Bumble ‘swipes left’ on Match Group’s lawsuit allegations

Match Group, which owns Tinder, Match.com and OKCupid, recently filed a lawsuit against Bumble, claiming that its rival violated two of its patents. Now Bumble has clapped back. In an open letter published on its website, Bumble says in no uncertain terms that it believes the lawsuit to be an extension of Match’s ongoing attempts to acquire it and calls the lawsuit “baseless.”

“We swipe left on you. We swipe left on your multiple attempts to buy us, copy us and, now, to intimidate us,” Bumble said in its letter. “We’ll never be yours. No matter the price tag, we’ll never compromise our values.” When reports of the lawsuit surfaced, many proposed that it was linked to Match’s buyout attempts and could just be a tactic to encourage Bumble to sell or scare off any other interested buyers. TechCrunch asked Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd if the company had received any offers from other companies, to which she replied, “Bumble is very excited about other potential opportunities that are still very much in discussion, and none of the recent news has affected these conversations.”

Tinder recently incorporated a Bumble-like feature that gives women control over initiating a conversation — something that Bumble cites multiple times in its letter. “We’re more than a feature where women make the first move. Empowerment is in our DNA. You can’t copy that,” it said. “So when you announced recently, in another attempt to intimidate us, that you were going to try to replicate our core, women-first offering and plug it in to Tinder, we applauded you for the attempt to make that subsidiary safer.”

Bumble goes on to call Match Group a bully and emphasize that it won’t be intimidated by the litigation. “We as a company will always swipe right for empowered moves, and left on attempts to disempower us. We encourage every user to do the same. As one of our mottos goes, ‘bee kind or leave,’” writes Bumble. “We wish you the best, but consider yourselves blocked.”

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Bumble

New Report Looks Into Apple’s Growing Promotional Presence Within Popular TV Shows

Over the years, Apple has included its products in well-known television shows and movies as a way to spread awareness and promote recent launches of its iPhones, iPads, and more. Variety today reported that the company is appearing to increase the presence of these promotional campaigns, with some TV shows including direct connections to the Cupertino company in the closing credits.

Fox’s cop drama 9-1-1 includes multiple instances of Apple’s iPhone as the main smartphone for its characters, and each episode ends with a “promotional consideration sponsored by Apple” message. According to the report, Apple has recently moved from simple “surprising cameos” to taking directly credited roles in popular TV shows as it does in 9-1-1.

Image from 9-1-1 via YouTube
Ad agency the Omnicom Group — which buys ad time for Apple — denied having anything to do with purchasing the 9-1-1 appearances. Although Apple and Fox declined to officially comment, marketing professor P.K. Kannan noted that amid the growing prices of Apple products, placing iPhones and MacBooks in the hands of celebrities could garner more attention than a regular TV ad. It usually takes a little while before Apple’s latest phones appear regularly in TV shows, and 9-1-1 appears to still be using pre-iPhone X devices.

“They need to sell their increasingly more expensive smartphones to keep their revenues flowing in,” notes P.K. Kannan, a marketing professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. “Producers and marketers of hardware have a tough problem when they release new models – convincing the customers of their older models to upgrade to the new versions.”

Getting a new iPhone “in the hands of a cool celebrity in a movie or music video or TV program is more likely to garner attention and interest rather than a straight and persuasive TV advertisement,” says Kannan. “If done right, product placements can lead to more viral campaigns than other forms of ads. Apple is probably counting on this.”

As Variety pointed out, Apple’s promotional placements are also “substantially cheaper” than normal commercials.

The in-show placements aren’t necessarily free – supplying product costs something – but they are substantially cheaper than traditional TV commercials. And that frees Apple up to spend heavily in more obvious ways. Among 2016 and 2017 TV programs, Apple spent the most on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” according to Kantar Media, a tracker of ad spending. Last season, the average cost of a 30-second ad in that show was $728,434, according to Variety’s annual survey of primetime ad prices.

A few days before the original iPad launched in April 2010, an episode of ABC’s Modern Family revolved around lead character Phil Dunphy’s quest to find one of the new tablets on launch day. Five years later, the sitcom set an entire episode on the screen of Claire Dunphy’s MacBook and was shot using an iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2. Neither instance included the promotional disclosure message that has appeared on 9-1-1, and Apple “didn’t pay a cent” for its devices’ integral parts in each story.

Although one HBO spokesperson explained that “products in shows are creative decisions, not product placements,” Variety said that for many professionals in advertising and production circles, these decisions are still “aimed at selling tech.” In an interesting aside, a person close to the production of Showtime’s Homeland pointed out that the show tries to keep its main characters supplied with smartphones from Apple, Google, Blackberry, and Samsung, while preventing these same phones from appearing “in the hands of evil figures.”

Apple is also planning to launch its own slate of original TV programs, where users can likely expect to see characters using many of the company’s own products. Although the debut of the service is still uncertain, we’re now up to about 12 shows confirmed to eventually launch on the streaming platform. These include shows from M. Night Shyamalan, Damien Chazelle, Steven Spielberg, and more.

