Month: May 2023
It could get harder to use a Nest Hub for shopping lists soon
Google Assistant will no longer integrate third-party lists and reminder apps starting June 20th. | Image: The Verge
Google Assistant will lose the ability to integrate with third-party notes apps on June 20th, per an AnyList developer blog post announcing the change (via 9to5Google). AnyList says it’s talking to Google about the change and hopes it can re-add integration later but, for now, has nothing to announce.
The loss of third-party notes and list app support will come along with the deprecation of Google software support for third-party Google Assistant smart displays, which was discovered in April this year.
AnyList noted in its post that integration is still possible with Amazon Alexa and Siri. Right now, there are four options for notes app integrations in Google Assistant settings: Any.do, AnyList, Bring Shopping Lists, and Google Keep. It’s unclear whether Google Keep will continue to be usable after the change.
I wouldn’t hold my breath, though, since Keep won’t be integrated with Google Tasks, which the company announced in February would start consolidating reminders created both by Google Assistant and Google Calendar. That means anyone who is using Keep won’t get to take advantage of the benefits of that consolidation — that is, their reminders won’t be added to Tasks.
Does that mean Keep will join third-party notes and list integration in the Google graveyard, like so many beloved apps before it? We’ve reached out to Google for more information and will update if we receive a response.
Google Assistant will no longer integrate third-party lists and reminder apps starting June 20th. | Image: The Verge
Google Assistant will lose the ability to integrate with third-party notes apps on June 20th, per an AnyList developer blog post announcing the change (via 9to5Google). AnyList says it’s talking to Google about the change and hopes it can re-add integration later but, for now, has nothing to announce.
The loss of third-party notes and list app support will come along with the deprecation of Google software support for third-party Google Assistant smart displays, which was discovered in April this year.
AnyList noted in its post that integration is still possible with Amazon Alexa and Siri. Right now, there are four options for notes app integrations in Google Assistant settings: Any.do, AnyList, Bring Shopping Lists, and Google Keep. It’s unclear whether Google Keep will continue to be usable after the change.
I wouldn’t hold my breath, though, since Keep won’t be integrated with Google Tasks, which the company announced in February would start consolidating reminders created both by Google Assistant and Google Calendar. That means anyone who is using Keep won’t get to take advantage of the benefits of that consolidation — that is, their reminders won’t be added to Tasks.
Does that mean Keep will join third-party notes and list integration in the Google graveyard, like so many beloved apps before it? We’ve reached out to Google for more information and will update if we receive a response.
The Man Who Named the Metaverse Is Optimistic Despite Meta’s Troubles – CNET
Sci-fi author Neal Stephenson says the metaverse’s foundations are maturing. It’s been tough, but Apple’s expected AR headset could help.
Sci-fi author Neal Stephenson says the metaverse’s foundations are maturing. It’s been tough, but Apple’s expected AR headset could help.
Amazon to Pay $25 Million to Settle Children’s Privacy Charges
Regulators said the tech giant kept children’s Alexa voice recordings “forever,” violating a children’s privacy law.
Regulators said the tech giant kept children’s Alexa voice recordings “forever,” violating a children’s privacy law.
iPhone 15 screen sizes: What we’re expecting
Expect more of the same in terms of screen size for the iPhone 15, but the 2024 model could get bigger.
One of the big questions Apple fans have before the launch of each new iPhone range concerns what size the screens will be.
It should be a simple matter – after all, two generations of ‘mini’ handsets aside, numbered iPhones have come in two sizes since 2020: 6.1 inches for the basic model and the standard Pro, and 6.7 inches for the Plus and Pro Maxes.
Will that change for the iPhone 15 series? We’re still a few months away from the likely release of the new handsets in September, and we certainly don’t expect any hints at next week’s WWDC 2023, but we can make an informed guess based on what the rumor mill is already saying.
So, here’s everything we know so far about iPhone 15 screen sizes, plus some details about other screen enhancements to look out for, and possible hints around what might happen with the iPhone 16 series.
iPhone 15 screens: Rumored sizes
When it comes to the iPhone 15 family’s screen sizes, it looks like Apple is sticking to the mantra: “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
That means we’re unlikely to see the first size change since the iPhone 12 launch increased the displays from 5.8 and 6.5 inches respectively, which is something of a shame albeit not exactly unexpected.
Though we don’t have anything official yet from Apple on this front – it never reveals anything in advance – we do have an increasing number of rumors that point to the iPhone 15 range’s screens staying as they are.
The first hint in this regard came from leaker ShrimpApplePro back in January, who claimed that the models will all have the same display sizes as the iPhone 14 range.
Well I have the result for the display design of the iPhone 15 series. – all iPhone 15 series will have the same display sizes as iPhone 14 series- pro 15 will have thinner bezels with curve edges, display is still flat tho, only the bezels is curveJanuary 21, 2023
Indeed, recent iPhone 15 dummy mockups, built from specifications supposedly sent to case makers, show four iPhone 15 models which look identical to the current lineup in terms of size. That is to say, there are two 6.1-inch models (iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro) and two 6.7-inch versions (iPhone 15 Plus and iPhone 15 Pro Max).
Yes, the latter could ultimately be called the iPhone 15 Ultra and the Plus is a bit of a surprise given it’s reportedly struggled to sell, but there we are.
It’s also worth noting that the bezels on the Pro models look thinner than ever, so it’s possible there will be slightly more screen to enjoy with the same footprint – but we’re talking barely perceptible margins here.
iPhone 15 screens: Other improvements
That said, just because the sizes are the same, doesn’t mean the specifications are identical. Specifically, there are two possible upgrades to look out for.
