MacRumors

Twitter today announced that rather than shutting down the Vine app entirely as planned, it will be transitioned into a new app called "Vine Camera."

Vine Camera will allow users to continue to make six-second looping videos that can then be saved to the iPhone's camera roll or shared directly on Twitter. No other Vine features will remain.

The Vine app will also be updated with a new feature that makes it easier for Vine users to link accounts to transition from Vine to Twitter, with a tool for allowing Vine followers to follow Vine users on Twitter instead.

Existing Vine videos can be downloaded through the Vine app or the Vine website, and all Vines will continue to be available on the Vine.co site. Vines will be available for download through the app until the transition is made to Vine Camera.

Twitter first announced plans to shut down Vine back in October. Twitter allegedly entertained multiple purchase offers for Vine before deciding to create the Vine Camera app.

Twitter has confirmed to TechCrunch that the social network is performing a small scale test for some of its iOS users, changing the popular "retweet" icon into an new "share" button. "Retweet" and "quote tweet" are now simply options to pick from within the "share" menu.

Additionally, the arrow that currently indicates a prompt to reply to a tweet has been overhauled into a small speech bubble icon. The change to the reply button is purely cosmetic and doesn't functionally alter how the feature works, but the "share" option is introducing a few new choices into the sub-menu.

In addition to the expected "retweet" and "quote tweet" buttons, when users click on "share," they are discovering new "send by direct message" and "share tweet" options. Currently in the iOS Twitter app, send by direct message is a one-tap option below each tweet represented by a small envelope, which has now been removed.

"Share tweet" lets users spread a tweet to other platforms. In its current state on the iOS app, it can be found by tapping a small, easily missable down arrow in the top right corner of the screen, after clicking on the tweet to expand it and get more information. Both the current and potentially new options bring up Apple's usual share card.

In its confirmation to TechCrunch, Twitter said that its purpose for the test is "to see how it changed behavior on the site," seemingly hoping to make it easier for users to send links to friends and family members with the new share options, boosting engagement in the process.

“We’re testing new icons on Tweets to evaluate how this impacts the way that people use Twitter,” a spokesperson said in an email.

Another reason for the change is rumored to be Twitter's acquiescence to "more established social media norms" that have been popularized by other social networks, with Twitter hoping that "share" is more recognizable and understandable by new users than Twitter-specific lingo like "retweet." In the new tests, "retweet" still exists, it's just buried under a newly named button. So if this part of Twitter's decision is true, it's still not clear why "retweet" would exist in any form within the app.

It’s the same reason Twitter would change the reply arrow to a speech bubble: Twitter is looking for more understandable iconography, and having too many arrows was, again, confusing to anyone less familiar with Twitter beyond very regular, existing users. Having a speech bubble icon may also prove to remind people to react more frequently, boosting engagement — a key metric that Twitter, as an ad-based service, needs to grow (especially since user growth has largely been flat).

The details of how long the test might go on for were left unspecified, but one Twitter insider also mentioned that there are "a bunch" of tests being performed at the company, so it's impossible to say which change will become a permanent mainstay for its users. Twitter has been rolling out updates to compete with the growing popularity of Snapchat and Instagram, most recently adding in live video to its mobile apps earlier this week.

Verizon has announced that it will support an incoming update for potentially dangerous Galaxy Note7 devices that will effectively render the smartphones useless, after originally stating that it would not roll out the update "because of the added risk this could pose to Galaxy Note7 users that do not have another device to switch to" (via The Verge). Samsung's update is aimed at the remaining Note7 smartphones only within the United States.

The carrier believed the holiday season was reason enough to prevent remaining Galaxy Note7 users from having a bricked smartphone, and its support of Samsung's software update is keeping that in mind: Verizon will introduce the update after the holidays, on January 5. Verizon joins a staggered release of the update by most of the other major U.S. carriers, including T-Mobile on December 27, AT&T on January 5, and Sprint on January 8.

In its new statement, Verizon still urges remaining Galaxy Note7 owners -- which reportedly total less than 10 percent of the owners for the recalled device -- to stop using the smartphone immediately.

Verizon will not be pushing this software update to your device until January 5, 2017. We want to make sure you can contact family, first responders, and emergency medical professionals during the holiday travel season.

However, we urge you to stop using your Note7, upgrade it to another device, and return the Note7 to us.

Samsung's update will effectively prevent any Galaxy Note7 from being able to charge, as well as "eliminate their ability to work as mobile devices." The decision by Samsung is the company's attempt to finally put the infamous months-long coverage of exploding Note7 devices behind it for good, while moving forward into 2017 and the Galaxy S8.

