YouTube will reportedly tackle TikTok with upcoming ‘Shorts’ video feed

There’s no doubt that TikTok and its format of short, music-backed video clips has been a runaway success, filling the void left behind by the likes of Vine years before it. Now, YouTube wants in.

According to sources speaking with The Information, the Google-owned video giant is planning a Shorts feature that will more or less mimic TikTok’s functionality from within the YouTube mobile app.

Just like the rivalling TikTok platform, YouTube’s Shorts is said to offer a feed of user-created short videos along with tools to make them yourself, including access to the video platform’s extensive catalog of licensed music to use for soundtracking purposes.

Obviously, gaining popularity isn’t as simple as offering the same set of features as an existing platform – YouTube has attempted a similar thing with its Instagram-esque Stories feature in the past. 

At least some part of the formula that makes an app ‘take off’ is organic and uncontrollable, but it seems that some of TikTok’s appeal came from its encouragement of user-made, amateur videos rather than longer, more produced content.

Admittedly, we’re not positive whether this feature is indeed even being worked on at this stage, let alone when it will launch. That said, if we’re to believe the sources, we should be seeing Shorts land in the YouTube app by the end of the year.

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Apple buys Dark Sky weather app and shuts down the Android version

Dark Sky for iOS is one of the most popular weather apps available, and Apple has clearly taken notice, because now the tech giant has officially acquired the “hyperlocal” weather app.

Compared with other contenders in the same category, Dark Sky is noted for having more granular detail on the weather at a user’s actual location, offering “down-to-the-minute forecasts” via a pleasing user interface.

News of the acquisition was announced via a blog post from the app developers which also outlined the key changes that the purchase will bring. Most notably among them will be the discontinuation of the Android and Wear OS version of the Dark Sky apps.

“The app will no longer be available for download. Service to existing users and subscribers will continue until July 1, 2020, at which point the app will be shut down. Subscribers who are still active at that time will receive a refund.”

That same July 1, 2020 cutoff applies to weather forecasts, maps and embeds from the Dark Sky website, which will be shut down on that date.

Along with the death of the Android app, Dark Sky’s API (application programming interface) will no longer be available for others to use, meaning that other popular apps like Carrot Weather that rely on the API will have to find an alternative solution, although they’ll be given until the end of 2021 to do so.

For those currently using the iOS app, “there will be no changes at this time”, according to Dark Sky, so you can continue to purchase the app via the iOS app store. 

With that said, it’s very possible we could see Apple’s own weather app get a makeover at some point down the line given how well-received Dark Sky’s user interface and hyperlocal capabilities are, so here's hoping.

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Google’s new true wireless Pixel Buds show up in FCC filing

Google’s second generation of Pixel Buds – a true wireless successor to its neckband-touting forebear – was announced in October during the company’s Made by Google event, and now they’ve been spotted passing through the FCC.

The new Buds were scheduled to land sometime in Spring (for the US), and that season has just now begun, so the timing for them to gain certification from the FCC is right on track and they’ll likely be hitting shelves soon.

Initially, we were fully anticipating the new Pixel Buds to launch at this year’s Google I/O event scheduled for May 12-14, but this was completely cancelled due to concerns over the coronavirus, so it’s likely that they’ll instead roll out with slightly reduced fanfare via a blog post or similar.

google pixel buds

The filing contains two different listings, with 9to5Google (who spotted the listing to begin with) positing that each model number could correlate to the earbuds and the charging case respectively.

What we know so far of the new earbuds is that, unlike the original Pixel Buds, they will be truly wireless, with no cord to connect them. The charging case will be considerably more compact, sleek and compatible with wireless charging as well.

The Buds themselves will offer 5 hours of listening on a single charge, and the case will hold an extra 24 hours in reserve. The new ear-tip design promises to offer more of a seal but still allows you to hear ambient sound with what Google calls a ‘spatial vent’.

They’re sweat- and water-resistant, have a small wing to help secure them in place, feature touch sensors on each ‘bud that respond to tapping and swiping for control, and sport integrated Google Assistant (of course) for all your voice-control needs.

