theverge--2020-02-03--Twitter briefly took over a parody account and gave it to the school it mocked

SUNY Geneseo , a liberal arts college in upstate New York , just wanted the parody Twitter account @ SUNYGenseeo deactivated .
Instead , Twitter handed over the keys to the unofficial account created by a student , a school representative says , giving the school access to delete most of sophomore Isaiah Kelly ’ s tweets , as first reported by Business Insider .
While a Twitter spokesperson admits the company made a “ mistake ” in how it handled the situation , it didn ’ t elaborate on why it chose to take the action it did , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ give account access to a third party when impersonation is involved .
“ We made a mistake and should have suspended @ SUNYGenseeo for impersonation , ” Twitter spokesperson Aly Pavela writes in an emailed statement to The Verge .
“ We ’ ve now done this.
” Pavela links to Twitter ’ s policy on impersonation , which states that accounts “ portraying another person in a confusing or deceptive manner may be permanently suspended.
” Its policy for trademark violations contains similar language , but no part of the policies suggest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ account would be transferred to someone else for any reason .
Kelly , the student who started the SUNYGenseeo account ( note the misspelling ) in January , intended it to be a joke among fellow students , he tells The Verge over Twitter .
“ Yeah , it was completely intended to be goofing on the school , just poke fun at some situations we ’ re all dealing with on campus , ” Kelly says .
“ Having an inconsistent policy for a massive online platform is a pretty terrible look @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Twitter and the school overstepped ; Twitter when it handed over access to the account and SUNY Geneseo when they deleted the tweets .
“ Having an inconsistent policy for a massive online platform is a pretty terrible look in my opinion , ” he adds .
The account mostly made fun of the school and some of its official tweets , he says .
But one particular tweet got the attention of the school , when the parody account suggested that instead of closing the library for asbestos removal , SUNY Geneseo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school logo on them .
It was that tweet that prompted the school to complain to Twitter , says the school ’ s interim chief communications officer David Irwin .
“ We don ’ t like misleading information on any of our channels , and this account clearly did that , ” he tells The Verge .
“ We were just trying to find ways to stop that from happening.
” Irwin added that the school viewed the fake account as misusing SUNY Geneseo ’ s intellectual property .
“ It used our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ filed a complaint with Twitter on January 13th , Irwin says .
On January 26th , Kelly noticed he was locked out of the account and all but one of its tweets had been deleted .
At first , he thought the school had accessed his student email linked to the Twitter handle , but it turned out Twitter had given the school direct access .
Irwin tells us the school never accessed Kelly ’ s student email , adding it would take something like a subpoena or court order for the school @ @ @ @ @ @ @ account .
Kelly says he met with Betsy Harris from SUNY Geneseo ’ s communications department on Friday , but said no one from the school administration has been in touch since .
Irwin says he doesn ’ t believe there are any plans to take disciplinary action against Kelly .
“ I think to me , the overarching story on this is the social media sphere we ’ re in right now , ” Kelly said .
“ It ’ s such a pervasive presence in our society .
People can send @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a very short amount of time , whether accurate or not .
That ’ s something we need to continue to come to grips with as a society.
” Twitter has not been in touch with him at all , Kelly says .
“ I would assume because Twitter said it was a mistake maybe they ’ d reach out to me and unsuspend the account , but I haven ’ t been in contact with anyone from Twitter , ” he says .

SUNY Geneseo, a liberal arts college in upstate New York, just wanted the parody Twitter account @SUNYGenseeo deactivated. Instead, Twitter handed over the keys to the unofficial account created by a student, a school representative says, giving the school access to delete most of sophomore Isaiah Kelly’s tweets, as first reported by Business Insider.
While a Twitter spokesperson admits the company made a “mistake” in how it handled the situation, it didn’t elaborate on why it chose to take the action it did, or whether it was common practice to give account access to a third party when impersonation is involved.
“We made a mistake and should have suspended @SUNYGenseeo for impersonation,” Twitter spokesperson Aly Pavela writes in an emailed statement to The Verge. “We’ve now done this.”
Pavela links to Twitter’s policy on impersonation, which states that accounts “portraying another person in a confusing or deceptive manner may be permanently suspended.” Its policy for trademark violations contains similar language, but no part of the policies suggest that ownership or access to a Twitter account would be transferred to someone else for any reason.
Kelly, the student who started the SUNYGenseeo account (note the misspelling) in January, intended it to be a joke among fellow students, he tells The Verge over Twitter. “Yeah, it was completely intended to be goofing on the school, just poke fun at some situations we’re all dealing with on campus,” Kelly says.
“Having an inconsistent policy for a massive online platform is a pretty terrible look...”
Kelly says he thinks both Twitter and the school overstepped; Twitter when it handed over access to the account and SUNY Geneseo when they deleted the tweets. “Having an inconsistent policy for a massive online platform is a pretty terrible look in my opinion,” he adds.
The account mostly made fun of the school and some of its official tweets, he says. But one particular tweet got the attention of the school, when the parody account suggested that instead of closing the library for asbestos removal, SUNY Geneseo would be handing out masks with the school logo on them. It was that tweet that prompted the school to complain to Twitter, says the school’s interim chief communications officer David Irwin.
“We don’t like misleading information on any of our channels, and this account clearly did that,” he tells The Verge. “We were just trying to find ways to stop that from happening.” Irwin added that the school viewed the fake account as misusing SUNY Geneseo’s intellectual property. “It used our logo and our wordmark.” The school filed a complaint with Twitter on January 13th, Irwin says.
On January 26th, Kelly noticed he was locked out of the account and all but one of its tweets had been deleted. At first, he thought the school had accessed his student email linked to the Twitter handle, but it turned out Twitter had given the school direct access. Irwin tells us the school never accessed Kelly’s student email, adding it would take something like a subpoena or court order for the school to access a student’s email account.
One of the deleted tweets from the parody SUNY Geneseo account
Kelly says he met with Betsy Harris from SUNY Geneseo’s communications department on Friday, but said no one from the school administration has been in touch since. Irwin says he doesn’t believe there are any plans to take disciplinary action against Kelly.
“I think to me, the overarching story on this is the social media sphere we’re in right now,” Irwin said. “It’s such a pervasive presence in our society. People can send out information to a lot of people in a very short amount of time, whether accurate or not. That’s something we need to continue to come to grips with as a society.”


theverge--2020-02-03--PETA compared ‘speciesism’ to racism in allegedly banned Super Bowl ad

An ad that PETA claims was banned from airing during the Super Bowl faced backlash on Twitter for seemingly depicting NFL players who took a knee to protest police brutality as animals .
the ad was “ inspired ” by former 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick A bee , bear , and even fish take a knee in the cartoon ad as “ The Star Spangled Banner ” is hummed in the background .
The ad was “ inspired ” by former 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick , who knelt when the national anthem was played at NFL games to protest police @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a statement .
The ad was meant to promote PETA ’ s campaign to “ end speciesism , ” which the organization calls a “ supremacist worldview ” that allows humans to mistreat other species .
The animal rights group claims that the NFL , which barred its players from kneeling in protest while the anthem is playing , pressured Fox to block the ad from playing during the Super Bowl .
Kaepernick , the NFL , and Fox did not immediately respond to The Verge ’ s request for comment .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ social media anyway , and then got called out on Twitter by people who said the ad was offensive and co-opted the Black Lives Matter movement to end police brutality .
“ Omfg this is tone-deaf af , ” one person tweeted in response to PETA ’ s post .
That reaction got about 8,000 likes .
New York Times reporter Astead Herndon poked fun at the ad , comparing it to an “ all species matter ” campaign .
“ It would never be okay to co-opt this imagery comparing black people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ writer Mary Annaïse Heglar told The Verge in an interview .
“ They ’ re the walking stereotypes of what people of color think about environmentalists … that they care more about animals than black people or people of color.
” “ We ’ re big fans of Colin [ Kaepernick ] ( who is vegan ) , and support not only his message but his impactful form of peaceful protest against oppression , ” PETA wrote to The Verge in an email .
It claims that it shared the ad with Kaepernick @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors criticized another ad by the NFL promoting its “ Inspire Change ” campaign that awards grants to players for their nonprofit initiatives .
That ad depicted the killing of former NFL player Anquan Boldin ’ s cousin , Corey Jones , by police and discusses criminal justice reform .
Cullors tweeted that she agreed with filmmaker Ava DuVernay , who said the ad would “ sanitize and co-opt a black protest movement .
”

An ad that PETA claims was banned from airing during the Super Bowl faced backlash on Twitter for seemingly depicting NFL players who took a knee to protest police brutality as animals.
the ad was “inspired” by former 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick
A bee, bear, and even fish take a knee in the cartoon ad as “The Star Spangled Banner” is hummed in the background. The ad was “inspired” by former 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who knelt when the national anthem was played at NFL games to protest police violence against black people, PETA said in a statement.
The ad was meant to promote PETA’s campaign to “end speciesism,” which the organization calls a “supremacist worldview” that allows humans to mistreat other species. The animal rights group claims that the NFL, which barred its players from kneeling in protest while the anthem is playing, pressured Fox to block the ad from playing during the Super Bowl. Kaepernick, the NFL, and Fox did not immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment.
PETA decided to share its video on social media anyway, and then got called out on Twitter by people who said the ad was offensive and co-opted the Black Lives Matter movement to end police brutality.
“Omfg this is tone-deaf af,” one person tweeted in response to PETA’s post. That reaction got about 8,000 likes. New York Times reporter Astead Herndon poked fun at the ad, comparing it to an “all species matter” campaign.
“It would never be okay to co-opt this imagery comparing black people to bears and horses,” climate writer Mary Annaïse Heglar told The Verge in an interview. “They’re the walking stereotypes of what people of color think about environmentalists … that they care more about animals than black people or people of color.”
“We’re big fans of Colin [Kaepernick] (who is vegan), and support not only his message but his impactful form of peaceful protest against oppression,” PETA wrote to The Verge in an email. It claims that it shared the ad with Kaepernick prior to releasing the video.


