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Instagram brings TikTok Duet-style collaborations to Reels
With the Remix feature, the TikTok clone has even more of TikTok's DNA.
CES 2020 recap: Day three
CES 2020 isn't a PC show per se, but recently manufacturers have used it to show off their most out-there prototypes. Take Intel's Horseshoe Bend, a 17-inch PC that's entirely covered by a flexible display to show off the potential of huge foldable devices. Dell, meanwhile, took another approach with the Concept Duet laptop that has two screens rather than one big flexible display. Just to show that it can do folding too, Dell also unveiled the Concept Ori tablet that supersizes bendy smartphones to tablet size. Lenovo went the farthest, however, with its ThinkPad X1 Fold, a folding tablet that it actually plans to sell. All of this shows that manufacturers are trying to make bendable devices happen, even if consumers aren't sure yet. For more, follow along with Engadget's complete CES 2020 coverage.
Duet Display turns your iOS device into the second screen you've always wanted
Working with a second screen provides a number of obvious benefits from increased screen real estate to providing different spaces for working and reference materials. A second screen can dramatically improve productivity, especially for laptop users with compact models. Thankfully for iPad owners, Duet Display is the easiest way yet to set up a second monitor, and at US$14.99 it's an affordable solution. Since the advent of the iPad, apps have been around to turn the device into a second screen, but these apps have been plagued with lag and connection issues. For many of these apps the problem was trying to keep a connection going over Wi-Fi networks. Duet Display bypasses this problem by connecting your computer via the iPad -- or iPhone -- charging cable, creating a direct connection. We tested Duet Display with a late 2013 iPad Air and an early 2011 13" Macbook Pro with 8GB of RAM. Setting up the app is quick and easy. Simply download the iOS and Mac apps to your devices and connect your iPad to your computer. To start Duet, run the app on your computer and restart. Once the restart is done, fire up the app on your Mac first, and then open it on your iPad. Within seconds, your second display will be live on your iPad or iPhone. We found that using the app with an iPhone is largely a novelty, but for users with the larger iPhone 6 Plus the experience might be different. However, using Duet Display on an iPad is a dream. Users retain touch screen functionality, and your Mac mouse or trackpad works exactly as it would with a normal secondary display. The only downside we found with the app was the inability to scroll up and down pages with your fingers as you normally would on the iPad, but mouse support renders this issue more a nitpick than anything else. We were able to play the game Limbo in one window while keeping chat and internet logs running on the iPad without any hiccups in speed or performance on either front. Obviously that's a terrible use of productivity solutions, but it's nice to see the app work even when multiple programs are running without experiencing lag. Duet offers a number of options for refresh rates and resolutions, allowing you to take full advantage of Retina displays or focus on "Energy Efficient" modes if you're trying to conserve power. This customization is a wonderful added bonus to an already incredibly useful app. Whether you're a traveler who normally works with a second screen at home or simply a iPad owner who's looking to expand a Mac desktop without having to buy a second monitor, Duet Display is a easy choice to make. $14.99 is a small price to pay for such an easy and efficient way of expanding your screen space. You can find Duet Display in the iOS store here, and download the Mac app here. Continue reading to watch a launch video.
