Gboard gets built-in stickers and 40 more languages with latest update

Gboard now features built-in stickers and supports more than 120 different languages.

Although your options for virtual keyboards on Android are endless, Google’s Gboard remains as one of the best around. Gboard recently received a new update, and it brings support for built-in stickers and 40 additional languages.

Starting first with the new languages, the biggest addition is that of Japanese. Google has offered a Google Japanese Input app for a while that allows users to type in the language, but it’s nice to finally see it integrated into the full Gboard application. If you’re currently using Google Japanese Input, you’ll need to manually download Gboard and configure it for Japanese typing in order to get the new experience.

As for the built-in stickers, you’ll now see four sticker packs in Gboard when tapping on the stickers icon. Stickers could previously be used with Gboard, but doing so required you to download Allo and grab them through it rather than directly through Gboard. It was a pretty clunky process, so we’re grateful to see that there’s no longer a reliance on Allo to make the sticker magic happen.

The latest update for Gboard is live on the Play Store now, but if you’re not seeing it for whatever reason, you can download the APK file here.

Emogi for Gboard brings thousands of animated stickers to Android

Google will fix hissing sound on Pixel 2 in “the coming weeks”

Your Pixel 2 will soon be free of both clicking and hissing.

Since its release, a number of users of the smaller Pixel 2 have reported a faint hissing sound that can be heard when the phone is placed near your ear during a phone call. My device doesn’t appear to be affected, but those that are experiencing the issue should be relieved to know that a software update will soon be available that eliminates it for good.

This announcement came from a community manager of Google’s Pixel User Community, and it’s said that the update will be available “in the coming weeks.” We certainly would have liked a more solid ETA, but having a light at the end of the tunnel is still great nonetheless.

Google recently fixed the clicking noise also found with the Pixel 2 in the November security patch, and that was discovered to be a bug with the phone’s NFC chip. It’s unclear exactly what’s causing the hissing, but I suppose that won’t matter in a few weeks.

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Cheap Fitness Trackers You’ve Never Heard Of

Don’t spend your money on a high-end fitness tracker right off the bat, try out one of these cheap ones instead!

When it comes to fitness trackers, big names like Fitbit, Garmin, and Jawbone have a real grip on the market. While Fitbit has been in the game a long time and makes a great product, the best Fitbit products cost a lot of money, same goes for big brands like Garmin and Jawbone.

If you’re looking to try a fitness tracker for the first time, spending hundreds of dollars on a Fitbit or other big brand name may not be the wisest choice. Try before you buy isn’t always realistic; however, if you buy a cheap fitness tracker first, you can see if it will be worth to upgrading to a more expensive brand later. Here are our favorite cheap fitness trackers that you’ve probably never heard about.

• Wesoo K1 Fitness Watch
• FitOn
• LEMFO Fitness Tracker
• X-CHENG Fitness Tracker

Wesoo K1 fitness watch

For only $30, the Wesoo K1 offers lots of features that you’ll find on higher-end fitness trackers for a fraction of the price.

Counting calories, steps per day, and distance traveled are all par for the course on any fitness tracker, but the addition of automatic sleep monitoring, silent vibrating alarms, and sedentary alerts makes the $30 price tag even sweeter.

One of the coolest features of the Wesoo K1 is its ability to charge without a cable. That’s right when you take the Wesoo K1 out of the band, there’s a built-in USB end on the tracker so you just have to plug it into your computer, wall outlet, or even a power bank to charge it.

You can buy the Wesoo K1 fitness watch with an extra band that either purple or blue.

See at Amazon

FitOn

FitOn is a relatively ambitious Kickstarter campaign, that looks promising and has already reached its funding goal.

On top of tracking all your important fitness metrics — steps per day, calories burned, distance, traveled, etc. — FitOn is promising a IP68 water resistance rating meaning you can swim with this tracker on all you want without damaging it.

The FitOn promo video also describes an oxygen meter that’s meant to help you gauge your blood oxygen levels during intense workouts or swims. Using this data with the included heart rate monitor will give you a better statistics when it comes to your personal training.

Now since this is a Kickstarter campaign there is a little bit of risk in backing it up; however, it’s already over it’s funding goal so that risk should be limited. You can back this campaign and receive a FitOn when they start shipping for only $49.

See at Kickstarter

LEMFO fitness tracker

If you’re going to be wearing something on your wrist all day, why not make it stand out a little? The LEMFO fitness tracker has a bold design that will is bound to get noticed while packing in important fitness tracker features.