While we still don’t have a firm release date on the new Google Pixel Buds, we can expect them to land in the coming weeks at a price of $179 (about £140 / AU$270, although global pricing hasn’t yet been announced).

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YouTube and game downloads add to growing list of throttled services

In light of the unprecedented number of people that are now either working from home or self-isolated in other ways due to Covid-19, companies responsible for various major online services have had to adapt to the increased demand.

Netflix has already acted by reducing the bitrate of its streaming content, and now Google, Sony and Microsoft have joined in by limiting the impact that their YouTube, PlayStation and Xbox services respectively have on congestion and overall bandwidth usage. 

YouTube throttling

For Google, the company is making its YouTube video platform default to the 480p picture quality setting globally, just a few days after it enacted the change in Europe. This means that anyone accessing a YouTube video going forward will have it automatically set to the standard definition setting (480p), but they’ll be able to adjust it back to a higher setting if they want.

The change is being rolled out globally over the coming days so may not be in place for every user at this stage, but it’s expected to last for at least 30 days. It’s worth noting that this period could well be extended as the situation develops.

While, theoretically, everyone could simply revert to the highest available resolution every time they watch a video, the rationale is that many videos (such as those viewed on smartphones, for instance) don’t require a high-resolution stream to get the most out of them, and many users won’t notice the difference.

Sony and other gaming companies

As for Sony’s part in all this, a post on its PlayStation blog has outlined that the company will be throttling the speed at which players can download games in Europe, but assures the community that online gameplay isn’t being impacted.

Specifically, Sony has said that gamers might experience “somewhat slower or delayed game downloads but will still enjoy robust gameplay” in order to “address internet stability concerns”.

As pointed out by major US content delivery service Akamai in a blog post, “a software update for a modern game generates an amount of traffic roughly equal to 30,000 web pages”.

As such, the company is talking to the video game industry’s leading distributors of software, including both Microsoft and Sony, to see if they can help manage internet congestion during peak times.

Microsoft’s current statement does mention that the company will be “actively monitoring performance and usage trends to ensure [it’s] optimizing the service”, but there isn’t currently any measure in place.

At this stage there’s no official word from other companies that distribute gaming software, such as Nintendo, Valve or Epic Games, on whether measures will be introduced, but we’ll likely find out over the coming days and weeks.

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HP, Microsoft and Valve are working together on a new VR headset

In a video posted to the Steam gaming storefront, HP has teased a next-gen VR headset that the company has developed in collaboration with Valve and Microsoft.

The new device follows on from the company’s Reverb headset from last year and has been announced alongside the release of what was arguably the most anticipated VR title to date – Half-Life: Alyx.

The actual details revealed in the video are quite minimal, but one of the two main featured phrases – “no compromises” – indicates that the headset will likely pack a punch when it comes to processing power and, as a result, may be less on the entry-level side of the market.

The text that accompanies the trailer promises that the new HMD (head-mounted display) is “the new standard in VR” and that it will deliver “an immersive, comfortable and compatible VR experience”.

Given the partnership with Valve and Microsoft, it’s quite likely that this new headset will support both SteamVR and Windows Mixed Reality, just as the current generation Reverb headset does.

From the brief glimpse you can see of the headset from the teaser trailer, it certainly does resemble the original Reverb with its dual external cameras, so we’re anticipating this to be a second generation Reverb rather than a new product.

While no pricing or availability information have been revealed, as mentioned earlier, we anticipate this won’t be an entry-level device given the language used to promote it, so it’s likely to land at a higher price point than the Oculus Rift S ($399 / £399 / AU$649), for instance.

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Android 11 Developer Preview 2 promises improvements for foldable phones

Google launched its first Developer Preview of Android 11 much earlier than anticipated, and the tech giant has now followed it up with a second developer-focused (DP2) release of its mobile OS, building on some of the initial improvements and adding a few extra.

