Platform game Eggggg - The Platform Puker has been named Apple's App of the Week, and as a result, it is free to download for the first time since it was released in October.
Described as a two-touch platform game about vomit, Eggggg features a main character, Gilbert, who has a severe allergy to eggs. Eating eggs makes Gilbert vomit, and the vomit mechanic is used to propel Gilbert through 21 levels infested with angry cyborg chickens and other obstacles to overcome.
The game features smooth controls designed for mobile devices, and it comes with a sticker pack that can be used in the Messages app. From Apple's App Store description:
With Free App of the Week, we highlight a great app you can enjoy at no charge this week. (In-App Purchases sold separately). A severe allergy to eggs isn't funny -- unless it hatches a fantastic voyage through a world full of golden nuggets, homicidal chickens, and puke. So. Much. Puke. The controls in this bizarrely clever platformer are spot on, but sometimes we're giggling so hard at our barf-propelled hero that we slip up and die laughing. It truly is an Eggggg-cellent adventure.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has allegedly been spotted testing a prototype glucose monitor that's connected to his Apple Watch, reports CNBC. Cook, who is said to be aiming to understand how his blood sugar is affected by food and exercise, has been seen wearing the device around the Apple Campus.
Cook also mentioned the glucose monitor in a February meeting with students at the University of Glasgow. It's not clear if the device he spoke of in Glasgow is the same one he's been wearing around the Apple campus.
"I've been wearing a continuous glucose monitor for a few weeks," he said. "I just took it off before coming on this trip."
Cook explained that he was able to understand how his blood sugar responded to foods he was eating. He made modifications to keep his blood sugar more constant.
Current continuous glucose monitoring systems require a small sensor that's worn under the skin to monitor glucose levels. Advanced systems from Dexcom include a transmitter, which can display glucose information directly on an iPhone or Apple Watch.
An iPhone-connected Dexcom continuous glucose monitoring system
Rumors have suggested glucose monitoring is the next major health issue Apple is aiming to tackle. The company is said to have a team of biomedical engineers working on developing sensors for non-invasively monitoring blood sugar levels. Apple is allegedly working on a continuous monitoring solution that would not require an under-skin sensor.
Apple's glucose testing is reportedly far enough along that the company has started conducting feasibility trials at clinical sites in the San Francisco Bay Area, and consultants have been hired to sort out regulatory issues.
According to a recent rumor from BGR, Apple could be planning to add a non-invasive glucose monitoring sensor to a future version of the Apple Watch, perhaps through the addition of a smart band that would add functionality to the Apple Watch without requiring the sensor to be built into the watch.
Cook has said in the past that Apple does not want to put the Apple Watch through the FDA approval process, something that would need to happen for Apple to introduce a glucose monitor, so a modular add-on smart band could be an ideal solution for adding more advanced health tracking features without subjecting the Apple Watch itself to FDA oversight.
Facebook today revealed a new redesign coming to its standalone Facebook Messenger app for iOS and Android, with subtle UI changes that emphasize new features like games, while making it easier to see which friends are online and what notifications have been missed (via TechCrunch).
The main UI addition is the introduction of three new tabs atop the app for messages, active friends, and groups, which Facebook believes is a way to ensure that Messenger is "your hub for connecting with all the people and businesses you care about."
The company also hopes that the more prominent positioning of active friends encourages Messenger users to interact with people in real time more often, since it's easier to scroll through a list of online friends than before. The app now stretches to encompass the iOS toolbar at the top of the screen, instead of stopping below the bar as before.
Facebook Messenger's previous design (left) compared to its upcoming design (right)
These changes are designed to make Messenger simpler for you - to help you get to your contacts quickly, jump into your conversations where you left off, start new chats, and stay up to date.
The tabs at the bottom of the iOS app now have descriptions as well, including Home, Calls, People, and Games, the last of which is another new addition to Facebook Messenger. Games within the app launched earlier this month, allowing users to play a variety of single-player and turn-based games directly within the app, similar to a few gaming apps on the iOS Messages App Store.