Tag: variety.com
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Audible returns to Sonos speakers after two-year hiatus

It’s taken a while (over two years in fact), but Audible is now available on Sonos again. Following an incompatible update the service was removed in August 2015, much to the annoyance of bibliophiles everywhere, but today it makes its triumphant return — and support for Alexa is set to follow, too. Just add Audible as a service in the Sonos App, or play directly from the Audible app, to get started.

Report: Twitter violates human rights by failing to protect women

Amnesty International’s latest report discusses what a lot of Twitter’s female users already know: the social network is toxic for women. The non-government organization says the platform fails to respect women’s rights by not “investigating and responding to reports of violence and abuse in a transparent manner.” By being inconsistent in the enforcement of policies and by failing to clarify what is and isn’t acceptable on the platform, it’s fostering a hostile environment. That forces women to self-censor and even to stay silent due to fear of receiving abusive messages, including rape and death threats. According to Amnesty, that makes the problem a human rights issue.

The group’s technology and human rights researcher Azmina Dhrodia told TechCrunch that the organization is framing Twitter’s abuse problem towards women as a human rights issue in an effort to force the platform to enforce its policies consistently and in a transparent way. Part of Amnesty’s report reads:

“Twitter, as a company, has a specific responsibility to respect all human rights — including the rights to non-discrimination and freedom of expression and opinion — and to take concrete steps to avoid causing or contributing to abuses of those rights. This includes taking action to identify, prevent, address and account for human rights abuses that are linked to its operations. Specifically, as part of its human rights due diligence, Twitter should be assessing — on an ongoing and proactive basis – how its policies and practices impact on users’ right to freedom of expression and opinion as well other rights, and take steps to mitigate or prevent any possible negative impacts.”

The NGO interviewed 86 women from the UK and the US for the report, including ordinary users and public figures like politicians, journalists, activists, bloggers, writers, comedians and game developers. Twitter rolled out policies meant to address hate speech and sexual harassment late last year, but Amnesty said those aren’t enough to “tackle the scale and nature of violence and abuse against women” on the website. Also, Twitter failed to provide the organization with meaningful data on how it responds to reports of abuse.

The group wants Twitter to share specific examples of the type of hate speech, threats, and so on and forth, that it won’t tolerate — it wants to know where the platform draws the line. It also wants Twitter to share data on how quickly it responds to reports, as well as info on how its content moderators are trained on gender issues and international human rights standards.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Amnesty International

HTC Vive Focus headset will be available outside of China soon

If you’re interested in the HTC Vive Focus VR headset but you don’t live in China, you’ve basically been out of luck. That is, until now. Today, HTC announced that the Vive Focus would be available in international markets later this year. It’s the first 6DOF (six degrees of freedom) headset that’s commercially available.

If you’re interested in developing software for the Vive Focus, HTC has made international developer kits available starting today. You must be registered with HTC through its developer portal to access them.

We tested the HTC Vive Focus back in November and were impressed by the results, though our short time with it meant we didn’t quite get the chance to figure all of it out. The bottom line, however, was that this piece of tech has a lot of potential, though the full experience will heavily depend on the quality of the apps.

Source: HTC

Netflix’s latest original: A typeface

If you’re averse to change, then you might not like Netflix’s most recent announcement. According to It’s Nice That, the streaming service is changing its typeface from the old reliable Gotham to Netflix Sans. It was developed with typeface designers Dalton Maag.

The reasoning behind the switch is simple. First, typefaces are critical to the way people interact with an online service such as Netflix. This move gives the team more ownership over the entire experience. Second, licensing the Gotham typeface has gotten expensive, according to Netflix brand design lead Noah Nathan. “Developing this typeface not only created an ownable and unique element for the brand’s aesthetic . . . but saves the company millions of dollars a year as foundries move towards impression-based licensing for their typefaces in many digital advertising spaces,” Nathan said to It’s Nice That.

It’s not clear when we’ll see this typeface roll out across Netflix’s services, but eagle-eyed viewers will probably notice the change when it occurs. We’ve got some images of what the new typeface will look like below.

Images: Netflix and Dalton Maag

Source: It’s Nice That

Jimmy Iovine reportedly plans reduced role at Apple Music

In January, rumors surfaced that Jimmy Iovine would be leaving Apple Music later this year, but he denied the reports, saying there was still more he would like to do in the music streaming business. However, according to the Wall Street Journal, the Interscope Records and Beats co-founder will be scaling back his involvement with Apple Music starting in August. Sources close to Iovine say that he’ll transition to a consulting role and will no longer be involved with daily operations.

Iovine joined Apple when it bought Beats in 2014. He helped the company launch Apple Music, which has grown steadily and may overtake Spotify in subscribers this year. Iovine was also behind Apple Music’s incorporation of original video like the Carpool Karaoke and Planet of the Apps series.

According to the Wall Street Journal’s sources, Iovine plans to spend more time with his family after he steps back from Apple Music, though he’ll assist Apple Senior VP Eddy Cue when needed.