You can download the new version from the Android Developer blog, but as was the case with the first release, it’s still only compatible with Google Pixel handsets (excluding the first generation) and you’ll need to flash your device in order to install it, unless you have the previous version which will get updated over-the-air.

Because of this rather involved setup process, and its niche prerequisites, it’s clear that the update is still intended purely for developers, but we can still learn plenty about what Google aims to introduce when Android 11 does hit the mainstream.

New features

One of the main new additions found in DP2 is support for apps to communicate with the hinge sensors in foldable phones, allowing them to detect the angle that the phone is folded at and behave accordingly.

While there are multiple ways in which this information could manifest within app changes, perhaps the most pertinent one would be the ability for the app in question to change its view and input method when it detects the screen to be folded, dividing its display and keyboard between the two halves, for instance.

Apps will also be able to set a preferred screen refresh rate, so for the increasing amount of phones that feature variable rates (the Google Pixel 4 being among them), the handset will be able to adjust automatically when open.

Some improvements to additions from the first Developer Preview have landed too, with 5G detection getting more granular so that apps can more accurately tell when a user is on a high-speed network and adapt its experience accordingly.

Apps will also be able to access more details when it comes to call screening functionality, so they can now report more specifically on the reason for a call being rejected, enable users to mark them as spam from within the app, and access the user’s contacts for cross-referencing.

Android 11’s public release is still slated for Q3 of 2020 and there’s no guarantee that any of the features from this early in the testing stage will make it, but for the major updates at least, we’re very likely to see them in the final build given the history of Android updates.

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iPhone 9 Plus reportedly confirmed in iOS 14 code

Apple has had a tendency to inadvertently reveal a lot of its upcoming product launches in early versions of its operating systems, and this time is no exception. An early version of iOS 14 has been a treasure trove of new information, and now it may have also confirmed the iPhone 9 Plus.

According to 9to5Mac, some of the code available in an early version of iOS 14 seems to suggest the existence of a larger version of Apple’s rumored entry-level iPhone – the spiritual successor to the iPhone SE.

It’s not clear yet if this will arrive in the form of an iPhone SE 2 and iPhone SE 2 Plus, or an iPhone 9 and iPhone 9 Plus, as both nomenclatures are based on speculation and rumors.

The iOS 14 code also reveals that both the smaller and larger phones are set to run on the A13 Bionic chip, the same unit found in the iPhone 11,  11 Pro and 11 Pro Max.

The supposed evidence points to the new entry-level iPhones using the same Touch ID-enabled home button as the iPhone 8 range instead of adopting the Face ID of the more expensive models.

For users upgrading from older models of iPhone, this iPhone 9 range should prove to be an attractive upgrade due to the A13 Bionic chip's increased performance as well as its ability to use Apple Pay, the Express Transit feature, and scan NFC tags.

Also revealed in the same code were further details on an upcoming iPad Pro, including evidence of a triple-lens camera that features a wide-angle, ultra-wide, and telephoto lens alongside a time-of-flight sensor for depth of field effects.

While we’ve found details in iOS code to be accurate in the past, we still can’t be entirely confident of this information’s veracity, so stay tuned for official announcements on Apple’s next affordable iPhones to know for sure.

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Apple’s Powerbeats 4 show up on shelves ahead of official announcement

Although Apple hasn’t let loose any official word on the Powerbeats 4 wireless in-ears, rumours and leaks of their existence have been popping up over the last few weeks. Now, they’ve even been seen on shelves.

As reported by 9to5Mac, a reader found the new Powerbeats 4 available for $149 at his local Walmart in Rochester, New York. It’s unclear if this is the final retail price as we’ll have to wait for official word on that front, but the Powerbeats 3 launched for $199 (£169.95 / AU$259).

As can be seen, the new iteration of Apple’s wireless earbuds from the Beats by Dre brand are available in the anticipated black, red, and white color options. They also feature the improved ear hook design that we expected would carry across from the true wireless Powerbeats Pro.

Similarly, the packaging claims that the wireless in-ears will boast up to 15 hours battery life, a step up from the 12 hours offered by the Powerbeats 3 and something we anticipated, given that the new units likely include Apple’s H1 chip.