One aspect of Facebook Messenger that's been decreased is its camera button, which used to expand above the dock at the bottom of the app but now sits flush and aligned with the rest of the tabs. Although the button now has less of an emphasis, Facebook Messenger's Snapchat clone, Messenger Day, is remaining within the app, and all of the camera's filters and masks will still be available to use. A Discover tab will be added as the app rolls out, in order to connect users with businesses, places, and services.
Facebook is also adding in iOS-like red dot badges for each new tab in Messenger, so whenever users log into the app and have a missed message or call, a badge will appear on the corresponding tab. The social network has begun doing this in its main app recently as well, urging users to tap on the new "Marketplace" and "Video" tabs with the same badges.
Facebook Messenger users can expect the changes to begin appearing on both iOS and Android this week.
The Microsoft-owned SwiftKey Keyboard app for iOS today received a major update, introducing a refreshed design, new animated themes, and support for 68 new languages, bringing the total number of languages supported to 106.
SwiftKey's entire look and feel has been overhauled, with the Nickel Light and Nickel Dark themes gaining a new, cleaner design with flatter, wider keys and a simpler color scheme. The app also has a new icon.
New animated themes are being added to SwiftKey, including "Cogs" and "Zig Zag," both of which feature subtle animations underneath the keyboard keys. In total, SwiftKey says there are six new themes available for users to download.
With today's update, SwiftKey says it supports more languages than any other iOS keyboard available in the App Store. The new language options can be accessed through the "Languages" section of the SwiftKey container app. Users can download multiple languages and SwiftKey will automatically detect the language being used, providing word predictions.
Supporting the many different languages spoken by our users around the world and delivering the best multilingual typing experience has always been one of our goals - and a point of pride for the SwiftKey team. We're incredibly excited to offer more language models than any other iOS keyboard available right now and we can't wait for you to get your hands on them.
Following an announcement last December, accessory company Kanex today launched its GoPower Watch Stand for the Apple Watch. The Apple MFi-certified accessory includes an integrated charging puck that recharges and displays the Apple Watch, as well as an additional USB port on the back that can simultaneously charge an iPhone, iPad, or any other USB-compatible device.
"The Apple Watch, as with all Apple products, was designed with elegance in mind, and the Kanex GoPower Watch Stand is no different," said Andrew Truong of Kanex. "It features a smart minimalist design that elevates the Apple Watch for a convenient viewing angle, while also eliminating cable clutter. Plus, with an additional USB port on the back, our Kanex GoPower Watch Stand is the perfect all-in-one solution."
The company also announced that its GoPower Plus power bank now comes in Rose Gold and Matte Black colorways. The power bank supports simultaneous charging to two devices and has an 8,000 mAh battery with an integrated MFi-certified Lightning adapter. The accessory was previously available in Space Grey and Gold.
Anyone interested can purchase the GoPower Watch Stand for $69.95 and the GoPower Plus for $59.95 on Kanex.com.
Pioneer today unveiled five new NEX in-dash multimedia receivers with CarPlay and Android Auto support, including the first-ever single-DIN model.
The single-DIN AVH-3300NEX is a smaller, more universally sized receiver that can fit into many older and collectible cars. Unlike a double-DIN receiver, which has a built-in display, this single-DIN model features a 7-inch pop out, motorized capacitive touchscreen. The whole unit is also detachable for added security.
The other four receivers are double-DIN models, including the 7-inch AVH-2330NEX and AVH-2300NEX and 6.2-inch AVH-1330NEX and AVH-1300NEX. These models have resistive touchscreens.
In addition to CarPlay and Android Auto, Pioneer said all five receivers feature Bluetooth for hands-free calling and music streaming, native Spotify and Pandora, a USB port, HD Radio, and SiriusXM compatibility with a tuner sold separately. All models are also backup camera and Pioneer navigation system ready.
The AVH-3300NEX, AVH-2330NEX and AVH-1330NEX also come with a remote control to adjust volume, audio sources, and more.
