The best apps download superpowers to your smartphone. The Verge covers the new and noteworthy Android apps, iPhone apps, and games, highlighting great design, impressive utility, and novel features. If it belongs on your phone, you’ll find it on The Verge.
Now, more people can create and share AI-generated videos on the app’s social feed.
The web-based App Store has a new homepage, but you can’t use it to install apps on your iPhone or Mac.
Open one of the the Rainy, Sunny, or Snowy Day themed playlists for the Animal Crossing: New Horizons soundtrack on the Nintendo Music app and you’ll now find a new “Play hourly tracks” button. Pressing it will automatically play the hourly track that correlates to your current time of day.
Just as it did with its Weather app for wearables in September, Google has announced that new Wear OS devices from other manufacturers will have to rely on something else. If you have a non-Pixel watch with the Clock app already, it will keep working, but without new updates.
With your favorite watch brands offering their own default clock apps on Wear OS, Google’s Clock app (alarm, timer, and stopwatch) is no longer available for download on Wear OS smartwatches – except for pre-installed on the Pixel Watch.
The company will use the length of a reservation, property type, distance from a guest’s location, and timing to block “higher risk booking attempts” — similar to what it did on New Year’s Eve.
Airbnb says its anti-party system prevented 38,000 people in the US and 6,300 people in Canada from booking entire homes during Halloween last year.
[Airbnb Newsroom]
The team behind Software Applications Incorporated sold its Workflow app to Apple in 2017, which later became Shortcuts. Now the startup, along with its AI interface for the Mac called Sky, is joining OpenAI.
OpenAI says it plans to “bring Sky’s deep macOS integration and product craft into ChatGPT.”
The app that suffered multiple data breaches earlier this year and a replica for men called TeaOnHer were removed for “failing to meet the company’s terms of use around content moderation and user privacy,” according to 404 Media.
Apple also cited “an excessive number of complaints,” including reports of posts including minors’ data.
Earlier this month the Pebble app returned to iOS and Android with support not just for the new generation of Pebble smartwatches, but also the original wearables. That means those out there still clinging to their old Pebble 2 from 2016 will no longer have to rely on Rebbel.
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The photo editing app’s first “AI Lab” feature can automatically remove objects or people by matching the surrounding area, similar to removal tools in Photoshop and Google Photos.
An image upscaler is also “launching soon” that enhances resolution and details “while preserving color accuracy and composition,” according to VSCO.
You can now add or remove photos to a collage, as well as change your layout without losing your progress. Google has also rolled out new templates that you can browse before you decide which photos to put in them.
Now, interestingly, ICEBlock users are the same users who build, support, and buy Apple’s products. And these same people rely on and trust Apple every single day. And I’ll tell you, if I was speaking directly to Tim Cook, I’d say, “Tim, you’ve broken that trust, and now it’s up to you to fix it.”
Apple removed ICEBlock from the App Store last week.
Generative AI is going to remake the world, but first, it’s giving us apps.
chespirito:
Genius, who ever would have thought of apps
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The company says the ads will be “playful and infused with the signature charm of Duolingo’s cast of characters.” Early companies on board include Adobe, Intrepid Travel, and Universal Pictures.
Plus, in this week’s Installer: Amazon’s smart new stuff, OpenAI’s social network, and much more.
With this update, Gmail users with client-side encryption can send E2EE emails to people using other providers, like Outlook. The recipient will receive a notice about the encrypted message, and can view it using a guest Gmail account.
This feature is only available to Google Workspace subscribers with an Enterprise Plus plan.
Last week, we noted that the popular multiplatform podcast app was showing ads to people who’d paid for the mobile version years ago, before subscriptions. Now, a post in its forum says, “We have removed the banner ads, and they will not be displayed to app purchasers in the future.”
From the app store notes:
Banner ads won’t be shown to Plus/Patron subscribers or users with accounts created prior to Sept 2019 – thanks for your support.
