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WarnerMedia has finally launched its new streaming platform HBO Max today, joining the other online entertainment services under the AT&T umbrella. The service comes with a number of original series on top of the content already available through the other HBO channels, like Game of Thrones, Westworld, Loony Toons, and DC Universe content. The US-exclusive service is free for HBO subscribers and will cost $14.99 a month for everyone else, with an option for a free seven-day trial.
Pokémon will soon be able to hide behind real-world objects in Pokémon GO
The feature will be tested with a random selection of gamers in June
Pokémon GO might not be as popular as it used to be, especially amid a pandemic that has many of us staying home as much as we can, but the company behind it is nevertheless working on improving the game. As such, Niantic has announced that it will start testing reality blending next month, which will allow Pokémon to hide behind real-world objects that block your view, just as though they were real.
During a live event announcing the Redmi Note 9 series in Germany, Xiaomi offered a first glimpse at its long-rumored Mi TV Stick. Other than the image above and the orally delivered slogan "for a better and simpler TV experience," no further details have been given, though these tidbits already help us guess quite a few things about the device.
T-Mobile now connects to Google’s RCS servers
Allowing T-Mobile subscribers to chat with more people using RCS
RCS has always been advertised as the next-generation SMS replacement, but carriers haven't exactly been rushing to roll out the new chat features. That's why Google took matters into its own hands and rolled out its Jibe-supported network via its Messages app, but solutions like T-Mobile's Advanced Messaging haven't been compatible. That's changing, as T-Mobile and Google have teamed up to upgrade the carrier's RCS implementation and make it work with any network connected to Jibe across the globe.
ScreenHits TV wants be your one-stop video streaming subscription hub
Details are sparse, but you can apparently use the service to sign up for multiple platforms
The streaming service landscape is quickly becoming convoluted with every TV network, production company, and entrepreneur launching their own exclusive platforms. That's where ScreenHits TV wants to come in. The company will soon launch a service in the US and the UK that lets you aggregate Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, HBO Go, BBC iPlayer, and more into one single interface and subscription.
Huawei and Honor may have to ditch their own Kirin chips due to US sanctions
In talks with MediaTek and UNISOC to use their chips
Huawei may soon have to forgo its own Kirin silicon in favor of chips from other manufacturers. That's because the US Department of Commerce's new licensing restrictions for international businesses using US software and technology are stifling the production of the homemade chipsets. Huawei and its subsidiary Honor are thus considering working with MediaTek and UNISOC silicon in anticipation of homegrown chip supply issues, according to reports from CNMO and Nikkei.
How to preserve some privacy when you're using a Google Assistant speaker
You don't have to forgo a Google Home completely
Google Assistant speakers can be great tools, giving you an easy entry into voice-controlled home automation, but they can also feel like spies giving Google intimate insights into your life and daily routines. If you don't want to go without the convenience an Assistant speaker offers, there are at least some things you can do to make it less invasive.
SwiftKey picks up Emoji 12.0 support, more conspicuous Microsoft branding
Four years after the acquisition, Microsoft puts its name front and center
Microsoft acquired SwiftKey about four years ago, and apart from some additions like optional Microsoft accounts, Bing, and the company's translate feature, it didn't change too much about the popular third-party keyboard. Earlier this year, though, Microsoft's name got more prominent in the app's settings, and now, the Redmond giant has decided it's about time to make it even more obvious whose keyboard you're using. Following a beta test run, the latest stable version of SwiftKey is now called "Microsoft SwiftKey Keyboard" and comes with a refreshed logo. On the feature front, it only offers new emoji for Android 10 users.
Google's Action Blocks let you create widgets for often-used Assistant tasks (APK download)
The accessibility app might come in handy for anyone using Assistant extensively
Google is working on making Android as inclusive as possible, only recently updating features like Live Transcribe and Sound Amplifier. Along with announcing the improvements to these accessibility functions, the company has also shared that it's launching a new app called Action Blocks. The app is targeted at people with cognitive disabilities, but it certainly looks like it can be useful for anybody. It lets you create single-tap actions for Google Assistant in the form of widgets instead of having to say them over and over.
First renders of the Samsung Galaxy Note20 show off an S20-esque camera bump
It looks like the new phone is almost as big as the Note10+
This week, Samsung shared the unsurprising news that the next Galaxy Note series will be presented during an online-only event, and now, some of the first renders of the Note20 have been leaked by Pigtou and xleaks7. There are only small changes compared to its predecessor except for the size and a bunch of design cues from the S20 models.
Wink further delays its mandatory subscription, confuses users even more
This soap opera is getting ridiculous at this point
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Earlier this May, Wink announced out of the blue that it would charge customers $4.99 a month to continue using its services, or else their hardware would stop working. Following understandable customer backlash, the company first extended the cut-off deadline by a week, and has now indefinitely back-paddled, saying that it'll look for a new start date of the subscription.