Pioneer said the new NEX lineup will be available through resellers in July with suggested retail prices of $600 for the single-DIN model, and between $400 and $500 for the double-DIN models, in the United States.
Pioneer's current NEX receivers retail for between $400 and $1,400 in the United States. Competing aftermarket CarPlay systems are available from Alpine, Clarion, Kenwood, JVC, JBL, Sony, and other manufacturers.
Broadcasting company SiriusXM Satellite Radio is having "active discussions" about the potential acquisition of internet radio company Pandora, after previously showing interest in bidding for Pandora last year. After those talks stalled, The New York Post is now reporting that SiriusXM is reigniting its interest in Pandora, which would grant the company access to Pandora's online radio service and the just-launched on-demand "Premium" streaming service.
Pandora Premium itself is the result of the company's acquisition of key assets and employees who worked for Rdio, which Pandora acquired in 2015. The $9.99/month service is a competitor to Apple Music and Spotify, giving listeners access to a large on-demand library, playlist creation, unlimited skips, and no ads, unlike Pandora's base radio service.
Pandora's new on-demand service, Pandora Premium
Liberty Media-backed SiriusXM is in active discussions about making a bid for internet radio company Pandora, The Post has learned.
The New York satellite radio company, which has exhibited on-and-off interest in the struggling streamer, has recently restarted talks with Pandora’s banks and is discussing the size of a potential offer, sources said.
According to Goldman Sachs analyst Heath Terry, the music industry is currently focused on the "increasingly competitive environment in streaming music," so SiriusXM might be interested in acquiring Pandora to help beef up its Premium streaming service and compete more directly with Apple Music and Sirius, which are both above 20 million and 50 million paid subscribers, respectively. Since the trial period opened in March, Pandora Premium has reported 1.3 million sign-ups for the streaming service.
The specific number of those users who continued to pay for Premium was not disclosed, but the company saw a 6 percent revenue uptick in the first quarter. Its total active listeners nevertheless decreased to 76.7 million from 79.4 million in the year-ago quarter. Pandora co-founder Tim Westergren hoped to keep Pandora away from a sale, but two of its largest shareholders -- Corvex Management and Matrix Capital Management -- have repeatedly pushed the company in that direction.
According to sources familiar with the talks between the two companies, no price has yet to be agreed upon but bids could range between $12 and $13 per share, while other sources "immediately shot down" those estimations. Greg Maffe, the CEO of SiriusXM parent company Liberty Media, has said previously he believes Pandora to be worth $10 per share. On Wednesday, Pandora's shares closed at $8.93.
Cultured Code today officially released an all-new version of Things, the personal task manager software for Mac, iOS, and Apple Watch.
Things 3 brings an overhauled user interface and multiple new features to the to-do apps, which continue to use Things Cloud to seamlessly sync across devices.
First up is the new design, offering a stripped-down look that aims to integrate the old features with the new, and put user content front and center. For example, to-dos are adaptive to their content, and can look like straight text on a piece of paper, or include additional details like tags, checklists, a start date, or a deadline. These fields also respond to a range of gestures (drag and drop, swipe, tap to expand, mark complete) to make organization easier.
Other refinements include the ability to search across the entire app by pulling down inside any list to trigger Quick Find, which offers immediate access to to-dos, lists, tags, and more. There's also a progress indicator for projects, indicating their status at a glance.
The Today and Upcoming screens have been re-imagined, and now display both calendar events and to-dos together, with events for the day shown in a timeline at the top. Every day at midnight, the next day's to-dos appear at the top of the Today list. There's also a new section called "This Evening" to make it easier to structure your day.
Things 3 also introduces headings, which can be used to break up milestones in projects and make them easier to grasp. Another new structural tool are checklists within individual to-dos, making it possible to break down tasks even further.
In addition, Things 3 features a new way to create to-dos called the Magic Plus Button. The button lives in the corner of the screen and can be either tapped or dragged up to a particular list to generate the to-do in a specific location. The button can also be used to quickly create and place headings in new projects.