The automatic sleep monitoring will kick in when you decide to lay your weary head down for a rest, and the active heart rate monitor will help you track your pulse through even the most intense workouts.

The LEMFO fitness tracker has an IP67 rating, meaning you can take it for a quick swim or out in the rain with no problem and even supports message and call notifications to keep you up to date.

For only $35, LEMFO fitness tracker is a great way to see if you enjoy using a fitness tracker or not.

See at Amazon

X-CHENG fitness tracker

If you like the idea of having a fitness tracker that embraces the smart side of things, the X-CHENG fitness tracker may be your best bet.

While it’s big display and bold design may not be your style, the X-CHENG fitness tracker checks all the boxes. IP67 water resistance rating, automatic sleep monitoring, heart rate monitor, calorie counter, step counter, and all the other essential fitness tracking abilities are present.

Not only can this thing receive your calls and texts, it also can hook up to your Facebook, Twitter, and other social apps and send all your important notifications right to your wrist! Plus, even with the huge display, the battery should still last you a whole week between charges, meaning you don’t have to worry about it dying in the middle of your workouts as often.

You can pick up the X-CHENG fitness tracker for $45.

See at Amazon

Do you have any suggestions?

Do you know of any fitness trackers that nobody has heard about? We want to hear from you. Leave us a comment down below!

‘A Wrinkle in Time’ trailer shows off a planet-hopping adventure

A Wrinkle in Time is a classic sci-fi novel that’s being brought to the big screen by director Ava Duverney. The book, originally published in 1963, is by Madeleine L’Engle and features Meg Murry, a twelve-year-old girl who goes on a quest across the universe to save her father. A new trailer for the movie, which releases on March 9th, 2018, came out today.

The trailer focuses on the science of the movie, which revolves around Meg’s father’s (Chris Pine) discovery. He found that there was a way to travel across great distances in the blink of an eye via a tesseract. However, he was captured by a dark force in the universe, and Meg (Storm Reid), along with her brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) and friend Calvin O’Keefe (Levi Miller), must save him. They’re aided by three witches, played by Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling. Gugu Mbatha-Raw also costars in the movie as Meg’s mother.

Source: YouTube

SoundCloud shows how its algorithms influence music streams

SoundCloud wants the world (and, more importantly, record labels) to know that it can break artists too. And, who can blame it. It must sting when Apple Music declares that it helped Post Malone (who went viral on SoundCloud before invading the Billboard Hot 100) become a streaming record-breaker. And, when Spotify’s Rap Caviar playlist (stocked with SoundCloud upstarts, like Lil’ Uzi Vert and Lil’ Pump) is hailed as a hit-maker. Its solution? A new stat that reveals the power of its algorithm in helping creators nab more plays. The update follows the insights SoundCloud added to its SoundCloud Pulse app and the web, including playlist streams and top listeners, cities and countries.

This time, the stats are even more granular. Creators will be able to see how often their tracks are receiving plays through algorithmic discovery features, such as “related tracks,” artist stations, and The Upload: SoundCloud’s personalized new music feed.

The problem for SoundCloud — a home to underground artists — is its inability to monetize. We’re talking about a company that almost went under as recently as August – – it survived by laying off hundreds, replacing its CEO, and securing some much-needed cash. But, it also shot itself in the foot by failing to capitalize on the success of an entire genre built on the back of its service (SoundCoud Rap). And, it continues to suffer setbacks — last month, Billboard announced that ad-supported streaming services (like SoundCloud and YouTube) will carry less weight compared to paid services when it comes to its chart rankings, starting in 2018. Meanwhile, SoundCloud’s attempt at corralling paying subscribers (SoundCloud Go) was a mess.

But, doubling down on analytics is a step in the right direction. At the very least, it should please uploaders (the lifeblood of the service). What’s more, it could help position it as an influential distributor, in the vein of its popular rivals. Maybe it would be wise to ditch the video experiments, though, which didn’t work for Spotify either.

Uber orders up to 24,000 Volvo SUVs for its self-driving fleet

Uber has just taken another big step from a ride-sharing service to a transportation provider. It announced that it will buy up to 24,000 Volvo XC90s, marking the first major vehicle fleet purchase by a ride-hailing service. Uber will take delivery of the SUVs between 2019 and 2021, then equip them with its own sensors and tech, allowing it to do fully autonomous, driver-free passenger rides. “This new agreement puts us on a path toward mass-produced, self-driving vehicles at scale,” Uber’s Jeff Miller told Bloomberg.