Google Photos tests its latest interface tweaks
Tests ranging from three to five tabs in the in-app navigation bar, plus a new Library tab
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Google Photos hasn't seen any substantial interface changes since its inception as a standalone app, minus the addition of the bottom bar in 2016. Bigger changes are headed our way, though, following the introduction of the new account picker on the heels. They come in the form of a redesigned UI that does away with the always accessible search bar up top and the hamburger menu. However, it also makes the bottom bar more intuitive and gives us long-awaited features.
Wavelet is a rootless EQ app with individual presets for over 2,000 models of headphones
Sure, you can also just go ahead and boost that bass
Most proper EQ apps only work with rooted devices, but as it turns out, rooting isn't necessarily a prerequisite. There have even been some rootless apps like Music Equalizer for a long time, but many of them are rather clunky to use. Thus, a new app called Wavelet decided to go ahead and try to occupy that easy-to-use niche. It comes with a sleek interface that offers extensive customization options and a library of 2,000+ headphone profiles that helps you get the most neutral sound possible with the option to fine-tune, and it can even enhance some phone speakers.
Google only recently opened up Meet to everyone in preparation of shutting down Hangouts altogether and is now taking action to make the platform as feature-complete as possible. In that vein, Google seems to be working on background blurring for Meet, a function that's been available in competing products for ages, including Google's own Duo video-calling service.
TikTok rating plummets to 2.0 stars as an Indian YouTuber's fanbase orchestrates one-star campaign
The social media platform finds itself caught in the crossfire
TikTok is a platform that sparks a lot of controversies and is currently dealing with a US investigation concerned with censorship and security issues. Now, another problem is on the rise for the platform, and it's a prime example of how quickly online communities can grow toxic. In what appears to be some form of war between some Indian YouTubers' fans and popular TikTokers, the app has been caught in the crossfire and is receiving low rating after low rating. It's already down to an average of 2.0 when it sat at about 4.5 stars only a few days ago.
Hiroshi Lockheimer personally apologizes for Podcast Addict Play Store takedown, app now restored
The app became collateral damage in Google’s fight against coronavirus misinformation
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Another month, another wrongful removal from the Play Store. Google booted Podcast Addict off the Play Store because it references the novel coronavirus outbreak — or rather, it offers you to listen to podcasts that do, just like any other podcast player out there. For some reason, Podcast Addict has been singled out by Google, with the company asking the developer to prove that his product is endorsed by some government, or remove any references to COVID-19.
Google will fix the Pixel 2 wallpaper bug responsible for endless crashes in a future Android release
The two-year old bug might soon finally be history
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For some reason, Pixel phones tend to exhibit the strangest bugs, and we might have just run into yet another weird one. Pixel 2 and 2 XL owners have been reporting for more than two years that some images available through the Google Wallpapers app make their SystemUI crash repeatedly to the point of a device shutdown. With no chance to change the wallpaper in that timeframe, they have to factory reset their devices to make them functional again.
Google Lens might soon introduce a more advanced math equation solver
Two plus x is four. Quick maths.
Google Lens is an incredibly powerful tool already — just point your camera at an object of interest around you and it'll offer you search results depending on what it recognizes. It also makes text it sees machine-readable, letting you call phone numbers and solve simple math problems. Google is apparently looking to expand the latter capability, as APK teardowns conducted by XDA Developers and 9to5Google have found. You might soon be able to point your phone at math problems and get some help to solve for x.
Play Music's ridiculous device authorization limit is still an issue with YouTube Music
Why keep the worst possible feature when you relaunch a product?
Do you remember how many smartphones you've owned? And do you remember the first phone you've ever used with a subscription service like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Spotify, YouTube Premium, or Google Play Music? While the companies behind these services probably save that information to some server, Google is the only one among them that will rub that knowledge into your face. As long-time users probably know, Play Music comes with a hard 10-device limit that doesn't automatically kick off older devices, instead only allowing four manual deauthorizations every year. If you frequently switch devices (or merely factory reset them), you might have already ended up running into the limit at some point in the past, locking you out of the service you pay good money for.
Bundled Notes is like Google Keep on steroids with added to-do list capabilities (Update: Web app beta)
There are some quirks left in the beta, but it's en route to becoming a capable alternative
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I've been searching for the perfect note-taking app for a long time. I like Google Keep for its simplicity, but that's also its biggest crux. It's missing a few too many features to become my one-stop solution. Evernote, on the other hand, is too blown up for me. It feels sluggish and overloaded with features I'll never need (at least that was the case when I last used it). Bundled Notes, a new app created by indie developer Xavier Tobin, might become the perfect middle ground for me and might even replace my to-do app along the way. It's still in beta, but it's en route to becoming a great cross-device solution for notes and project management once it goes stable.