Shortly after Apple first revealed that Nintendo was bringing Super Mario Run to the iPhone and iPad, many users discovered that Cupertino was also using the game's highly anticipated release as a test run for a new "Notify" system in the App Store.

Upon searching for the title on their devices before it was available, users were given the option of tapping an orange "Notify" button where the Get button or price usually appears.

Undoubtedly many users tapped or clicked the button thinking they would be first to play Nintendo's debut title on iOS. But the delay between the game's appearance in the App Store and the actual delivery of notification prompts has left many users skeptical of the feature.

It's possible that the sheer volume of users visiting the App Store in excitement for Super Mario Run caused a system-wide lag that prevented the notifications from being pushed to end-users' devices. If so, some may wonder why Apple chose to test the Notify service on such a hugely anticipated title in the first place.

Conversely, Apple may have intentionally staggered the notifications to ease the load on its systems as gamers raced to download the app. In that case, the feature could prove a smart move on Apple's part for when big-name game publishers stoke up excitement for upcoming titles in the future.

Google has released an update to its Motion Stills app that lets users create moving text effects for inclusion in their videos.

Motion Stills is designed to create unique GIFs from Live Photo images captured with the iPhone 7, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPhone SE. The app was released earlier this year and its main features were subsequently integrated into Google Photos for iOS.

The update means that users can add motion-tracked text overlays to their high-resolution videos and fun gifs, as described and demonstrated in the company's research blog post.

We've added motion text so you can create moving text effects, similar to what you might see in movies and TV shows, directly on your phone. With Motion Text, you can easily position text anywhere over your video to get the exact result you want. It only takes a second to initialize while you type, and a tracks at 1000 FPS throughout the whole Live Photo, so the process feels instantaneous.

The update also brings Google's RAISR machine learning technology to the app to create super-resolution detail in images, adds 3D Touch support to the interface, and introduces fully automatic cinemagraphs – looping moving images in which the foreground subject moves while the background remains static.

Google's updated Motion Stills app for iPhone and iPad can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct link]

A $44 million investment pledge in an Indonesian R&D center has paved the way for Apple to be able to sell the iPhone 7 in the country, according to one of the country's senior government officials.

A director-general overseeing electronics told Reuters that as a result of the three-year investment commitment, Apple had received a "local content certification" last month which would allow it to sell iPhones throughout Indonesia.

"Apple has committed around $44 million to invest in R&D over three years," I Gusti Putu Suryawirawan said in a text message. "Therefore, they can distribute devices priced 6 million rupiah ($448) and above. That means all iPhones can be distributed."

Starting from 2017, Indonesia will introduce a telecommunications policy which stipulates that all 4G handsets sold in the country must have "local content" of at least 30 percent, whether that be in terms of hardware, software or an investment commitment.

Asked by Reuters to comment on the investment figure, Apple merely pointed to an announcement last year that it had committed to building an iOS App Development Center in the country.

Such an R&D investment apparently fulfills the government's "local content" requirement and will help Apple make significant inroads in the Indonesian market, which is home to 250 million people and a young, tech-savvy demographic that Apple has yet to crack. In 2011, Apple was forced to shut down its online store in Indonesia because of shipping issues, and had to re-apply for permission to launch it again as part of its application to open its first retail store in the country.

According to research firm IDC, Samsung commanded a 26 percent share of Indonesia's smartphone market by sales volume in the second quarter of 2016, trailing Oppo with 19 percent. Both own factories in the country.

Evernote tonight announced that it no longer plans to implement a controversial new privacy policy that caused some Evernote users to threaten to stop using the service. The policy was scheduled to go into effect on January 23, 2017 and allowed Evernote employees to read users' notes.

After receiving a lot of customer feedback expressing concerns about our upcoming Privacy Policy changes over the past few days, Evernote is reaffirming its commitment to keep privacy at the center of what we do. As a result, we will not implement the previously announced Privacy Policy changes that were scheduled to go into effect January 23, 2017.

Evernote explained that the new privacy policy was intended to let employees read notes to make sure machine learning algorithms were working as intended. The privacy policy itself only states that employees could look at notes "for troubleshooting purposes or to maintain and improve the Service," wording that was criticized as too vague.

The company attempted to clarify its statements earlier today with a note from CEO Chris O'Neill, promising that the company is still committed to user privacy and the "Three Laws of Data Protection."

Instead of instituting the new policy, Evernote says it will revise its existing privacy policy to address concerns and "reinforce that [users'] data remains private by default." In regards to its machine learning algorithms, Evernote says employees will not read notes unless users opt-in to help the company "build a better product."