The addition of this chip also introduces “Hey Siri” functionality (a detail that was discovered in the iOS 13.3 code), allowing users to access Apple's digital assistant directly via a voice command instead of needing to wake it with a button press.

While this is as clear a confirmation of the product’s existence as we can get without it being Apple’s official word, it’s worth noting that the tech giant hasn’t made any official announcement at this point, so we’re yet to learn all details on the latest wireless in-ears from Beats.

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Whisper app exposes intimate secrets of nearly a billion users

Whisper is a social media platform and app that’s core focus is to allow its users to anonymously share secrets, often intimate in nature, and chat to people with shared interests.

An investigation by The Washington Post, however, has revealed that Whisper left the information of nearly 900 million users exposed to anyone that wanted to view it, located in a database that wasn’t password protected and was accessible by the public.

The database contained a variety of compromising user details that are tied to each ‘whisper’ (the platform’s name for a post), including sexual orientation, gender, age, ethnicity, nickname, place of work and the location data for the user’s last post.

While the database didn’t contain the real names of any users, the researchers that uncovered it were concerned that the amount of information included could have lead to individuals being uncovered, and even blackmailed given the private nature of the platform.

Obviously this is concerning for any user, but it’s especially troubling considering Whisper allows any user over the age of 13 to sign up. A reporter with the Post found 1.3 million results when searching the database for users that had listed their age as being 15.

Immediately after the researchers had alerted both the company and law enforcement to the database, access to it was blocked. In response, a representative of Whisper told the Post that the extra data tied to posts was “a consumer facing feature of the application which users can choose to share or not share”.

After being found to collect location data on its users in 2014, even if they’d opted out, Whisper stated that it doesn’t follow or track its users and that its database isn’t accessible to the public. The app first launched in 2012 but it’s unclear exactly how many years this database has been exposed to the public for.

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Apple changes official stance, now says it’s fine to disinfect your iPhone

Although the tech giant previously advised against the idea of using disinfectants on its devices, Apple has updated its website with instructions on how to clean its products in light of coronavirus

Before this update, the Cupertino company had been firmly against the use of any chemical whatsoever to clean its products due to the potential degradation of the oleophobic coating – a protective layer used on touchscreen devices like the iPhone and iPad to avoid fingerprints and smudges.

“Using a 70 percent isopropyl alcohol wipe or Clorox Disinfecting Wipes, you may gently wipe the exterior surfaces of your iPhone,” the site reads. “Don't use bleach. Avoid getting moisture in any openings, and don't submerge your iPhone in any cleaning agents.”

It’s obvious that nothing about the devices themselves has changed to warrant this new information, so it’s a sign that Apple is taking the need for disinfection seriously enough to alter its advice.

The instructions are rather specific on what to use and what to avoid and vary depending on which model iPhone, iPad, display, or Mac you have.

For most cases, however, you must first unplug any cables from your device, switch it off and use a “soft, slightly damp, lint-free cloth – for example, a lens cloth” to wipe it down. This refers to a microfibre cloth as they aren’t likely to scratch your screen.

For the latest range of iPhone 11 handsets, due to their superior waterproofing, you can also use the same type of cloth dipped in warm, soapy water for more stubborn grime.

If you’re unsure about your specific Apple product, visit the website and choose your device from the menu to see the relevant instructions.

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Apple to pay up to $500 million for deliberately slowing older iPhones

Towards the end of 2017, Apple fessed up, admitting that it had been deliberately and secretly slowing older models of iPhone in order to eke out extra life from their aging batteries. Understandably, the company’s customers weren’t happy and the stealthy throttling led to several lawsuits.

Now, the Cupertino firm has filed a settlement in a California court, agreeing to pay up to $500 million (with a minimum of $310 million) in the form of payments to affected US customers.

This includes $25 to anyone who owned one of the affected iPhones (listed below) and sums of either $1,500 or $3,500 to members of the class action lawsuit. 