Humble Mobile Bundle 6 offers up Threes, Eliss Infinity, and more
Humble Mobile Bundle 6 is now live with a collection of six Android-compatible games, including Asher Vollmer's number-sliding puzzler Threes and Little Eyes' planet-fusing action game Eliss Infinity. Pay any amount you wish for the pack and you'll get copies of Eliss Infinity, The Game Bakers' brawler Combo Crew Special Edition, and Kumobius' newly launched Duet. Beat the average (currently $3.56) and you'll also unlock Threes, Crescent Moon Games' mining-themed RPG Mines of Mars, and BulkyPix's episodic action-adventure game Lone Wolf. Bundle proceeds benefit the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Child's Play. Humble Mobile Bundle 6 is available through August 19. [Video: Humble Bundle]
PAX 10 spotlights Framed and Duet
This year's PAX 10, a collection of games from independent developers, has been determined and will be highlighted at next month's PAX Prime convention. The ten games were hand-picked by 50 industry experts, starting with Duet, Kumobius' elegant arcade-style action game for iOS. Duet is joined by LoveShack's Framed, a narrative puzzle game trapped in a comic world. Both Duet and Framed received attention earlier this year when the games were among six total mobile titles in the PAX East Indie Showcase. Those two games are joined by an abstract 2D PC platformer from DigiPen's Neat Snake known as Flickers. Infinity Monkeys' Life Goes On is also in the mix, in which players set out to find the Cup of Life by ironically sacrificing knights to the game's deathly contraptions. Untame's amorphous puzzler Mushroom 11 will be included in the showcase, as will Funktronic Labs' sci-fi, turn-based adventure game Nova-111.
Daily App: Duet challenges you to stay alive while you dodge walls
Duet from Kumobius takes a simple action of spinning two dots in a circle and turns it into a challenge by adding some upbeat, yet eerie electronic music along with a impending sense of failure that hangs over your every move. In Duet, you use your thumbs to control two circles that are placed on the opposite sides of a ring. The ring is there for visual purposes and serves only as a reminder of the track that the circles spin on. The circles interact with walls that fall down the screen, and your challenge is to spin the circles to avoid the walls. If you hit a wall, you die and are tossed back to the beginning of the level. The wall that you hit also is stained with the "blood" of your circle and these blood stains increase every time you fail. The game admonishes you to "keep calm and avoid everything," and that is sage advice, even if it is difficult to follow. It's only through a carefully choreographed series of movements that you will be able to survive a level. With the background music and the graceful back and forth movements of the circles, the game has a dance-like feel -- a dance that you inevitably die in, but a dance nonetheless. Duet provides a curious mix of simplistic gameplay, panic-inducing impending failure, and coordinated controls that when combined is surprisingly pleasing. Duet is available in the iOS App Store for US$2.99. It is a universal app, compatible with both the iPhone and iPad.
Crowdfunded Project News: This week on Kickstarter and Indiegogo
Every week, TUAW provides readers with an update on what new or significant crowdfunded Apple-related projects are in the news. While our policy is to not go into detail on items that haven't reached at least 80 percent of their funding goal, this update is designed to give readers a heads-up on projects they might find interesting enough to back. From Kickstarter: The iMac. It's now incredibly thin, it's sexy, it's fast and it has a big display. But it's also missing a convenient USB port on the front of the device. For a lot of iMac owners (myself included), that means that if you don't want to reach around to the back of your device every time you need to plug in or unplug a USB device, you have to have a big USB hub sitting in front of your iMac. That's where the iMacompanion from Wiplabs comes in -- it is a USB 2.0 port that sits right in the front of the base of your iMac. Using an extremely thin cable makes it possible to gain a port while losing the typical round cable. This project was featured at Macworld/iWorld 2014 and is well past its funding goal, but it's definitely worth a look. And if they get enough funding and can figure out a way to do it, they may try to make it a USB 3.0 port as a stretch goal. Apple's charger for the MacBook line has an ingenious design, with little "wings" that pop out that you can wrap the thin cable around. There's only one problem -- that design tends to put a lot of stress on the cable and it's not uncommon for the cable to fray or break. Juiceboxx is a really smart idea that slides over the stock Apple charger and reduces