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Google's big Gmail redesign was revealed this past April (with G Suite customers getting the first look). It became default for everyone starting in July. One of the key features, Confidential Mode, is now available for mobile devices, though not everyone is as confident in its ability to keep your data private.
Read MoreIf you're looking for a new supernatural television series, you're in luck (if you don't mind waiting a while). Fox 21 Television Studios will produce a new show based on the video game Vampyr by the developer of Life is Strange, Dontnod. The title came out for Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on June 5th.
Read MoreIn the constant fight between battle royale games Fortnite and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), it might seem like the former has taken over most of the mindshare (and profits), especially on console and PC. On mobile, however, PUBG is doing pretty well, with reports of double the downloads as Fortnite's own mobile title. Now mobile publisher Tencent claims that it has passed the 100 million download mark across iOS and Android (a platform on which Fortnite remains in beta).
Read MoreIn April, Twitter announced that it would replace developer access to User and Site streams with new API. Several third-party app developers warned that this would disrupt their ability to work with the service. Today is the day, then, that Twitter removes support for the older "outdated developer tools." The newer tools, called the Account Activity API, are now available for all app makers via the company's developer portal. Twitter argues that its apps and website are "the best Twitter experience," even as users take to the social network to complain that the company is #BreakingMyTwitter.
Read MoreBreaking dry spaghetti noodles into precisely two parts might seem impossible, but scientists at MIT have done exactly that. In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers report how they twisted the noodles first, then bent them, to produce two halves instead of the usual shattering of three or more.
Read MoreIf you've been waiting to be able to access your Android phone's files and notifications on your Windows desktop, you can relax. The PC app, called "Your Phone," is now available for everyone, not just Insiders.
Read MoreNow that 5G has a complete standard for companies to use in rolling out new devices, Sprint and LG have announced their intentions to bring the "first 5G smartphone" to the US in the first half of 2019.
Read MoreOn Monday, reports of a problem with Pixel XL devices' fast charging system surfaced after users updated to the latest Android operating system, Pie. As a result of all the reports, Google says it's aware of the issue and is working on a timely fix.
Read MoreIn 2014, Honda added driver-assist technology called Sensing to its higher-end trim packages on select models. The system is part of the automaker's plans to bring Sensing to all its vehicles by 2022 and perfect self-driving cars by 2025. It's available, but not standard, as of 2019 for all Honda vehicles. This year, however, the company will include Sensing safety features for all trim levels of the Civic Sedan and Coupe.
Read MoreAndroid Pie has been out for a week; now Google's latest mobile operating system has a problem. Users of the company's own Pixel XL from 2016 are reporting issues with fast chargers after they've updated to Pie. People aren't seeing the "Charging rapidly" message they used to see before the update.
Read MoreVideo game streaming service Twitch launched Communities in February of last year. These were ostensibly hub page for specific games or topics that members could create to help people find content. Now the company will shut these pages down mid-September in favor of a new tagging system. Twitch will also add 10 new categories for streamers to help describe their content for better discovery.
Read MoreVice President Mike Pence laid out plans for the US Space Force on Thursday, calling out an advanced type of satellite, GPS III, that is apparently resistant to tampering. According to Bloomberg, however, this specific orbital machinery has been delayed for the last four years, and the launch date has slipped yet again.
Read MoreOne of the more useful features of Amazon's Alexa voice assistant is the ability to create custom recordings and use them as announcements for your entire network of Alexa-enabled connected speakers. Now, Sonos is getting the feature, too: announcements are coming to Sonos One and Sonos Beam.
Read MoreFacebook has been culling various features that take it away from its new "back to basics" emphasis on people over brands. It ended its Explore Feed test after it found that not many people liked splitting their news feed. Now the company is getting rid of another type of feed: Friend List Feeds. A message posted to the Facebook app says that the feeds based on your Friends Lists will be unavailable starting today, August 9th. Facebook said it was doing this to "focus on improving your main News Feed experience."
Read MoreNow that Spotify is on Apple's iMessage and Facebook's Messenger, the company will soon empower you to share and preview songs inside another messaging service, Skype. If you're a US-based Skype Insider with a mobile app version of 8.26 or higher, you'll be seeing a new Skype Spotify add-in soon; global Insiders will get the add-in later. Skype Insiders get early access to new features before they roll out to the rest of us.