Via: Wall Street Journal

‘Below’ is going to come out this year, seriously

Capybara Games announced Below during Microsoft’s 2013 E3 conference, sandwiched between details about the Xbox One, which would hit retail later that year. When it launched, Below was going to be console-exclusive to the Xbox One for an unspecified amount of time, and it immediately captured the imagination of fans and press. It was a visually powerful game, showcasing a tiny protagonist who explored caverns that stretched for miles beyond the screen, hiding mysteries and adventure around every corner. Below served as a testament to Microsoft’s commitment to being a hub for innovative games, regardless of whether they were created by mainstream studios or independent developers.

And then Below disappeared. It didn’t come out in 2013, with the launch of the Xbox One, and it didn’t come out in 2015 or 2016, even though Capy had promised it would. Two years later, Below still doesn’t have a concrete release date — but creative director Kris Piotrowski says it’ll probably, most likely, hit Xbox One and Steam this year. For real this time.

“I still can’t say the exact date, but we are aiming for this year — although we’ve said that over and over, so,” Piotrowski says. “We have all the systems in place and now we’re kind of going deeper and deeper through the world, and polishing and trying to just get it all packaged up.”

Piotrowski says the development team is putting the final touches on Below — polishing its intro and outro sections, and fine-tuning details across the entire game. Though Capy has a track record of promising a launch and later backing off, this time around it feels different to Piotrowski. After five years of public development, he says Capy is truly, finally, almost done with Below.

The extra years may have served Below well. Aside from allowing Capy to create the fully realized experience it envisioned from the start, the extra few years in development allowed for the Xbox One X to appear on the market. Today, Below runs in 4K at 60fps on the Xbox One X.

“It’s one of the few benefits of spending so long, a new television resolution has appeared in our development,” Piotrowski says.

Capy showed off Below in 4K for the first time ever at GDC, and the results were remarkable. The upgrade was most noticeable as the main character traversed a wide open field, where each blade of grass waved, crisp and responsive to every digital footfall or gust of wind.

Regardless of any past promises about release dates or development timelines, Below has clearly benefitted from extra time in the oven — and it’s not even out yet. Still.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from GDC 2018!

Apple Watch Gets New Spring Collection of Bands, Available to Order Later This Month

Apple today debuted a new Spring Collection of Apple Watch bands, available to order from Apple.com and at select Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Resellers across the United States and other countries later this month.

Woven Nylon bands now include an updated stripe pattern, and there’s new colors of the Sport Band, Sport Loop, and Classic Buckle.

• Sport Band in Denim Blue, Lemonade, and Red Raspberry
• Woven Nylon in Black Stripe, Blue Stripe, Gray Stripe, and Pink Stripe
• Sport Loop in Flash Light, Hot Pink, Marine Green, and Tahoe Blue
• Classic Buckle in Spring Yellow, Electric Blue, and Soft Pink

Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular) will include new 38mm and 42mm Space Gray Aluminum Case with Black Sport Loop models.

Apple said the Nike Sport Loop will now be sold separately in a variety of colors matching with the latest Nike running shoes. There’s also new colors for the Nike Sport Band, which Apple already sells separately:

• Nike Sport Loop in Black/Pure Platinum, Bright Crimson/Black, Cargo Khaki, Midnight Fog, and Pearl Pink
• Nike Sport Band in Barely Rose/Pearl Pink, Black/White, and Cargo Khaki/Black

Apple Watch Nike+ (GPS + Cellular) will include new 38mm and 42mm Space Gray Aluminum Case with Midnight Fog Nike Sport Loop models.

For Apple Watch Hermès, the Single Tour Rallye and Double Tour bands now display contrasting paint details:

• 38mm Double Tour in Indigo with rouge H polished edge and rouge H contrasted loop
• 38mm Double Tour in Blanc with rouge H polished edge and rouge H contrasted loop
• 42mm Single Tour Rallye in Indigo with rouge H polished edge and rouge H contrasted loop
• 42mm Single Tour Rallye in Blanc with rouge H polished edge and rouge H contrasted loop

Apple’s press release outlines complete pricing and availability information for the new Spring Collection bands and models.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 4Tag: Apple Watch bandsBuyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Neutral)
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Chase Bank Finally Supports iPhone X Display

While not mentioned in the release notes, Chase Bank today finally updated its iOS app to be optimized for the iPhone X’s taller display.

Chase Mobile was one of the most widely used apps that lacked full support the iPhone X, as we noted earlier this month. Other notable absentees include iMovie, Amazon Alexa, Inbox by Gmail, Google Authenticator, and NBC Sports, but many developers told MacRumors that updates are in the works.

Starting in April, Apple says all new iOS apps submitted to the App Store must support the iPhone X display. The rule doesn’t apply to existing apps.

Here’s what else is new in the latest Chase Mobile version:

• New “Profile & Settings” screen makes it easier to access alerts, messages, documents, and settings.
• Conveniently set up and manage automatic payments for Chase credit cards.
• Add pay-from accounts from other banks to pay your Chase credit card bill.
• Eligible customers can add their accounts from other banks, and use them to transfer money to and from their Chase accounts.

Chase Mobile is available for free on the App Store for iPhone and supports both Touch ID and Face ID for login authentication.
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