MacRumors

Nest recently announced a new discount has launched for customers looking to purchase the company's Nest Learning Thermostat, allowing them to buy the IoT temperature-controlling device for $219 on its website, totaling $30 in savings. Nest founder and chief product officer Matt Rogers announced the temporary deal in a blog post this week, which he said is tied into upcoming celebrations surrounding Earth Day.

As such, Nest Learning Thermostat's $219 price tag will only remain available to customers until Earth Day, on Saturday, April 22. In the post, Rogers mentioned that since the Nest Learning Thermostat's launch in 2011, the device has "saved over 12 billion kWh of energy," which equates to "enough to power New York City for 81 days."

For us, home isn’t just an address where we raise our families. It’s the world we inhabit, and it’s our only one. As the late Carl Sagan noted in his book Pale Blue Dot, “On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives." So it’s up to us to take care of Earth, for all the generations to come.

In honor of Earth Day, we want to help more people save energy with a Nest Thermostat. Reversing decades of global warming is a huge challenge. But we believe that together, we can change climate change.

Customers also interested in Google Home have a chance to save a little more as well, as Nest also announced a combo deal where purchasing both the Nest Learning Thermostat and Google Home at the same time will earn users $50 in savings. Instead of paying $378 for both devices, customers taking advantage of the Earth Day deal will pay $328. On their own, Google Home costs $129 while Nest Learning Thermostat costs $249.

For those unaware, Google Home is Google's smart home hub, which includes voice controls for numerous home automation tasks like controlling temperature by connecting to Nest.

Last month it was rumored that Nest is working on a cheaper version of its Learning Thermostat that would cost somewhere under $200 in a bid to gain "a bigger share of the connected home market." Cost-cutting measures might include a Nest Learning Thermostat made with less expensive components and potentially one that would lack the current version's metal edges. Also reported to be in the works by Nest are sensors that would let users control temperature room-by-room, an alarm system, digital doorbell, and updated indoor camera.

Amazon has fired another salvo in the virtual assistant wars by opening up access to the far-field voice recognition technology found in its Echo smart speakers so that third-party manufacturers can make their own versions (via BBC).

The move comes as Amazon attempts to spread the use of its Alexa virtual assistant across a wide range of connected products and take ownership of a larger portion of the growing smart devices market. Google announced its branded Home smart speaker in November, while Apple is also rumored to be planning a similar Siri-enabled device this year.

The initially invite-only access to the technology via the Alexa Voice Service program will give manufacturers the right to replicate the Echo's seven-microphone array that allows the speakers to hear a voice command from across the room.

The access also means third-party developers can use the proprietary algorithms used for wake-word recognition, which focus the array on the owner's voice and filter out echoes and other noises. Developers will be provided with a reference kit as a starting point for their own designs, and the freedom to source components from a range of parts manufacturers.

"Our vision is for Alexa to be everywhere, and that means making it available to other companies and services to integrate into a wide range of devices," said an Amazon spokesperson.

"We expect Alexa to be in many devices over time, including products that compete with Echo, which is why we're investing in making a wide range of hands-free and far-field reference solutions available to OEMs [original equipment manufacturers]."

Amazon's rollout of Alexa has gained steam ever since CES 2017 in January, when the virtual assistant cropped up in a range of products including third-party smart speakers, cars, TVs, lamps, and even refrigerators.

In February Amazon announced it was extending third-party support for its Alexa Voice Service (AVS) internationally, and last month it added its Siri competitor to the company's iOS app, allowing users to search Amazon, track orders, play music, and start audio books from Audible.

Top music interviewer and CBC Radio 2 host George Stroumboulopoulos debuted his new House of Strombo music series on Apple Music on Thursday (via Billboard).

The 10-episode show is a spin-off of the Canadian host's radio series The Strombo Show, which is filmed at his Toronto home in front of a live audience. The show is set to feature video segments, artist interviews, and exclusive behind-the-scenes access. Stroumboulopoulos was interviewed by Zane Lowe on Apple Music's Beats 1 about the partnership.

