MacRumors

When Pinterest acquired keyboard app maker Fleksy last summer, development was paused on the company's well-known iOS and Android keyboard apps as the team was integrated into Pinterest's projects. The companies said that Fleksy would continue to exist with minimal updates, but otherwise not much news has come out about the keyboard app, until today.

Now, Barcelona-based keyboard startup Thingthing [iOS App Store Direct Link] announced in a blog post this morning that it will take over development of the Fleksy keyboard, while the original Fleksy team continues to work at Pinterest (via TechCrunch). Thingthing said that thanks to the deal, the company is "closer than ever to our goal of bringing you the world’s first Keyboard as a Platform (KaaP)."

The company highlighted improvements coming to Fleksy + Gif Keyboard on the iOS App Store [Direct Link] and Android devices over the coming months, including: "A new brand, more themes and extensions, continued focus on data privacy, awesome auto-correction, new services thanks to our open keyboard as a platform, [and] ongoing support to all of you!"

For now, the company updated Fleksy with a few basic bug fixes today, while a "very, very big" product launch is expected sometime this fall.

Thingthing users are used to being productive, using the keyboard’s interface to improve their typing experience and reducing time to realise day-to-day activities, which are performed naturally in Thingthing.

Still, a lot of you have requested more languages, more services, more customization, a better auto-correct, etc. This is exactly what we’re bringing to you: what you asked for.

Thingthing's chief technical officer mentioned that the developer intends to "vastly improve" upon the current Fleksy keyboard with these updates, building the keyboard up into a platform of its own with extensions for apps like Spotify, YouTube, and more. The upcoming brand refresh will be centered on changing the design and feel of the app and its logo, while the Fleksy name will remain in place.

Earlier in July, a report by The Korea Herald suggested that Apple and supplier LG Display were working on a deal that would see Apple investing $1.75-2.62 billion into LG Display's OLED manufacturing, specifically a plant that would be exclusively devoted to Apple orders. Today, Reuters has provided a few more details on LG Display's plans to enter the OLED display market for smartphones, which rival Samsung Display currently dominates.

In total, LG Display plans to invest $13.5 billion into boosting its output of OLED screens over the next three years, covering TV screens and specifically hoping to "make inroads against rival Samsung in smartphone displays." LG Display is already the OLED leader in large-screen television displays, but now the supplier is said to be seeking a strong foothold in the OLED screen market for smartphones, coming in the wake of OLED-backed iPhone 8 rumors and Apple's reported plans to go OLED-only on iPhones beginning in 2019, and perhaps even 2018.

LG Display will invest around $4.5 billion for a new production line that will create flexible OLED panels to help bolster its position in the auto display and smartphone market, and another $2.5 billion will be saved for another line of "large-size OLED screens." In regards to lines dedicated to small and mid-sized OLED displays, it's said that Apple will help out with getting the lines up and running, continuing the investment rumors began earlier this month.

Around 5 trillion won is earmarked for a new line for flexible OLED aimed at bolstering its position in auto displays and smartphones while 2.8 trillion won will go toward a separate new line for large-size OLED screens. Both production lines will be located in Paju, northwest of Seoul. Its planned 15 trillion won investment over three years implies an average of 5 trillion won in capital spending per year, above its usual 4 trillion won, but analysts said it will probably not be enough.

"For small and mid-sized OLED, it is expected to receive additional investment from somewhere else, perhaps Apple," said Lee Min-hee, analyst at Heungkuk Securities. "One production line for small and mid-sized OLED can require nearly 10 trillion won in investment. LG doesn't have the firepower to single-handedly build a lot of OLED production lines."

Apple's current OLED deal with Samsung will see the manufacturer supply 92 million OLED panels over the next two years. In The Korea Herald's report from early July, it was rumored that LG Display's OLED output for Apple would gear up in 2019, aligning with the end of Apple's contract with Samsung. A rumor this week has also pointed towards Apple's plans to develop its own OLED technology to reduce its reliance on suppliers like Samsung Display.