theverge--2020-02-03--Traffic jams in Google Maps could be spoofed with 99 phones and a little red wagon

Seeing traffic jams in Google Maps can really help you plan your route home from work .
But a video posted this weekend seems to show that a traffic jam could be spoofed into Google Maps with nothing more than a bunch of phones piled into a little red wagon .
In the video , posted by Simon Weckert , a Berlin-based artist who focuses on examining the value and impact of technology , a man walks down some city streets pulling a wagon with 99 smartphones that all have Google Maps ’ navigation turned on .
As the man @ @ @ @ @ @ @ progressively redder on Google Maps .
Those red streets would typically indicate a bad traffic jam — but the video shows that the streets were nearly empty .
Usually , Google determines where traffic jams are by pulling anonymized location data from phones running the Maps app .
If there are a lot of phones on a road and they are moving slowly , Maps will show a traffic jam on that road .
Lots of devices running Maps in the same spot is considered “ proof ” of a traffic jam , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Google representative .
Google jokingly told The Verge that it hasn ’ t “ quite cracked ” how to correctly track traffic data that comes from toy wagons , but that it can already distinguish between Google Maps data coming from cars and motorcycles in several countries .
It makes you wonder if Maps could be tricked in other ways , though .
If a single person can fool Maps with a bunch of phones in a wagon , could others trick Google into creating actual traffic jams by using fake ones to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t happen , but maybe Google will someday find a way to not show spoofed traffic jams like the ones set up in Weckert ’ s video .

Seeing traffic jams in Google Maps can really help you plan your route home from work. But a video posted this weekend seems to show that a traffic jam could be spoofed into Google Maps with nothing more than a bunch of phones piled into a little red wagon.
In the video, posted by Simon Weckert, a Berlin-based artist who focuses on examining the value and impact of technology, a man walks down some city streets pulling a wagon with 99 smartphones that all have Google Maps’ navigation turned on. As the man pulls the wagon, the streets get progressively redder on Google Maps. Those red streets would typically indicate a bad traffic jam — but the video shows that the streets were nearly empty.
Usually, Google determines where traffic jams are by pulling anonymized location data from phones running the Maps app. If there are a lot of phones on a road and they are moving slowly, Maps will show a traffic jam on that road. Lots of devices running Maps in the same spot is considered “proof” of a traffic jam, reported 9to5Google, after speaking with a Google representative.
Google jokingly told The Verge that it hasn’t “quite cracked” how to correctly track traffic data that comes from toy wagons, but that it can already distinguish between Google Maps data coming from cars and motorcycles in several countries.
It makes you wonder if Maps could be tricked in other ways, though. If a single person can fool Maps with a bunch of phones in a wagon, could others trick Google into creating actual traffic jams by using fake ones to re-route traffic?


theverge--2020-02-03--Formula E cancels race in China because of the coronavirus outbreak

All-electric racing series Formula E has canceled an upcoming race in China due to the recent coronavirus outbreak , according to the Fédération Internationale de l ’ Automobile ( FIA ) , the series ’ governing body .
“ Given the current growing health concerns and with the World Health Organisation declaring the coronavirus an international emergency , Formula E has taken the necessary measures to ensure the health and safety of its travelling staff , championship participants and spectators , which remains of paramount importance , ” the FIA said in a statement released late Sunday .
The FIA @ @ @ @ @ @ @ E and local governments to “ study the viability of potential alternative dates should the situation improve , ” meaning a makeup date isn ’ t fully out of the question .
The race was originally supposed to be run on March 21st in Sanya , an island city in Hainan province .
China has always been an important part of Formula E. The young racing series ’ inaugural race in September 2014 took place in Beijing , and Formula E also kicked off its second season in 2015 with a race in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to China during its fifth season after striking a deal to race on the streets of Sanya , and has raced there since .
Formula E has also featured a number of Chinese teams and drivers in its half-decade of operation .
The driver who won the first Formula E drivers ’ championship in season one did so while racing for the series ’ first Chinese team .
And last season , Chinese team Techeetah won both the drivers ’ and teams ’ championships .
The recent coronavirus outbreak started in China at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , there have been over 362 deaths and 17,000 confirmed cases , the majority of which are in China .
The outbreak has caused all sorts of disruptions , ranging from the Chinese government ’ s lockdown of multiple cities near the epicenter of the outbreak , to the US government ’ s recent refusal to admit foreign nationals who ’ ve traveled to China within the last two weeks .

All-electric racing series Formula E has canceled an upcoming race in China due to the recent coronavirus outbreak, according to the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the series’ governing body.
“Given the current growing health concerns and with the World Health Organisation declaring the coronavirus an international emergency, Formula E has taken the necessary measures to ensure the health and safety of its travelling staff, championship participants and spectators, which remains of paramount importance,” the FIA said in a statement released late Sunday.
The FIA said it’s working with Formula E and local governments to “study the viability of potential alternative dates should the situation improve,” meaning a makeup date isn’t fully out of the question. The race was originally supposed to be run on March 21st in Sanya, an island city in Hainan province.
Related Everything you need to know about the coronavirus from China
China has always been an important part of Formula E. The young racing series’ inaugural race in September 2014 took place in Beijing, and Formula E also kicked off its second season in 2015 with a race in the capital city. Formula E returned to China during its fifth season after striking a deal to race on the streets of Sanya, and has raced there since. Formula E has also featured a number of Chinese teams and drivers in its half-decade of operation. The driver who won the first Formula E drivers’ championship in season one did so while racing for the series’ first Chinese team. And last season, Chinese team Techeetah won both the drivers’ and teams’ championships.


theverge--2020-02-03--Uber temporarily suspends 240 accounts in Mexico over coronavirus fears

Uber temporarily deactivated 240 customer accounts in Mexico to prevent the possible spread of the coronavirus , according to Bloomberg .
In a statement posted on Twitter , the company said it suspended customers who had traveled with two drivers who had suspected contact with the coronavirus .
The country ’ s health officials confirmed an Uber driver had given a ride to a passenger from Los Angeles who was infected with the virus , based on information from US health officials .
The man spent two days in Mexico City , but didn ’ t display symptoms until returning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Silla Rota .
None of the suspected cases have developed symptoms in 10 days since contact , including hotel personnel and others from the ride-hailing company .
Cases will be monitored for 14 days , health officials said in a statement .
To date , there have been no confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Mexico .
“ We received a request from the Mexico City Health Department for information about an individual identified as a carrier of coronavirus , ” a spokesperson said in a statement .
“ Out of an abundance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accounts of two drivers who had transported the individual , as well as approximately 240 other users who had been in contact with those drivers .
We directed them to contact the public health authorities for further information.
” Uber has an online portal which is staffed 24/7 for public health authorities to contact the company for information about riders and drivers .
The company says it will “ take action on any user accounts on the recommendation of those authorities.
” Uber is the latest big American company to get caught up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ auto companies like Apple , Google , and Tesla have been forced by the Chinese government to temporarily shutter their offices and factories in the country .
Airlines have canceled flights to and from China in an effort to contain the virus .
There have been over 17,000 confirmed cases and 362 deaths .
The majority of the illnesses are in China , but cases have been reported in nearly two dozen other countries , including the US .
No deaths related to the illness have been reported outside of China .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ global emergency earlier this week .

Uber temporarily deactivated 240 customer accounts in Mexico to prevent the possible spread of the coronavirus, according to Bloomberg.
In a statement posted on Twitter, the company said it suspended customers who had traveled with two drivers who had suspected contact with the coronavirus. The country’s health officials confirmed an Uber driver had given a ride to a passenger from Los Angeles who was infected with the virus, based on information from US health officials. The man spent two days in Mexico City, but didn’t display symptoms until returning to the US, according to La Silla Rota.
None of the suspected cases have developed symptoms in 10 days since contact, including hotel personnel and others from the ride-hailing company. Cases will be monitored for 14 days, health officials said in a statement.
To date, there have been no confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Mexico.
“We received a request from the Mexico City Health Department for information about an individual identified as a carrier of coronavirus,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “Out of an abundance of caution, we temporarily suspended the accounts of two drivers who had transported the individual, as well as approximately 240 other users who had been in contact with those drivers. We directed them to contact the public health authorities for further information.”
Uber has an online portal which is staffed 24/7 for public health authorities to contact the company for information about riders and drivers. The company says it will “take action on any user accounts on the recommendation of those authorities.”
Uber is the latest big American company to get caught up in the coronavirus. Major tech and auto companies like Apple, Google, and Tesla have been forced by the Chinese government to temporarily shutter their offices and factories in the country. Airlines have canceled flights to and from China in an effort to contain the virus.


theverge--2020-02-03--YouTube is a $15 billion-a-year business, Google reveals for the first time

YouTube generated nearly $ 5 billion in ad revenue in the last three months , Google revealed today as part of parent company Alphabet ’ s fourth quarter earnings report .
This is the first report under newly instated Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai , who took over as the chief executive of the entire company late last year after co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin stepped back from day-to-day duties and promoted Pichai , formerly Google CEO , to the top spot .
The announcement marks the first time in YouTube ’ s nearly 15 years as a Google-owned platform @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2006 for $ 1.65 billion , that the company has revealed how much money YouTube-hosted ads contribute to the search giant ’ s bottom line .
On an annual basis , Google says YouTube generated $ 15 billion last year and contributed roughly 10 percent to all Google revenue .
Those figures make YouTube ’ s ad business nearly one fifth the size of Facebook ’ s , and more than six times larger than all of Amazon-owned Twitch .
Separately , Google says YouTube has more than 20 million subscribers across its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Premium offerings , as well as more than 2 million subscribers to its paid TV service .
Alphabet says revenues from those products are bundled into the “ other ” category , which made $ 5.3 billion last quarter and also includes hardware like Pixel phone and Google Home speakers .
That makes it hard to gauge the specific performance of any one product bundled under that category .
Overall , Alphabet made $ 46 billion in revenue in the quarter that ended December 31st , 2019 , a 17 percent jump over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that was profit , the company says .
Google ’ s search business remains the big moneymaker of Alphabet ’ s sprawling empire , earning $ 27.2 billion for the quarter .
But alongside YouTube ad revenue , Google is also disclosing the financial performance of its cloud computing division .
Google Cloud made $ 2.6 billion in revenue for the quarter , the report reveals .
That means Google massively beat Wall Street expectations on profit , but missed on revenue .
That could be one reason why Google may be disclosing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first time .
To appease investors , it ’ s important for Google to remind onlookers that its business isn ’ t solely dependent on its search engine , and that it has fast-growing and separate businesses like YouTube and its cloud computing division to pick up the slack .
Google Search generated an eye-popping $ 98.1 billion in 2019 , the company says , but that ’ s just a 15 percent increase over 2018 .
YouTube , on the other hand , grew from $ 11.2 billion in 2018 to $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ percent jump .
That said , a revenue miss of this magnitude for Alphabet means investors were not pleased , and Alphabet stock is now down more than 4 percent in after-hours trading .