Elsewhere, the iOS app now offers multiple item selection and easier list editing interactions, while the macOS version features a Slim Mode for better focus and the ability to open multiple windows with drag-and-drop support between them. Time-based reminders have also been added to the task manager, offering instant sync between devices. And a new feature called Type Travel enables fast navigation to any project, area, or to-do in the app.
Finally, the all-new Things brings an updated Apple Watch app, Wunderlist/OmniFocus import, a new structure for Areas, and Touch Bar support on MacBook Pros.
The apps will be available in the App Store as one-time purchases for Mac ($49.99), iPad ($19.99), and iPhone/Watch ($9.99). They are a paid update for existing customers, who can take advantage of a 20% discount on all apps during launch week (offer ends on May 25). A 14-day trial of Things for Mac is available on the Cultured Code website.
Mobile game developer Jam City and creator Matt Groening have announced an all-new Futurama game is coming to iOS and Android early this summer, called Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow. The game is being developed with the show's original writers, animators, and cast members, and the new teaser trailer represents the first fully-animated Futurama content since it went off the air in 2013.
Jam City said that the game will include multiple gameplay devices, including simulation, combat, galactic exploration, and even choose-your-own adventure mechanics. The game has two main settings, including New New York and Space Adventures. In New New York players will focus on the simulation aspects of the game, progressing their character through story quests that include rescuing popular Futurama characters, collecting items, crafting outfits that change abilities, and more.
"I'm proud to say that Futurama lives! In mobile-video-game teaser trailer form, anyway," said Matt Groening, creator of FUTURAMA and THE SIMPSONS. "If you squint, it's kind of like a little episode!"
"The Futurama universe is chock-full of exotic planets inhabited by wacky creatures (and Smizmars)," said Josh Yguado, Co-Founder, President and COO of Jam City. "Whether you're counseling an alien overlord on Omicron Persei 8 or battling rogue robots on the streets of Chapek 9, exploring this crazy universe and interacting with its denizens will be a blast."
Over time, players will begin assembling their own customized Planet Express crew, which they can take to the second part of the game in Space Adventures. There, players will visit various planets and nebulas while fighting enemies in "retro arcade-style combat." During the turn-based Space Adventures combat sections, the game's graphics switch to 16-bit style.
The developer said that more information about the game will be released sometime soon, and anyone interested can sign up on the game's website to be alerted about its launch. According to the Twitter page for the game, Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow will arrive sometime in early summer.
Apple has told several Chinese social networking apps to disable their "tip" functions to comply with App Store rules, according to executives at WeChat and other companies.
The tip functions in Chinese messaging platforms are free to use and allow people to send authors and other content creators monetary tips through transfers to mobile wallet accounts. However, according to The Wall Street Journal, Apple has decided that tips are equivalent to in-app purchases – similar to buying games, music, and videos – therefore Apple is entitled to a 30 percent cut of every transaction.
WeChat on iPhone
The move by Apple appears to be a way to eke out additional revenue from Chinese iPhone users as part of a broader effort to increase its market share in the country. According to research firm IDC, Apple's market share in China dropped from 16 percent in Q1 2015 to 9 percent in Q1 2017, while the iPhone has fallen to fourth place behind Chinese brands Oppo, Huawei, and Vivo.
On the other hand, Apple's App Store revenue in China overtook its U.S. App Store revenue in 2016 and became the biggest App Store market in the world. Making the tip function an in-app purchase in China's wildly popular chat apps would seem to be a sure-fire way to increase Apple's revenue. However, Apple's pressure on messaging platforms like WeChat is a risk and threatens to alienate huge Chinese companies.
Some social-networking apps have likened Apple's tactic to arm-twisting, according to The Wall Street Journal. Apple is said to have told chief executives at two companies that if they refuse to make the change, updated versions of their apps won't be made available and they could be kicked out of the App Store. "We don't charge anything as the platform, but Apple gets 30 percent for doing nothing," one of the executives reportedly fumed.
