Google Home Smart Speaker Now Supports Multiple Users

Google Home received a major update to its voice recognition system on Thursday that lets owners set up the smart speaker to recognize multiple account holders.

The software update means that up to six people can connect their Google account to one speaker and Google Assistant will be able to distinguish users by the sound of their voice. Amazon is said to be working on a similar feature for its Echo range of devices.

The feature works by listening to how individual users say the phrases “Ok Google” and “Hey Google”, and then runs the samples through a neural network that can detect certain voice characteristics and match vocal analyses in a matter of milliseconds. Google says the process happens “only on your device” and the samples aren’t sent anywhere else.

ArsTechnica asked Google how confident it was in the speaker’s ability to distinguish users only by voice. Google responded by explaining that the feature was still being refined. “We don’t recommend that users rely upon voice identification as a security feature,” said the company.

To enable multi-user support, owners need the latest version of the Google Home app. If the app doesn’t highlight the new feature, click the icon in the top right to see all connected devices. After selecting the Google Home speaker from the list, tap “Link your account” and the app will run through the process that teaches Google Assistant to recognize your voice.

The feature began rolling out in the U.S. yesterday, and Google says it will expand to the U.K. “in the coming months”.

Tag: Google Home
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WhatsApp Users Can Now Ask Siri to Read Out Their Latest Messages

WhatsApp users on iOS can now ask Siri to read to them their latest messages when they go handsfree, following the latest update to the chat app.

Version 2.17.2 brings the feature to users running at least iOS 10.3 on their devices, along with some other tweaks and updates to the messaging platform.

In the My Updates screen, it’s now possible to select multiple statuses at once and forward or revoke them, and the old Voice Call icon has been replaced with a “+” icon, which when tapped displays a list of contacts for making both voice and video calls.

Elsewhere, the two-step verification interface has been redesigned to make it easier to set up, while the Group Info, Contact Info, and Calls sections have also received interface overhauls to make them simpler to use. The camera now also remembers its last state of usage.

Lastly, support for the Persian language has been added to the chat service.

WhatsApp is available as a free download on the App Store for iPhone. [Direct Link]

Tag: WhatsApp
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Overcast Podcast App Gains Standalone Apple Watch Playback Feature

As of today, third-party podcast app Overcast lets users sync downloaded pods to their Apple Watch for standalone playback.

The latest 3.1 update brings the much-requested feature to the popular podcast app, which was designed by Instapaper developer Marco Arment.

To take advantage of the new feature, users should access the Queue Menu (⁺≡) and select the Send to Watch option. Pending transfers should appear in the Downloads screen.

Overcast recently received a design overhaul to bring it up to speed with visual changes introduced in iOS 10. The latest update also includes a new dark app icon option for premium members (a $9.99 in-app purchase).

Overcast 3.1 is available as a free ad-supported app for iPhone and iPad from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Related Roundups: Apple Watch Series 2, watchOS 3
Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)
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MIUI is never going to be close to stock Android, and that’s a good thing

Don’t hold out for a MIUI build based on pure Android.

With over 200 million users, Xiaomi’s MIUI is one of the most popular manufacturer skins in the world. Its usage has skyrocketed in recent years as Xiaomi made its foray into the Indian market, where the company has set up an R&D unit to cater to localization needs.

MIUI has come a long way in the last three years, adding a host of new features that augment the core experience. Xiaomi’s frenetic pace of development — with a new update rolling out bi-weekly — means that MIUI is always evolving, even if updates don’t include any user-facing changes. As a consequence, the user interface has become bloated, and the sheer number of features means that Xiaomi isn’t as agile as it used to be when it comes to delivering platform updates.

Too big for its own good

Making sure its UI works on a new version of Android and ensuring compatibility with all the models in its portfolio takes significant engineering resources. Six months after the introduction of Android 7.0 Nougat, the Mi 5 is the only phone to have picked up the update. Then there’s the way MIUI looks. Although we’ve seen the addition of several new features in MIUI, the core user interface itself hasn’t changed all that much over the years. For instance, the multitasking pane still looks like something designed for the KitKat era.

That said, Xiaomi does a great job of delivering the latest MIUI updates to a majority of its phones. MIUI 8 is the latest iteration of Xiaomi’s skin, offering an interface with a few visual tweaks, an abundance of solid colors, and a ton of new features. Xiaomi rolled out the update to devices as far back as the Mi 2, which made its debut in 2012.

With so many features baked into MIUI, Xiaomi isn’t quick at platform updates anymore.

In this regard, Xiaomi is like Apple. Although its devices aren’t on the latest version of Android, with its UI offering its own security-focused features, Xiaomi’s priority is to deliver MIUI updates to its range of devices in a timely manner.

My 2014 Mi Pad is still on Android 4.4.4 KitKat, but it has picked up the MIUI 8 update late last year, giving me access to all the new features that Xiaomi has to offer. The three-year old tablet has the same functionality as the more recent Mi 5, which is now running Nougat. There’s a reason MIUI updates work this way, and it has to do with Xiaomi’s home market.

