It's unclear what other premium editing features will be put behind a paywall. However, we recently uncovered strings of code in version 5. Likely this version attempts to use machine learning to automatically differentiate the foreground from the background. Instead, it seems Google intends to create new features to incentivize Google One subscribers. Apple's iPhone 12 lineup has the ability to wirelessly charge an external accessory , according to a series of newly unveiled FCC filings that just went public yesterday.
The Verge reports: The documents first spotted by VentureBeat's Jeremy Horwitz say the phone "supports a built-in inductive charging transmitter and receiver. The maximum reverse wireless charging speed is listed as 5W , if we're reading the documents correctly. It sounds like the iPhone 12's reverse wireless charging may be limited, at least at first. The documents say that "currently the only accessory that can be charged by iPhones is an external potential apple accessory in future" and that reverse charging currently "only occurs when the phone is connected to an AC power outlet.
It's unclear why Apple did not officially reveal the functionality when it announced the phones themselves, though it could be because the accessory which works with the functionality isn't yet ready to be released.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman speculates that it might work with the company's upcoming AirPods revamp, whose existence was reported earlier this week. Google will officially transition users from Google Hangouts to Google Chat starting next year. The Verge reports: As part of the change, Chat, a messaging service previously only available to customers who pay for Google Workspace the recent rebranding of G Suite , will become a free service that's available inside of Gmail and in a standalone app.
And some Hangouts features will be going away ahead of its disappearance. The transition from Hangouts to Chat will begin sometime in the first half of , when Google will offer tools to help automatically bring your Hangouts conversations, contacts, and chat history to Chat, according to a blog post. It's unclear what steps will be required for that migration, but Google says it will share guidance at some point.
The switch from Hangouts to Chat will take place gradually, and there will be a period of time when both messaging services are still available. Eventually, all free users and Workspace customers will be moved over to Chat. Once that's done, then Chat will fully replace Hangouts. As for why you'd want to upgrade from Hangouts to Chat before you're forced to, there are both carrots and sticks.
On the plus side, Google says Chat not only offers features like direct and group conversations you might be familiar with from Hangouts, but it can also let you more easily plan and collaborate with others. Google also announced that it is planning to remove some specific Hangouts features, such as the ability to manage texts and phone calls from Hangouts.
They're also planning to remove Google Voice support from Hangouts early next year, as well as no longer letting you call phone numbers from Hangouts. For photographers with considerable backlogs of photos, this was a relatively inexpensive cloud storage backup solution.
Google states in its plans that groups using this particular plan with four or fewer members are supposed to be only eligible for 1 TB of storage each, but in testing by Android Police and others have shown that Google has never enforced that limit.
Unfortunately, this appears to be changing with the transition to Workplace. According to the company's list of plans, which you can view here , there is a limit of 2 TB for individual Business Standard users and 5 TB per person on its new Business Plus plan. To get more, you will have to go to the Enterprise level which Google says requires you to work directly with a Google sales representative this appears to actually be the case , but Google does promise they can offer as much storage "as you need" in this category.
That doesn't explicitly say unlimited, but should realistically operate as such for now. For now, G Suite customers will be able to stick with their current plans if they do not switch to Workplace, but Google is intending to transition all users over to the new system eventually.
Twitter is developing a new product called "Birdwatch ," which the company confirms is an attempt at addressing misinformation across its platform by providing more context for tweets, in the form of notes. TechCrunch reports: Tweets can be added to "Birdwatch" -- meaning flagged for moderation -- from the tweet's drop-down menu, where other blocking and reporting tools are found today. A small binoculars icon will also appear on tweets published to the Twitter Timeline. When the button is clicked, users are directed to a screen where they can view the tweet's history of notes.
Based on screenshots of Birdwatch unearthed through reverse engineering techniques, a new tab called "Birdwatch Notes" will be added to Twitter's sidebar navigation, alongside other existing features like Lists, Topics, Bookmarks and Moments.
This section will allow you to keep track of your own contributions, aka your "Birdwatch Notes. These notes can be viewed when clicking on the binoculars button on the tweet itself. In other words, additional context about the statements made in the tweet would be open to the public. What's less clear is whether everyone on Twitter will be given access to annotate tweets with additional context, or whether this permission will require approval, or only be open to select users or fact checkers.
Today, Google introduced a feature called "Hold For Me ," which will make the Google Assistant stay on the line for you when you're placed on hold, then alert you when someone picks up. From the report: In the short demo of "Hold for Me," Google showed how a Pixel device owner is able to activate the new feature after they've been placed on hold.
This is done by tapping a new button that appears on the phone screen above the buttons for muting the call, turning on speakerphone, and the other in-call phone controls. Once activated, you're alerted with a message that says "Don't hand up," where you're advised that Google Assistant is listening to the call for you, so you can do other things.