These amounts will vary depending on how many people claim, as individual payouts will decrease if they exceed the maximum total of $500 million. However, if fewer people claim, the $310 million will go further for each individual (after $93 million is taken off for legal fees, of course).

Affected smartphones are considered any of the following, so long as they were running iOS 10.2.1 or later or, in the case of iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, it could have been running iOS 11.2 or later so long as it was doing so before December 21, 2017.

The case against Apple claimed that, due to the processor speeds slowing, consumers were being led to believe their current smartphone was nearing its end of life earlier than it actually was.

This prompted them to upgrade to a newer model, at considerable cost, when they could have simply replaced the battery had they known that was the cause of the issue.

The settlement allows Apple to deny that it did anything wrong in the legal sense, and the individual compensation has been described as “fair, reasonable, and adequate” by lawyers representing the consumers, according to Reuters.

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Spotify Australia just launched a swathe of original and exclusive local podcasts

While Spotify currently dominates the globe on the music streaming front, the Swedish company has made it clear it wants to overtake Apple and conquer the realm of podcasts too, and its latest money move has arrived in the form of new Spotify Original and Exclusive podcasts for Australia.

This time last year, the streaming giant dropped US$200 million to help secure its podcasting future, acquiring the likes of Gimlet Media and claiming it would like to become “both the premier producer of podcasts and the leading platform for podcast creators”.

Podcasting is well and truly on the rise Down Under, with the number of weekly podcast listeners in the country increasing 50% over the last three years, bringing it up to 5.7 million active listeners (or 22% of the Australian population).

Australian launch

Two of the exclusive podcasts that have just landed for Australian listeners include season 2 of Extremes by Vice, as well as Generation Betoota from the team behind the satirical news website, The Betoota Advocate.

The second season of Vice’s Extremes will continue exploring the incredible stories of individuals who have survived against insane odds, while Generation Betoota will apply the special flavour of satire the Advocate is known for to a weekly youth-news podcast, “featuring stories young people care about, using the language they’re fluent in”.

Sound Up is a program Spotify first ran in 2018, which sought to raise the voices of First Nations Australians by offering applicants the opportunity to receive podcasting advice, equipment, and a grant that would enable their idea to reach market.

The streaming company has announced that Sound Up will be returning again in 2020 for Australia, and that one of the grant recipients of 2018’s program, Rowdie Walden, will be launching his podcast as a Spotify Original in May this year.

Walden’s project, Search Engine Sex, tackles some of the sex-related questions that are most commonly searched for online, providing advice, answers and practical information to potentially awkward situations.

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Google wants Android back on Huawei devices, has applied for a license

After the US government placed a ban on certain Chinese companies working with local businesses, Huawei was forced to drop Google’s Android operating system from all its devices as the search giant was an American company.

Now, Google has applied for a license with the US government, asking permission to resume business with the Chinese company, only a few days after it warned Huawei device users not to sideload its apps for security reasons.

The vice president for Google Play and Android, Sameer Samat, revealed the news while speaking with German news outlet DPA (Deutsche Presse-Agentur), although he didn’t mention when a decision on the application would be made.

Towards the end of last year, Microsoft was granted a similar license in order to continue having its Windows operating systems ship with Huawei laptop products, such as the excellent MateBook 13, so there’s certainly precedence for Google’s application.

Since having to abandon Google’s Android operating system, its Play Store app shopfront, and the Play Protect certification that comes with it, Huawei has had to develop its own alternative – the snappily-titled Huawei Mobile Services and its AppGallery.

It’s unclear just how significant the impact of the trade ban has been on Huawei’s business as only two devices (the Mate 30 phablet and Mate XS foldable) have launched without Android thus far, and while the former has just arrived in the UK, neither have made it to the US, Australia or other Western markets.

It seems likely that Huawei’s phone sales in the West would be helped by the ability to access the wide range of apps available on the Google Play Store, not to mention support for Google’s own apps such as Gmail, YouTube, Drive, and Google Maps.

