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Huawei OS could fight Android (and Windows) next year

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Huawei P20 Pro
It’s just a backup plan for now.
Photo: Huawei

Huawei is developing its own operating system that will power its smartphones and other devices if it cannot rely on Android.

Richard Yu, head of the company’s consumer division, has now confirmed the software could be ready in early 2020. Android and Windows remain its top preference for now, however.

Apple reportedly tried to buy Tesla for way over the odds

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Tesla
This Model 3 could have carried an Apple logo one day.
Photo: Tesla

Apple tried to buy Tesla for more than it is currently worth back in 2013, according to one analyst.

The iPhone-maker is said to have made a bid at around $240 a share. Tesla CEO Elon Musk had already tried to offload his company to Google when its future wasn’t looking so bright.

Google, Qualcomm and others cease partnerships with Huawei

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Huawei P20 Pro
It’s just a backup plan for now.
Photo: Huawei

Google has suspended its business with Huawei and revoked its Android license following a U.S. crackdown on Chinese technology companies.

It’s a massive blow for the world’s third-biggest smartphone-maker — and it’s not the only one it received this weekend. Intel, Qualcomm, and other chip manufacturers have also halted their partnerships with the company.

Google ad blasts iPhones for being more expensive than Pixel 3a

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Apple could be a $2 trillion company by end of 2021
Google thinks iPhones are too expensive.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Banner ads showcasing Google’s new Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL handsets pit them against Apple’s iPhone X series devices.

The banner ads, which are appearing on a number of billboards around the U.S., contrast the $999 price of the iPhone XS to the significantly cheaper $399 for the Pixel 3a.

Google CEO takes a shot at tech giants which sell privacy as a ‘luxury’ product

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Google
You guys, we think he was talking about Apple! (Maybe.)
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Google and Apple’s feud has cooled a lot in recent years. But like a married couple who are staying together until the kids are at college, neither company is beyond throwing a bit of undercover shade at the other.

Tim Cook has previously taken issue with tech giants which gobble up user data. Now Google CEO Sundar Pichai has taken to the New York Times to blast unnamed tech giants which sell privacy as a “luxury good.”

Google remains cautious about making a folding Pixel

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The Huawei Mate X folding phone
Google has probably prototyped a Pixel similar to the upcoming Huawei Mate X.
Photo: Huawei

Add Google’s name to the list of companies investigating flexible-screen phones. The head of development for the Pixel line says his team is at the prototype stage.

Apple is also experimenting with this tech, while companies like Samsung and Huawei are moving ahead with production models. Or at least they are trying to.

Google’s wireless phone service adds Visual Voicemail for iOS

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Google Fi 1
Have you tried Google Fi yet?
Photo: Google

Google brought its wireless phone service, Google Fi, to iPhone late last year. Now it’s given it an update — bringing Visual Voicemail to the iOS app for the first time.

That means that you can get information on the caller, call date, call length and preview of the transcribed message inside the app. This interface easily allows you to expand the preview to read the full message or hear the audio.

Google enabling auto-delete of search and location history

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Setting your Google account to automatically delete old information about you will soon be possible.
Setting your Google account to automatically delete old information about you will soon be possible.
Photo: Google/Cult of Mac

Everyone who uses Google services, whether on iPhone or Android, will soon be able to have some of the data being collected about them automatically erased after a span of time.

It’s already possible to order Google to erase everything it stores about your search history, but this new feature will allow for on-going deletion.

Google’s fitness app makes the long jump to iPhone

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Google Fit has activity rings similar to an Apple Watch.
Google Fit has activity rings similar to an Apple Watch.
Photo:

Google’s rival to Apple Health just made the hop across platforms. Google Fit can now be installed on an iPhone, making it easier to participate in challenges with Android users.

Even better, the software can connect with the Health app to pull data from an Apple Watch.

Spotify’s fight against increased rates is good for Apple Music

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Apple Music
The #CancelSpotify movement is a win for Apple.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Spotify’s efforts to avoid paying higher rates is giving Apple Music a big advantage, according to a new report.

Apple is the only major music streaming company that isn’t appealing a decision to increase the rate paid to songwriters. As a result, Apple Music is getting all the love on social media.

Google AI expert jumps ship for Apple

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Siri
Siri needs all the help it can get.
Photo: Apple

One of Google’s top AI experts has left the company to join Apple’s special projects group.

Ian Goodfellow, who created an AI approach called general adversarial networks (GANs), was hired by Apple as a director of machine learning, adding another prominent Google AI expert to its growing team.