YouTube generated nearly $5 billion in ad revenue in the last three months, Google revealed today as part of parent company Alphabet’s fourth quarter earnings report. This is the first report under newly instated Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, who took over as the chief executive of the entire company late last year after co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin stepped back from day-to-day duties and promoted Pichai, formerly Google CEO, to the top spot.
The announcement marks the first time in YouTube’s nearly 15 years as a Google-owned platform, since Google bought the website in 2006 for $1.65 billion, that the company has revealed how much money YouTube-hosted ads contribute to the search giant’s bottom line.
YouTube contributes 10 percent to Google’s overall revenue
On an annual basis, Google says YouTube generated $15 billion last year and contributed roughly 10 percent to all Google revenue. Those figures make YouTube’s ad business nearly one fifth the size of Facebook’s, and more than six times larger than all of Amazon-owned Twitch.
Separately, Google says YouTube has more than 20 million subscribers across its Premium (ad-free YouTube) and Music Premium offerings, as well as more than 2 million subscribers to its paid TV service. Alphabet says revenues from those products are bundled into the “other” category, which made $5.3 billion last quarter and also includes hardware like Pixel phone and Google Home speakers. That makes it hard to gauge the specific performance of any one product bundled under that category.
Overall, Alphabet made $46 billion in revenue in the quarter that ended December 31st, 2019, a 17 percent jump over 2018. Nearly $10.7 billion of that was profit, the company says. Google’s search business remains the big moneymaker of Alphabet’s sprawling empire, earning $27.2 billion for the quarter. But alongside YouTube ad revenue, Google is also disclosing the financial performance of its cloud computing division. Google Cloud made $2.6 billion in revenue for the quarter, the report reveals.
That means Google massively beat Wall Street expectations on profit, but missed on revenue. That could be one reason why Google may be disclosing YouTube and Google Cloud revenues for the first time.
To appease investors, it’s important for Google to remind onlookers that its business isn’t solely dependent on its search engine, and that it has fast-growing and separate businesses like YouTube and its cloud computing division to pick up the slack.


theverge--2020-02-04--Google has paid Android developers about half of what Apple has

As I write this the evening before you ’ re reading it , the colossal caucus clusterf*** in Iowa is still ongoing and no official results are anywhere in sight .
It seems clear that some portion of the problem stems from a poorly architected app .
It ’ s an incredibly bad start to the 2020 election — not because we should expect the results to be in doubt , but because you ’ d like to think regardless of politics we ’ d at least improve our competence at running elections .
Not so much .
There ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for now let ’ s look at the second biggest tech news yesterday .
Google released its quarterly earnings and did something it never has before : actually provided financial details for YouTube and even provided some color on its hardware business .
The consensus is it did so because overall the company didn ’ t meet expectations for revenue , so it wanted to give everybody something else to pay attention to .
We won ’ t be fooled by Google ’ s blatant misdirection , which is ... Just kidding .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ pay attention to the shiny new numbers .
Though to be fair , you should know my attitude towards most financial results is to tell you that unless you ’ re a significant investor , you should only care insofar as the results say something about the products and services the company is selling .
We ’ ll have analysis of YouTube ’ s numbers up on the site today , so instead I ’ ll just pay a little more attention to the Android bit : a total of $ 80 billion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is significantly less than what Apple has paid out via the iOS App Store .
Even if you account for Google allowing developers to use their own payment methods and made a bunch of other caveats , I suspect you can ’ t avoid the truth .
The vast majority of phones on Earth run Android , and yet it is almost surely the case that there ’ s more money for developers in iPhone apps .
That ’ s always been the conventional wisdom , but Google ’ s own numbers all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how much money it made on “ other bets : ” $ 17 billion .
Some portion of that includes Google ’ s hardware business , which Pichai characterized as a “ multi-billion-dollar ” business .
I strongly suspect that hardware ’ s piece of that pie is in the low single digits , otherwise Google might be more eager to crow about it .
I also suspect Pichai and Google ’ s hardware boss Rick Osterloh are sick of people asking them if hardware is just a hobby .
Well , until @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about its hardware business , I think it ’ s fair to keep asking how serious the company really is about it .
And to bring it back to my frame for financial results : the answer to that question is also the answer to why Pixel phones aren ’ t doing as well as they could .
└ YouTube is a $ 15 billion-a-year business , Google reveals for the first time └ What the Iowa Caucus means for getting Iowa online Makena Kelly went to Iowa , but instead of reporting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the many failures that have led to the sad state of rural broadband in America : └ Acer Swift 5 ( late 2019 ) review : light on your back , lighter on your wallet Great review from Monica Chin .
The tradeoffs you have to make in order to have a super light 14-inch laptop wouldn ’ t be worth it to me , but maybe they would be for you .
A bunch of videos came out today showing the Motorola Razr creaking as it opens and closed — not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ always , I ’ ll wait to make a final opinion in the review .
I hope that Samsung sets a very high bar for quality for itself with this phone — if everybody is going to act like these are normal phones for people to buy , they should be as reliable as normal phones .
Remember how I have said that it would be awful nice if expensive gadgetry that ’ s meant to last more than five or ten years could have the computer part be modular ?
And how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ idea , it never seems to pan out ?
Add another example to the pile : An incomplete , pre-iPhone-smartphone-brand scorecard of the smartphone brands that have been picked up by or sold off to other companies : • Nokia : zombiebrand run by HMD that actually makes pretty good , well-liked phones !
8/10 • Palm : zombiebrand acquired by TCL and handed off to a little Verizon-funded startup to make a time-well-spent phone that is pretty bad .
4/10 • BlackBerry : zombiebrand licensed by TCL to make the last physical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ way worse .
Also an actual enterprise services company that does alright .
5/10 More from The Verge └ Microsoft Teams goes down after Microsoft forgot to renew a certificate This happens All The Damn Time and every time it happens to a major company we all chuckle and wonder how they could forget until the next big company forgets .
Anyway , next time you walk out the front door without your phone or whatever , give yourself a break , because everybody forgets important things sometimes .
└ A Russian satellite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ satellite in Earth orbit └ Cards Against Humanity rescues ClickHole from its private equity owners Sometimes this company does fun stunts that I am not interested in .
Sometimes it does fun stunts that are great .
And sometimes , apparently , it does just flat out good things like this .

