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Two airlines are bringing faster WiFi to their international flights
Two airlines have made moves to upgrade their WiFi offerings today. Cathay Pacific Group will provide GoGo's 2Ku satellite-based broadband technology starting in 2018 and Emirates has partnered with Thales to bring 50Mpbs connectivity to its Boeing 777X fleet in 2020.
Facebook Messenger's money transfer tool is heading to the UK
Back in 2015, Facebook introduced the ability to send money to friends through Messenger and now it has brought that capability to UK users. It's the first time Facebook has launched the feature outside of the US.
YouTube's iOS app shares videos to iMessage with ease
You'd think YouTube's iOS app would have had iMessage sharing early on, but no -- sharing clips to Apple's official messaging client has been a cumbersome affair. Not so after today, however. YouTube has quietly updated the app with a direct-to-Messages sharing option. Tap that and you can quickly send a clip to a friend. The video will play directly in the Messages app, too, so recipients don't have to leave chat to start watching. It's a simple addition, but it promises to make life decidedly easier if you frequently express yourself with funny cat videos.
Delta adds free messaging to its WiFi-enabled flights
Delta announced today that starting October 1st, it will offer free WhatsApp messaging on all of its Gogo-enabled flights, making it the first airline to offer free access to the messaging service. Facebook Messenger and iMessage will also be supported and all three messaging services will be accessible in flight through the airline's WiFi portal page.
Apple’s Venmo-like money transfers will arrive after iOS 11
A new payment service from Apple is set to launch sometime this fall through iOS 11 and watchOS 4 updates. Apple Pay Cash will allow Apple device users to transfer money between each other within Messages or through Siri.
Spotify's iMessage app shares clips of your favorite songs
Spotify has gotten into a variety of non-Spotify apps lately, from an integration with crowd-sourced traffic app, Waze to Facebook Messenger. Now you can send and receive tracks from the streaming music service within Apple's iMessage, too. "Spotify's iMessage app is available now, allowing users to quickly search for and share music with friends directly from iMessage," a Spotify spokesperson told Engadget. "It's the latest way in which we're empowering users to share music with friends in a fast and fun way."
Google's Gboard for Android gets stickers and Bitmoji
Google announced today that the latest Gboard for Android update comes with support for downloadable stickers and Bitmoji that can be used in any app that supports image pasting. Once you have the latest version of Gboard, Android users will then be able to get the Bitmoji app or download sticker packs from the Play Store. To get to the new features after you've downloaded them, just hit the emoji button on Gboard and then the sticker or Bimoji button.
Transfer PayPal funds mid-chat with Skype’s ‘Send Money’ feature
Skype and PayPal have teamed up to make it easier for you to transfer money to someone mid-conversation. If you're talking to a pal through the Skype mobile app and remember you need to reimburse them for those drinks they bought the other night, just swipe right and tap the new "Send Money" feature. PayPal will take it from there.
Apple wants iMessage to be your customer service app
Apple has been steadily improving iMessage over the past year, and now apparently it wants to get businesses in on the action. Enter Business Chat, Apple's as-yet-unreleased tool to provide customer service through iMessage.
Apple's Venmo competitor is built into iMessage
Apple was rumored to be building its own competitor to services like Venmo and Paypal, and today at WWDC the company confirmed it's expanding the Apple Pay empire. Senior VP of Software Craig Federighi announced that Apple Pay would come to iMessage with iOS 11. You can send money to anyone in the default messages app who is also running iOS 11. As you might expect, you use your thumbprint to authenticate the transaction.
Google's Android texting app has a new name
Despite how common texting is, its integration on Android has always lagged slightly behind, as Google appeared to focus on other things. Sometimes it wrapped the feature into other services/apps like Google Voice and Hangouts, but lately, the main Android texting app has been getting some tweaks too. The latest one brings a new name, as it goes from Google Messenger (probably frequently confused with the bot-laden Facebook Messenger) to Android Messages.
T-Mobile Digits brings calls and texts to all your devices
T-Mobile is doing its Uncarrier thing again. As the carrier works on bringing its LTE network to US forces and older cars, it's also bringing the latest technology to its existing customers. The company's new Digits program lets you add multiple numbers to your phone, and then use them across all your devices. Starting today, postpaid customers can sign up to try out a beta version of the service, which the company says will launch commercially next year. Those who join the trial will need to have at least Android 5.0 or iOS 9 installed on their phones, and/or Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome on their Macs or PCs.