Microsoft puts a stop to April Fools’ Day pranks

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MS-DOS mobile
A previous Microsoft prank resurrected MS-DOS on mobile.
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft has banned employees from participating in April Fools’ Day pranks.

The stunts “have limited positive impact and can actually result in unwanted news cycles,” an internal memo explains. This comes just days after Microsoft resurrected Clippy, the famous Office assistant, only to remove it a day later.

Users can’t sign into Gmail in Mail after latest macOS update

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Gmail error macOS
Are you seeing this message in macOS 10.14.4?
Photo: Wesley de Souza

Some macOS users are unable to sign into Gmail inside the Mail app after installing Apple’s most recent update.

The version 10.14.4 release, rolled out on Monday, puts many in an endless sign-in loop when trying to sync their Google accounts. The problem affects new accounts, as well as existing accounts that were already set up in Mail before the update arrived.

Google’s cloud gaming service doesn’t overlook Mac, iPhone and iPad

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Google’s Stadia will run on MacBooks and iPads, not just Android devices.
Google’s Stadia will run on macOS and iOS, not just Android devices.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Stadia will run top-tier games on Google servers and stream the video to users’ computers. This means that any device that can run the Chrome browser will have access to some of the best titles available. 

iOS and macOS devices will be able to take advantage of Stadia. Chrome OS, Windows, and the Chromecast dongle will be supported as well.

Google Inbox will be wiped out next month

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Google Inbox iPhone
We don't need two Gmail clients anymore.
Photo: Google

It’s nearly the end of the road for Google Inbox.

A new popup that has started appearing inside the Inbox app confirms it will be closed down on April 2. Fans of the email client have just two weeks to find an alternative, but Google recommends another of its own.

Translate text on the fly with Gboard keyboard for iOS

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Google Gboard
Google’s Gboard iOS keyboard app can translate everything you type.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Gboard has gone beyond helping you enter text. It can now be used to translate your words into a myriad of other languages on the fly.

This free add-on from Google can be used in any application where an on-screen keyboard is available.

Google Chrome now supports Nintendo Switch controllers

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The Nintendo Switch's flexible Joy-Con controllers work just fine with a Mac (but not an iPhone).
Nintendo’s newest console was by far the hottest product.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Google Chrome now supports official Nintendo Switch controllers.

The console’s included Joy-Cons and optional Pro Controller are compatible. The surprise update comes just days before Google is expected to unveil a brand new game streaming service at GDC 2019.

Secret Apple data spilled through public Box links

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Store your Pages and GarageBand files anywhere, not just in iCloud Drive.
Are you exposing sensitive data in the cloud?
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Apple is one of a larger number of big companies that has been inadvertently leaking sensitive data through Box, the cloud storage service.

Security researchers found that staff were exposing data by sharing public links to files and documents that can be easily discovered. It’s thought more than 90 companies, including Box itself, are affected.

All the ways Apple locks us into iPhone [Opinion]

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iPhone survey
I wanted a Galaxy S10, but I'm stuck with iPhone.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

It’s not easy to give up your iPhone. Even if you’ve already decided you want to switch to another handset, it’s going to be incredibly difficult to let go. Apple has you locked in. And for some iPhone owners, there is no way out.

That’s because it’s not just your iPhone that you’d be saying goodbye to. Many other apps and services you use every day — some without even thinking about it — make switching to another platform nearly impossible.

Here are all the ways Apple makes it hard to jump ship and switch to Android.

Apple Music sides with artists in battle for higher royalty payouts

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Apple Music
Apple decided not to fight the ruling to pay songwriters more.
Photo: Apple

Every major music streaming service is joining together to appeal a controversial ruling that increases payouts to songwriters. Everyone except Apple Music that is.

Spotify, Google, Pandora and Amazon have teamed up to fight the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board’s decision to increase payouts to songwriters by 44%. Apple is the only major streamer not planning to fight the ruling, causing some artists to heap praise on the iPhone-maker for its stance.

Google’s Project Zero discovers ‘high severity’ flaw in macOS kernel

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macOS High Sierra
Apple is said to be working on a fix.
Photo: Apple

Google’s Project Zero team has discovered a “high severity” flaw in the macOS kernel.

The issue, which potentially allows attackers to perform malicious actions on a mounted filesystem, was reported to Apple more than 90 days ago. No fix has been made available yet, but Apple has acknowledged the issue and is working with Project Zero on a patch.