Read MoreGoogle has continued to tweak its Gmail mobile apps to try and make things better for its users. The company introduced AI-powered notifications for iOS, added custom swipe actions for Android and has tweaked its threaded conversation view for years. Search for this latter feature on Google, however, and you'll see a ton of people asking how to disable it. Now Google has made it so you can turn this option off for the Gmail app on iOS and Android.
Read MoreNewton was the rare email app that worked well on mobile, Windows and Mac, but it really did cost too much. Note the past tense: The company announced today that the email service will shut down on September 25th. The service will not renew monthly subscriptions or allow new sign ups immediately and will offer pro-rated refunds for annual subscribers. Its parent company, CloudMagic, will continue to work on "new and innovative projects," according to CEO Rohit Nadhani.
Read MoreWindows users looking for an easier time of switching to the Mac are in luck. According to a report at 9to5Mac, Apple's latest operating system, macOS 10.14 Mojave, has a new Windows Migration Assistant. Originally spotted by a Twitter user, the new assistant will apparently bring over much more data than ever before, including user accounts, documents, email, contacts and calendar information.
Read MoreGlobal gaming phenomenon Fortnite is coming to the Android platform sometime this summer, but Epic said it wouldn't show up in the Google Play store. Now, there's evidence of how it will be distributed: Newly leaked code seems to show that 'Fortnite' will be available on Samsung's app store. This lends more credence to reports that the game will be a Samsung exclusive. In addition, the just-released Galaxy Tab S4 may be able to run the game along with upcoming Galaxy Note 9.
Read MoreCartoon Network and Outright Games will release a boxed set bundling both Steven Universe: Save the Light and OK K.O.! Let's Play Heroes to the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One for $40 on October 30th. Currently available as digital downloads on the latter two consoles, this will be the first time the games are on the Switch. They'll also launch as standalone titles for Nintendo's eShop on October 30th.
Read MoreSamsung really hasn't done well keeping rumors of its upcoming Wireless Charger Duo under wraps. Initial photos of the fast-charging device were discovered last month, while images of an early release in Russia came in a few days ago. Now, according to a report at Gizmodo, Samsung's charger was left out on a shelf at an Amazon holiday press preview event.
Read MoreIt's getting harder for global companies like Amazon, Apple and Google to avoid paying tax around the world as more countries move to change their permissive corporate tax laws. Now, according to a report in the Korea Times, the South Korean government is looking at ways to collect taxes from foreign companies in the wake of domestic complaints about the practice. The Ministry of Economy and Finance created a taskforce with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to start talking about newer tax policies that focus on global tech firms.
Read MoreSci-fi fans rejoice: You can now talk to your very own replica of the iconic HAL-9000 computer from Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C Clarke's seminal film, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Master Replicas Group has already achieved 358 percent funding on this Indiegogo project, which includes two versions of the iconic device.
Read MoreWhile CBS' board investigates its CEO for sexual misconduct, the company continues to move forward with its day to day business. Say hello to CBSN Local, a streaming news service that will show anchored local news coverage to major markets served by the company. The new service follows CBSN proper, a global streaming news offering that delivers national and global news, and CBS All Access, which streams shows like Star Trek: Discovery.
Read MoreEarlier this month, a hacker accessed a few of Reddit's systems, grabbing some current email addresses and a database backup from 2007 that contained account passwords. The company assured its users that the attacker did not gain write access to any systems, and was not able to alter any information. The company has since locked down their production systems and API keys while enhancing its monitoring system and logs.
Read MoreIf you've been pining for a new way to show off your singing chops, you're in luck. Facebook is apparently developing a new show that will have users record their performances and send them in as an audition. According to researcher Jane Manchun Wong, who found the feature in the Facebook app's code, there's a new interface to find popular songs and then record your own rendition of the tune. Wong says that the feature "feels like a cross between Musical.ly and Fifteen Million Merits from Black Mirror."
Read MoreFacebook adds new features on the regular. It has recently revamped its Marketplace section, made its news feed more friend-focused and changed algorithms to reduce fake news and clickbait. Now, Facebook is redesigning the navigation bar in its mobile app to better show you shortcuts to things you use most often. The company said that the new system should roll out globally in the coming weeks.
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