"The bands set-up right in my living room, with a live audience packing the place," Stroumboulopoulos explained in a statement. "Lights, smoke machines and amplifiers stacked high -- it's every gig in a small space that you've ever loved, with the best bands in the world."

The video segment of the first show features a performance and interview with Canadian group A Tribe Called Red, an Ottawa-based First Nations DJ collective. Apple Music subscribers can view it in the Browse section of the app under the Strombo banner, where playlists and other content can also be found. Going forward, videos for the show will be available in the Connect section of the Strombo page.

A longer 30-minute version of each episode can be found on YouTube. Check out the first offering embedded below.

Indie high-speed space flier Hyperburner has been named Apple's App of the Week, and as a result, it will be available for free for the next seven days. Normally priced at $2.99, this is the first time Hyperburner has been available for free since it was released in June of 2016.

In Hyperburner, players take control of a spaceship in a distant colonial solar system. The idea is to navigate the ship through an increasingly dangerous series of courses, unlocking improved ships and endless gameplay modes as the game progresses.

Hyperburner features fast-paced gameplay, instant respawns, simple and customizable controls, and six zones to complete. Our sister site TouchArcade gave Hyperburner four and a half out of five stars, praising both the level design and the soundtrack.

Each zone has its own signature art style, complete with unique hazards to face. Said objects might be moving or static, but either way it's going to take some skill to navigate around them. The patterns are wonderfully crafted, almost puzzle-like -- so there's no feeling of cheap deaths or haphazard design flaws. Every death is your fault, and betters you in some manner. There's only several worlds but each one looks entirely different, almost like a different game in a way.

They throw a lot of very tight "thread the needle" type of situations at players constantly, forcing people to learn from their mistakes as they hit that replay button over and over. It's addicting and beautiful at the same time.

Hyperburner will be available for free until next Thursday, when a new App of the Week is chosen. It can be downloaded from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Although Hulu's new live TV bundle is set to launch before spring is over, details about the service have been noticeably scant ahead of the its launch. Today, sources speaking with TechCrunch who have knowledge of Hulu's plans have claimed that the new cord-cutting bundle will cost subscribers exactly $39.99 per month, which comes in right under Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins' promise of a bundle that would cost users "under $40" per month.

The price of the service's add-on cloud DVR feature has also been detailed, which will reportedly cost users $20 each month to gain extensive video recording functionality. Subscribers to Hulu's base $39.99 package will have a limited DVR feature (small storage space, no fast-forwarding), but Hulu's alleged $20 DVR add-on package would include "unlimited" storage capped at 200 hours of programming as well as allow for fast-forwarding.

The live TV service will allow for a certain amount of recording and storage space in its base package – a feature that’s quickly becoming a standard offering for these types of businesses. But this recording space will not be a fully functional DVR, as it will not support fast-forwarding.

However, Hulu is considering an add-on package to its live TV service that will include an unlimited DVR with up to 200 hours of programming, as well as unlimited streams. (There may be a cap on concurrent streams outside the home, though – we’ve heard three.)

This add-on bundle will allow users to optionally upgrade their live TV service with the cloud DVR and unlimited streams, and will be priced under $20 per month, sources tell us.

Concurrent streaming on devices in the same home is said to be capped at three, and that number may lessen for users who don't opt-in for the cloud DVR bundle. In total, the Hulu Live TV bundle would cost upwards of $60 on the high-end, which does still come in under most low- to medium-level traditional cable packages. Subscribers currently using Hulu's $7.99/month or $11.99/month (ad-free) on-demand options will simply have to pay the difference of an upgrade to the live TV service when it launches.

Reports about included channels have been circulated in the past -- including CBS and NBC -- but the look of the specific channel bundle that will be on offer, and if there might be more than one tier, remains a mystery. Most packages, like DirecTV Now, give users tiers ranging from $35/month to $70/month to access more channels. In the original rumor, Disney and Fox were floated as potential partners with Hulu's service, and Time Warner's stable of channels will also help bolster the channels available to subscribers.

