Apple’s iOS update brings AirPlay 2 with multi-room playback

This week Apple revealed exactly what we can expect from iOS 11.3 — which will roll out for iPhones and iPads this spring — and hidden among the new Animoji, improved resolution and Business Chat features is support for AirPlay 2, a long-awaited feature that Apple appeared to go quiet on following its announcement at WWDC 2017. And it officially supports multi-room playback, which means you can stream to multiple Apple TVs and speakers around the house direct from your iPhone.

Apple has also just announced that its HomePod will ship without multi-room support, so does Airplay 2’s presence in iOS 11.3 mean it’s changed its mind? That’s unclear at this stage. What’s important is that Airplay 2 represents the first major upgrade for the streaming feature since its launch a whopping seven years ago, and should do away with the lag and latency many users found frustrating. It’s still pretty buggy in iOS 11.3, which is understandable given it’s still in the first beta stage, but functionality will improve as new betas of iOS 11.3 and tvOS 11.3 roll out.

Source: 9to5mac.com

Sky replaces Now TV ‘Combo’ bundles with standalone broadband

Back in 2016, Now TV extended its Netflix-style streaming service with TV, broadband and landline “Combo” bundles. Now, it’s killing those packages and offering broadband as a standalone option. The entry-level package will offer speeds up to 17 Mbps and pay-as-you-go calls for £18 per month. The faster “fab” option (up to 38 Mbps) will cost £25 per month, while the top “super” tier (up to 76 Mbps) will set you back £35 per month. You can choose between a 12-month contract, which requires a £15 activation, and a rolling plan with a £50 upfront fee. Both come with a £10 postage and handling fee too (I’m not sure why it’s so expensive to post a router).

It’s a strange move. Sky, the company behind Now TV, already offers home broadband in the UK. The prices and download speeds are fairly similar — they’re almost identical, actually, save for the contract-free option offered by Now TV. That will, of course, appeal to homeowners that don’t want to be tied into long-term plans. Aside from Relish, which relies on a (not always) decent 4G signal, few broadband providers offer such a flexible service. The same was true, admittedly, with Now TV’s Combo bundles — but the inclusion of TV and calls meant it wasn’t as convenient as Relish.

Now TV and Sky broadband, then, appear to be direct competitors. And it’s unclear why you would choose Sky when the same speeds are available with easier cancellation options over at Now TV. We asked a Now TV spokesperson if we had missed something important, and they replied: “The packages are geared towards different audiences. The Now TV audience is more interested in a Freeview solution, while Sky customers opt for a dish.” Make of that what you will. Maybe, just maybe, it’s an early sign that Now TV is becoming a brand that’s as important to Sky, as Sky.

Twitter uses smart cropping to make image previews more interesting

Twitter’s recent character limit extension means we’re spending more time reading tweets, but now the site now wants us to spend less time looking at pictures. Or more specifically, less time looking for the important bit of a picture. Thanks to Twitter’s use of neural networks, picture previews will now be automatically cropped to their most interesting part.

In a blog post yesterday, the engineers behind the feature explained that the tool has been developed from basic facial recognition software. But while that was great for pictures of people, it didn’t help with images of objects, landscapes or animals. They then began exploring research into eye-tracking, which can be used to train neural networks and other algorithms to predict what people want to look at.

Once a neural network was able to pick out these salient areas, the team needed to find a way to make it work in real-time on Twitter. Picture cropping on the site is fairly broad — only a third or so of an image needs to be previewed — so it used a process called “knowledge distillation” to simplify the process, which made the neural network 10 times faster than its initial design. Saliency detection and optimized cropping now happens instantaneously.

The feature is being rolled out on iOS, Android apps and desktop now, so next time you upload a picture of Mittens you can be sure your followers will see his little furry face in all its adorable glory, whether they want to or not.