The annoyance stems from the way the tipping culture is viewed in China. Chinese app developers see tipping as fundamentally different from in-app purchases because users only tip voluntarily as a mark of appreciation when they consume content. But the biggest worry for Apple could be whether the Chinese government decides to intervene and side with the tippers.
One executive says his company is talking to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, a regulator, about whether Apple is imposing unfair rules by turning tipping into in-app purchases. MIIT says it isn’t involved. The People’s Bank of China, which regulates electronic payments, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Apple has suffered at the hands of Chinese state regulators before. But Apple also risks frustrating China's biggest company Tencent Holdings Ltd, the developer of WeChat, which has 938 million active monthly users. The messaging service works almost like an operating system all of its own, boasting multiple mini-apps that allow users to pay bills, book hotels, browse media, and more, without ever having to leave the chat platform. The nature of the system itself could be a threat to Apple's app revenue, while WeChat is arguably more important to Chinese smartphone users than any individual phone brand – iPhone included.
WeChat is in talks with Apple to try to find a new solution to the tipping problem and come to an alternative agreement, according to people familiar with the matter.
Amazon yesterday refreshed its low-cost tablet range and brought its Alexa voice assistant to Fire tablets in the U.K. for the first time.
The new thinner and lighter $50/£50 Fire 7 boasts an improved 7-inch 1024x600 IPS screen with higher contrast and sharper text, up to 8 hours' battery life, and more storage than its predecessor. Meanwhile, the new $80/£80 Fire HD 8 features a larger 8-inch 1280x800 display and up to 12 hours of battery life.
Both devices pack a quad-core 1.3GHz processor, 2-megapixel VGA front and rear cameras, dual-band WiFi, and Alexa voice assistant, which comes as a new feature for tablets sold in the United Kingdom.
Amazon claims its new Fire models are more hard-wearing than Apple's iPads. Even so, the Fire 7 and Fire HD 8 are also available in Kids Editions, for £100/$100 and £130/$130 respectively, which come with a large rubber protective case and a two-year "worry-free" guarantee, as well as more storage, parental controls, no adverting or in-app purchases, and a one-year subscription to Fire for kids unlimited.
With its low-cost, feature-rich offerings, Amazon has managed to buck the trend in a tablet market in which even market-leading brands like Apple have struggled to convince consumers to upgrade to the latest devices. While iPad sales have declined for 13 consecutive quarters, Fire sales have generally improved, seeing double-digit growth in its media-positioned tablets. The Fire 7 has proved particularly popular among parents who want a device for their kids but aren't willing to risk paying a premium price.
The Amazon Fire 7 and HD 8 tablets are available to pre-order now and due to ship on June 7. Amazon will roll out Alexa to more of its Fire tablet devices in the U.K. in June through a software update.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon.
The European Commission has fined Facebook $122 million for misleading regulators over its 2014 acquisition of WhatsApp. The announcement came on Thursday in a press release in which the Commission said that the social media company had provided "incorrect or misleading information" when it told regulators that it would be unable to link the profiles of users on WhatsApp and Facebook.
However, WhatsApp announced in 2016 that it would start sharing some user data, including phone numbers, with Facebook, contradicting the earlier claim. In its press release, the Commission said that Facebook knew the data crossover was technically feasible in 2014 when it bought WhatsApp for $22 billion, but that it had stated otherwise when asked by merger regulators.
"When Facebook notified the acquisition of WhatsApp in 2014, it informed the Commission that it would be unable to establish reliable automated matching between Facebook users' accounts and WhatsApp users' accounts. It stated this both in the notification form and in a reply to a request of information from the Commission. However, in August 2016, WhatsApp announced updates to its terms of service and privacy policy, including the possibility of linking WhatsApp users' phone numbers with Facebook users' identities.
The Commission has found that, contrary to Facebook's statements in the 2014 merger review process, the technical possibility of automatically matching Facebook and WhatsApp users' identities already existed in 2014, and that Facebook staff were aware of such a possibility."