Apple's launch of the first-ever OLED iPhone is widely expected to be coming later this fall, in the majorly redesigned "iPhone 8," while more iterative updates in the "iPhone 7s" and "iPhone 7s Plus" will receive traditional LCD screens.

Google launched a new feature for its Search and Maps apps today that aims to help users stay on top of events when a natural disaster or other crisis occurs near their location (via TechCrunch).

Called "SOS Alerts", the notifications will appear at the top of Google search results and Maps when a user looks for information about an incident or the affected area.

In the Search app, Google will offer an overview of the incident using maps, relevant news stories, emergency phone numbers where available, websites, and any other information that might be useful. In the event that the user is in close proximity to the incident, Google may also send notifications directing users to further details.

The same information will show up in the Maps app where relevant, for example in search results, with real-time updates detailing road closures and traffic and transit updates.

Google has worked with several organizations to bring the feature to its Search and Maps apps, including the Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Philippine Atmospheric, and Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

Google Maps and Search can be downloaded from the App Store for free.

Facebook is planning to release its own smart speaker to compete with similar connected devices offered by Amazon, Google, and Apple, a report out of Taiwan claimed on Tuesday.

However, instead of voice recognition functions in the vein of Siri or Alexa, Facebook's speaker will focus more on displaying visual imagery via a 15-inch touch panel, according to sources in the supply chain.

Market watchers predicted high growth for Pegatron going into the second half of the year, with the manufacturer already fulfilling iPhone orders for Apple as well as Surface and Xbox One orders for Microsoft.

Amazon is reportedly working on a successor to its popular flagship Echo speaker for release later this year. The company hopes to steal the spotlight from Apple as it prepares to launch its music-oriented HomePod speaker, costing $350.

Research firm Strategy Analytics claims worldwide smart speaker shipments reached 5.9 million units in 2016, 4.2 million of which were shipped in the fourth quarter of 2016. The smart speaker market is expected to reach $5.5 billion by 2022.

(Via DigiTimes.)

iRobot CEO Colin Angle today told Reuters that he hopes indoor mapping data collected by Roomba automatic vacuum cleaning machines can be sold to a company like Amazon, Apple, or Google in the near future.

iRobot's latest line of 900-series Roomba vacuums use simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) technology to map rooms while they clean, memorizing room layout and the location of furniture. Angle believes that mapping data collected by the Roomba could be used to make other in-home smart devices like lighting, thermostats, and security cameras smarter.

"There's an entire ecosystem of things and services that the smart home can deliver once you have a rich map of the home that the user has allowed to be shared," said Angle.

Guy Hoffman, a robotics professor at Cornell University, told Reuters that the kind of spatial mapping technology iRobot can deliver has the potential to be a "major breakthrough" for smart homes.

Right now, smart home devices operate "like a tourist in New York who never leaves the subway," said Hoffman. "There is some information about the city, but the tourist is missing a lot of context for what's happening outside of the stations."

Angle believes that iRobot could reach a deal to sell its maps data to "one or more" of the "Big Three" (Amazon, Apple, and Google) in the next couple of years, but cheaper technology from competing companies and privacy concerns could potentially halt the company's plans. Angle says iRobot will not sell room data without customer permission, but he believes most people will give consent to access smart home functions.

Indoor home mapping has the potential to be valuable to companies like Apple, especially with Apple poised to release its augmented reality platform with iOS 11, but it's unclear if Apple would be interested in or need such data. Functionality built into Apple's own upcoming devices like the iPhone 8 could potentially allow for in-home maps that could bolster smart home devices if rumors of enhanced augmented reality features are true.

Last week, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, a lobbying group representing Google, eBay, Amazon, Microsoft, Netflix, Intel, Samsung, and other tech companies, asked the United States International Trade Commission to reject Qualcomm's request for an import ban on some of Apple's iPhone and iPad models that use Intel chips.

The group said that banning Apple products that use Intel chips would enable Qualcomm's anti-competitive behavior and cause supply issues, resulting in harm to consumers.

