MacRumors

Snapchat today turned the tables on Facebook for once by mimicking one of the social media giant's favorite features – your year in review, based on photos and videos posted in the last 12 months.

The feature can be accessed using the memories icon at the bottom of Snapchat's home screen interface. Selecting "A Look Back at 2017" automatically generates a Story around your timeline of pictures, but the arrangement can be tweaked by selecting "Edit Story" and tapping the X on individual snaps to remove them from the collage. The Story can then be saved and shared with friends.

Facebook continued its seemingly relentless trend of copying Snapchat features last month, when it began testing a new feature that plays on the latter's chat streak challenge, which encourages users to "keep your streak going" when messaging friends.

Prior to that, Facebook created a carbon copy of Snapchat's day-long, vanishing post idea in Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram, which gained 100 million users following the update last year. The company also previously aped Snapchat's face filters and rewinded video features for Instagram, which also proved a hit.

Today's feature debut follows news yesterday that Snapchat is testing a feature that will let users share stories outside of the mobile app, in an effort to boost sign-ups to the app.

Two days ago, we reported that Energous had received FCC certification for the company's first-generation WattUp Mid Field transmitter, which powers up devices at a distance of up to three feet away. As noted by VentureBeat, this week also saw two new Apple wireless power patent applications published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

While the patents don't confirm anything on their own, rumors have floated since 2015 that Energous has been working with Apple on a truly wireless charging solution for future mobile devices, so they may offer an idea of what users can expect, should the rumors prove accurate.

The first patent, covered by Patently Apple, describes a way of creating custom schedules for a charger capable of sending power to multiple devices such as phones, laptops, tablets, and watches over a "wireless power transfer link". The power profiler works so as to remember the order of priority for charging the devices – if the user wants their Apple Watch to be fully charged before their iPad, for instance.

In another example, the user can set more nuanced preferences for charging priority, by requesting, say, that their watch is charged first but only if their iPad has at least 25 percent battery power; or requesting that their iPhone takes charging priority over all else during the evening, but only if their calendar indicates that they will be out of the office the next morning.

The second patent is less detailed, but describes a wireless power transmitting device that can function as a standalone adaptor, or send power a wireless charging mat, and in some embodiments, can be hidden in furniture or incorporated into a vehicle interior, in order to charge a "wireless power receiving device". The receiving device is described as being capable of pausing wireless power transmission and sending information back to the power source if necessary.

Both patents were filed in June of this year, have not yet been granted, and as with all Apple patents, may never appear as consumer devices, but the power scheduling systems described above may yet prove to be the link to Energous' wire-free solutions. Whether Apple decides 2018 is the year to build upon the contact-based wireless charging capability it introduced with the iPhone 8 and iPhone X remains to be seen.

Sales celebrating the end of 2017 are in full swing, and Target this week has priced the 32GB 9.7-inch iPad from early 2017 at $249.99, down from $329.99. Currently, that's $30 cheaper than another sale on the same iPad that Best Buy is running, so if you've been looking to purchase one of the lower-end models of Apple's iPad lineup this is a great opportunity. As of writing, the Space Gray and Silver models are in stock to ship while Gold models qualify for free order pickup depending on stock near your location.

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Target is also beating many other retailers' sale prices on the 128GB Wi-Fi only iPad mini 4 from 2015, with the tablet priced at $299.99, down from $399.99. Comparatively, the second cheapest options are at Amazon and MacMall where the iPad mini 4 is priced at $357.00 and $369.00, respectively. Both of the Target iPad sales will end around 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, December 30, and stock for each appears limited.

A few other nice deals today include $10 off Twelve South's HiRise 2 and HiRise 2 Deluxe stands on Amazon, as well as savings on multiple Bluetooth speaker brands on Best Buy. These include Ultimate Ears ($20 to $127 off), JBL ($30 to $100 off), and harman/kardon ($300 off).