The ruling by the Commission will not have any impact on its decision to rubber stamp the acquisition, and remains separate from data protection investigations that are currently ongoing, the EC explained in the press release. The separate investigations involve historical data collection of WhatsApp users in Germany, the U.K., and Italy. Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said:
"Today's decision sends a clear signal to companies that they must comply with all aspects of EU merger rules, including the obligation to provide correct information. And it imposes a proportionate and deterrent fine on Facebook. The Commission must be able to take decisions about mergers' effects on competition in full knowledge of accurate facts."
Facebook responded to the decision in a statement published on its website on Thursday. The company said it had "acted in good faith" during its communications with the EC, and claimed that it had attempted to provide "accurate information at every turn".
"The errors we made in our 2014 filings were not intentional and the Commission has confirmed that they did not impact the outcome of the merger review," the statement reads. "Today's announcement brings this matter to a close."
Each of the three YouTubers, who met Cook at Apple's campus for coffee, have shared their conversations with the CEO on their respective YouTube channels. All three, including legally blind filmmaker James Rath, deaf advocate and vlogger Rikki Poynter, and actress Tatiana Lee, who was born with Spina Bifida, talked about the Apple products that they use in their daily lives. The three interviews can be watched below.
During his meeting with Poynter, Cook explained Apple's stance on accessibility and why the company goes to great lengths to make sure its devices are available to everyone.
Apple is founded on giving people power to create things, to do things that they couldn't do without those tools. And we've always viewed accessibility as a human right. And so just like human rights are for everyone, we want our products to be accessible for everyone. And so it's a basic core value of Apple. We don't make products for a particular group of people. We make products for everybody.
We feel very strongly that everyone deserves an equal opportunity and equal access. So we don't look at this thing from a return on investment point of view -- I've been asked that before. The answer is no, I've never looked at that. We don't care about that.
In addition to Cook's meetings, Apple also recently published a series of "Designed for" accessibility videos, highlighting the different ways Apple's Accessibility features are used to make Apple devices available to everyone, and there's currently an Accessibility feature in the App Store promoting Accessibility apps.
Since October, Apple has had a detailed Accessibility website that demonstrates and promotes the extensive Accessibility options built into Apple products.
In early May, a mirror download server hosting popular Mac transcoder app HandBrake was hacked, and the legitimate version of HandBrake was replaced with a version infected with OSX.PROTON, a remote access trojan giving hackers root-access privileges to a Mac.
In a blog post shared today, Panic Inc. developer and co-founder Steven Frank said he downloaded the infected version of HandBrake, which led to the theft of much of the source code behind Panic's apps. Panic offers several apps, including web editor Coda, FTP app Transmit, SSH client Prompt, and Firewatch, an adventure game.
Hackers accessed Frank's computer through the infected HandBrake software and were able to obtain his usernames and passwords, including git credentials. Several source code repositories were cloned by the attackers, who have demanded "a large bitcoin ransom" to stop the release of the source code, a ransom Panic does not intend to pay.
While Panic's source code has been stolen, the company says that a careful review of its logs indicates that the theft was the extent of the damage - the hacker did not access customer information or Panic Sync Data.
- There's no indication any customer information was obtained by the attacker. - Furthermore, there's no indication Panic Sync data was accessed. - Finally, our web server was not compromised.
(As a reminder, we never store credit card numbers since we process them with Stripe, and all Panic Sync data is encrypted in such a way that even we can't see it.)
According to Panic, the source code for the apps could potentially be used by hackers to create malware-infected builds of the company's apps, so users should be vigilant and download Panic apps only from the company's website or the Mac App Store.
Panic has been in contact with both the FBI and Apple. Apple's security team is "standing by to quickly shut down any stolen/malware-infested versions" of Panic apps that are discovered, while the FBI is actively investigating the attack.
Panic is asking customers to notify the company of any unofficial or cracked versions of Panic apps that are discovered in the wild, as any such content is likely infected with malware.
