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WhatsApp takes on Apple Pay Cash with peer-to-peer payments

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WhatsApp on iPhone
Don’t ignore the latest WhatsApp releases.
Photo: Rob LeFebvre/Cult of Mac

WhatsApp plans to take on Apple Pay Cash with a peer-to-peer payments system of its own.

Powered by UPI, the service is expected to rollout to users as early as next week following a beta test. It could launch with just three banking partners initially as WhatsApp races to compete with rival payments services.

Eccentric CEO bashes Apple to shill smartphones

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Chinese smartphone CEO who made his name dissing Apple declared a 'deadbeat'
Chinese smartphone CEO who made his name dissing Apple declared a 'deadbeat'
Photo: Handout/The South China Morning Post

Entrepreneur Luo Yonghao has a smartphone company in China that is losing money and has yet to capture even 1 percent of the market share.

So the CEO of Smartisan is making a lot of noise — including firing potshots at Apple — to raise his brand’s profile.

All the important stuff revealed at Google I/O

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Google I/O 2018 was full of AI surprises.
Google I/O 2018 was full of AI surprises.
Photo: Google

Google just took the wraps off its big software lineup for 2018. If Apple executives were watching, there’s a lot they should be worried about.

Artificial intelligence has always been one of Google’s strengths over Apple. But in 2018, the search company is going all out, putting AI in everything. Pretty much every app the company has is getting some new machine-learning tricks in the next few weeks that make certain iOS features look ancient.

Check out the biggest announcements from this morning’s Google I/O keynote.

Google smart displays will takeover homes in July

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Google smart displays
Google Assistant can bring show and tell with smart displays, like this one from Lenovo.
Photo: Lenovo

Smart speakers are about to get upstaged at home by an arguably smarter device – smart displays.

During its I/O developers conference Tuesday, Google announced smart displays with Google Assistant would hit store shelves in July, adding yet another screen to vie for our already fractured attention.

Live blog: Google I/O 2018 delivers the future of Android and more

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Sundar Pichai at Google IO
What does Google have in store for us this year?
Photo: Google

Google I/O 2018 kicks off in less than an hour.

There’s loads to look forward to this year, including an update on Android P, and previews of what’s to come for Chrome, the Google Assistant, Android Auto, and more. The recently-rebranded Wear OS may also get some much-needed attention.

Google is live-streaming its big keynote, which kicks off at 10 a.m. Pacific. If you can’t tune in, follow our live blog below to stay up to date with everything that’s happening in Mountain View.

5 big things to expect from Google I/O 2018

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Google IO 2018
Google I/O starts today!
Photo: Google

Google I/O 2018 is right around the corner. You may not be all that excited for it if you only ever use Apple devices, but you should be. Google’s plans for the future of its platforms could well shape the future of all smartphones, wearables, and more.

They will also tell us how Google intends to keep up with and fight Apple’s latest devices, including iPhone X, which is quite literally changing the face of Android-powered devices.

Here are five big things we’re expecting from this year’s Google I/O keynote, which kicks off on Tuesday, May 8.

New Opera Touch browser designed for one-handed use

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Opera Touch
Maciej Kocemba, Opera Touch product manager, demonstrates how easily this mobile browser does a search.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Opera Touch web browser tries to solve one problem: people want to use their phone one-handed, but searching the Web takes both hands. The whole focus of this just released app is one-handed searching and browsing.

Also announced today was Opera Flow, a simple method for synchronizing the new mobile browser with this company’s desktop one.

Google’s got a new challenge for Apple Music

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YouTube Music
Google Play Music is reportedly merging with YouTube Music.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

In the streaming music battle, the competition is between Spotify and Apple Music. Google Play Music is barely a blip, with 4 percent of the U.S. market.

But the situation is more complex than that. Google’s YouTube video service actually dominates streaming music, though it isn’t supposed to be in that business at all.