Via: The Verge

Source: Twitter

HomePod Disables Calendar, Messages, Notes, and Reminder Features When Owner Isn’t Home, But Apple Music Account Remains Accessible

Earlier this week Apple announced the official HomePod launch date and revealed more details about the Siri-equipped smart speaker, including a built-in speakerphone feature and support for third-party music app streaming via peer-to-peer AirPlay, both of which anyone in the home can use. However, Apple has yet to adequately clarify the extent of its multi-user functionality with regards to Apple Music and other iCloud integrations, leaving many readers wondering if the HomePod is the right fit for their home.

In possibly the first hands-on HomePod report since Apple’s launch date announcement, Refinery29 on Wednesday shed further light on the device’s multi-user capabilities. According to the article, many of Siri’s personal assistant features can only be tied to the individual iCloud account used to set up the HomePod. These features can be manually disabled by the account holder, but they also appear to be automatically disabled when said account holder isn’t home.

Although everyone in your apartment will be able to use the speaker, only the person who sets up HomePod on their iCloud account will be able to send texts, set up reminders, and get calendar notifications via voice commands.

If you do set up personal notifications on HomePod, these will only be available when you are on the network, so you don’t need to worry about your texts being read aloud at home when you are at work. If you don’t want them read aloud when you’re home, you can go into your HomeKit settings and turn off the notifications.

Apple hasn’t revealed how the HomePod detects when the owner of the iCloud account it is linked to is home, but the article suggests the speaker is able to keeps tabs on any iOS devices serving the same user account on the same local network. This function also appears to relate to how HomePod makes a (presumably single-user) Apple Music subscription accessible to other users at home when the owner is away, as revealed in documentation shared with Apple Store staff:

Everyone can enjoy music – After HomePod is set up, anyone in the home can enjoy music even when you’re not there. HomePod streams Apple Music directly so your iPhone doesn’t need to be nearby.

We already know that if no Apple Music subscription is linked to a HomePod during setup, users are still able to play content that’s been purchased from iTunes along with Beats 1 radio content and podcasts, but it remains unclear to what extent this content is available to others when the user of the iCloud-linked account isn’t home. Also still up in the air is how Apple Music’s personally tailored curation service will fare under the pressures of multi-user HomePod access, as well as how Apple Music Family subscriptions will factor in.

Otherwise, the Refinery29 article comments on the HomePod’s design and acoustic intelligence similar to what we’ve heard in previous hands-on reports, including its “crisper and clearer” audio quality when compared against speakers like the Google Home Max, the latest Amazon Echo, and Sonos One. However, it’s worth noting Google Home and Amazon Echo can recognize different voices and serve personalized content to multiple users, something which the HomePod doesn’t seem capable of at this stage.

At launch, HomePod will be available in the United States, UK, and Australia. In the U.S., it will be priced at $349, and it will cost £319 in the UK and $499 in Australia. Apple will begin accepting orders for the HomePod on Friday, January 26, with the device set to launch two weeks later on Friday, February 9.

Related Roundup: HomePod
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Twitter ‘Taking Cues’ From Snapchat and Testing Update That Makes the Camera More Accessible

Twitter is “experimenting” with a new update to its mobile iOS and Android apps that is said to make it easier for users to share videos and photos on the social network.

According to people familiar with the matter, speaking with Bloomberg, the update is still in an early testing phase and could “change significantly” over the next few months, but comes at a time when Twitter is looking to attract more users and convince current users to stick around. The exact design of the update wasn’t specified, but Twitter is said to have a working demo of a “camera-centered” update that will “entice people” to quickly and easily post video clips of what’s happening near them.

The current method of accessing the camera to post photos and videos on Twitter for iOS
Bloomberg compared the description of the camera feature to Snapchat’s mobile apps, which open to the camera first so users can quickly take snaps. In 2016, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey admitted that the network can be confusing to newcomers and called Snapchat “very modern.” To be clear, it doesn’t appear that Twitter aims to launch “Twitter Stories,” but is simply looking to rearrange its app in a way that allows for more prominent placement of the camera.

Twitter Inc. is working on a new Snapchat-style feature that makes it easier to post videos on the social-media company’s app, according to people familiar with the matter, aiming to attract more users and cement a nascent turnaround.

