Link

Samsung’s ‘iTest’ Puts Android on Your iPhone

Andrew Orr ·

Samsung has created a web app called iTest that puts a simulation of Android on your iPhone to convince you to switch.

When you’re in the Samsung iTest app on your iPhone, you’ll even receive a variety of simulated text notifications and phone calls highlighting different things to try out and different ways of communicating with friends. And of course, Samsung is also using this as an opportunity to promote its other Galaxy products, such as Galaxy Buds Pro, Galaxy Watch3, and Galaxy Buds Live.

I think it’s really cool and creative.

Link

Apple And Epic Reveal Their Legal Arguments in Upcoming App Store Trial

Charlotte Henry ·

New filings reveal the legal arguments that Apple and Epic plan to make in their App Store trial. Bloomberg News outlined the details of the respective cases, which the companies presented to a judge on Thursday. None of it is hugely unexpected, but it is worth being aware of as we follow the trial, which will begin on May 5

In a summary of its legal arguments, Apple contends the 30% commission it charges most developers isn’t anticompetitive, but that it’s a typical fee across other mobile and online platforms. Moreover, Apple argues that taking a share of the revenue is justified by the billions of dollars it has invested in developing the proprietary infrastructure that underpins its App Store in the company’s iOS operating system, including software development kits and application programming interfaces. “Epic has benefited handsomely from its contractual relationship with Apple,” Apple’s court submission said. “Epic has used Apple’s proprietary SDKs, and thousands of proprietary APIs to develop games for iOS users.”

Link

Eddy Cue Advising Tom Brady NFT Company

Charlotte Henry ·
Age-defying, seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady is setting up an NFT company called Autograph. CNN reported that Eddy Cue, Apple’s Senior Vice President, Internet Software and Services, is acting as an advisor to the firm.
Brady and entrepreneur Richard Rosenblatt will serve as co-chairs of Autograph. The company has also assembled a high-profile advisory team including Apple SVP Eddy Cue, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer, Live Nation Entertainment CEO Michael Rapino, DraftKings cofounders Jason Robins and Paul Liberman, and Dawn Ostroff, chief content and advertising business Officer at Spotify, among others. Autograph will also have interactive offerings like live auctions, physical product drops and in-person experiences.
Link

Adobe Releases Update to ‘Source Han Sans’ Open Source Font

Andrew Orr ·

Adobe and Google partnered to create an open source font for East Asian languages called Source Han Sans. Adobe on Thursday released the latest iteration called Source Han Sans Variable.

The existing seven weights of Source Han Sans now come in a single file that encompasses the entire design space. This affords typographers more granular control: rather than seven static weights ranging from ExtraLight to Heavy, weight exists on a continuum and is expressed through minimum and maximum numeric values.

TMO Deals

Boost Mobile Prepaid 3 Months Unlimited Talk and Text: $45

Bryan Chaffin ·

We have a deal on three-months of prepaid service with Boost Mobile. It includes unlimited talk and text, and 5GB of LTE data with 99% nationwide coverage. And, mobile hotspot, taxes, and fees are included on all plans. Check the deal listing for more details and links for checking whether your phone number is eligible. This offer is $45 through our deal.

Link

'Hey Spotify' In-App Command Now Available on iOS and Android

Charlotte Henry ·

Spotify users on both iOS and Android can now use the phrase ‘Hey Spotify’, GSMArena reported. It activates the audio-streaming app’s built-in voice search when the screen is on and the app itself is open.

A notification was received by the Spotify app. It brought us to a screen that prompted us to turn on “Hey Spotify”. Saying the wake phrase will prompt Spotify’s built-in voice search while the screen is on and the Spotify app is open. This means that the app is continuously listening for the wake phrase. Spotify’s privacy policy for voice data usage states that Spotify says it only holds recordings and transcriptions of the searches that you perform when tapping the voice button or saying the wake phrase. The feature doesn’t really add any function outside of enabling Spotify’s own voice search for hands-free use.

Link

Lawmakers Call YouTube Kids ‘Wasteland of Vapid, Consumerist Content’

Andrew Orr ·

The US sub-committee on economic and consumer policy sent a letter [PDF] to YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki about its app for kids, saying it’s full of “inappropriate… highly commercial content”.

According to the letter, some videos appeared to be “smuggling in hidden marketing and advertising with product placements by children’s influencers”.

The letter claimed that one research team, which it did not name, found only about 4% of videos had a high educational value. Much of the rest was low quality content such as toy unboxing and videos of people playing video games.

Link

iPhone 12 Holds Its Value Better Than Rival Samsung Galaxy S21

Charlotte Henry ·

Smartphones in the ‌iPhone 12‌ range have lost value by between 18.1 to 33.7 percent since they launched in October last year, according to data from SellCell (spotted by Macrumors). Meanwhile, devices in the Samsung Galaxy S21 series, which only launched in January 2021, have already seen a 44.8 and 57.1 percent drop in value.

We can say with some confidence that the reason the iPhone 12 series has held its value better than the Samsung Galaxy S21 series, is because the demand is still there even after that initial sale. Apple owners looking to upgrade their device will, in the majority, stick to the Apple brand. In that sense, demand is high for pre-owned iPhone 12 handsets, meaning that they keep their value as consumers are happy to pay a premium, even for a refurbished or pre-owned iPhone 12. On the other side, not only do Samsung owners show less loyalty to the brand, but 26% of them are happy to consider jumping ship to an Apple device once they’re done with their Android handset. This has two effects. It decreases demand for Samsung’s handsets, driving the value down, while at the same time increasing Apple demand even further, slowing the rate of iPhone 12 value shrinkage.

Link

No, They're Aren't Really Two Million Shows on Apple Podcasts

Charlotte Henry ·

Apple Podcasts recently hit a milestone – having two million podcasts available to listeners. However, as Amplifi Media explained, all is not quite as it seemed, with many not getting past show number one.

Out of the two million titles reflected in Apple Podcasts (and similar results from Podcast Index), a remarkable 26% have produced just a single episode. One and done. That suggests many people fired up their creative juices, especially during the pandemic, and stopped after creating one episode. Roughly 1/4th of all podcasts are out of business, or more likely, were never really in it. Sure, there might be some that only planned a single episode but for our x-ray, let’s drop the number of podcasts down by 26% – which means there are roughly 1.5 million (1.48m) podcasts with two or more episodes. That’s a big difference. Let’s go a bit further. Let’s use three or fewer episodes as a mark. That rockets the number up to an astonishing 44% of all podcasts… If a ‘real podcast’ is a series of at least four episodes, that effectively reduces the total of two million podcasts to 880,000.