Giving users what they need

MIUI is used globally, but Xiaomi’s main market is China, and as such the user interface is designed with Chinese users in mind. The customizations and added security features — the ability to block individual apps from running in the background, preventing apps from automatically starting at boot — are all borne out of a market where malware is rampant and apps are distributed not through a unified storefront like the Play Store but through multiple app stores.

MIUI is designed for China, a country where malware is rampant.

With no single entity like Google acting as a gatekeeper to weed out malware and other malicious content, the onus is on handset makers like Xiaomi to build in safeguards to ensure that their customers don’t fall prey to such apps.

That’ll continue to be the case for some time now, and while I’d love to see MIUI’s features available on a pure Android interface, that isn’t a priority for Xiaomi. Its goal is to ensure that its users aren’t falling victim to unruly apps, and in that context, MIUI is doing a great job.

Smart card Plastc goes under despite $9 million in preorders

Plastc, a smart payment card that can store all your CC details, promised to be the only plastic you’ll ever need to bring when it started taking pre-orders in 2014. Now, almost three years and countless shipment delays later, the company threw in the towel. In a statement posted on its website, Plastc says it has officially shut down on April 20th and will file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. According to a Magnify Money editorial, Plastc raised $9 million from 80,000 pre-orders. It wasn’t and will not be able to fulfill any of them.

The company apparently expected to raise $3.5 million in February, but the investment group ended up backing out. It found another investor willing to sink $6.75 million into the venture, but it backed out at the last minute. Plastc says it needed the money to start its cards’ production — with no funds to keep it going, it had to quickly shut down everything and let all its employees go. It’s not entirely clear why $9 million wasn’t enough to ship even one wave of cards to its very first customers.

Now customers are bombarding the company with requests for a refund. They paid for pre-orders, after all, and didn’t back a crowdfunding campaign that they knew could fall through. With no money left to Plastc’s name, though, they might have to chalk it up to experience. Plastc isn’t the only smart card that failed to deliver on its promise. Another one called Coin also stopped making cards in 2016, though it was at least able to ship some orders. Swyp was plagued with issues, as well, while Stratos almost shut down until it found a new owner.

Via: The Verge

Source: Plastc

Juicero will refund unsatisfied buyers of its WiFi-connected press

We never bought the hype on Juicero’s $700 connected cold-press machine, but the company’s CEO says anyone who did pay for one can get their money back. In a blog post on Medium, CEO Jeff Dunn responded to a Bloomberg report that pointed out the company’s produce packs can be squeezed by hand, without buying the juicer at all. According to Dunn, for the next 30 days any Juicero owner can return their machine for a full refund (since it launched, the price has dropped to $400) — this courtesy presumably doesn’t extend to any of the investors who backed it.

First, the Press. Our connected Press itself is critical to delivering a consistent, high quality and food safe product because it provides:

• The first closed loop food safety system that allows us to remotely disable Produce Packs if there is, for example, a spinach recall. In these scenarios, we’re able to protect our consumers in real-time.
• Consistent pressing of our Produce Packs calibrated by flavor to deliver the best combination of taste and nutrition every time.
• Connected data so we can manage a very tight supply chain, because our product is live, raw produce, and has a limited lifespan of about 8 days.

Dunn’s blog post justifies Juicero’s existence and its business model by claiming the machine and its process serve to ensure a quality end product without a lot of work. The refund offer makes it feel less scammy, even if it remains overpriced and over-engineered. The examples Dunn offers aren’t compelling to me, but I don’t own a juicer, and if I did, I wouldn’t be compelled by stats indicating it squeezes with enough force “to lift two Teslas.” Its barcode scanning of produce packs could, in theory, notify customers of a recalled ingredient, or remind them to drink up before the packs expire, but… so could an email.

Source: Juicero (Medium)

GoPro’s new Fusion 360-degree camera will fuse six GoPros into one

GoPro has teased a new camera – and it’s not an action cam.

Fusion is a 360-degree camera that’s being introduced just one day after Facebook announced its new 360-degree cameras. The device can shoot 5.2K resolution VR and non-VR videos and photos. It can even do non-VR captures, as long as you use its OverCapture feature to select the composition you desire from a spherical image. Here’s how GoPro CEO Nicholas Woodman described the camera in a blog post:

“Fusion is just that, the ability to capture every angle simultaneously…as though you had six GoPro cameras fused into one. Whether filming for VR or traditional fixed-perspective content, Fusion represents the state-of-the-art in versatile spherical capture.”

GoPro first started teasing a consumer-level 360-degree camera in 2016. Fusion will presumably be different from the Omni, another GoPro camera rig designed to hold six GoPro HD Hero 4 Black cameras. The Omni can be used for capturing seamless 360-degree footage for virtual reality or on-screen playback, but the full kit was priced at £4200/$5000 at launch, making it more of a high-end product.