Social-media leader Facebook Inc. has famously copied innovations from Snap Inc.’s Snapchat, a mobile app focused on ephemeral photos and videos that’s popular with younger audiences. Twitter’s latest change suggests that Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey is taking cues from the newer company as well.

Currently, to post a video or photo on the Twitter iOS app, users have to open the app, tap to compose a tweet, tap “camera,” capture a video or photo, add it to the tweet, then tap “Tweet.” Those near Twitter’s testing of the new feature claimed that “the goal of this product is to reduce the number of steps,” aligning it with Snapchat’s camera-first user interface.

Video has become a priority for many social media companies over the past few years, including Facebook’s frequent updates that introduced an Apple TV video-only app, a dedicated video tab for the iOS app, and a simple right-swipe UI to jump into the camera on iOS and post a Snapchat-style Story. Instagram has a similar right-swipe interaction to launch the camera, and was the first of Facebook’s apps to begin the copying of Snapchat Stories back in 2016.

Tags: Twitter, bloomberg.com, Snapchat
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Nintendo Announces Plans to Shut Down ‘Miitomo’ Two Years After Launch

Nintendo launched its first iOS mobile game, Miitomo, in March 2016, and this week the company has confirmed it will officially end support for the game on May 9, 2018 (via The Verge).

The company posted a notice [Google Translate] on its Japanese website yesterday, warning Miitomo users of its decision to “terminate the service” on Wednesday, May 9 at 12:00 a.m. (PDT). Ahead of that closure, the company has already ended the sale of “Miitomo coins” through in-app purchases as of today, but coins and game tickets will be given to players as a login bonus so they can shop for items until May 9.

In the lead-up to that date, Miitomo will hold “The Final Thank You Festival” with events that celebrate its fans through daily bonuses and sharing Miifotos on Twitter. Then, in the early morning of May 9 all of Miitomo’s features will become inaccessible, including Miifotos, messages, and sidekick Miis. Head to Nintendo’s website for more information on how to save some of the app’s data before it closes.

Nintendo apologized to customers who are fans of the app, and noted that it will issue a refund of unused Miitomo coins purchased through IAPs. The refunds will appear after termination this May.

We recently decided to terminate the service on May 9, 2018 (Wednesday) on the application “Miitomo” for smartphones which started distribution on March 17, 2016.

We are sorry for the customers who have enjoyed it, thank you for your understanding.

As Nintendo’s first game for iOS and Android devices, Miitomo was a social networking style game that allowed players to create their own Mii, dress them up, and answer questions to discover new things about their friends. In the proceeding two months after the game launched, many players were seen to abandon the app and conversations about it on social media appeared to die down. SurveyMonkey summed it up in a report by stating that players simply “didn’t really get Miitomo.”

Nintendo fared better in subsequent apps that were more gaming focused, following Miitomo up with Super Mario Run in December 2016, Fire Emblem Heroes in February 2017, and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp in November 2017. The company is now said to be looking for additional mobile software developers to stay more on schedule with its iOS and Android game releases, and the next major title is rumored to be set in The Legend of Zelda universe.

Tags: Nintendo, Miitomo
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Apple Working on Redesigned Books App With ‘Simpler’ Interface and Overhauled Store

After changing the iBooks app to simply be called “Books” in the iOS 11.3 beta that released to developers yesterday, a new report out today by Mark Gurman at Bloomberg states that Apple is preparing to revamp the internals of the iPhone and iPad app as well.

In an update coming in the next few months — potentially with the public release of iOS 11.3 in the spring — Apple will redesign Books with a “simpler” interface aimed at highlighting books you’re currently reading in a “Reading Now” section.

On the store side of things, Books will gain a marketplace that looks like the new iOS App Store that debuted in iOS 11, tying more of Apple’s apps in together aesthetically. There will also be a dedicated tab for audio books.

According to Gurman, this major update to Books is Apple’s move to take on Amazon and the Kindle digital book market again. The Books redesign will come nearly five years after Apple and five publishers were found guilty of conspiring to inflate the prices of e-books to weaken Amazon’s dominant position in the market.

