could pull triple duty as your handheld, laptop and desk machine? Then your day has almost come: HP says that its Elite X3 will hit shelves late next month. The $699 handset is HP’s first smartphone in over two years, and it’s kind of a gamble — it’s a high-end Windows Phone launching at a time when Microsoft’s mobile OS sales are at an all time low.
At least the Elite X3 makes the most of the Windows Phone platform. The flagship makes heavy use of Microsoft’s Continuum — a feature that shifts the small-scale interface into a Windows desktop environment when connected to a monitor and the HP Elite X3 Desk Dock or its notebook Lap Dock. The latter accessory doesn’t have a price or release date yet, but folks that want to turn there phone into a workstation will be able to pick up a Elite X3 phone, headset and Desk Dock bundle for $799 on August 29th.
NFL preps footballs with data-tracking chips
Think that it’s too easy for NFL players to kick extra points and field goals? The league is hoping that technology will up the skill level… not to mention the thrills. The NFL tells the Toronto Sun that it plans to conduct a study where footballs will have chips inside to track their flights between the goal posts. If too many successful field goals come from wildly off-center kicks, the league may narrow the uprights to make it more challenging. The tests would be limited to the preseason (ESPN sources also mention Thursday-night regular games), but they could start as soon as 2017.
This isn’t the first time the NFL has used smart sports equipment — it gave players stat-tracking shoulder pads back in 2014. However, this upcoming test may well have a farther-reaching effect. ESPN’s contacts hear that the NFL has briefed all its teams on plans to use the chips, and it suggests that the league might use augmented footballs to better detect downs and touchdowns. As such, the NFL’s test run could lead to a significant change in the style of play, with fewer field goal attempts and more accurate play calls.
Source: Toronto Sun, ESPN
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