As I write this the evening before you’re reading it, the colossal caucus clusterf*** in Iowa is still ongoing and no official results are anywhere in sight. It seems clear that some portion of the problem stems from a poorly architected app. It’s an incredibly bad start to the 2020 election — not because we should expect the results to be in doubt, but because you’d like to think regardless of politics we’d at least improve our competence at running elections.
Not so much. There’s obviously more to come, so for now let’s look at the second biggest tech news yesterday. Google released its quarterly earnings and did something it never has before: actually provided financial details for YouTube and even provided some color on its hardware business. The consensus is it did so because overall the company didn’t meet expectations for revenue, so it wanted to give everybody something else to pay attention to. We won’t be fooled by Google’s blatant misdirection, which is...
Just kidding. Of course we’re going to pay attention to the shiny new numbers. Though to be fair, you should know my attitude towards most financial results is to tell you that unless you’re a significant investor, you should only care insofar as the results say something about the products and services the company is selling.
We’ll have analysis of YouTube’s numbers up on the site today, so instead I’ll just pay a little more attention to the Android bit: a total of $80 billion paid out to Android developers, which is significantly less than the $155 billion Apple has paid out via the iOS App Store.
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Even if you account for Google allowing developers to use their own payment methods and made a bunch of other caveats, I suspect you can’t avoid the truth. The vast majority of phones on Earth run Android, and yet it is almost surely the case that there’s more money for developers in iPhone apps. That’s always been the conventional wisdom, but Google’s own numbers all but confirm it.
Google also detailed how much money it made on “other bets:” $17 billion. Some portion of that includes Google’s hardware business, which Pichai characterized as a “multi-billion-dollar” business. I strongly suspect that hardware’s piece of that pie is in the low single digits, otherwise Google might be more eager to crow about it. I also suspect Pichai and Google’s hardware boss Rick Osterloh are sick of people asking them if hardware is just a hobby.
Well, until Google comes clean and gives more information about its hardware business, I think it’s fair to keep asking how serious the company really is about it. And to bring it back to my frame for financial results: the answer to that question is also the answer to why Pixel phones aren’t doing as well as they could.
Google earnings
Nick Statt:
On an annual basis, Google says YouTube generated $15 billion last year and contributed roughly 10 percent to all Google revenue. Those figures make YouTube’s ad business nearly one fifth the size of Facebook’s, and more than six times larger than all of Amazon-owned Twitch. ... Google massively beat Wall Street expectations on profit, but missed on revenue. That could be one reason why Google may be disclosing YouTube and Google Cloud revenues for the first time.
Google’s Sundar Pichai also revealed today how big a check the company has written to Android app developers over the years — $80 billion to date, presumably dating back to the launch of the Android Market (now Google Play) in 2008. Roughly a year ago, Apple mentioned that it had shared $120 billion with App Store developers, by comparison.
Caucus news
Verge Deal of the day Apple’s AirPods Pro are $30 off at Amazon Normally $250, the Apple AirPods Pro wireless earbuds are down to $220 at Amazon. Compared to the standard AirPods, these feature better sound quality and noise cancellation. We’ve seen these drop a bit lower in price before, but that’s a pretty rare occurrence. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy . Prices displayed are based on the MSRP at time of posting.
Makena Kelly went to Iowa, but instead of reporting on the horse race, she reported on the many failures that have led to the sad state of rural broadband in America:
The traditional telecoms haven’t gotten the rural residents of Winterset online — and what’s left is a patchwork of grants and public programs that can be hard to predict and harder to sustain. And while the Iowa Caucus has brought massive political attention to the small state, little of that attention has gone to the state’s networks.
Now, after what Pai says was an “extensive investigation,” the question turns to just how severely the FCC will penalize the mobile providers involved. Will it be something substantial or merely a wrist slap that leaves no lasting reminder for the companies that gave away some of the most sensitive data your phone can produce?
Gadget news
Great review from Monica Chin. The tradeoffs you have to make in order to have a super light 14-inch laptop wouldn’t be worth it to me, but maybe they would be for you.
There’s not a ton to complain about here, but the Swift 5 isn’t top of its class in these categories. Where it stands out is portability — and compared to previous Swift models, it asks remarkably few sacrifices in exchange.
A bunch of videos came out today showing the Motorola Razr creaking as it opens and closed — not to mention sub-par camera quality. As always, I’ll wait to make a final opinion in the review. I hope that Samsung sets a very high bar for quality for itself with this phone — if everybody is going to act like these are normal phones for people to buy, they should be as reliable as normal phones.
Remember how I have said that it would be awful nice if expensive gadgetry that’s meant to last more than five or ten years could have the computer part be modular? And how even though that seems like an obvious idea, it never seems to pan out? Add another example to the pile:
The software giant was planning to allow Surface Hub 2S owners to upgrade to this cartridge, improving the processor and GPU inside. It was also part of how Microsoft would enable tiling and rotation support on the Surface Hub 2, a big feature the company originally unveiled last year.
An incomplete, pre-iPhone-smartphone-brand scorecard of the smartphone brands that have been picked up by or sold off to other companies:
Nokia : zombiebrand run by HMD that actually makes pretty good, well-liked phones! 8/10
: zombiebrand run by HMD that actually makes pretty good, well-liked phones! 8/10 Palm : zombiebrand acquired by TCL and handed off to a little Verizon-funded startup to make a time-well-spent phone that is pretty bad. 4/10
: zombiebrand acquired by TCL and handed off to a little Verizon-funded startup to make a time-well-spent phone that is pretty bad. 4/10 BlackBerry: zombiebrand licensed by TCL to make the last physical keyboard phones that started okay then got way worse. Also an actual enterprise services company that does alright. 5/10
More from The Verge
This happens All The Damn Time and every time it happens to a major company we all chuckle and wonder how they could forget until the next big company forgets. Anyway, next time you walk out the front door without your phone or whatever, give yourself a break, because everybody forgets important things sometimes.


theverge--2020-02-04--iPhone maker Foxconn will stay shut in China for another week at least

Foxconn has stopped “ almost all ” of its production in China until February 10th at the earliest due to the coronavirus outbreak , according to both Reuters and Bloomberg .
A lengthy stoppage could substantially disrupt Foxconn clients , the most visible being Apple , from shipping devices to customers .
Last week , Apple CEO Tim Cook told investors that the company ’ s revenue projections for the upcoming quarter reflected a delay in reopening production facilities .
Apple also closed its stores and offices through February 9th .
Half of the world ’ s iPhones are said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ iPhone City ” in Zhengzhou , China , where as many as 350,000 people work side-by-side to assemble Apple ’ s most profitable product .
Nearly all of the world ’ s iPhones are made in China , most by Foxconn , some by Pegatron .
China had extended the Lunar New Year holiday in much of the country with factories expected to reopen on February 3rd .
That date was extended until February 10th on Monday .
Manufacturers ’ ability to reopen their factories is dependent upon approval from central and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organization , and threatens to upend the global supply chain , already in turmoil after the US vs. China trade war .
The virus has infected more than 20,000 people , 400 of whom have died .

Foxconn has stopped “almost all” of its production in China until February 10th at the earliest due to the coronavirus outbreak, according to both Reuters and Bloomberg. A lengthy stoppage could substantially disrupt Foxconn clients, the most visible being Apple, from shipping devices to customers.
Last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook told investors that the company’s revenue projections for the upcoming quarter reflected a delay in reopening production facilities. Apple also closed its stores and offices through February 9th. Half of the world’s iPhones are said to be made at Foxconn’s “iPhone City” in Zhengzhou, China, where as many as 350,000 people work side-by-side to assemble Apple’s most profitable product. Nearly all of the world’s iPhones are made in China, most by Foxconn, some by Pegatron.
350,000 people working side-by-side
China had extended the Lunar New Year holiday in much of the country with factories expected to reopen on February 3rd. That date was extended until February 10th on Monday. Manufacturers’ ability to reopen their factories is dependent upon approval from central and provincial governments.


theverge--2020-02-04--Messenger Kids now lets parents see child’s chat histories and recent images

Facebook has updated Messenger Kids with new options for parents to see and control how their children are using the messaging app , the company announced today .
These tools can be accessed by parents through the Parent Dashboard in the main Facebook app .
Parents will now be able to see more details about who their children are messaging with , whether they ’ re video calling them , and a history of anyone they ’ ve blocked in the app .
They ’ ll also be able to see a log of recent images their child has sent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ remove and report it if it ’ s inappropriate ) , and can log them out of devices remotely at any time .
A new option also now allows parents to download all of their child ’ s information , similar to the data-download feature available in the main Facebook app .
Messenger Kids has proved controversial since its launch Messenger Kids has faced intense scrutiny since its launch in December 2017 .
Questions were raised about Facebook ’ s motivations for offering a product aimed at children , and some child advocacy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be shut down .
Then , last year Facebook admitted that a flaw had allowed children to participate in group chats with people that hadn ’ t been approved as contacts by their parents — a core security feature of the app .
Although Facebook is tweaking the way blocking works on Messenger Kids , it emphasizes that children will still be able to interact with blocked contacts if they ’ re in the same group chat .
However , group chats will warn children when they contain someone that they ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now be able to unblock contacts by themselves if they want , and that conversations with blocked contacts will remain in their inbox to give the option for parents to review .
Facebook is keen to emphasize that it does not share information about Messenger Kids users with third parties , and that it doesn ’ t use their data for advertising .
However , given the for-profit company ’ s historic inability to protect user data ( purposely or not ) , inevitable questions still remain about why Messenger Kids needs to @ @ @ @ @ @

Facebook has updated Messenger Kids with new options for parents to see and control how their children are using the messaging app, the company announced today. These tools can be accessed by parents through the Parent Dashboard in the main Facebook app.
Parents will now be able to see more details about who their children are messaging with, whether they’re video calling them, and a history of anyone they’ve blocked in the app. They’ll also be able to see a log of recent images their child has sent and received (with the option to remove and report it if it’s inappropriate), and can log them out of devices remotely at any time. A new option also now allows parents to download all of their child’s information, similar to the data-download feature available in the main Facebook app.
Messenger Kids has proved controversial since its launch
Although Facebook is tweaking the way blocking works on Messenger Kids, it emphasizes that children will still be able to interact with blocked contacts if they’re in the same group chat. However, group chats will warn children when they contain someone that they’ve blocked. Facebook says that kids will now be able to unblock contacts by themselves if they want, and that conversations with blocked contacts will remain in their inbox to give the option for parents to review.


theverge--2020-02-04--Google admits it sent private videos in Google Photos to strangers

Google is alerting some users of its Google Photos service that they ’ ve had their private videos sent to strangers by the search giant .
Google ’ s Takeout service , that lets people download their data , was affected by a “ technical issue ” between November 21st and November 25th last year .
It resulted in a small number of users receiving private videos that didn ’ t belong to them .
Google ’ s nonchalant email alerting users doesn ’ t provide any details on how many people were affected , nor the amount of individual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Google fixed the issue after five days , and 9to5Google reports that less than 0.01 percent of Google Photos users who used Takeout were affected .
Google Photos has over 1 billion users , so even a small percentage will impact a significant number of people .
Google has apologized “ for any inconvenience this may have caused.
” “ We are notifying people about a bug that may have affected users who used Google Takeout to export their Google Photos content between November 21 and November 25 , ” explains a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ These users may have received either an incomplete archive , or videos — not photos — that were not theirs .
We fixed the underlying issue and have conducted an in-depth analysis to help prevent this from ever happening again .
We are very sorry this happened .
”

Google is alerting some users of its Google Photos service that they’ve had their private videos sent to strangers by the search giant. Google’s Takeout service, that lets people download their data, was affected by a “technical issue” between November 21st and November 25th last year. It resulted in a small number of users receiving private videos that didn’t belong to them.
Google’s nonchalant email alerting users doesn’t provide any details on how many people were affected, nor the amount of individual videos that were distributed incorrectly per account. Google fixed the issue after five days, and 9to5Google reports that less than 0.01 percent of Google Photos users who used Takeout were affected. Google Photos has over 1 billion users, so even a small percentage will impact a significant number of people. Google has apologized “for any inconvenience this may have caused.”