Apple is working on a redesigned version of its iBooks e-book reading application for iPhones and iPads and has hired an executive from Amazon to help.

This will be the biggest upgrade to Apple’s e-book service in several years and provides renewed competition in a market that Amazon has dominated.

In its preparation to fight against Amazon in the e-book market, Apple last month hired a senior vice president away from Amazon’s Audible business. The VP, Kashif Zafar, had also previously worked at Barnes & Noble on its Nook e-reader. His new title at Apple is “Global Head of iBooks,” and he’ll help Apple with “general management responsibility” across the company’s global digital books unit.

Tag: bloomberg.com
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Apple Notifies Developers of Tax and Pricing Changes in Some Foreign App Stores

Apple on Wednesday began sending out emails to let developers know of changes to the price of App Store apps in several countries, owing to regional adjustments in value added tax (via 9to5Mac).

Apple told developers that since January 1 it had been collecting taxes on the sale of apps and in-app purchases in Armenia, Belarus, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates.

The new policy means Apple is administering collection and remittance of tax to authorities at a rate of 20 percent in Armenia and Belarus; 5 percent in Saudi Arabia; 18 percent in Turkey; and 5 percent in United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile, in Switzerland, existing tax collections dropped from 8 percent to 7.7 percent.

Apple also announced price updates this week for the following countries: Czech Republic, where prices will decrease for apps and in-app purchases (excluding auto-renewable subscriptions); India, where prices will decrease for apps and in-app purchases (including auto-renewable subscriptions); and Turkey, Nigeria, Belarus, and Armenia, where prices will increase for apps and in-app purchases (excluding auto-renewable subscriptions).

As expected, App Store developer proceeds will be adjusted and calculated based on the new tax prices. In addition to the tax and price change notices, Apple reminded developers they can adjust subscription pricing at any time to preserve prices for existing customers. Using iTunes Connect, developers can also check new prices in the Pricing and Availability section of My Apps.

Tags: App Store, tax
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It’s curtains for Nintendo’s ‘Miitomo’ less than two years after launch

Miitomo fans, we have some bad news for you.

Nintendo has announced it’s shuttering the social app less than two years after its launch.

Miitomo was the Japanese game giant’s first-ever smartphone app, but despite the hype that surrounded its March 2016 arrival, as well as the backing of an outfit like Nintendo, it failed to win the hearts of the masses.

Nintendo said it stopped selling Miitomo coins on Wednesday, and will flip the switch on the app on May 9, 2018, disabling all of its features.

Up until then, you’ll still find daily login bonuses of Miitomo coins and game tickets so you can continue to enjoy Miitomo Drop and use other features such as the Miitomo shop.

While you’ll no longer be able to see your answers or messages in the app come May 9, or be able to use any items you’ve obtained (think clothing items, wallpapers, and posters), you will be able to transfer your Mii character to your Nintendo account by linking it to Miitomo. But take note, its personality and other information will be lost!

Other things to consider: Sidekick Mii characters will be deleted, but you can hold onto them by saving them as a QR code prior to May 9. You can then transfer them to Mii Maker on the Nintendo 3DS or the Wii U, Nintendo said.

Finally, if you have any Miifotos that you want to keep, be sure to save them to your smartphone before Nintendo closes the app down.

The Kyoto-based company didn’t offer a reason for why it’s ending support for its avatar-based social app, but evidently it now wants to put its resources into its newer mobile game offerings such as Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp.

In his review of Miitomo soon after its launch, Digital Trends’ gaming editor Mike Epstein found the app “interesting and fun,” but certainly wasn’t bowled over by it, calling it out for its “lack of any dedicated purpose or utility in the real world.” He also found that it drained his phone’s battery much faster than other apps, and used up a lot of storage space, too.

While Miitomo made some gains with a big update in November 2016, that and subsequent improvements clearly weren’t enough to propel the app to great heights, leading to Nintendo’s announcement this week.

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Xiaomi overtakes Samsung to become the largest smartphone brand in India

Xiaomi ends Samsung’s six-year dominance in India.

