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Software

Apple will virtually host its Worldwide Developers Conference from June 22, 2020

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This is the 31st year of Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) and this year, even with restrictions due to the pandemic, Apple estimates that this will be their biggest conference yet, virtually bringing together approximately 23 million developers across the globe. The WWDC20 will begin in June 22, 2020, and it’s going to be hosted for a week on the Apple Developer Website and in the Apple Developer app – and it’s free of cost for all developers.

Developers around the globe and at Apple indulge in creating breakthroughs by conjuring apps in the iOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS and the iPadOS. Apple have also announced a ‘Swift Student Challenge” which is a fantastic platform for student developers to flaunt their skills and talent in coding by creating their own Swift playground – which is an app on the iPad and Mac that has interactive and fun tutorials on the Swift programming language.

“We can’t wait to see this next generation of innovative thinkers turn their ideas into a reality through the Swift Student Challenge”, says Craig Federighi, Apple’s Senior VP of Software Engineering.

Student developers who wish to participate can do so by submitting their entries to the Swift Student Challenge until 11:59 p.m. PDT on May 17, 2020. Participants are expected to ‘’create an interactive scene in a Swift playground that can be experienced within three minutes’’. For more information on this challenge, check this link. 

As the large community of developers around the globe will have an unprecedented access to the future of the five Apple platforms, they will also be able to learn from Apple engineers.

“We can’t wait to meet online in June with the global developer community and share with them all of the new tools we’ve been working on to help them create even more incredible apps and services. We look forward to sharing more details about WWDC20 with everyone as we get closer to this exciting event”, says Phil Schiller, Apple’s Senior VP of Worldwide Marketing.

We hope developers and students from India make the most of the free-to-attend virtual WWDC20 as things may seem uncertain at this point of time and lockdowns are constantly extended. More information on the WWDC20 like the speakers, lab schedules and more will be shared in June on the Apple Developer App and the Apple Developer Website.

Maximise the potential of Galaxy Buds with new software update

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Users can connect their buds to their PC, get connected to Spotify with a single touch and do more, thanks to a software update released by Samsung. Features that were available for the Galaxy Buds+ are now also available on the Buds. These features definitely open up a wider range of possibilities and allow the Galaxy Buds to be used extensively.

With the new software update, Galaxy Buds users can now connect them to their PC through the Microsoft Swift Pair feature. As it’s pretty evident, this feature enables the Galaxy Buds to be connected to a PC running on Windows 10 only (version 1803 or above).

Users are now able to be aware of their surroundings with the ‘Ambient Sound’ feature which was released with the software update. Ambient Sound specifics can be pre-set through the downloadable Galaxy Wearable application. Thus, with this feature on and fine-tuned according to one’s preferences, users can choose to let in the sounds around them, which also keeps them more aware of the world around them.

Through a simplified ‘Tap & Hold’ gesture integrated with Spotify on the Galaxy Buds – which was also a part of the software update – users can launch Spotify and start where they left off. Tap and hold one more time and Spotify will suggest playlist for users.

The Galaxy Buds can now be utilised up to their utmost potential thanks to Samsung’s latest software update. Do check out the Galaxy Buds and the Galaxy Buds+ pages for more information.

Tech giants Apple and Google are joining forces to combat COVID-19

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Apple and Google have decided to put their rivalry and differences aside for the next few months, and are teaming up to create and embed a feature on Android and Apple devices to inform users if they had been in close contact with infected individuals. Once created and finalised, the technology giants are planning to deploy this feature in to the operating systems of iPhones and Android devices around the world.

We all know the specifics of how dangerous and contagious the disease is, and that it can be transmitted through close proximity to those affected. With buildings, societies and colonies being sealed off in Mumbai, Delhi and other places around the world – public health authorities have identified that ‘’contact tracing” is an important tool to possibly curb the spread of COVID-19.

Thus, applying this principle to the core of designing the new tool and feature, Apple and Google plan to enable smartphones to constantly log other devices they come near. This has been labelled as ‘Privacy-safe contact tracing using Bluetooth Low Energy’. Both giants will release application programming interfaces (APIs) in May that aid public health authorities navigate both, Android and iOS devices. These official apps will be available for users to download through the app stores.

Briefly, through the tool, people who are infected with the coronavirus would notify the public health app with their test results. The public health app then would send notifications and/or alerts to phones that had recently come into proximity with that person’s device – without revealing the identity of the infected person. The following slides provided by Apple and Google’s press release help understanding this better.

Even though the fact that these two giants are joining forces to help slow down the pandemic is great news, on the downside, privacy issues are an ongoing concern and it also raises questions as to the amount of unprecedented access Apple and Google will have to individuals’ lives.

However, in their press release, Apple and Google have stated that this new tool wouldn’t collect personally identifiable information or user location data. To enable this feature on their phones, explicit users consent is required. Also, people who test positive are not identified to other users, whether they’re using Google or Apple smartphones and the data will only be used for contact tracing by public health authorities to curb the pandemic.

Google CEO, Sundar Pichai tweeted that the contact tracing approach is “designed with strong controls and protections for user privacy.” Apple CEO, Tim Cook tweeted that contact tracing “can be done without compromising user privacy.” And that this new feature “respects transparency and consent.”

You can find more information on the technical specifications and other related items to this feature here.

Record high quality audio on your phone with the free Dolby On app

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Gone are the days of investing Ina professional-grade setup to create video, songs, photos and more. Taking advantage of the fact that we can literally do everything from the palm of our hands through our smartphones, the new Dolby On – a new recording and streaming app –  allows creators to record high-quality audio along with video too, if desired. With the power of amplifying the audio to what it really sounds like, this app can be downloaded on smartphones to help creators all over to start making content and share their talent with the world.

The new Dolby On app is available in India for free and can be downloaded on the Apple App Store and the Android Google Play Store. This intuitive app with a one-tap recording feature analyses the recorded sound and automatically applies the optimal EQ, compression, stereo widening and more. Through its noise reduction feature, the app sweeps away the noise and the users are left with a superior Dolby’s sound quality.

Impressively, it also has a ‘noise meter’ which helps users to keep their sound levels on check. If in the ‘red zone’ then users know that they need to reduce their volume or keep the phone farther away. Creators can also further edit their sound through unique sonic filters – which are like the photo filters on Instagram but for sound – where each sonic filter would bring a different dynamic to the users recorded audio. Apple users can also directly link the Dolby On app to Twitch and Facebook, and users can also do a live stream through the app and share on these platforms, given that they have good internet speeds.

Dolby On is compatible with external phone mics, thus the sound can be crisper and Dolby On’s powerful processing can also be harnessed. The Dolby On app is available now, and you can download it on Android (here) and on Apple App Store (here).

Fittr rewards you for a healthy lifestyle

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Squats, an online fitness company has introduced the Fittr app that acts as a personal online trainer. It works as a health guide that personalises by automatically creating workout and diet plans along with multiple healthy food recipes and BMR analysis to help you to achieve your fitness goals. The app also helps to clarify all your health and fitness queries on your smartphone

To motivate a healthy living lifestyle Fittr has also introduced the concept of Fitshop and Fitcoin that rewards users for their activeness.

Users can take part in fitness challenges, answer other user’s queries and referrals to earn rewards like JBL headphones, iPods, iPhones and KTM Duke.

Fittr app