According to unconfirmed reports, Google plan is to merge its music service with another, and also turn millions of free YouTube listeners into paying customers.

Google ‘borrows’ from iPhone X for Android P design

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iPhone X Notch
How's battery life on your iPhone with iOS 11.4?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

New screenshots reveal Google took inspiration from iPhone X when designing its upcoming Android P update.

The operating system’s refreshed user interface features a multitasking interface that looks like it was pulled straight from iOS — as well as a familiar virtual Home button.

Apple Music videos make the leap to Android

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Music Video
Apple Music -- now with added music videos.
Photo: Apple

Apple has rolled out its new music video-oriented Apple Music app update for Android.

Now available to download in the Google Play store, the Apple Music 2.4.2 update boasts the same “music video experience” recently added with iOS 11.3. That means that users can access a plethora of exclusive music video playlists curated by Apple.

Apple rivals still pushing for fingerprint-scanning displays

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Touch ID
Apple may have ditched Touch ID under glass, but Android makers haven't.
Photo: Apple

Apple is reportedly two years ahead of its Android rivals when it comes to the technology behind Face ID, and that’s left the competition scrabbling around trying to find an alternative.

The solution they’re exploring? Fingerprint sensors embedded in smartphone displays, a.k.a. the biometric security system that Apple was reportedly investigating before it turned its attentions to face recognition.

Carriers are already discounting Samsung’s Galaxy S9

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Galaxy S9
The Galaxy S9 is one of the year's top handsets.
Photo: Samsung

The iPhone X is far from the only flagship handset to have reportedly suffered disappointing sales. Samsung’s Galaxy S9 may also be proving to be something of a disappointment, according to multiple reports.

One piece of evidence suggesting that this is the case? The fact that Verizon is already offering a buy one, get one free offer on Galaxy S9 handsets, while AT&T is giving customers a reduction of $595 off the price of handsets. That’s not something that’s typically offered for brand new iPhones!

iOS nips at Android’s heels in user loyalty

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iPhone Loyalty
Apple fanboys get a bad name, but Android users are less likely to switch.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Americans are far less likely to switch between an iPhone and an Android smartphone than they once were. A new study shows that virtually all users of both types have little interest in moving to the other team.

Loyalty to Android is just slightly stronger than it is to iOS. Nevertheless, more people are switching away from Google’s operating system than they are Apple’s.

Apple Music update fixes streaming issues on Android

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music streaming
The latest release also includes Chromecast support.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Apple Music subscribers who use Android devices can now enjoy stable streaming. Apple’s latest update fixes the frustrating playback issues some users were facing on certain devices. It also adds the ability to listen to music videos in the background.

Essential chief takes leave of absence over ‘inappropriate’ relationship

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Andy Rubin
Andy Rubin allegedly dated a colleague at Google.
Photo: Google

Essential founder Andy Rubin has stepped away from the company following claims he had an “inappropriate relationship” with a colleague while at Google.

Rubin’s leave of absence comes just three months after Essential launched its first smartphone. A statement from his representative denies any wrongdoing.

Animal Crossing enjoys crazy first week on mobile

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Nintendo introduces 2 paid subscriptions for Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
Nintendo introduces 2 paid subscriptions for Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
Photo: Nintendo

Animal Crossing made the leap to mobile last week, and it’s proving to be another smash hit for Nintendo.

Pocket Camp attracted 15 million downloads across Android and iOS during its first six days of availability, according to the latest estimates. That’s more than double the number of downloads achieved by Fire Emblem Heroes over the same time.

Affordable Android beats iPhone X in new speed test

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iPhone X
iPhone X wasn't the first, but it certainly boosted the trend.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple’s new A11 Bionic makes iPhone X blazing fast. It’s faster than its biggest rivals, despite fewer processing cores and slower clock speeds. But there’s a new Android that narrowly beats Apple’s latest in a real-world speed test.

And believe it or not, that Android costs half as much as iPhone X.