theverge--2020-02-04--Justice Department’s Google inquiry loses top antitrust official

The Justice Department ’ s head of antitrust , Makan Delrahim , has recused himself from the department ’ s investigation into Google over a conflict of interest , The New York Times is reporting .
The conflict of interest reportedly stems from Delrahim ’ s previous work as a lawyer , when in 2007 he was contracted to lobby on behalf of the search giant ’ s acquisition of the adtech company DoubleClick .
In a statement , the Justice department confirmed the move to the NYT .
“ As the technology review progressed , Assistant Attorney General Makan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the Department of Justice ’ s ethics office , ” a spokesperson said , “ He and the ethics office have decided that he should now recuse himself from a matter within the tech review in an abundance of caution.
” “ He and the ethics office have decided that he should now recuse himself from a matter within the tech review in an abundance of caution ” The loss of the department ’ s top antitrust official comes as the inquiry is thought to have entered a more serious phase .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Justice Department was meeting with at least seven state attorneys general , potentially paving the way for the two groups to combine their investigations into Google .
The Justice Department ’ s investigation into Google was first reported in May last year , while the attorneys general announced their investigation in September .
Delrahim ’ s potential conflicts of interest have previously been criticized by democratic nominee Senator Elizabeth Warren , who questioned his impartiality after he was paid $ 100,000 by Google to lobby on behalf of its DoubleClick acquisition in 2007 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Warren has been vocal about her desire to break up the big tech companies , including Google .
Later that year , text messages emerged that appeared to show Delrahim facilitating negotiations between Sprint and T-Mobile to help their merger receive the FCC ’ s approval .
The DoJ investigation will now be lead by associate deputy attorney Ryan Shores , and deputy assistant attorney general Alex Okuliar , the agency said in a statement .

The Justice Department’s head of antitrust, Makan Delrahim, has recused himself from the department’s investigation into Google over a conflict of interest, The New York Times is reporting. The conflict of interest reportedly stems from Delrahim’s previous work as a lawyer, when in 2007 he was contracted to lobby on behalf of the search giant’s acquisition of the adtech company DoubleClick.
In a statement, the Justice department confirmed the move to the NYT. “As the technology review progressed, Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim revisited potential conflicts with previous work with the Department of Justice’s ethics office,” a spokesperson said, “He and the ethics office have decided that he should now recuse himself from a matter within the tech review in an abundance of caution.”
“He and the ethics office have decided that he should now recuse himself from a matter within the tech review in an abundance of caution”
The loss of the department’s top antitrust official comes as the inquiry is thought to have entered a more serious phase. Last week it was reported that the Justice Department was meeting with at least seven state attorneys general, potentially paving the way for the two groups to combine their investigations into Google. The Justice Department’s investigation into Google was first reported in May last year, while the attorneys general announced their investigation in September.
Delrahim’s potential conflicts of interest have previously been criticized by democratic nominee Senator Elizabeth Warren, who questioned his impartiality after he was paid $100,000 by Google to lobby on behalf of its DoubleClick acquisition in 2007. Throughout the course of her campaign, Warren has been vocal about her desire to break up the big tech companies, including Google. Later that year, text messages emerged that appeared to show Delrahim facilitating negotiations between Sprint and T-Mobile to help their merger receive the FCC’s approval.


theverge--2020-02-04--Xiaomi spin-off Poco returns with the 120Hz X2 for $225

Xiaomi spin-off brand Poco has launched its second phone , the Poco X2 .
It ’ s another attempt from the company to produce a high-performance , low-cost phone for the extremely competitive Indian market .
Back in the summer of 2018 , Xiaomi launched a new brand called Poco with the aim of providing flagship-level specs at the lowest possible price .
The India-first Poco F1 wasn ’ t the prettiest phone in the world , but it turned heads by including a Snapdragon 845 for under $ 300 — then the brand largely went dark .
Poco now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the X2 is the first product since that operational change .
That said , it ’ s basically identical to a Xiaomi phone that was recently announced for China , the Redmi K30 .
Which makes sense — the excellent Redmi K20 Pro ( or Mi 9T Pro in Europe ) was widely viewed as a spiritual successor to the Poco F1 , even though its somewhat higher price disappointed some Indian consumers .
The K30 and the X2 , though , don ’ t have bleeding-edge specs across the board .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a 6.67-inch 20:9 1080p LCD screen with a 120Hz refresh rate , and a 4,500mAh battery with 27W fast charging .
The phone charges over USB-C , includes a headphone jack , and has a fingerprint sensor integrated into the power button .
It ’ s the first phone in India to feature Sony ’ s new 64-megapixel IMX686 sensor , the successor to the 48-megapixel IMX586 that dominated the phone landscape in 2019 , and that part is backed by an 8-megapixel ultrawide camera , a 2-megapixel macro module , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s also a 20-megapixel selfie camera with a 2-megapixel depth sensor housed in a hole-punch display cutout .
Poco ’ s X2 goes up against the Realme X2 Xiaomi remains the leading smartphone vendor in India , but its newest and most dangerous competitor in India of late has been Realme , which grew 255 percent year-on-year to capture fourth place in the market in 2019 ( according to data from Counterpoint Research ) .
Considering the name of the latest Poco phone , then , it ’ s perhaps not surprising that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comparison between its X2 and the Realme X2 .
Both phones have Snapdragon 730G processors , but Poco ’ s X2 has a slightly bigger ( albeit not OLED ) screen , a slightly bigger battery , a primary camera sensor from Sony rather than Samsung , dual selfie cameras in a hole punch rather than a ( higher-resolution ) single unit in a notch , and 27W charging that the company claims is faster than Realme ’ s 30W solution .
There are pros and cons to each device , but Poco @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The Poco X2 costs Rs .
15,999 ( $ 225 ) for a model with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage , compared to Realme ’ s Rs .
16,999 ( $ 239 ) 4GB/64GB entry-level model .
Both companies sell a 6GB/128GB mid-range variant , but Poco ’ s is 2,000 rupees cheaper at Rs .
16,999 .
And both high-end models with 8GB of RAM cost Rs .
19,999 ( $ 281 ) , but Poco ’ s has double the storage with 256GB .
That doesn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ successor to the F1 , however , nor that it ’ ll necessarily tempt away Indian customers who want the best performance .
Realme ’ s excellent X2 Pro has a Snapdragon 855 Plus processor and a 90Hz display , and it starts at Rs .
27,999 ( $ 393 ) — the same price as the K20 Pro from last year .
So while the Poco X2 sounds like it ’ ll be good value for money , it doesn ’ t really have the same ethos as the F1 , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into a functional plastic shell .
The Poco X2 will be available in India on Flipkart from noon on February 11th .
It ’ s not clear whether the phone will be released elsewhere .

Xiaomi spin-off brand Poco has launched its second phone, the Poco X2. It’s another attempt from the company to produce a high-performance, low-cost phone for the extremely competitive Indian market.
Back in the summer of 2018, Xiaomi launched a new brand called Poco with the aim of providing flagship-level specs at the lowest possible price. The India-first Poco F1 wasn’t the prettiest phone in the world, but it turned heads by including a Snapdragon 845 for under $300 — then the brand largely went dark. Poco now markets its phones independently from Xiaomi, and the X2 is the first product since that operational change.
That said, it’s basically identical to a Xiaomi phone that was recently announced for China, the Redmi K30. Which makes sense — the excellent Redmi K20 Pro (or Mi 9T Pro in Europe) was widely viewed as a spiritual successor to the Poco F1, even though its somewhat higher price disappointed some Indian consumers. The K30 and the X2, though, don’t have bleeding-edge specs across the board.
The X2 has a Snapdragon 730G processor, a 6.67-inch 20:9 1080p LCD screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, and a 4,500mAh battery with 27W fast charging. The phone charges over USB-C, includes a headphone jack, and has a fingerprint sensor integrated into the power button.
It’s the first phone in India to feature Sony’s new 64-megapixel IMX686 sensor, the successor to the 48-megapixel IMX586 that dominated the phone landscape in 2019, and that part is backed by an 8-megapixel ultrawide camera, a 2-megapixel macro module, and a 2-megapixel depth sensor. There’s also a 20-megapixel selfie camera with a 2-megapixel depth sensor housed in a hole-punch display cutout.
Poco’s X2 goes up against the Realme X2
Xiaomi remains the leading smartphone vendor in India, but its newest and most dangerous competitor in India of late has been Realme, which grew 255 percent year-on-year to capture fourth place in the market in 2019 (according to data from Counterpoint Research). Considering the name of the latest Poco phone, then, it’s perhaps not surprising that Poco is attempting to draw a direct comparison between its X2 and the Realme X2.
Both phones have Snapdragon 730G processors, but Poco’s X2 has a slightly bigger (albeit not OLED) screen, a slightly bigger battery, a primary camera sensor from Sony rather than Samsung, dual selfie cameras in a hole punch rather than a (higher-resolution) single unit in a notch, and 27W charging that the company claims is faster than Realme’s 30W solution.
There are pros and cons to each device, but Poco is certainly charging lower prices than Realme. The Poco X2 costs Rs. 15,999 ($225) for a model with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, compared to Realme’s Rs. 16,999 ($239) 4GB/64GB entry-level model. Both companies sell a 6GB/128GB mid-range variant, but Poco’s is 2,000 rupees cheaper at Rs. 16,999. And both high-end models with 8GB of RAM cost Rs. 19,999 ($281), but Poco’s has double the storage with 256GB.
That doesn’t mean the Poco X2 is the natural successor to the F1, however, nor that it’ll necessarily tempt away Indian customers who want the best performance. Realme’s excellent X2 Pro has a Snapdragon 855 Plus processor and a 90Hz display, and it starts at Rs. 27,999 ($393) — the same price as the K20 Pro from last year. So while the Poco X2 sounds like it’ll be good value for money, it doesn’t really have the same ethos as the F1, which was about cramming the best specs possible into a functional plastic shell.


theverge--2020-02-04--PlayStation 4 sales are slowing as PS5 looms this year

Sony ’ s PlayStation 4 sales were down 25 percent year on year this holiday season , with the company shipping 6.1 million units for a total of 108.9 million as of the end of 2019 .
It ’ s the lowest holiday quarter for the PS4 since its launch period in 2013 .
Third-quarter revenue at the PlayStation division was down 20 percent to 158.5 billion yen ( $ 1.46 billion ) , which Sony accounts for by pointing to lower sales of hardware and third-party software titles .
The company now expects revenue for the fiscal year to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million ) lower than previously forecast , a 3-percent drop .
Despite the slightly reduced forecast , this won ’ t be too surprising to Sony .
Video games are a cyclical business , and while the PS4 has been a far bigger success than almost anyone predicted , it is very much coming to the end of its cycle .
Sony has already started the hype machine for the PS5 , which is set to drop toward the end of this year , and the company only has a couple of big-name @ @ @ @ @ @ @ slate — The Last of Us Part II and Ghost of Tsushima .
PS4 sales peaked a few years ago , and the system hasn ’ t received a formal price cut since 2016 .
The biggest question for Sony is how it can convince the hundred-million-plus PS4 owners to stay within the PlayStation ecosystem for their next generation ; you can expect the company to start making that case sooner rather than later .