The XC90 starts at $47,000, so this could be a pretty substantial purchase — over $1 billion worth of cars, to be exact. Uber and Volvo previously signed a $300 million pact, and Volvo, based in Sweden but owned by China’s Geely Auto, is using the proceeds to develop its own driverless cars. It has been working with Uber for nearly three years to develop a base vehicle with core autonomous tech, which the ride-sharing company could then customize as it sees fit. Uber has also made deals with Ford and Daimler.

Uber aims to eventually give driver-free passenger rides, which is the only way such a service would be economically feasible. “It only becomes a commercial business when you can remove the vehicle operator from the equation,” Miller told Reuters.

However, Uber and everyone else are still far from that goal. Uber has been offering autonomous car rides in Ford Fusion and other vehicles for over a year in Pittsburgh. However, earlier this year, it admitted that human drivers had to take the wheel at least once every mile. City dwellers are also reportedly tired of the tests, as they haven’t provided the promised jobs and other benefits. On top of all that, Uber is embroiled in a lawsuit with Google’s Waymo, which accused it of stealing key self-driving tech.

Source: Bloomberg

UK parliamentary groups demand more rights for gig economy workers

Two parliamentary groups have called on the UK government to introduce a new law that would extend the rights of Uber, Deliveroo and other “gig economy” workers. A year ago, two Uber drivers won an employment tribunal case that classified them as “workers,” rather than “self-employed.” That distinction might seem small, but legally it gave them the right to the national living wage, minimum levels of paid holiday, and basic protections against discrimination. Uber is trying to appeal the decision, but has so far been unsuccessful. Now, two select committees want everyone in the gig economy to be categorised as “workers” by default.

“The onus would be on the firm to prove self-employed status, when disputed, rather than on the worker to do so through the courts,” the Works and Pensions Committee and the Business Select Committee wrote in their report. Worker status is different from a traditional “employee,” however. A full or part-time member of staff, for instance, is also entitled to sick and parental pay, minimum notice periods and protection against unfair dismissal. “Worker,” then, is a vaguely defined middle ground in UK law. The two committees would like “increased clarity” so that employers, workers and legislators know exactly how the rules apply.

Uber and Deliveroo, of course, are happy with the status quo. Typically, these companies draft contracts which don’t have worker benefits in them — so drivers and couriers are automatically treated as self-employed. It’s then down to the individual to take their employer to court and prove they deserve the worker classification. The two committees are now calling on the government to close this “loophole” and block “dubious business practices.” “Recent court cases have exposed a pattern of companies using bogus self-employed status as a route to cheap labour,” the MPs argue.

Some people prefer to be labelled as self-employed, however, and the two committees don’t want to put an “unnecessary burden” on this group. They do, however, want tribunals to be “more effective,” with higher fines for companies that have lost similar cases in the past.

While worker status is the bulk of their demands, the group is also calling on the government to tackle the “volatile availability” of gig economy work. If you’re a Deliveroo courier, for instance, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be offered a delivery when you ‘log on.’ To combat this, the committees want a new “wage premium” for hours where work can’t be guaranteed. Such a scheme could, MPs argue, encourage companies to provide staff rotas and other shift details. For Uber and Deliveroo, however, that seems unlikely given the fluidity of customer orders.

Finally, the two parliamentary groups want the UK’s enforcement bodies to have more power and resources. Fines should be increased and non-complying companies need to be “named and shamed,” the politicians argue. “We need new laws but also much tougher enforcement,” Rachel Reeves, an MP and chair of the business, energy and industrial strategy committee said, “to weed out those businesses seeking to exploit complex labour laws, and workers, for their competitive advantage.”

Via: BBC

Source: Parliament.UK

You can now hail Uber rides for friends who don’t have accounts

If you use Uber often enough, you’ve probably had those moments where you wanted to hail a ride for someone else, such as a friend heading home from the bar. It isn’t always easy to arrange a guest trip, however, which is why Uber has just introduced a feature that lets you order a ride on someone else’s behalf, whether or not they have an account. You just have to specify the traveler’s name, phone number and location — you don’t have to serve as a proxy, and the passenger doesn’t need a smartphone app. This could be particularly helpful if you’re hailing a ride for someone who may only have a basic cellphone.