Qualcomm today responded to the CCIA in a court filing, accusing the group of launching a "coordinated effort aimed at misdirecting" the ITC, reports Reuters. Qualcomm also said that the import ban it requested is not focused on Intel's chips, but the patented technology used in iPhones with Intel chips.

In its filing on Monday, Qualcomm argued that its import ban is not actually about Intel's chips, but instead concerns the patented technology that surrounds the Intel chips in current versions of the iPhone. Thus a ban on importing the phones would not hurt competition in the long term, Qualcomm argued. "Apple can purchase and utilize any LTE modem it chooses so long as it does not infringe Qualcomm's asserted patents," the company wrote.

Apple and Qualcomm have been embroiled in an ongoing legal battle following Apple's decision to sue Qualcomm in January for charging unfair royalties and refusing to pay quarterly rebates.

The fight between the two companies has escalated since then, most recently leading Qualcomm to file a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple and request an import ban for some iPhone models.

In a statement to Reuters on Qualcomm's filing this afternoon, Apple once again complained that Qualcomm makes a single chip in the iPhone but "for years [has] been demanding a percentage of the total cost of [Apple] products - effectively taxing Apple's innovation."

Universal Search, the feature that allows users to find content across multiple apps and services using text or Siri voice search, was today added to several new apps in the United States, Australia, Canada, and other countries.

In the United States, AHC Go (American History Channel), Destination America Go, Discover Life Go, Filmstruck, Shudder, Sundance Now, and Velocity Go have been updated with Universal Search support.

In Australia, AnimeLab and DocPlay support Universal Search, as do City Video and Crave in Canada.

In France, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, and Spain, the MUBI app has been updated with support for Universal Search.

Apple's Universal Search feature was first introduced alongside the fourth-generation Apple TV. It was originally limited to iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and Showtime, but Apple has been steadily expanding the number of apps that work with Universal Search since its debut.

Apple maintains a full list of apps that support the Apple TV's Universal Search feature in a dedicated support document. Apple plans to continue expanding the search feature to additional apps.

Along with Universal Search, AHC Go, Destination America Go, Discover Life Go, and Velocity Go also now work with the TV app on the Apple TV and iOS devices in the United States. Apps that support the TV app are also listed in an Apple support document.

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming watchOS 4 update to developers, a little over one week after seeding the third beta and over a month after introducing the new update at its 2017 Worldwide Developers Conference.

Once the proper configuration profile has been installed from the Apple Developer Center, the watchOS 4 beta can be downloaded through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General --> Software update.

watchOS 4 features three new watch faces, including a dedicated Siri watch face that displays dynamic information unique to each individual and is perhaps the most significant new feature in the update. There are also new complications for Now Playing and Apple News, and an enhanced Workout app that supports High Intensity Interval Training and new swimming options.

GymKit, a new technology platform, will let the Apple Watch interface with gym equipment for workout data sharing purposes, and the Activity app will offer up intelligent coaching and tailored workout encouragement along with new monthly activity challenges.

Many other small tweaks and changes have been introduced, all of which are outlined in our dedicated watchOS 4 roundup.

watchOS 4 is only available to developers and will not be provided to public beta testers, so non-developers will need to wait until the software sees an official release in the fall to try it out.

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of an upcoming tvOS 11 update designed for the fourth-generation TV, two weeks after seeding the third beta and more than a month after releasing the first beta during the 2017 Worldwide Developers Conference.

Registered developers can download tvOS 11 by connecting the Apple TV to a computer with a USB-C cable and installing the beta software using iTunes.

tvOS 11 didn't receive much attention at the Worldwide Developers Conference due to time constraints, but according to Apple's release notes, it introduces a few new features to the operating system.

tvOS 11 includes automatic switching between light/dark mode based on local time, Home screen syncing options that keep multiple Apple TVs in a household in sync, new background modes and notification support, Focus API improvements, custom sound support, network-based pairing and development support, improvements to Mobile Device Management, and more.