While Huawei is attempting to rapidly expand the apps available on its own AppGallery, there are some notable absences among some of the more popular apps, including WhatsApp, Instagram, Netflix, Uber Eats, and Messenger.

Midway through 2018, Huawei overtook Apple to become the world’s second largest Smartphone manufacturer, second only to Samsung, so we’re hoping it can buddy back up with Google and continue developing competitive and powerful devices.

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The Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra’s 120Hz display is a huge battery hog

One of the star features of Samsung’s latest Galaxy S20 Ultra flagship smartphone is its ability to run its display at a silky smooth 120Hz, but as discovered by our sister site Tom’s Guide, this optional setting doesn’t play nice with overall battery life.

The team conducted a series of tests that compared the beastly 6.9-inch handset’s battery life in both 60Hz and 120Hz refresh rate modes, measuring how long it would last on average while continuously surfing the web with a screen brightness of 150 nits.

Tom’s Guide found that the phone’s massive 5,000mAh cell would last on average about 12 hours in the 60Hz mode, but when the same was done in the 120Hz mode, the test results weighed in at just over 9 hours, representing almost 3 hours (or 25%) less battery life than in the default 60Hz mode.

A larger battery drain when using this boosted mode isn’t necessarily surprising, but the extent of its impact is worth noting for those trying to eke out extra life from their Galaxy S20 Ultra.

As mentioned, the 60Hz mode is enabled by default, and with it you get an increased resolution (3,200 x 1,440 pixels) compared to 120Hz mode (2,400 x 1,080 pixels), so we’d recommend only switching it on when gaming or if you’re not that bothered by a shorter battery life.

Officially fast

Thankfully, battery-life related news on the S20 Ultra isn’t all bad today, with the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) announcing that the Galaxy S20 range of smartphones has just become the first ever to receive its USB Fast Charger Certification.

While plenty of handsets have already been released with some form of fast charging, what separates the Galaxy S20 range (according to USB-IF) is its support for the Programmable Power Supply (PPS) feature.

In brief, this should allow Samsung’s latest flagships to manage heat more effectively while charging rapidly and, in turn, work more optimally with any third party fast charger... so long as that charger also has the same certification and is able to produce the required current and voltage.

Without PPS, the phone and charger aren’t able to effectively communicate with each other in order to determine the maximum speed at which the charger can charge, so instead it would default to a slower, safer option.

The certification is great news for the future of fast charging, but at present, there aren’t too many options available that support the Galaxy S20 and S20 Plus 25W fast charging, and even fewer for the Galaxy S20 Ultra’s 45W, so sticking to a Samsung-made charger is still (and perhaps unsurprisingly) recommended.

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Samsung admits to leaking personal data of around 150 users

Late last week, Samsung Galaxy smartphone users around the globe received a strange notification from the Find My Mobile app which simply contained the number ‘1’. At the time, Samsung stated it was accidentally sent during internal testing and has “no effect on your device”.

Today, the South Korean tech giant has admitted that another glitch occurred at almost the same time, resulting in a “small number” of users that were able to briefly access information from other Samsung users, including names, addresses and the last four digits of their payment cards.

In a statement made to SamMobile, the smartphone maker claims that the two issues were unrelated and that it was purely a coincidence that they occurred at around the same time. Samsung further clarified that the unintentional leak was the result of a technical error on the company’s UK website, and only affected 150 customers.

Trust?

Speaking with The Register, a spokesperson for Samsung provided some additional details on the issue: "A technical error resulted in a small number of users being able to access the details of another user. As soon as we became aware of the incident, we removed the ability to log in to the store on our website until the issue was fixed. We will be contacting those affected by the issue with further details."

That statement echoes Samsung’s official one on the mysterious “1” push notification – that, too, was said to only have affected a “limited number" of Galaxy devices, but based on an informal internal poll here at TechRadar, the reality seems to be that every Galaxy device user received the message.

Even without a direct link to the push notification debacle, the revelations around this new leak are concerning due to the type of personal data involved. And as with that Find My Phone glitch, Samsung has so far been tight lipped when it comes to providing specific details about the cause of the leak.

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