Additionally, Flexibits recently launched a New Year sale of its own, with discounts hitting all of its apps for macOS and iOS devices. The company said that the savings run through the New Year, and are worth up to 25 percent off the Flexibit Mac apps and up to 50 percent off its iOS apps. Check out each app and how much it's been discounted in the list below:

• Fantastical 2 for Mac - $39.99, down from $49.99 (20% off)

• Cardhop for Mac - $14.99, down from $19.99 (25% off)

• Chatology for Mac - $14.99, down from $19.99 (25% off)

• Fantastical 2 for iPhone - $2.99, down from (40% off)

• Fantastical 2 for iPad - $4.99, down from $9.99 (50% off)

For even more ongoing sales happening in the days before the New Year, head over to our full Deals Roundup.

Apple is offering an Apple Pay promotion this week that discounts Fandango movie tickets by $5 when you make a purchase using either the Fandango app or the Fandango.com website.

The discount will be available on movie ticket purchases made through January 2, according to the email that went out to Apple customers this morning. When you make a purchase using Apple Pay, you will need to use the promo code "AppleCheer" at checkout to get the Fandango discount.

In addition to providing the Fandango deal, Apple is also highlighting retail apps that accept Apple Pay and can be used for New Year's party planning, including Safeway, Party City, ULTA Beauty, Lyft, TouchTunes, and McDonald's.

Over the course of the two months, Apple has been promoting Apple Pay through a series of emails that include deals and discounts. A November, email, for example, offered a discount on a Postmates Unlimited subscription.

Apple could debut its first retail location within Saudi Arabia as soon as 2019, thanks to the government's current push towards a "high-tech look" for the country. Reuters reports today that officials in Saudi Arabia's capital of Riyadh -- including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman -- are currently in licensing discussions with both Apple and Amazon in an effort to entice major technology companies into the country.

Apple is rumored to be talking with SAGIA, Saudi Arabia's foreign investment authority, and a licensing agreement for Apple's retail stores with the authority is expected to come by February 2018. The first location would then be targeted for an opening in 2019.

Apple and Amazon are in licensing discussions with Riyadh on investing in Saudi Arabia, two sources told Reuters, part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s push to give the conservative kingdom a high-tech look.

A licensing agreement for Apple stores with SAGIA is expected by February, with an initial retail store targeted for 2019, said two sources familiar with the discussions.

Amazon's cloud computing division, Amazon Web Services, is said to be leading the company's discussions with Saudi Arabian officials. The talks are believed to be in "earlier stages" than Apple's, with no specific time frame given for Amazon's investment plans in the country.

The Saudi Arabian government's regulations previously placed heavy limits on foreign ownership of businesses, preventing companies like Apple and Amazon from coming to the country. In the past two years, however, falling crude oil prices "highlighted the need to diversify" the country's dependency on oil within its economy, leading to courting technology companies.

Evidence of this came in September, when Saudi Arabia lifted a ban on services that provide access to calling someone over the internet, including Apple's FaceTime. The ban was enacted in 2013 and began due to the government's fear of non-secure internet communication among its residents, but was lifted this year in the country's new efforts to "attract more business" to its economy.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

One year after launching a "Ring in the New Year" challenge for Apple Watch owners, Apple today is rolling out the challenge again for 2018. The challenge's rules appear slightly similar to last year, requiring you to close all three Activity rings for seven days in a row in January. During the previous challenge, you had to accomplish the same goal coupled with the specific requirement of the Activity streak lasting from a Monday to a Sunday.

Once you complete the task you'll get a special Apple Watch achievement, which has been designed liked the 2017 award. Apple has been consistently launching Apple Watch challenges for its users, most recently including Thanksgiving, Veterans Day, Mother's Day, Earth Day, and even a challenge designed to celebrate America's national parks.

Apple Watch owners in the United States should start noticing the challenge appearing on their Apple Watch and within the Activity iOS app today. For users in other countries, the challenge began appearing yesterday.

WhatsApp announced on Thursday that its mobile app will stop working on some older smartphones from next year, as it concentrates on developing new features for the popular messaging platform.

The decision means that from January 1, 2018, WhatsApp will pull support for the app on iPhone 3GS and older models, as well as iPhones running iOS 6 and earlier. The list of unsupported phones also includes Android 2.1 and 2.2, BlackBerry OS, and Windows Phone 7.