the stress on the cable so it shouldn't fall apart. Available in November of 2014 if the Kickstarter project gets enough backing, Juiceboxx comes in a variety of translucent colors that hearken back to the days of the original iMac. With three weeks to go, Juiceboxx is 30 percent of the way towards its $25,000 goal. (A hat tip to our buddy Hal Sherman for pointing out this project). And now, for the iPhoneographers in the audience -- Lensbaby has developed a Creative Focus Lens for the iPhone and is successfully raising funds to get it into production. At 157 percent of goal with a little over three weeks to go, the Creative Focus Lens will be ready for your iPhone by August along with a companion app. Another project for iPhoneographers is COVR Photo, an iPhone case with a built-in prism lens. What does that let you do? Well, take photos of people without them thinking you're taking their picture. You'll hold your iPhone flat, as if you're looking a map or something, and can take good candid shots. The project is spearheaded by professional photographer Thomas Hurst and is at about 40 percent of funding with almost a month to go in the campaign. What does a walking stick have to do with Apple-related crowdfunded projects? Well, when that walking stick has a screw mount for holding something like a Glif on the end of it, that's pretty cool. When it has a specially designed notch for holding an iPhone for photography, that's very impressive. The WorkingStick is the brainchild of Joe Free and is a beautiful walking staff that can be personalized as well. The project has about three weeks to go and is already at 56.7 percent of goal. You can get one for as little as $55 by backing the project soon. So why am I writing about a pair of "smart headphones with WiFi Android player"? The STREAMZ smart headphones may run Android, but they're also going to be able to receive your streaming music from any iOS smartphone or tablet. Heck, you can even use these wireless headphones with your Mac. The project is just 15 percent funded with about three weeks to go, but if you've ever wanted to use Google Now to control your headphones, this is the time to open up your wallet and back the project. And one from Indiegogo this week: Yes, it's another "smart tag" project. This one is apparently funded! Duet works with a companion app to help you find your belongings, and can also be used to determine when you've left your iPhone behind. If you're aware of any other crowdfunded Apple-related projects, be sure to let us know about them through the Tip Us button at the upper right of the TUAW home page for future listing on the site.
Wayward Souls, The Spookening headline PAX East Indie Showcase
The PAX East Indie Showcase stars six mobile games from independent studios around the world: Crowman & Wolfboy, Wither Studios LLC: US Duet, Kumobius: Australia Framed, Loveshack: Australia The Spookening, Modesty: Sweden Tiny Dice Dungeon, Springloaded: Singapore Wayward Souls, Rocketcat Games: US The Indie Showcase at PAX East is a mobile-specific sampling of games, rather than the yearly lineup of higher-profile, mainly console and PC indie games in the PAX 10 at PAX Prime. This distinction is on purpose, Penny Arcade co-founder Jerry Holkins wrote in a blog post. "It may not be apparent outside of my own mind, but the PEIS has a specific mission to promote games on mobile," he said. "PAX10 is more broad. But mobile is an especially scary place to make games right now, and I think there's good to be done thereby. Unlike a lot of games at a show like this, a lot of times you can just grab your phone out of your pocket and buy something you like right there. As magic tricks go, that's a pretty good one." [Image: Rocketcat Games]
Apogee revamps One and Duet audio interfaces for iOS and Mac, updates Quartet to match
Apogee wants bring pro audio interfaces to the mobile realm. To that end, it's coming to NAMM with a trio of options that cover most Apple-bound musicians and podcasters. Its next-generation One interface (seen after the break) can take simultaneous input from both a built-in condenser mic and one device plugged into either an XLR or quarter-inch jack, passing along the resulting tunes to an iOS device or a Mac's USB port. A similarly reworked Duet adds direct iOS connections to the two-input, four-output Duet (above). Full-fledged bands aren't left out of the equation, either -- the existing, four-input Quartet has received iPad support without changing its formula. Lighting-based iOS gear unfortunately requires an adapter, but we'll take consolation in a new Maestro app for iPads that offers control over connections and session monitoring. Producers hoping for more mobility can pick up the Duet or Quartet in February at their respective $595 and $1,295 prices, although they'll have to wait until March to buy the One at $349.