A button is also available on this screen that lets you tap to return to the call at any time, and below that an on-screen message says "music playing" to indicate if the Google Assistant is still hearing the hold music. You can also choose to press the red hang up button to end the call from this screen. When a person comes on the line, the device will alert you it's time to return to the call.
Google says the new feature will come to its new Pixel 5 devices, which will soon be followed by its older-generation Pixel phones via the next "Pixel feature drop" roll out.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Google Maps is being redesigned to make it easier to distinguish between natural features in the environment , whether they're mountainous ice caps, deserts, beaches, or dense forests.
Google says the new maps will be available in the countries and territories currently supported by Google Maps, "from the biggest metropolitan areas to small, rural towns. Google says it used satellite imagery as the basis for its redesigned maps and that this has had a "new color-mapping algorithmic technique" applied to it.
The end result does a much better job of showing off the differences between natural features, such as between snowy peaks and dense forests or green fields and sandy beaches. The comparison shots below give an idea of what the new color-mapping technique is capable of.
Along with the changes it's made to the natural world, Google is also making its street maps more detailed in select cities. While previously its maps simply showed the streets themselves, in New York, San Francisco, and London, they'll soon distinguish between different street features like roadways, sidewalks, crosswalks, and pedestrian islands.
Google says the new design shows the shape and width of any given road "to scale. The improved street designs for New York, San Francisco, and London are getting released in the coming months, with plans to add more cities over time. LastPass is updating its Security Dashboard with a feature that provides an overview of all your accounts, highlighting any passwords that could pose a security risk.
The password manager is also introducing dark web monitoring , although it will require you to be a paid LastPass subscriber.
As before, grading is a major aspect of the interface. When you first navigate to the Security Dashboard, you'll see a score of all your logins, followed by a breakdown of passwords that are either old, inactive, weak or reused. You can click or tap on a problematic password to change it, and LastPass will automatically take you to the webpage where you can update your login information. LogMeIn hasn't changed how the app calculates the overall score it gives to each user.
But one significant improvement the Security Dashboard brings over the Security Challenge is that you don't need to manually run it each time you want to see the security of your online accounts. The score and steps you can take to improve your online security are there each time you visit that part of the software's interface. With today's update, LogMeIn is also introducing dark web monitoring.
When you enable the feature, LastPass will proactively check your online accounts against Enzoic's compromised credentials database. If it detects an issue, it will notify you through both email and the app. The dashboard, by contrast, is available to all LastPass users.
Microsoft is now allowing Windows 10 users to run Android apps side by side with Windows applications on a PC. The Verge reports: It's part of a new feature in Your Phone, and it builds upon the mirroring that Microsoft's Your Phone app already provides. You can now access a list of Android apps in Microsoft's Your Phone app and launch these mobile apps accordingly. These will run in a separate window outside of the Your Phone app, mirrored from your phone. The ability to launch apps directly from Your Phone means you no longer have to search around on a mirrored experience of your phone, you can simply pin your favorite Android apps to the taskbar and run them as if they're regular Windows apps.
Microsoft warns that not all Android apps will work seamlessly with this new Your Phone feature. Currently, only Samsung handsets work with the feature, but more devices should be supported "later this year. An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: BMW is planning to move some features of its new cars to a subscription model , something it announced on Wednesday during a briefing for the press on the company's digital plans.
BMW says that owners can "benefit in advance from the opportunity to try out the products for a trial period of one month, after which they can book the respective service for one or three years.
In fact, BMW has already started implementing this idea in some markets, allowing software unlocking of features like adaptive cruise control or high-beam assist in the United States, those options are usually standard equipment. Other features are more whimsical, like having a Hans Zimmer-designed sound package for your electric BMW or adaptive suspension for your M-car.
Indeed, the company says that its forthcoming iNext will "expand the opportunities for personalization. Firefox is on a "rapid release plan," which means a new version every four to five weeks. This means that major new features should not be expected every time. That said, Firefox 78 is also an extended support release ESR , which means users who stick with ESR get updates from this and the previous 10 releases.
The main new user-facing feature in Firefox 78 is the Protections Dashboard, a screen which shows trackers and scripts blocked, a link to the settings, a link to Firefox Monitor for checking your email address against known data breaches, and a button for password management. Developers get a bunch of new features.
The Accessibility inspector is out of beta -- this is a tab in the developer tools that will check a page for accessibility issues when enabled. Source maps are a JavaScript feature that map minified code back to the original code to make debugging easier. Firefox has a Map option that lets you use source maps in the debugger, and this now works with logpoints, a type of breakpoint that writes a message to the console rather than pausing execution, so that you see the original variable names.
Mozilla has also worked on debugging JavaScript promises, so you can see more detail when exceptions are thrown. A big feature for debugging web applications when running on mobile is the ability to connect an Android phone with USB, and navigate and refresh mobile web pages from the desktop. Patience is required though, since this will only work with a forthcoming new version of Firefox for Android.
