Apple Shares First Look Featurette of ‘Dickinson’ Season 2

Apple shared a first look featurette for “Dickinson” season two on YouTube which premieres January 8. Dickinson is a half-hour comedy series starring Oscar nominee Hailee Steinfeld. Dickinson audaciously explores the constraints of society, gender, and family from the perspective of rebellious young poet Emily Dickinson. Created, written, and executive produced by Alena Smith and executive produced by Hailee Steinfeld, “Dickinson” stars Hailee Steinfeld, Jane Krakowski, Toby Huss, Anna Baryshnikov, Ella Hunt, and Adrian Blake Enscoe. Wiz Khalifa guest stars.

Latest iOS Beta Brings Google Stadia to Apple Devices

Google Stadia is heading to iOS a year after it launched, according to The Verge, meaning users can finally access their games on Apple devices. It’s coming via the latest mobile web beta for the iPhone and iPad.

Google, like other competing cloud services, is using mobile Safari due to Apple’s restrictions on cloud gaming apps that mean platforms like Stadia can’t exist in their current form on the App Store. You can access Stadia through its website on Safari or by creating a home screen icon that will turn the service into a progressive web app, so it acts almost identically to a native one. Unlike Nvidia’s GeForce Now or the planned mobile web version of Microsoft’s xCloud, however, Google Stadia has a free tier without restrictions and now offers two free-to-play games available (Destiny 2 and Super Bomberman R), with more to come. That means anyone with a Gmail account looking to try Stadia can give it a shot on an iPhone or iPad with minimal effort.

Nike Training Club is a Free Fitness+ Alternative

I tweeted about this app last night and I figured I’d write about it too. If you don’t have an Apple Watch or just don’t want another subscription, Nike Training Club is a free Fitness+ alternative. The premise is similar; it gives you guided video workouts for all fitness levels whether you have gym equipment or not. Once you’ve created an account the app will ask you what you’re looking for like fitness level, intensity level, if you’re in a gym or at home, and if you want to mix it up once in a while with cardio. It will then create a 4 to 8 week program for you. Like Fitness+ it can sync with your Apple Music library during workouts.

Private Messenger ‘Signal’ Adds Encrypted Group Video Calls

Good news for users of Signal. The app now supports group video calls, and they are end-to-end encrypted like the rest of the app’s communications.

Now when you open a group chat in Signal, you’ll see a video call button at the top. When you start a call, the group will receive a notification letting them know a call has started.

When you start or join a group call, Signal will display the participants in a grid view. You can also swipe up to switch to a view that automatically focuses the screen on who is speaking, and it will update in real time as the active speaker changes.

HomePod Software 14.3 Out Now

Apple released version 14.3 of its HomePod software on Tuesday, MacRumors reported. It followed a spate of releases on Monday, which included the latest version of iOS with Fitness+.

The ‌HomePod‌ 14.3 is available for the ‌HomePod‌ and the HomePod mini, and according to Apple’s release notes, the update includes general performance and stability improvements. HomePod‌‌‌‌‌ software is installed automatically on the ‌‌‌‌‌HomePod‌ unless the feature is disabled‌‌‌‌.