Sony’s PlayStation 4 sales were down 25 percent year on year this holiday season, with the company shipping 6.1 million units for a total of 108.9 million as of the end of 2019. It’s the lowest holiday quarter for the PS4 since its launch period in 2013.
Third-quarter revenue at the PlayStation division was down 20 percent to 158.5 billion yen ($1.46 billion), which Sony accounts for by pointing to lower sales of hardware and third-party software titles. The company now expects revenue for the fiscal year to be 50 billion yen ($459 million) lower than previously forecast, a 3-percent drop.
Despite the slightly reduced forecast, this won’t be too surprising to Sony. Video games are a cyclical business, and while the PS4 has been a far bigger success than almost anyone predicted, it is very much coming to the end of its cycle. Sony has already started the hype machine for the PS5, which is set to drop toward the end of this year, and the company only has a couple of big-name first party PS4 titles left on its slate — The Last of Us Part II and Ghost of Tsushima.


theverge--2020-02-04--Iowa caucus results delayed due to apparent app problems

Several precincts in Iowa said that workers are having trouble using a new app to report caucus results .
People were unable to download or log into the app , Bloomberg News reported earlier today .
That meant caucus workers had to call in their results , delaying their reporting as the phone lines jammed .
Originally , the Iowa Democratic party said the delay was due to “ quality checks.
” Results are now expected to be released later on Tuesday .
A letter from the Biden campaign castigated the leaders of the Iowa Democratic party , saying that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of calling in results over the phone failed .
“ These acute failures are occurring statewide , ” the letter said .
One county chair , Tom Courtney of Des Moines , told The Associated Press that the app was “ a mess.
” People were calling in their results instead , Courtney said .
The app in question is reportedly developed by a firm called Shadow , and paid for by Acronym , a Democratic nonprofit , according to The Huffington Post .
Acronym is popular in Silicon Valley where it receives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Recode ’ s Teddy Schleifer .
A change in the rules this year meant that Iowans were sending in three sets of results : the tally of the first round ; what happened after people whose candidates weren ’ t viable picked new ones ; and the delegate numbers .
“ We found inconsistencies in the reporting of three sets of results , ” said Iowa Democratic communications director Mandy McClure .
“ In addition to the tech systems being used to tabulate results , we are also using photos of results and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ results match and ensure that we have confidence and accuracy in the numbers we report .
This is simply a reporting issue , the app did not go down and this is not a hack or an intrusion .
The underlying data and paper trail is sound and will simply take time to further report the results.
” “ The app is the issue and the hotline is smoked , ” Joe Galasso , a volunteer in Waukee , told NBC News .
His precinct finished caucusing an hour before speaking to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ yet been able to report results .

Several precincts in Iowa said that workers are having trouble using a new app to report caucus results. People were unable to download or log into the app, Bloomberg News reported earlier today. That meant caucus workers had to call in their results, delaying their reporting as the phone lines jammed. Originally, the Iowa Democratic party said the delay was due to “quality checks.” Results are now expected to be released later on Tuesday.
A letter from the Biden campaign castigated the leaders of the Iowa Democratic party, saying that both the app and the backup system of calling in results over the phone failed. “These acute failures are occurring statewide,” the letter said. One county chair, Tom Courtney of Des Moines, told The Associated Press that the app was “a mess.” People were calling in their results instead, Courtney said.
The app in question is reportedly developed by a firm called Shadow, and paid for by Acronym, a Democratic nonprofit, according to The Huffington Post. Acronym is popular in Silicon Valley where it receives much of its funding, according to Recode’s Teddy Schleifer.
A change in the rules this year meant that Iowans were sending in three sets of results: the tally of the first round; what happened after people whose candidates weren’t viable picked new ones; and the delegate numbers.
“We found inconsistencies in the reporting of three sets of results,” said Iowa Democratic communications director Mandy McClure. “In addition to the tech systems being used to tabulate results, we are also using photos of results and a paper trail to validate that all results match and ensure that we have confidence and accuracy in the numbers we report. This is simply a reporting issue, the app did not go down and this is not a hack or an intrusion. The underlying data and paper trail is sound and will simply take time to further report the results.”
“The app is the issue and the hotline is smoked,” Joe Galasso, a volunteer in Waukee, told NBC News. His precinct finished caucusing an hour before speaking to the NBC reporter, but hadn’t yet been able to report results.


theverge--2020-02-03--The Apple TV app is now available on LG’s 2019 TVs

LG has made the Apple TV app available on a variety of its 2019 smart TVs as promised , according @ @ @ @ @ the company .
The app will be on TVs in more than 80 countries and @ @ @ @ @ ’ s new Apple TV+ video subscription service as well as the ability to rent @ @ @ @ @ .
LG ’ s 2019 TVs already support AirPlay 2 and HomeKit for wireless integration @ @ @ @ @ company announced a new lineup of TVs for 2020 at CES last month with the @ @ @ @ @ ; 2018 TVs will also get the app at some point later this year .
@ @ @ @ @ less remove the need for a separate Apple TV 4K box , unless you want @ @ @ @ @ tvOS App Store .
Apple Arcade games , for example , can ’ t be @ @ @ @ @ hardware .
The news also means that Apple technically makes a webOS app now , @ @ @ @ @ think about .

LG has made the Apple TV app available on a variety of its 2019 smart TVs as promised, according to a press release from the company. The app will be on TVs in more than 80 countries and gives users access to Apple’s new Apple TV+ video subscription service as well as the ability to rent or buy movies from iTunes.
LG’s 2019 TVs already support AirPlay 2 and HomeKit for wireless integration with Apple devices. The company announced a new lineup of TVs for 2020 at CES last month with the Apple TV app already loaded; 2018 TVs will also get the app at some point later this year.
The update should more or less remove the need for a separate Apple TV 4K box, unless you want access to Apple’s tvOS App Store. Apple Arcade games, for example, can’t be played without dedicated Apple TV hardware.


theverge--2020-02-03--Google now has a ‘multibillion-dollar’ hardware business, has paid $80B to Android app devs

“ We have no idea how much money Google makes from hardware , ” Marketwatch wrote two years ago .
That ’ s no longer entirely true — the company ’ s hardware division is a “ multibillion-dollar ” business , the company revealed during parent Alphabet ’ s Q4 earnings call ( via 9to5Google ) .
That suggests that hardware rakes in at least $ 2 billion , but could theoretically be a bit more : Google ’ s hardware businesses are lumped together with subscription services like YouTube Premium and YouTube Music Premium in Google ’ s “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ added up to a total of $ 17 billion of revenue in 2019 .
Even if we knew how much of that was hardware , it ’ d be hard to say which devices are leading the charge , be they Pixel phones and laptops ; Nest doorbells , cameras , speakers , routers , and thermostats ; or ( less likely ) Chromecast dongles .
For instance , Google has never broken out sales numbers or revenue for its Pixel phones , though we know they were struggling for a while , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pixel 4 ’ s launch haven ’ t been a promising sign .
( Though Google did celebrate the less expensive Pixel 3A ’ s launch by reporting that it sold twice as many Pixels during the quarter it arrived . )
Even when it ’ s been good news , like when the company revealed that the original Google Wifi had become the top-selling Wi-Fi router , it hasn ’ t released sales numbers .
Google hardware chief Rick Osterloh told us last May that the company ’ s hardware numbers were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ want to be at the end of five years , ” and that ’ s the sort of vague guidance we ’ ve had to settle for .
Now , we ’ ve got a very slightly better idea — though not nearly as good as Google just revealed in regards to YouTube , whose never-before-revealed earnings add up to $ 15 billion a year .
Google ’ s Sundar Pichai also revealed today how big a check the company has written to Android app developer over the years — $ 80 billion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the launch of the Android Market ( now Google Play ) in 2008 .
Roughly a year ago , Apple mentioned that it had shared $ 120 billion with App Store developers , by comparison .