Pandora's iMessage app lets you share songs and stickers
Yesterday, Pandora unveiled a new brand image, but today they're actually putting some new features into the app. iOS users now have access to an iMessage app that easily lets you share what you're listening to with your friends. Of course, since Pandora doesn't have on-demand music (yet), your friend will only have the option to start a new Pandora station based on the artist. They'll at least be able to hear a preview of the song you shared, though.
Google Pixel tools help you switch from an iPhone
We've seen many attempts at helping you switch from one smartphone platform to another, but Google is kicking things up a notch with its Pixel smartphones. The lineup will include software to bring over contacts, media and messages from other phones, including iPhones. It'll even bring over your iMessages, in case you're worried that all those blue chat bubbles will disappear while moving to Android. To that end, Google bundles an adapter to help iPhone owners make the leap. These tools aren't that necessary if you store a lot of your data in the cloud, but it's evident that Google wants to remove as many pain points as possible -- it wants Pixel to appeal to everyone. Click here to catch all the latest news from Google's fall event.
Apple logs your iMessage contacts and could share them with police
Apple's iMessage had a few security holes in March and April that potentially leaked photos and contacts, respectively. Though quickly patched, they are a reminder that the company faces a never-ending arms race to shore up its security to keep malicious hackers and government agencies out. But that doesn't mean they will always be able to keep it private. A report from The Intercept states that iMessage conversation metadata gets logged in Apple's servers, which the company could be compelled to turn over to law enforcement by court order. While the content of those messages remains encrypted and out of the police's hands, these records list time, date, frequency of contact and limited location information.
Tinder brings swipe judgement to your iMessage conversations
Productivity apps have been trying to improve the hassle of group discussion for years, often by setting up basic "polls" that look more at home in enterprise software. But now you can spice up your queries with the interface everybody knows and loves: Tinder. The dating (and friend-finding) service is lending its swiping interface to iMessage users to better ask their friends photo-laden questions. Prepare to get your "hot or not" fix when picking dinner in your next group text.
Grammar Snob stickers for iMessage are ready to ruin your friendships
Apple added support for third-party apps right in iMessage as part of the iOS 10 release, and thus far the obvious use for this feature has been stickers. Everyone loves slapping stickers in their messaging apps. But, lest we forget, iMessage is primarily an app for communicating with words. And it's entirely possible that some of your friends don't use there words well. If that's the case, consider the Grammar Snob sticker pack: it's a bunch of red-pen corrections for common mistakes that you can slap on you're friends' errant chat bubbles.
Searching GIFs in iOS 10's iMessage briefly turned up porn
As happens occasionally in huge operating system overhauls, Apple's iOS 10 caused some mayhem as phones and devices tried to update and ran into trouble — with some devices even getting bricked. Though they announced a quick fix to the issue, others have cropped up in the days since, including today's snafu: porn GIFs surfacing in iMessage's new search. News spread after Deadspin found a very adult one of a My Little Pony character while searching the word "butt," while The Verge received reports of female-on-male fellatio appearing after a woman's daughter looked using the word "huge."
iMessage App Store adds stickers and games to iOS 10 texting
iOS 10 beta users can now explore a whole new world of add-ons for iMessage, according to 9to5mac. Cupertino has launched its new iMessage App Store for iOS 10 beta, and you can use it to download games and apps like OpenTable and SquareMoney. You can also download sticker packs from the store -- hey, it won't be complete without cute stickers in the mix -- some of which come from big-name companies like Disney, Bandai Namco and Sanrio. Some of the apps are tied to ones you'll have to get from the main App Store, but others are completely independent. If you're not a beta tester, don't worry: check your Settings app's Update section tomorrow, September 13th, to download and install iOS 10.
Text 'Call Me Maybe' to your crush with Genius Lyric Messages
Genius is where the internet turns for rap lyrics (mostly) and song annotations, and tomorrow you'll be able to send those to your pals without leaving iMessage. The way the press release describes it, the process sounds fairly simple. And even a bit GBoard-like with its card structure. "Users can create Genius Lyric Messages for any song available on Genius, regardless of artist, genre, language, year or chart popularity," the press release reads. From there you can customize the card's background image and send it to whoever you want, be it via iMessage or your preferred social apps. Don't use iMessage? You can send lyrics from within the iOS-exclusive (for now) Genius app itself.