Explaining its reason for the move, WhatsApp said that when it was founded back in 2009, the mobile landscape was very different.

"About 70 percent of smartphones sold at the time had operating systems offered by BlackBerry and Nokia," the company said. "Mobile operating systems offered by Google, Apple and Microsoft - which account for 99.5 percent of sales today - were on less than 25 percent of mobile devices sold at the time."

Apple's iPhone 3GS was released in June 2009, while iOS 6 was released on September 19, 2012, followed by iOS 7 in 2013. According to Apteligent Research, less than 0.04 percent of iPhone users are currently using iOS 6. Apple's most recent mobile OS, iOS 11, was released on September 19, 2017, and accounts for over 75 percent of active iOS users.

(Via Sky News.)

Snap is reportedly working on a new Snapchat feature that will let users share stories outside of the mobile app, in an effort to boost Snapchat's presence in the social media space (via The Verge).

Called "Stories Everywhere", the feature should see Snapchat's premium video and editorial content appear on news sites and elsewhere online. The move aims to bring greater visibility to the brand, in the face of increasing competition from the likes of Facebook and Instagram.

Live streaming news network Cheddar reports that former Storyful CEO and News Corp executive Rahul Chopra is leading the "Stories Everywhere" project. Chopra's job is to attract more active users to the social platform – similar to how, in 2011, Twitter began letting people embed tweets off-platform for the first time, for example.

The strategy comes at the end of a bad year for Snap, which saw third quarter revenue fall after its March initial public offering failed to excite investors, many of which struggled to understand how the app works. In response, the company earlier this month released a redesigned Snapchat app that aims to offer a more personalized user experience that's easier to navigate, especially for new users, with brand and friends' content kept separate.

Instagram has been testing a "Recommended for You" feature that is now rolling out widely to all users, reports TechCrunch. Recommended posts show up in your standard image feed and are suggested based on posts liked by accounts you follow.

When shown in a feed, these posts are denoted by a label at the top that clearly marks them as recommended, similar to how sponsored posts are handled. With recommended posts, though, Instagram shows several in a row instead of just one.

Recommended posts and videos have previously been displayed in the Explore tab, but are now being featured more prominently. Instagram users now have several feed interruptions, including these new recommended posts, sponsored posts, and stories.

According to an Instagram spokesperson who spoke to TechCrunch, recommended posts are meant to appear "after you've viewed all the posts in your feed." There is no disabling the Recommended for You feature, but recommended posts can be temporarily hidden by tapping the three dots at the top of a recommended post and choosing "Hide."

Instagram has been slowing introducing changes that bring posts from people who aren't actively followed into the Instagram feed. Earlier this month, for example, Instagram added a feature allowing users to follow hashtags rather than individual Instagram accounts.

Recommended for You is still rolling out to all users on iOS and Android devices and may not yet be available for everyone.

After presents were unwrapped across the world on Christmas morning, Amazon's Alexa app [Direct Link] earned the #1 spot on the iOS App Store's Top Free chart, suggesting Echo and other Alexa devices were very popular this holiday season (via TechCrunch).

This marks the first time the Alexa app gained a #1 spot on Apple's App Store, and it remained there for over a day. Currently, Alexa sits at #2 on the Top Free chart in the App Store, having lost the top spot today to YouTube.

Amazon yesterday said that the Echo Dot was the #1 selling Amazon Device this holiday season, as well as being "the best-selling product from any manufacturer in any category across all of Amazon," with millions of Echo Dots sold. With so many Echo products being purchased for Christmas and other holiday celebrations, users were led to download the Amazon Alexa app so they can set up their speaker, control it, integrate with other smart home products, and more.

Data gathered from Sensor Tower's App Store analytics shows the Alexa app climbing the Top Free United States iOS App Store charts in the days leading up to Christmas and then peaking at #1 on December 25 and December 26. On Christmas day, the Alexa app gained prominence on the Top Free App Store charts in other countries as well, including Great Britain (rising to #2), Germany (#5), and Austria (#5).