“We have no idea how much money Google makes from hardware,” Marketwatch wrote two years ago. That’s no longer entirely true — the company’s hardware division is a “multibillion-dollar” business, the company revealed during parent Alphabet’s Q4 earnings call (via 9to5Google).
That suggests that hardware rakes in at least $2 billion, but could theoretically be a bit more: Google’s hardware businesses are lumped together with subscription services like YouTube Premium and YouTube Music Premium in Google’s “Other” category, all of which added up to a total of $17 billion of revenue in 2019.
Even if we knew how much of that was hardware, it’d be hard to say which devices are leading the charge, be they Pixel phones and laptops; Nest doorbells, cameras, speakers, routers, and thermostats; or (less likely) Chromecast dongles.
For instance, Google has never broken out sales numbers or revenue for its Pixel phones, though we know they were struggling for a while, and the frequent sales ever since the Pixel 4’s launch haven’t been a promising sign. (Though Google did celebrate the less expensive Pixel 3A’s launch by reporting that it sold twice as many Pixels during the quarter it arrived.) Even when it’s been good news, like when the company revealed that the original Google Wifi had become the top-selling Wi-Fi router, it hasn’t released sales numbers.
Google hardware chief Rick Osterloh told us last May that the company’s hardware numbers were “good, but not where we want to be at the end of five years,” and that’s the sort of vague guidance we’ve had to settle for. Now, we’ve got a very slightly better idea — though not nearly as good as Google just revealed in regards to YouTube, whose never-before-revealed earnings add up to $15 billion a year.
Google’s Sundar Pichai also revealed today how big a check the company has written to Android app developer over the years — $80 billion to date, presumably dating back to the launch of the Android Market (now Google Play) in 2008. Roughly a year ago, Apple mentioned that it had shared $120 billion with App Store developers — Apple says it paid $155 billion to developers as of January.


theverge--2020-03-30--Comcast says voice and video calls have skyrocketed 212 percent during widespread self-isolation

Voice and video calls have more than tripled on Comcast ’ s network over the past month since people across the US started working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic .
In a blog post this afternoon , Comcast said traffic for that category is up 212 percent in total , with overall peak traffic on its network up by 32 percent .
In some cities , like San Francisco and Seattle , Comcast says peak traffic is up closer to 60 percent .
The numbers quantify a trend that ’ s been plainly obvious to anyone working or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeks .
Video chats — particularly over Zoom — have become a regular occurrence , as offices and universities look for new ways to hold meetings and classes .
Yoga , parties , and dates are all happening over Zoom right now .
Comcast says it doesn ’ t need video streamers to reduce their quality Comcast says it ’ s seen other major shifts in data usage over the past month to accommodate working from home .
Uploads are now at their peak throughout the workday , whereas they used to spike @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ d expect , streaming video and gaming have seen increases , too .
Video consumption is up 38 percent , and game downloads are up 50 percent on Comcast ’ s network .
AT & T is seeing an increase in usage of its network , too .
It saw a 19 percent increase in overall traffic this month along with a spike in texting and Wi-Fi calling .
Both Comcast and AT & T said that , despite the increases in usage , their networks are doing just fine .
AT @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ performing well.
” For Comcast , the additional traffic is “ well within the capabilities of the network , ” Tony Werner , Comcast ’ s tech leader , said on a call with reporters this afternoon .
While streaming video companies have reduced their streaming quality across Europe to address bandwidth issues , Werner says Comcast hasn ’ t asked for similar treatment in the US and doesn ’ t need it .
“ We have not seen an issue up to this point , ” he said .
Streaming video @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said , so it ’ s less likely to interfere with people working from home .
Disclosure : Comcast is an investor in Vox Media , The Verge ’ s parent company .

Voice and video calls have more than tripled on Comcast’s network over the past month since people across the US started working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a blog post this afternoon, Comcast said traffic for that category is up 212 percent in total, with overall peak traffic on its network up by 32 percent. In some cities, like San Francisco and Seattle, Comcast says peak traffic is up closer to 60 percent.
The numbers quantify a trend that’s been plainly obvious to anyone working or going to school from home in recent weeks. Video chats — particularly over Zoom — have become a regular occurrence, as offices and universities look for new ways to hold meetings and classes. Yoga, parties, and dates are all happening over Zoom right now.
Comcast says it doesn’t need video streamers to reduce their quality
Comcast says it’s seen other major shifts in data usage over the past month to accommodate working from home. Uploads are now at their peak throughout the workday, whereas they used to spike in the evening. And as you’d expect, streaming video and gaming have seen increases, too. Video consumption is up 38 percent, and game downloads are up 50 percent on Comcast’s network.
AT&T is seeing an increase in usage of its network, too. Last week, it saw weekday traffic increases of around 30 percent month over month, with a spike in texting and Wi-Fi calling.
Both Comcast and AT&T said that, despite the increases in usage, their networks are doing just fine. AT&T writes that its network is “performing well.” For Comcast, the additional traffic is “well within the capabilities of the network,” Tony Werner, Comcast’s tech leader, said on a call with reporters this afternoon.
While streaming video companies have reduced their streaming quality across Europe to address bandwidth issues, Werner says Comcast hasn’t asked for similar treatment in the US and doesn’t need it. “We have not seen an issue up to this point,” he said. Streaming video data is heaviest on weekends, he said, so it’s less likely to interfere with people working from home.
Disclosure: Comcast is an investor in Vox Media, The Verge’s parent company.


theverge--2020-03-30--Go read this Businessweek story about the downsides of DJI’s drone dominance

If you ’ ve bought , flown , seen , or even thought about a drone over the last five years , it was likely one of DJI ’ s quadcopters .
In fact , the Chinese company has so thoroughly consumed both the consumer and commercial drone markets that its dominance is now hitting a point of limited — and possibly even negative — returns , according to a new feature from Bloomberg Businessweek .
The piece is part reflective examination of how DJI got here , part investigation into reclusive founder and CEO Frank Wang ’ s management @ @ @ @ @ @ @ impact that the trade war and the recent Huawei controversies has had on the company .
But more than anything , it ’ s about how DJI has put itself in a position where it ’ s become its own primary competition .
To wit : [ ... ] the company ’ s tireless drive to improve its products and lower prices has sucked so much of the profit out of the market for consumer and corporate drones that even Wang has little choice but to fund expansions into cameras , robotics , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used for surveillance by big companies and government bodies .
As one former employee puts it , “ Frank has created a race to the bottom , and now he ’ s competing against himself.
” Blake Schmidt and Ashlee Vance , who reported the piece , explain that DJI ’ s relentless product cycle and aggressive pricing have made it harder for the company to pull in a profit than one might assume .
They also dug into some of the relentless tactics that DJI employed as it carved out that dominance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forum with negative comments from fake accounts about EHang , another Chinese company that ’ s working on passenger drones , and trolling YouTube videos about quadcopter company Yuneec .
And while working with governments at the local and national level may have presented a new path to revenue , it has also led the company down some dark paths .
The reporters discovered DJI announced in 2017 that it agreed to provide drones to authorities in charge of the city of Xinjiang , where 1 million Uighurs are being held in various @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re-education ” by the Communist Party of China ( CCP ) .
They were also told that DJI ’ s air traffic control-style tracking technology may have sprouted from an interaction with the CCP : While it ’ s not recommended—or , in most places , legal—it ’ s technically possible to fly DJI ’ s drones as high as 4 miles into the sky .
Someone in China was doing exactly that—and the drone almost collided with a People ’ s Liberation Army Air Force fighter jet , according to two people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren ’ t authorized to discuss it .
The fighter pilot landed and was furious .
He asked to check footage from a camera mounted to the plane to see if it caught images of the device , which it had .
The military brought the pictures to DJI and demanded to know whose drone it was .
DJI said it didn ’ t have a database with that sort of specific information and could provide only a general idea of devices near that location , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the matter .
The government insisted that DJI create a type of air-traffic-control database that can identify and monitor drones flying in China .
While Wang , according to former employees , isn ’ t a big fan of the military , he created this system rather than have the government try to build it , one of the people says .
DJI either denied or declined to comment on many of the claims in the story .
But the parts of the report that detail the company ’ s alleged relationship @ @ @ @ @ @ @ allay the fears of those in the US government who had some federal agencies stop using DJI ’ s drones over security concerns .
Either way , Schmidt and Vance ’ s new feature is sure to scratch off some of the sheen of DJI ’ s market dominance .
Go check it out .

While it’s not recommended—or, in most places, legal—it’s technically possible to fly DJI’s drones as high as 4 miles into the sky. Someone in China was doing exactly that—and the drone almost collided with a People’s Liberation Army Air Force fighter jet, according to two people familiar with the 2016 incident, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss it. The fighter pilot landed and was furious. He asked to check footage from a camera mounted to the plane to see if it caught images of the device, which it had. The military brought the pictures to DJI and demanded to know whose drone it was. DJI said it didn’t have a database with that sort of specific information and could provide only a general idea of devices near that location, according to one of the people familiar with the matter.
The government insisted that DJI create a type of air-traffic-control database that can identify and monitor drones flying in China. While Wang, according to former employees, isn’t a big fan of the military, he created this system rather than have the government try to build it, one of the people says.


theverge--2020-03-30--Yes, Twitch is down for some people right now

Twitch , the live-streaming behemoth , is down for a lot of people right now .
More users than ever have been tuning in since the COVID-19 pandemic sent everyone indoors ; it ’ s tough to say whether today ’ s outage is because of server strain or something else entirely .
For its part , Twitch says it ’ s looking into the problem .
Right now , when I try to load the site ’ s homepage , I don ’ t see anything in the front-page carousel , and the only things that are loading are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ followed channels live , along with recommendations for channels you might like , and Twitch ’ s most popular categories .
It ’ s not yet clear whether you ’ ll be able to start a stream .
That said : individual channels that were already live appear to be loading and streaming normally , and for some users , full service has been restored .
There ’ s no word yet on when the site will return to normal functionality , but we ’ ll update this piece when we know more @

Twitch, the live-streaming behemoth, is down for a lot of people right now . More users than ever have been tuning in since the COVID-19 pandemic sent everyone indoors; it’s tough to say whether today’s outage is because of server strain or something else entirely.
Right now, when I try to load the site’s homepage, I don’t see anything in the front-page carousel, and the only things that are loading are the left navigation bar where your live followed channels live, along with recommendations for channels you might like, and Twitch’s most popular categories. It’s not yet clear whether you’ll be able to start a stream. That said: individual channels that were already live appear to be loading and streaming normally, and for some users, full service has been restored.