Apogee rolls out Duet 2 pro audio interface for Macs
Recently drop $500 on an Apogee Duet audio interface for your Mac after pondering one for all these years? Then we're afraid we've got a bit of bad news for you, as the company has now finally rolled out a successor to the highly-desirable device. Apparently redesigned from the ground up, the new Duet 2 expectedly ditches FireWire in favor of USB, and packs some "completely redesigned" mic preamps and converters, along with two inputs and four outputs, a pair of configurable touch pads, and even an all new OLED display that replaces the basic LED meters on the original. Of course, the one thing that stays the same is the professional-level price -- look for this one to set you back $595 when it's available next month. [Thanks, Maxwell]
AVerMedia comes clean with new line of TV tuners
AVerMedia's starting off the year on a good foot, and it's introducing a number of new TV tuners for a variety of applications. Kicking things off is the AVerTV Hybrid PocketExpress ($89.99), which brings ATSC / NTSC / Clear QAM / FM Radio tuning to one's 34mm or 54mm ExpressCard slot. Next up is the AVerTV Bravo ($49.99), which slides into your PCI Express x1 slot in order to handle digital TV tuning and all the PVR functions (record, pause, rewind, etc.) you'd expect. The AVerTVHD Volar Max ($69.99) holds it down on the USB 2.0 front, while the AVerTVHD Duet can tune two digital signals at once for $79.99. Have a look at the read link for all the intimate details on each.
Apogee Duet: BREAKOUT box simplifies connections
Generally speaking, folks who sprung for Apogee's Duet have been pleased with the performance, but as we learn each and every week, there's nothing that can't be improved upon. Take the Duet's factory breakout cable, for instance. Sure, it provides a plethora of connection options, but it also creates a rat's nest in no time flat. Thankfully, a few engineering souls decided to take matters into their own hands, create a much better alternative, and then offer the thing up for sale for the lazy folks (read: us) on the outside. The duet:BREAKOUT box provides one simple box-to-Duet connection, after which you can run XLR / 1/4" cables straight to the ultra-rugged accessory. Get yours now with 1/4" or RCA outputs for $100 apiece.
Squeezebox Duet now available for pre-order
Hey, look at that -- the Squeezebox Duet just popped up for pre-order. Slim Devices's answer to Sonos was pretty impressive when we played with it at CES, and it looks like pricing is exactly what we heard: $400 for the wireless controller and a single Squeezebox Receiver, which can stream music off your home machine or tune into Rhapsody or Pandora. Units are expected to ship at the end of the month, but it doesn't look like you can buy additional $150 receivers or $300 controllers yet.[Thanks, Gregg]
JBL busts out a slew of iPod docks
If there's one thing you can count on at CES, it's the ridiculous number of iPod docks shoved into anything and everything -- but JBL's been in the iPod speaker game for so long we're willing to cut them a little slack. This year's lineup is pretty exhaustive, featuring everything from the no-dock Duet 200 with two 10-watt speakers, to the On Stage 400ID (pictured), with four Odyssey drivers and a built-in sub. In between you've got the On Stage 200ID two-speaker unit and the On Stage IIIP with four Odyssey drivers but no sub. Road warriors will want to check out the On Stage Micro Color speaker dock in several new colors, with two Odyssey drivers, and the On Time clock series gets a new 200ID model and the HD Radio / HD Tagging-capable 400IHD units. Check 'em all out after the break! %Gallery-12873%
Apogee's Duet: pro audio at a mini size
If you've been in the market for a small, handsome, and high-quality portable audio recording solution, Apogee (makers of some of the finest AD/DA converters and interfaces in the industry) may have just what you're looking for. Say hello to the Duet, a two-channel, 24bit / 96kHz interface that should make your next field job or impromptu jam recording nothing but net. The Duet's breakout cable provides two phantom powered, XLR inputs, two unbalanced instrument inputs, and two unbalanced monitor outs; a headphone jack, multi-function knob, LED meters, and Firewire port (for getting the audio to your computer) are located on the unit. Apogee is known for its rugged, low-noise, high-performance audio tools, and the Duet is likely no exception -- despite the fact that the need for an interface this small is certainly up for debate. Available in September for $495.[Thanks, Tyler M]
