Google might be working on its own Android phone
Most of the big smartphone launches of the year are over, and the ones left to watch out for are the next iPhone and Google’s Nexus devices. While rumour-land is has seen a lot of speculation about the Nexus phones this year being made by HTC, a recent report in The Telegraph suggests Google may also be building its own device without an external hardware partner, in a bid to address the fragmentation of Android that has developed as a result of manufacturers toying with the software and not providing reasonable updates to their devices. This news follows other rumours that mentioned Google may take direct control over smartphones with a high-end ‘Pixel’ phone (such as the Chromebook Pixel and Pixel C tablet) to rival the iPhone. However, Google has extended no confirmation on this front, so this might well be more wishful thinking.
Facebook debuts Slideshow feature
iPhone users who upload a lot of photos to Facebook might soon find themselves presented with an option to convert them into a slideshow. The new feature from Facebook will include transitions and background music to the pictures, and can be auto-generated and edited later. The company has been struggling to get users to upload more personal data, and the slideshow feature is seen as a step in this direction. When the feature will be made available for Android devices is uncertain.
Apple may launch three phones this year
After staying away from hardware announcements and focusing on macOS Sierra and upgrades to Siri for WWDC, Apple is now said to be working on launching three phones this coming September, with a Pro version joining the iPhone 7 and Plus variants. This year’s update might also be an incremental one, with reports of Apple going for a major overhaul for next year’s iPhone (which would mark the 10th anniversary of the device) also doing the rounds. The 2017 iPhone may tinker with an edge-to-edge display and a fingerprint sensor built onto it.
BitTorrent launches music streaming app, and it’s legal
The torrent downloading client made by BitTorrent has been a tool used for many downloads of questionable legality, and the company has been making efforts to launch other services over the years. The latest is BitTorrent Now, a music streaming service available on web and Android (iOS support is said to be in the pipeline). The service lets users stream music and videos, and seeks to set itself apart from services like Spotify and SoundCloud with a focus on independent and underground music over mainstream titles.
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