92 percent of iPhone owners that are "somewhat likely" or "extremely likely" to upgrade their smartphone in the next 12 months plan to purchase another iPhone, according to investment banking firm Morgan Stanley.
Apple's loyalty rate, up from 86 percent a year ago, is based on an April 2017 survey of 1,000 smartphone owners aged 18 and above in the United States. It's the highest iPhone retention rate recorded by Morgan Stanley since an all-time high of 93 percent set in September 2015, when the iPhone 6s launched.
An excerpt from Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty's research note distributed today:
It's our belief that a maturing installed base that is accustomed to iOS and increased press around potential new technologies in the upcoming iPhone drove the strong year-over-year increase. Importantly, the rise in Apple's loyalty rates comes after Samsung, Apple's biggest competitor in the United States, introduced the Galaxy S8, which was available for pre-order starting March 30th. Apple's loyalty rate of 92% dwarfs that of all other vendors, with Samsung garnering a 77% retention rate, followed by LG (59%), Motorola (56%), and Nokia (42%).
Despite reports suggesting "iPhone 8" mass production could be delayed by months, Huberty said Morgan Stanley's Greater China Technology Research colleagues have "not yet seen delays in the supply chain" and still expect new iPhone production to start on time for most components, including the OLED display.
"Nevertheless, we remain conservative in our initial expectations for iPhone supply," the research note cautioned.
Morgan Stanley raised its price target for Apple's stock to $177 today, up from $161, given growing confidence in its 2018 fiscal year "supercycle" estimates, along with a greater mix of recurring, high-margin services revenue, and a larger cash balance with potential for repatriation in the United States.
Starting today, Logitech's HomeKit-compatible programmable POP Smart Button can be purchased exclusively from Apple retail locations in the United States.
The Logitech POP Smart Button is designed to allow any smart device in the home to be controlled through the push of a button, allowing things like lights to be activated without the need for a smartphone.
Connected to a user's HomeKit setup via a bridge, the POP Smart Button supports three customizable gestures, with each bridge able to support multiple buttons. Buttons can be used to activate full HomeKit scenes or simply turn a smart accessory on and off. Each button supports three preset commands, activated with a press, a double press, or a press and hold gesture.
While the POP Smart Button works with HomeKit, it can also be used with other non-HomeKit devices like Sonos wireless speakers or Logitech Harmony hub-based remote controls.
The Logitech POP Smart Button Kit, which includes one bridge and one pre-paired smart button in White or Alloy, is priced at $59.95 and will be available from Apple.com and Apple retail stores today. Additional Add-on Smart Buttons can be purchased for $39.95.
Google today kicked off its annual I/O developer conference in Mountain View, California, beginning with a keynote where the company announced Google Assistant for iPhone, new Google Home features including the ability to stream Apple Music via Bluetooth, and new photo sharing features in Google Photos.
Google Assistant on iOS
As it was rumored earlier this week, Google today announced that its AI helper Google Assistant is out now for iOS as its own standalone app [Direct Link]. This way, users will be able to chat with Google and gain access to all of its interactive features without needing a Pixel or Android smartphone.
The company also revealed that Google Assistant will be gaining new chatbot abilities and integration with a new technology called Google Lens, which enhances a smartphone's camera with AI learning. As an example, Google showed a demo where a user took a picture of a business's sign, and gave them reviews, menu items, friend check-ins, and more. Other examples include the camera's ability to identify what a user is looking at, such as the species of a flower, or connecting to a Wi-Fi network by taking a picture of a sticker on a router.
Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced a year ago in March of 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari.
Safari Technology Preview release 30 includes fixes and improvements for Web API, JavaScript, CSS, Accessibility, Web Inspector, WebDriver, media, and rendering.
Apple's aim with Safari Technology Preview is to gather feedback from developers and users on its browser development process. Safari Technology Preview can run side-by-side with the existing Safari browser and while designed for developers, it does not require a developer account to download.
Apple today 