The fourth beta of tvOS 11 likely focuses primarily on bug fixes and other small refinements, as the first three betas did. Apple's new tvOS 11 update is available for both registered developers and public beta testers. It will see a public release later this year.

Music streaming service Spotify is close to signing a deal with Warner Music Group that would see artists under the label launch albums exclusively on Spotify's $9.99/month paid subscription tier. Spotify has previously not restricted albums to its paid subscribers, but reports earlier this year said that the service would soon begin practicing in exclusives, and it now appears to be happening with Warner Music artists as the first potential exclusives for Spotify Premium users that would be unavailable to anyone on the free tier.

Spotify and Warner Music's new deal "could be signed by September," according to sources speaking with Reuters. The sources said that some of the biggest parts of the deal have been talked about, including granting Spotify "a more favorable revenue split" in return for Spotify launching Warner Music albums exclusively on its paid tier "for a defined period." However, specific monetary amounts for such a deal, and which of Warner Music's artists would be included -- Ed Sheeran and Muse are under the label's management -- were details that have yet to be ironed out.

One source described the talks as being at "a crossroads," with any potential for a final deal remaining "at bay" until agreements were made on a number of points. Still, talks are said to be "taking place daily," leading other sources close to the deal hopeful for a finalized agreement to come by September. The signing of the deal is said to be Spotify's "last big music royalty deal" ahead of the company's plan to go public on the stock market by late 2017/early 2018.

The parties are positive a deal could be signed by September as major issues such as granting loss-making Spotify a more favorable revenue split in return for making some new albums accessible only to its paying subscribers for a defined period have already been agreed, the sources said.

However, the precise revenue split and the size of a potential guaranteed upfront payment to the label, home to artists including Ed Sheeran and Muse, have yet to be agreed, said two of the sources.

In terms of the revenue split, Spotify is said to be seeking an even 50-50 split with royalties of albums streamed on the service, but Warner Music is hoping to keep at least 52 percent of its albums' royalties on Spotify. Any deal is expected to see a percent of Warner Music's royalties decreased, as the company currently has a 55 percent majority on Spotify royalties. Artist royalties have been the center of negative press for Spotify in the past, leading to the company's acquisition of blockchain technology company Mediachain Labs.

In June, Spotify announced that it has over 140 million global monthly active users, 53 million of which are paid subscribers. According to MIDiA Research detailed in today's Reuters report, that represents about 40 percent of streaming music subscribers worldwide. In comparison, Apple Music is said to have 19 percent of global streaming music subscribers (about 28 million), while Amazon Prime Music accounts for 12 percent (about 16 million subscribers).

For Apple Music, the streaming music service has been repeatedly criticized for its reliance on album exclusives since its launch in the summer of 2015. Last year, Eddy Cue said that exclusives on Apple Music will continue to appear "where appropriate."

Speaking with Reuters last month, Spotify vice president Jonathan Forster said that Apple's rise in the music streaming market has helped Spotify: "It's great that Apple is in the game," Forster said. "They are definitely raising the profile of streaming. It is hard to build an industry on your own."

Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington was filmed in an episode of Apple's upcoming show Carpool Karaoke: The Series just days before his death.

Earlier this month, the band tweeted an on-set photo with Bennington pictured alongside Linkin Park band members Joe Hahn and Mike Shinoda, and Ken Jeong, best known for his role as Ben Chang on the NBC sitcom Community.

Carpool Karaoke: The Series, based on the popular segment from The Late Late Show with James Corden, is set to debut August 8 on Apple Music. Apple did not immediately respond when asked if Linkin Park's episode will still be released.

Bennington committed suicide last Thursday, resulting in an outpouring of grief from his family, friends, and fans around the world. Linkin Park has set up a website in his memory and tweeted a message about him earlier today.

"Our hearts are broken," the band said. "You touched so many lives, maybe even more than you realized. In the past few days, we've seen an outpouring of love and support, both public and private, from around the world."

"I am in shock and heartbroken," tweeted Jeong. "All my thoughts and prayers go out to Chester and his family and friends at this time."