Android's long-awaited "Nearby Sharing" feature, which allows you to share files between Android devices wirelessly, is rolling out to beta testers.
Android Police reports: Nearby Sharing may appear slightly differently depending on the type of content you try to share. In all cases, it shows up as an app in the apps list on the share sheet, but you may also get a smaller prompt just under the content preview, more like it did in the previous Android 11 video leak. We tested it on a Pixel 4 XL and Pixel 3a running Android 10, but the appearance may also vary on other versions of Android. Note that Nearby Share works for both files like photos or videos, as well as other shareable content like Tweets and URLs.
It probably works with a lot of things. Select Nearby Share in the share sheet as the target, and you're prompted to turn on the feature, if it's the first time you've used it.
The quick setup process lets you configure your default device name and device visibility settings, though those can also be changed later. Once you have it enabled, Nearby Sharing starts looking for other nearby devices. The interface is pretty simple: A big X in the top left corner backs you out, your avatar on the right takes you to a settings pane that lets you configure things like your device name, visibility, and which mechanism to use to make the transfer i.
Google says Nearby Share is currently in limited testing via the Play Services beta: "We're currently conducting a beta test of a new Nearby Share feature that we plan to share more information on in the future.
One of the new features available in iOS 14 is the ability to switch default app preferences for the first time. This is a long-requested feature, as iOS 13 and prior versions of the operating system will always direct taps on links to Safari, and new emails start in Apple Mail. Other iOS 14 features include home screen widgets , a new Translate app, contextual Siri and much more. Ahead of Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference starting next week, the company has today launched a new version of its Apple Developer App to better support its plans for the virtual event.
TechCrunch reports: Notably, the app has been made available for Mac for the first time, in addition to a redesign and other minor feature updates.
With the needs of an entirely virtual audience in mind, Apple has redesigned the app's Discover section to make it easier for developers to catch up on the latest stories, news, videos and more, the company says. This section will be regularly updated with "actionable" content, Apple notes, including the latest news, recommendations on implementing new features, and information about inspiring engineers and designers, alongside new videos.
It has also updated its Browse tab where users search for existing sessions, videos, articles and news, including the over technical and design-focused videos found in the WWDC tab. The redesign has added a way to favorite individual articles, in addition to session content and videos.
Plus it includes new iMessage stickers along with other enhancements and bug fixes. Microsoft is finally bringing cloud support to Outlook for Windows email signatures. The Verge reports: Microsoft originally acknowledged that it was planning some type of sync support for Outlook signatures back in September , and the company says it will now roll this out in a June update. Office and Microsoft subscribers will get access to cloud signature support in Outlook for Windows, allowing users to have a consistent signature across devices.
Many companies have had to turn to custom solutions to implement Outlook for Windows signatures that roam across devices, so official support from Microsoft will be welcome. Microsoft is also planning to roll out a new text prediction feature for Outlook that's similar to Gmail's Smart Compose soon.
The text predictions will allow Outlook. An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: As many as a billion mobile phone owners around the world will be unable to use the smartphone-based system proposed by Apple and Google to track whether they have come into contact with people infected with the coronavirus, industry researchers estimate. The figure includes many poorer and older people -- who are also among the most vulnerable to COVID -- demonstrating a "digital divide" within a system that the two tech firms have designed to reach the largest possible number of people while also protecting individuals' privacy.
The particular kind of Bluetooth "low energy" chips that are used to detect proximity between devices without running down the phone's battery are absent from a quarter of smartphones in active use globally today , according to analysts at Counterpoint Research.
A further 1. On the creation front, these videos can use YouTube's existing catalog of licensed music as a background soundtrack. The robots are coming! Greg Nichols covers robots and automation from a human perspective. You agree to receive updates, promotions, and alerts from ZDNet. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to receive the selected newsletter s which you may unsubscribe from at any time. You also agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge the data collection and usage practices outlined in our Privacy Policy.
Chick-fil-A admits it has a big customer problem and no obvious solution. This phishing attack is using a sneaky trick to steal your passwords, warns Microsoft.
Windows 10 is a security disaster waiting to happen. How will Microsoft clean up its mess? Facebook sends cease-and-desist letter asking for Unfollow Everything to be scrapped. After March 30, , all links will continue to redirect to the intended destination. Your existing short links will not be migrated to the Firebase console , however, you will be able to export your link information from the goo.
FDL short links will automatically detect the user's platform and send the user to either the web or your app, as appropriate. For developers looking to migrate to FDL see our migration guide. As it is for consumers, all links will continue to redirect to the intended destination after March 30, URL Shortener has been a great tool that we're proud to have built.
As we look towards the future, we're excited about the possibilities of Firebase Dynamic Links, particularly when it comes to dynamic platform detection and links that survive the app installation process. We hope you are too!
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