The first is for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, which are set to get Dynamic Island – currently an iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max exclusive.
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
For those unfamiliar with the Dynamic Island, it replaces the notch with a cutout at the top of the screen, which can virtually expand to fill with notifications, in-app information and even the occasional game. It’s a neat way of making previously dead space seem useful.
Meanwhile, the iPhone 15 Pro Max/Ultra could get the brightest screen yet seen on an iPhone. That’s according to the aforementioned leaker ShrimpApplePro, who claims that Samsung’s next-generation panel – which reportedly can hit 2,500 nits of brightness – could be coming to the top-end iPhone this September.
Potentially will be on iPhone 15 Pro Max… https://t.co/PgCMBDF61KFebruary 7, 2023
For reference, Apple says that the iPhone 14 Pro is capable of reaching 2,000 nits – so a reasonable upgrade.
Otherwise, we’re expecting more of the same, right down to the Pro divide over refresh rates. There’s no expectation that the regular iPhone 15 will match the Pro models’ ProMotion120Hz refresh rate, and it’s likely to stay at 60Hz.
Want bigger? Wait until next year
So if you want something bigger, should you be looking to the best Android phones for inspiration instead?
Well, maybe – but if you can wait, 2024’s iPhone 16 Pro handsets (but not the vanilla versions) could well give you something more substantial in the hand.
A number of the world’s most reliable Apple leakers are now coalescing around the idea that next year’s Pro handsets will be larger than any iPhones Apple has released to date, even if they don’t agree on the exact sizing.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo kicked things off by saying the iPhone 16 Pro models will be “slightly larger” than what’s currently available. Then, display analyst Ross Young put some numbers on the table, suggesting we can expect the iPhone 16 Pro to be 6.2 inches and the Pro Max to be 6.8 inches.
Apple is working on two Pro modelsfor the iPhone 16 series, with increased display panel sizes (the actual display area is a bit smaller):D93 – 6.3”D94 – 6.9”Both models are set to feature the new periscope lens, unlike the 15 lineup where it’s restricted to the Pro Max.May 16, 2023
Unknownz21 went even larger, saying the handsets will be 6.3 and 6.9 inches. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, meanwhile, seems to agree with this larger estimate, saying that the iPhone 16 Pro models will grow by “a couple tenths of an inch diagonally”.
How much of this will actually be felt in the hand, and how much will be absorbed in the space vacated by ever-shrinking bezels remains to be seen. But if you like your screens big and can’t think of a life beyond iOS, then it might be worth waiting for September 2024.
Report: The Pixel Watch 2 dumps Samsung Exynos SoCs for Qualcomm
Anything would be an upgrade over the 4-year-old Exynos in the Pixel Watch.
Enlarge / The first-generation Pixel Watch. It’s a perfect, round little pebble. (credit: Ron Amadeo)
The first Pixel Watch represented a promising but first-generation-feeling return to the smartwatch market for Google—will a second-generation version do any better? 9to5Google reports it will at least come with a new system on a chip: the Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 1. This change would have the Pixel Watch line changing from Samsung to Qualcomm SoCs.
The original Pixel Watch shipped with an Exynos 9110—not a bad chip by any means—except that when the Pixel Watch hit the market, the Exynos 9110 was four years old. As a 10 nm, dual Cortex A53 chip, it was ancient by technology standards. By the time the Pixel Watch came out, Samsung already had a next-generation chip on the market, the Exynos W920, and had shipped watches with the new chip.
While the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear W5 still has the same A53 CPUs, it has four of them, and the chip should be a lot more power efficient thanks to its 4 nm manufacturing process. The Pixel Watch 2 is expected to come out by the end of the year, and by then, the Snapdragon W5 SoC will be no spring chicken either. The chip was announced in July 2022, and the first products hit the market a month later in August 2022—that’s what a good technology rollout looks like, by the way. The Pixel Watch 2’s assumed October 2023 release date would be 15 months after the chip was announced. That’s better than four years, but time still seems to be Google’s biggest enemy when it ships a smartwatch.
Apple Releases Safari Technology Preview 171 With Bug Fixes and Performance Improvements
Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced in March 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari.
Safari Technology Preview release 171 includes bug fixes and performance improvements for Web Inspector, CSS, CSS Counter Styles, Web Animations, Rendering, JavaScript, Popover, Web API, Media, Accessibility, and SVG.
The current Safari Technology Preview release is version 16.4 and is compatible with machines running macOS Ventura and macOS Monterey 12.3 or later.
The Safari Technology Preview update is available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences or System Settings to anyone who has downloaded the browser. Full release notes for the update are available on the Safari Technology Preview website.
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.This article, “Apple Releases Safari Technology Preview 171 With Bug Fixes and Performance Improvements” first appeared on MacRumors.comDiscuss this article in our forums
Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser Apple first introduced in March 2016. Apple designed the Safari Technology Preview to test features that may be introduced into future release versions of Safari.
Safari Technology Preview release 171 includes bug fixes and performance improvements for Web Inspector, CSS, CSS Counter Styles, Web Animations, Rendering, JavaScript, Popover, Web API, Media, Accessibility, and SVG.
The current Safari Technology Preview release is version 16.4 and is compatible with machines running macOS Ventura and macOS Monterey 12.3 or later.
The Safari Technology Preview update is available through the Software Update mechanism in System Preferences or System Settings to anyone who has downloaded the browser. Full release notes for the update are available on the Safari Technology Preview website.
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.
This article, “Apple Releases Safari Technology Preview 171 With Bug Fixes and Performance Improvements” first appeared on MacRumors.com
Discuss this article in our forums