Although the cord-cutting bundle options have become plentiful in the past few years, ranging from Sling TV to Playstation Vue to DirecTV Now, Hulu's alternative will be interesting as the first to combine live television with exclusive video on-demand options. One of the most important aspects of Hulu's bundle -- its actual launch date -- has yet to be rumored, but the company has until June 20 to debut the service before the end of spring.

Apple has partnered with the National Hockey League to provide coaches with iPad Pros for use behind the bench during the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which began on Wednesday, as reported by The Associated Press.

“By the time the player gets off his shift, that content is available within a minute, I guess, from the time it actually took place,” NHL executive vice-president and chief technology officer Peter DelGiacco said. “Today generally speaking a lot of that would be done between periods and there’s a limited amount of time. ... This kind of gives the coaches and the players real-time access so that they can make adjustments.”

The arenas of all sixteen NHL teams that qualified for the playoffs have also been outfitted with Macs for video coaches as part of the collaboration with Apple.

The NHL's plans to outfit arenas with iPads and other Apple products were revealed by Canadian sports network TSN in December.

As the competition between Instagram and Snapchat continues to heat up, a new blog post by Instagram today has revealed that the company's Snapchat clone "Instagram Stories" now has more daily active users than Snapchat itself.

Of its 600 million users, Instagram now has more than 200 million users posting to or interacting with Stories every day, while Snapchat reportedly has around 158 million people using the original ephemeral social networking app, as of the last count. Snapchat's numbers don't specifically tie into use of its own "Stories," and include any interaction with the app, from text messaging to video calls.

That last Snapchat update centered on data related to the fourth quarter of 2016, so it's likely those numbers are higher, but the growth of Instagram Stories in less than a year is quite noticeable.

Facebook's copying of Snapchat in Instagram has gone far better than the same plan that the company recently enacted within Facebook itself, called Facebook Stories. Following a weak launch, the company updated its iOS app to make it look as if people were posting to Facebook Stories, when in fact they weren't.

In more general update news, users on Instagram Stories can now create "Selfie Stickers" to post on their Story, which can also be pinned to specific places within videos. Today's app update also makes it easier to get to your favorite stickers, includes simplified video controls, and comes with new geostickers for Chicago, London, Madrid and Tokyo.

Apple today has rebranded iTunes Podcasts to be called "Apple Podcasts," and updated its marketing website for podcasters to learn how the new branding can help promote their shows. Apple Podcasts promo materials now include a new "Listen on Apple Podcasts" badge, while most of the pre-existing graphics standards and podcast identity guidelines remain unchanged.

The rebranding also stretches to the company's Twitter account, where iTunes Podcasts has now turned into @ApplePodcasts so users can get up-to-date recommendations on the newest and best podcasts right from their Twitter feed. The functionality and look of the official Podcasts iOS app appears to have remained the same for now.

Today's rebranding could be the first step in that direction for the company.

Last month Apple acquired work automation app Workflow, which gives users the ability to create a variety of workflows that can translate articles, create GIFs from photos, calculate tips, and more. It's still unclear what Apple plans to do with the app in the future, but Workflow remains on the App Store in the wake of the acquisition, and now it appears that the app will no longer receive any noticeable updates down the line.

In an email from Workflow support sent to a user of the app, and discussed on the Accidental Tech Podcast (via iGeneration), the company has confirmed that there are "no further planned updates for Workflow," but it will continue to support the app's current functionality and has no intention to fully abandon it.

"But just so you know, we have no further planned updates for Workflow. That being said we are continuing to support Workflow's current functionality and have no plans to end support, so let me know if you run across any bugs or crashes."

Following the acquisition, Apple made Workflow free to download on the App Store and reimbursed customers who had recently paid for the app. Certain features were also removed from the app after Apple bought it, including workflow functionality that involved Google Chrome, Pocket, LINE, Telegram, and Uber.

Apple is predicted to include Workflow directly into iOS in the future, at which time the current Workflow app will likely be removed from the App Store. As such, the app is now sitting in a sort of limbo stage between its recent acquisition -- where Apple also received Workflow team members Ari Weinstein, Conrad Kramer, and Nick Frey -- and a future integration in iOS, perhaps iOS 11 this fall.