Xiaomi tied with Samsung for the top spot in India’s handset segment late last year, and with the momentum strongly in favor of the Chinese manufacturer, it was only a matter of time before it overtook Samsung. That day has arrived, as Xiaomi is now claiming that it is the largest smartphone brand in India on the back of Q4 sales.

The claim is backed up by numbers from both Counterpoint and Canalys, two market research firms that aggregate data from the Indian market. According to Counterpoint, India’s overall mobile phone shipments grew 37%, with smartphone shipments seeing a 12% uptick. Xiaomi was the manufacturer leading the charge, amassing a market share of 25% to beat out Samsung’s 24% in Q4 2017. Samsung still came out on top when you look at FY2017 numbers, with a market share of 25%, followed by Xiaomi at 19%.

Xiaomi was the clear frontrunner in the online segment, but the manufacturer laid the groundwork for its offline expansion last year, aggressively focusing on brick-and-mortar stores to drive sales. The move paid dividends, as noted by Counterpoint Research Associate Director Tarun Pathak:

During the second half, players such as Xiaomi was particularly disruptive with an aggressively-priced, broad portfolio taken to market with an effective channel expansion strategy.

Canalys data suggests Xiaomi has shipped 8.2 million units in Q4, nearly a million more than the 7.3 million Samsung managed in the same period. One reason for Samsung’s downturn comes from its inability to effectively match Xiaomi in the budget segment, which accounts for a majority of sales in India. From Canalys analyst Rushabh Doshi:

It has been unable to win over cost-conscious consumers, losing market share in the sub-INR15,000 (US$240) segment to Xiaomi quarter after quarter. Despite its ability to offer better margins and funding to the offline channel, consumer demand for Samsung’s devices has been weak.

Xiaomi hasn’t detailed its 2018 strategy for the Indian market, but a recent teaser by India PR lead Clinton Jeff suggests we’ll see the Redmi Note 5 in India next month. Xiaomi India head Manu Kumar Jain reiterated that India is a key market, and that the manufacturer will launch new product categories this year:

We are extremely pleased that we have been able to retain our position as the No 1 smartphone brand in the Indian market (including both online and offline markets) according to reports from Canalys and Counterpoint.. We are grateful for the constant love and support that we receive from our Mi Fans.

I believe our constant innovation across our products, operating model and our commitment to India has helped us win over our Mi fans. India is a key market for us and we will continue to launch new products and product categories for Indian Mi fans.

There’s no mention of what those products might be, but with Xiaomi increasingly focusing on its lifestyle label, we could see some smart home products making their debut in India.

In an odd twist, Samsung is refuting Xiaomi’s Q4 sales figures.

Now that’s where the story would usually end, but like an M. Night Shyamalan movie, there’s a twist here. Samsung has refuted the Q4 sales figures, stating that shipments don’t correlate to market share and that it is still the number one smartphone brand “by a distance.” Citing German market research firm GfK’s data — which details units sold to end users rather than shipments — Samsung is saying that it has a 45% value market share and 40% volume market share in the country:

Samsung is India’s number 1 smartphone company by a distance. As per GfK, which tracks sales to end consumers, in the last (November) quarter Samsung had a 45 percent value market share and 40 percent volume market share.

Samsung is a full range player and leads the smartphone business across every segment of the India market in 2017. More importantly, Samsung is India’s ‘Most Trusted’ brand. We owe our undisputed leadership to the love and trust of millions of our consumers in India.

Xiaomi countered the argument by stating that GfK doesn’t count the online segment, which accounts for 33% of all sales. Xiaomi dominates e-commerce sales in the country and is the largest online brand by some margin, so there is some validity to its claim.

We should have a clearer picture of the Indian handset ecosystem in a few months’ time, but what cannot be discounted is the magnitude of what Xiaomi has accomplished over the last few quarters. The brand went from 9% market share to 25% by aggressively focusing on the budget segment and making its phones available at thousands of retail stores. It’ll be interesting to see how Samsung responds this year.