theverge--2020-03-30--Here’s how to look at life-size animals in AR through Google search

Back in May 2019 , at its I/O developers conference , Google announced that it was bringing a neat feature to its search results : augmented reality models , which allow users to take a look at a 3D image of a search result .
Shortly after , the company rolled out the feature to users with an ARCore or ARKit-ready Android phone or iPhone , as spotted by CNET , allowing them to place an AR animal right in their living room , bedroom , or backyard .
Today , with adults and kids stuck inside to avoid the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ great distraction to place a pet tiger , wolf , or panda on your living room couch .
When the feature first premiered , it only had a few animals that you could check out , such as a tiger , a lion , a giant panda , a Rottweiler , and a wolf .
Now there are a bunch of others , including an alligator , a hedgehog , and a duck ( specifically , a mallard ) .
( 9to5Google ’ s Damien Wilde has recently compiled a good list of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feature , navigate to Google on a compatible device , and search for the animal in question in Google search .
If the animal you ’ ve searched for ( say , a wolf ) is available , it ’ ll show up in a small box with some statistics , an animated thumbnail , and an invitation to “ Meet a life-sized wolf up close.
” From there , tap “ View in 3D , ” and the site will put an animated 3D model on your screen .
Click on “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your phone at the floor , and it ’ ll switch you to an AR view of the animal on your phone .
This step may take a couple of minutes : it had me move my phone around before populating a handful of animals , but eventually , it displayed a tiger , a golden eagle , and a wolf hanging out in my backyard .
It ’ ll let you take a clean screenshot , minus all the tabs and buttons .
The feature is pretty cool : it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ large some of these animals really are up close ( I kept thinking that they were too large , until I looked at their stats ) , and I could see this being useful in a classroom or educational setting .
At I/O 2019 , Google noted that the feature would be used for some more practical things , like shopping , where you could see what a product looked like without actually having it in hand , or if you wanted to check out how the muscular system looked on a person @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in AR .
Since then , in fact , Google has released an AR navigation feature for Google Maps and has been releasing AR Playmoji stickers for users to play with .
The feature isn ’ t the first time that Google has inserted some sort of interactive , animal-related feature into its search results .
Back in 2016 , it launched a feature that allows people to listen to animal sounds in search results , although you have to specifically search for “ Animal Sounds ” to access that — searching for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to regular links , like clips from YouTube or other related pages .

Back in May 2019, at its I/O developers conference, Google announced that it was bringing a neat feature to its search results: augmented reality models, which allow users to take a look at a 3D image of a search result. Shortly after, the company rolled out the feature to users with an ARCore or ARKit-ready Android phone or iPhone, as spotted by CNET, allowing them to place an AR animal right in their living room, bedroom, or backyard.
Today, with adults and kids stuck inside to avoid the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be a great distraction to place a pet tiger, wolf, or panda on your living room couch. When the feature first premiered, it only had a few animals that you could check out, such as a tiger, a lion, a giant panda, a Rottweiler, and a wolf. Now there are a bunch of others, including an alligator, a hedgehog, and a duck (specifically, a mallard). (9to5Google’s Damien Wilde has recently compiled a good list of available creatures.)
To use the feature, navigate to Google on a compatible device, and search for the animal in question in Google search. If the animal you’ve searched for (say, a wolf) is available, it’ll show up in a small box with some statistics, an animated thumbnail, and an invitation to “Meet a life-sized wolf up close.”
Previous Next
1 / 3 Screenshot: Andrew Liptak / The Verge Previous Next
1 / 3 Screenshot: Andrew Liptak / The Verge
From there, tap “View in 3D,” and the site will put an animated 3D model on your screen. Click on “View in your space,” point your phone at the floor, and it’ll switch you to an AR view of the animal on your phone. This step may take a couple of minutes: it had me move my phone around before populating a handful of animals, but eventually, it displayed a tiger, a golden eagle, and a wolf hanging out in my backyard. It’ll let you take a clean screenshot, minus all the tabs and buttons.
The feature is pretty cool: it’s a good way to see just how large some of these animals really are up close (I kept thinking that they were too large, until I looked at their stats), and I could see this being useful in a classroom or educational setting.
Image: Andrew Liptak / The Verge
At I/O 2019, Google noted that the feature would be used for some more practical things, like shopping, where you could see what a product looked like without actually having it in hand, or if you wanted to check out how the muscular system looked on a person — it would overlay your search result in AR. Since then, in fact, Google has released an AR navigation feature for Google Maps and has been releasing AR Playmoji stickers for users to play with.


theverge--2020-03-30--Leaked image shows Apple’s Logic Pro X getting GarageBand iOS features

It looks like big updates are coming to Apple ’ s professional music software , Logic Pro X .
Yesterday , a Reddit user noticed that Apple ’ s education products webpage showed a version of Logic with ported functions from Logic Pro X ’ s little software brother , GarageBand .
The image has since been replaced on Apple ’ s website , but a cache of the page on Wayback Machine confirms it ’ s real .
Even though GarageBand and Logic Pro X are both music-making DAWs ( digital audio workstations ) , there are a lot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , fairly easy to use , and works on both iOS and desktop .
Meanwhile , Logic Pro X is a $ 199 desktop-only software designed for professionals .
The two programs already talk to each other to a degree , which is useful .
You can use GarageBand on your phone to add layers to an existing Logic Pro X project or start a project in GarageBand and finish it in Logic Pro X .
But it ’ s not a seamless experience , and each has unique features the other doesn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exporting a Logic Pro X file to GarageBand bounces the entire thing as a stereo audio file .
And GarageBand iOS has a bunch of tools for making music with screen tapping — like Beat Sequencer and Live Loops — that don ’ t appear in the desktop version or in Logic Pro X .
The image that Apple mistakenly published shows GarageBand ’ s Live Loops function and XY effects pads operating in Logic Pro X .
In GarageBand , Live Loops is used to build musical ideas by layering loops of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It ’ s a pattern-based way of making music , similar to hardware like an MPC or Native Instruments ’ Maschine , and even more similar to the clips view in Ableton Live ( a software competitor to Logic Pro X ) .
This suggests that the next version of Logic will have GarageBand iOS tools , and there could be greater flexibility when transferring projects between the two programs .
Making GarageBand ’ s mobile tools available to Logic Pro X on desktop is a bigger deal than just “ porting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ program than Logic even if they are both used for making music .
For someone who uses both , any updates that help to mirror workflows and preserve projects when moving between the two programs is massive .
Plus , people just love writing beats by tapping around in Live Loops .
It ’ s a fast and intuitive way to sketch out ideas and then further work on them in Logic Pro X.
It ’ s worth pointing out that Apple ’ s big competitors in the pro music-making software space don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deeper compatibility between GarageBand ’ s mobile experience and Logic Pro X ’ s desktop experience would be a notable differentiator .
So , according to Apple ’ s mockup , it looks like the next version of Logic Pro X will bring over GarageBand ’ s Live Loops and XY effects pads .
It ’ s a guess as to whether the rest of GarageBand ’ s iOS-specific tools will be included , along with the ability for these two programs to handshake on transferring audio in more sophisticated ways .
Apple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for comment .

It looks like big updates are coming to Apple’s professional music software, Logic Pro X. Yesterday, a Reddit user noticed that Apple’s education products webpage showed a version of Logic with ported functions from Logic Pro X’s little software brother, GarageBand. The image has since been replaced on Apple’s website, but a cache of the page on Wayback Machine confirms it’s real.
Even though GarageBand and Logic Pro X are both music-making DAWs (digital audio workstations), there are a lot of fundamental differences. GarageBand is free, fairly easy to use, and works on both iOS and desktop. Meanwhile, Logic Pro X is a $199 desktop-only software designed for professionals.
The two programs already talk to each other to a degree, which is useful. You can use GarageBand on your phone to add layers to an existing Logic Pro X project or start a project in GarageBand and finish it in Logic Pro X. But it’s not a seamless experience, and each has unique features the other doesn’t support. For example, exporting a Logic Pro X file to GarageBand bounces the entire thing as a stereo audio file. And GarageBand iOS has a bunch of tools for making music with screen tapping — like Beat Sequencer and Live Loops — that don’t appear in the desktop version or in Logic Pro X.
The image that Apple mistakenly published shows GarageBand’s Live Loops function and XY effects pads operating in Logic Pro X. In GarageBand, Live Loops is used to build musical ideas by layering loops of audio or MIDI in a cell grid. It’s a pattern-based way of making music, similar to hardware like an MPC or Native Instruments’ Maschine, and even more similar to the clips view in Ableton Live (a software competitor to Logic Pro X).
GarageBand’s Live Loops feature on iOS. Image: Apple
This suggests that the next version of Logic will have GarageBand iOS tools, and there could be greater flexibility when transferring projects between the two programs. Making GarageBand’s mobile tools available to Logic Pro X on desktop is a bigger deal than just “porting features.” GarageBand is a wholly different program than Logic even if they are both used for making music.
For someone who uses both, any updates that help to mirror workflows and preserve projects when moving between the two programs is massive. Plus, people just love writing beats by tapping around in Live Loops. It’s a fast and intuitive way to sketch out ideas and then further work on them in Logic Pro X. It’s worth pointing out that Apple’s big competitors in the pro music-making software space don’t have mobile counterparts, so deeper compatibility between GarageBand’s mobile experience and Logic Pro X’s desktop experience would be a notable differentiator.
So, according to Apple’s mockup, it looks like the next version of Logic Pro X will bring over GarageBand’s Live Loops and XY effects pads. It’s a guess as to whether the rest of GarageBand’s iOS-specific tools will be included, along with the ability for these two programs to handshake on transferring audio in more sophisticated ways.