And if your would-be passengers do use Uber? You can help them, too. Uber now lets you gift credit in-app. You no longer have to buy a physical gift card. While there probably aren’t many people eagerly anticipating Uber credit for the holidays, this could be helpful if you owe a ride to a friend.

The company is making the pickup process easier at the same time. You now have a live location sharing feature (thankfully optional) that can tell your driver exactly where you are, which could help you avoid a cancellation if your street address and physical location don’t quite line up. Also, the drivers themselves will be more conspicuous: Uber’s color-coded Beacons are expanding to Chicago, New York City and San Francisco, making it easier to spot your car.

The upgrades should be available starting today.

Via: Mashable

Source: Mashable, Uber Newsroom

Apple Reportedly Working Towards Mass Production of Thinner and Brighter Micro-LED Displays

Apple is collaborating with its Taiwanese supplier TSMC to solve manufacturing issues preventing volume production of micro-LED display panels, according to DigiTimes.

Apple is reportedly collaborating with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to develop applications based on silicon-based backplanes (silicon wafers) aiming to sidestep the bottleneck that entails with the mass transfer of LED chips, indicated the sources.

Once micro-LED displays can be mass produced both reliably and affordably, the panels could be used in future Apple devices. Apple’s use of micro-LED would likely begin in 2019 at the earliest, possibly starting with the Apple Watch, should it choose to proceed with the technology after trial production.

In the meantime, the report claims Apple has downsized its micro-LED research and development team at its laboratory in northern Taiwan.

The downsizing doesn’t necessarily mean that Apple has delayed or given up development of the next-generation display technology. In addition to its work with TSMC, it’s possible that Apple has shifted the bulk of its micro-LED research back to its headquarters in the United States.

Apple’s interest in micro-LED was first reported in late 2015, when it was discovered that the iPhone maker opened a secretive laboratory in Taoyuan, Taiwan to research display technologies like OLED and micro-LED for future devices. OLED is currently used in the Apple Watch and iPhone X.

Apple acquired micro-LED display maker LuxVue Technology in 2014, and some of its employees may be part of Apple’s micro-LED research team, in addition to former employees of AU Optronics and Qualcomm subsidiary SolLink.

Micro-LED displays have many of the same advantages as OLED displays have over LCDs, including improved color accuracy, improved contrast ratio, faster response times, and true blacks given both have self-lit pixels, but they can be even thinner, much brighter, and more energy efficient than OLED.

Micro-LED displays also have inorganic gallium nitride-based LEDs, which have a longer lifespan than the organic compound used in OLED displays.

Tags: digitimes.com, Micro-LED
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Spotify Launches Holiday Sale: New Users Can Get Three Months of Premium for $0.99

Spotify today launched its holiday discounts, giving new users three months of Spotify Premium for $0.99, after which they’ll need to pay the traditional $9.99/month subscription cost or cancel their account beforehand. The sale is similar to discounts launched in years past, with Spotify encouraging new users to sign up to the music streaming service over the holidays.

This year, there’s an additional deal for those who have signed up for Spotify Premium, but then left the service at one point in the past. Specifically, if you didn’t have an active Spotify Premium account as of October 21, 2017 — meaning you canceled your account before that date — you can return to Spotify and get three months of the service for $9.99. Unfortunately, there isn’t a deal for paid subscribers who have stayed with Spotify.

Three months of Spotify Premium that gives you access to millions of songs on demand, ad free, and high quality audio, for less than a dollar? That is what music fans can expect this season as Spotify announces two of its biggest deals of the year. Whether you are curating a list of your favorite holiday-themed tracks or compiling a playlist of the hottest songs of the year for an upcoming Holiday party, these offers will undoubtedly warm up your mood this season.

– First-time Spotify Premium users can receive three months for just $0.99 if they have not previously provided credit card information or used a 30-day trial.
– Spotify Premium users that did not have an active account as of October 21, 2017 can receive three months for the price of one: $9.99.

If you’re interested you can sign up for Spotify Premium on the company’s website, and you have until December 31, 2017 to take advantage of the offers. For new users, Spotify said it will check to see that you have not previously provided credit card information or used a 30-day trial of Spotify Premium in order to grant the three month price at $0.99.

For more of the latest sales going on this week, be sure to check out our Deals Roundup and Black Friday Roundup.

Related Roundup: Apple DealsTag: Spotify
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