• Best 360 cameras: The best VR cameras, no matter your budget
• Nokia Ozo: Pro-spec VR capture doesn’t come cheap
• Samsung Gear 360 camera preview

Woodman has also mentioned in the past that he wants customers in the future to be able to record their activities with one multi-lensed GoPro as well as create a matching 2D video for sharing via a phone app. We don’t know yet if Fusion can do all that, nor do we know much about the Fusion in general. GoPro didn’t share any specs or pricing information, but it did provide an example of what it can do below:

We can apparently expect Fusion to get “limited commercial release by the end of 2017”, but it’ll be available this summer to “brands, agencies, content professionals” as part of a pilot program that GoPro has just announced. You can learn more about that from here.

• Nikon KeyMission 360 is a 360-degree 4K actioncam
• Ricoh Theta hands-on
• LG 360 Cam: Capture your VR world

Huawei blames slower P10s on memory shortage

Memory speed isn’t always something that one would pay attention to when buying a smartphone, or at least you’d expect the latest flagships to come with the fastest options available at the time, but it turns out that this isn’t necessarily true. Recently, some Huawei P10 and P10 Plus users in China noticed that they were only getting eMMC 5.1 memory speeds on their devices. For instance, the sequential read speeds were in the ballpark of 250MB/s on AndroBench, whereas the luckier folks who got UFS 2.0 or 2.1 chips on their phones managed to hit around 550MB/s or even 750MB/s (our very own international unit got 786.67MB/s). Indeed, Huawei never specified the type of flash memory on its P10 spec sheets, which led to speculations that the mobile giant was intentionally misleading consumers.

To address this, Huawei Business Group CEO Richard Yu took to Weibo to explain what was going on. The mixture of eMMC and UFS memory chips inside the P10 units was apparently to do with a “serious shortage” of flash memory in the supply chain, so basically, Huawei had to make do with whatever it could get. Yu added that while his company is still struggling to source enough flash memory these days, he promises that “a good real-life performance and experience” are maintained by way of hardware and software optimization.

The exec even went as far as suggesting that the “crooked” competitors have been blowing things out of proportions to smear Huawei. “We would never do such a despicable thing as cutting corners.” Well, Mr. Yu, numbers don’t lie (he even stressed that all the Mate 9 units have the faster UFS memory), so we’ll just have to view your words as a non-apology.

This isn’t the first time that consumers have been up in arms over the P10. Late last month, it was discovered that some P10 units didn’t come with oleophobic coating on the screen; it was only applied to the screen protector which was already stuck on the phones. Some speculated that Huawei was cutting costs here, but Yu explained in the same blog post that it was to do with Gorilla Glass 5’s in-cell touch panel having issues with the original coating technique — it would leave behind a temporary interference pattern due to static build-up when in use.

Luckily, this is no longer an issue on the later batches of P10 thanks to a new anti-static coating technology, and Yu added that the official Huawei stores across China can help apply this coating to the units that are lacking it. Just too bad that they won’t be able to swap out the slower memory chips as well.

Via: Engadget Chinese (1), (2)

Source: Weibo (Richard Yu)

Now Apple’s Live Photos can work on any website

Apple first introduced Live Photos in the iPhone 6S series back in 2015, but the odd photo/video-clip hybrid has taken its time coming to the internet. While Tumblr was the first to integrate Live Photos into its site last September, Apple is finally introducing an official JavaScript API to get its odd photo/video hybrid format out onto the web at large.

Developers will add their Live Photo as a DOM element like any other photo or video. They’ll be able to control how long their media should play, or if they should only play if end users hover over a “LIVE” button in the Live Photo’s top right corner.

Tumblr was the first to fully integrate the format last fall, but Google was the first to store Live Photos online over a year ago with an update to its Google Photos app for iOS. Then it released Motion Stills for Apple devices in June, an app that converted the hybrid media to looping GIFs or movie files so they could be exported and uploaded to the internet at large. After another update last month, Google’s app will likely continue be the most popular method to transfer Live Photos to the web for awhile since Apple’s API will still need developers to build it into apps and sites.

Via: 9to5Mac

Source: Apple

‘Cut the Rope: Magic’ Available for Free as Apple’s App of the Week

Puzzle game Cut the Rope: Magic has been named Apple’s App of the Week, and as a result, it will be available for free for the next seven days. Normally priced at $0.99, this is the first time Cut the Rope: Magic has been available for free since it was released in December of 2015.

Anyone who has played a game in the Cut the Rope series will be familiar with the gameplay mechanics in Cut the Rope: Magic, which involves solving puzzles and slicing ropes to get treats to Om Nom.

In this version of the game, Om Nom transforms into different magical characters as players progress through the levels, and there are new graphics, sound, and gameplay elements. On Nom can become a bird, baby, fish, mouse, spirit, and dragon, all of which have unique abilities for completing puzzles.

A magical mishap has accidentally teleported Om Nom to a mystical world filled with challenging puzzles for players of all ages. Can you use Om Nom’s new skills to solve an evil wizard’s tricks and traps? The latest installment of this globally popular entertainment franchise puts a fresh spin on Cut the Rope’s iconic physics-puzzle gameplay, introducing more than 160 all-new magic-themed levels across a richly imagined, colorful world.

Cut the Rope: Magic will be available for free until next Thursday, when a new App of the Week will be chosen. It can be downloaded from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Tag: App of the Week
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