Evernote CEO Chris O'Neill also issued a statement, saying the company must ask for permission from its users rather than assume it already has it.

“We announced a change to our privacy policy that made it seem like we didn’t care about the privacy of our customers or their notes. This was not our intent, and our customers let us know that we messed up, in no uncertain terms. We heard them, and we’re taking immediate action to fix it,” said O’Neill. “We are excited about what we can offer Evernote customers thanks to the use of machine learning, but we must ask for permission, not assume we have it. We’re sorry we disappointed our customers, and we are reviewing our entire privacy policy because of this.”

The full statement can be read at Evernote's website.

According to Apple's System Status website, the App Store, the Apple TV, Apple Music, and the Mac App Store are currently experiencing service issues.

Many Apple customers have also been complaining of App Store issues on Twitter, Reddit, and other social networks. Affected customers are unable to download apps and in some cases, can't load the App Store at all.

Service interruptions have been ongoing since approximately 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time and there's no word on when service will be fully restored.

The issues could potentially be related to the release of Super Mario Run and the strain that it is causing on the App Store due to its popularity.

Popular game Goat Simulator has been named Apple's App of the Week, and as a result, it's available for free for the next seven days. This is the first time Goat Simulator has been available at no cost since it was introduced in September of 2014.

In Goat Simulator, you take control of a goat, and the idea is to lay waste to the environment around you, doing as much damage and causing as much chaos as you can.

Goat Simulator is the latest in goat simulation technology, bringing next-gen goat simulation to YOU. You no longer have to fantasize about being a goat, your mobile dreams have finally come true!

It has been compared to an old-school skating game, except instead of being a skater, you're a goat, and instead of doing tricks, you wreck stuff. more! When it comes to goats, not even the sky is the limit, as you can probably just bug through it and crash the game.

Coffee Stain Studios, the developers behind Goat Simulator, have released several other games in the Goat Simulator series, including Goat Simulator GoatZ, Goat Simulator Waste of Space, and Goat Simulator MMO Simulator.

Goat Simulator requires an iPhone 4s or later, iPad 2 or later, or 5th generation iPod touch or later.

Goat Simulator is available for both the iPhone and the iPad and can be downloaded for free from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Apple recently updated its online refurbished store in the United States to include the sixth-generation iPod touch, offering discounts of $30 to $60 depending on model, which equates to savings of up to 16 percent.

Refurbished entry-level 16GB models can be purchased for as little as $169, a discount of $30 off of the retail price. 16, 32, 64, and 128GB capacities in a range of colors are available.

First introduced in July of 2015, the sixth-generation iPod touch features a 6.1mm thick body with a 4-inch display, an A8 chip, and an 8-megapixel iSight camera.

Though the sixth-generation iPod touch has been available for more than a year, it appears to be a new addition to Apple's online refurbished store in the U.S. All refurbished Apple iPods include a new battery and outer shell plus all accessories and a full one-year warranty.

A federal jury for the U.S. District Court for Northern California today found Apple to be infringing upon a pair of wireless patents owned by Core Wireless, a patent holding firm with a large portfolio of more than 1,200 patents and applications, originally filed and later acquired from phone maker Nokia.

Core Wireless was awarded $7.3 million in damages as part of the ruling, which Apple is likely to appeal. In its complaint, Core Wireless argued iPhones and cellular-enabled iPads infringe upon its patented wireless technologies, according to court documents filed electronically.

Core Wireless, in a statement following the verdict, said the patents-in-suit — U.S. Patent No. 6,633,536 and U.S. Patent No. 6,477,151 — "provide innovations that improve battery life and signal quality in mobile phones."

"We are very pleased with the verdict," said John Lindgren, Conversant's CEO. "We appreciate the efforts of the court and the jury. This confirms the strength of the Core Wireless portfolio, especially following our success against LG earlier this year in two cases in the Eastern District of Texas."

Meanwhile, Apple lost another lawsuit this week when a San Diego Superior Court jury reached a verdict in favor of a group of former Apple Store retail employees, who accused the company of failing to provide timely meal and rest breaks, wages due upon ending employment within the required time, and accurate wage statements.

California Labor Code dictates that employees must be provided with at least a 30-minute meal break when the work period is more than five hours, and at least a 10-minute rest break for every four hours worked. The defendants claimed Apple failed to always provide these breaks for at least four years prior to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, originally filed in 2011 and elevated to class action status in 2014, involves Apple retail and corporate employees who worked for Apple between 2007 and 2012. The trial was to continue this week for corporate employees, as the jury verdict only applies to retail employees, according to a tipster.

Apple is ordered to pay $2 million in the lawsuit. Apple can now appeal the case before a higher court.