Everything Apple

Wednesday, 7 March 2018

Here’s the first developer preview of Android P

 Just like in the last two years, Google is using the beginning of March to launch the first developer preview of the next version of Android. Android P, as it’s currently called, is still very much a work in progress and Google isn’t releasing it into its public Android beta channel for over-the-air updates just yet. That’ll come later. Developers, however, can now download… Read More

Tuesday, 6 March 2018

The day that changed your phone forever

 Whether you’re a developer who’s working on mobile apps, or just someone enjoying the millions of apps available for your phone, today is a very special day. It’s the 10-year anniversary of the original iPhone SDK. Read More

12 questions about the future of HQ trivia and its $15M fundraise

 HQ is redefining mobile, creating through its twice-daily trivia games a sense of urgency that pierces the monotony of our social feeds. Now it’s raised a big round of funding to turn its scrappy operation into the Jeopardy from tomorrow. But just like its 12-round games, we’ve got 12 questions (and some answers) for HQ. Read More

ELSA raises $3.2M for its A.I.-powered English pronunciation assistant

 ELSA, an app whose name stands for “English Language Speech Assistant” (and not the popular Disney character!), has raised $3.2 million for its A.I.-assisted language learning platform that teaches people how to speak English. Unlike other courses that focus mainly on teaching grammar and vocabulary, ELSA uses artificial intelligence and speech recognition technology to help… Read More

FreedomPop moves into financial services, in partnership with Prudential

 Ahead of a big fundraising to fuel its mobile ambitions, “free” mobile service startup FreedomPop is taking an unexpected strategic side-road to expand into a completely different area: financial services. The company is licensing its customer conversion platform to Prudential, which plans to use it to up-sell existing customers to more of its products. FreedomPop itself is not… Read More

Grabr gets $8M to connect travelers with space with those longing for products abroad

 You might get to actually save money while you’re traveling if you just leave some free space in your bag — or not pay for that travel at all — if Daria Rebenok’s plan plays out. As avid travelers, and ones longing for products from home they can’t get abroad, she and Artem Fedyaev decided to start Grabr to work on exactly this problem. While you might not be… Read More

Leap.ai looks to instantly match job-seekers with employers with just a few questions

 Searching for a new job can be a daunting process — especially if you aren’t sure what you’re great at — and even finding the right companies and what jobs are out there is probably enough to make you freeze for a second. Leap.ai, an intelligent recruiting platform, is looking to make life a little easier for those job seekers. The company is today launching what… Read More

Monday, 5 March 2018

Instagram has an unlaunched “Portrait” feature hidden inside

 Eager to one-up Snapchat, Instagram appears to be preparing to expand its collection of shutter modes beyond options like Boomerang and Superzoom. Buried within Instagram’s Android Application Package (APK) is an icon for a Portrait shutter for the Stories camera. This could potentially let people shoot stylized portraits with bokeh effect-blurred backgrounds or other lighting… Read More

MoviePass CEO proudly says the app tracks your location before and after movies

 Everyone knew the MoviePass deal is too good to be true — and as is so often the case these days, it turns out you’re not the customer, you’re the product. And in this case they’re not even attempting to camouflage that. Mitch Lowe, the company’s CEO, told an audience at a Hollywood event that “we know all about you.” Read More

Facebook swings at Twitter with Breaking News label

 Facebook’s algorithm is terrible at surfacing breaking news, often surfacing urgent posts hours or even days later when more facts have since emerged or the story has changed. This has made Twitter the default home for this content, but that position has weakened since Twitter implemented its own relevancy algorithm that brings up old tweets. Facebook isn’t ready to make any changes… Read More

Qualcomm is pushing back its pivotal shareholder meeting this week amid a regulatory review

 Massive chipmaker Qualcomm, currently targeted by aggressive acquisition attempts by Broadcom, is now delaying a pivotal meeting with shareholders this week that would determine its fate going forward by at least a month to comply with regulators regarding the deal. The CFIUS — the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States — has requested that Qualcomm delay the… Read More

Shogun wants to help businesses easily build a better online storefront

 Finbarr Taylor and Nick Raushenbush had started a little side project that was making just about enough money to keep the site’s lights on while they were working on their next plans. Then, a few months later, Shogun — a tool to help small businesses build shopfronts for sites like Shopify — started making a bit more. After a few months, it went from a nice dinner to a… Read More