Apps
12 lightweight versions of your favorite Android apps
Do you want to speed up your phone, free up storage space, and minimize data usage? These lightweight versions of popular apps will be able to help you accomplish those three.
These apps are generally intended for developing regions with slow internet connections and less powerful devices. They’re not as feature-rich as their full-featured counterparts, but sacrificing a few features will go a long way for Android phones with weaker specs.
Camera360 Lite

Camera360 Lite will still deliver your candy selfies with dozens of filters and presets. The best part is that it’s less than 4MB to download.
Facebook Lite

Stay connected with your friends on the world’s most popular social network even with a 2G connection. Instead of accessing the mobile site of Facebook on your phone’s browser, you can download Facebook Lite to get more features and instant notifications.
Files Go

Files Go is designed to work for any Android phone, but devices with low storage will benefit nicely from this app. Instead of relying on crapware for cleaning your phone, download this one made by Google.
Google Go

As Google embraces developing markets more with the introduction of Android Oreo (Go edition), a lightweight version of their search app is up on select countries. Enjoy the best of Google Search without sacrificing precious megabytes.
Line Lite

Line is pretty popular in Asia, and with the stripped-down version of their mobile messaging app, you can message your friends with a package that takes up only 1MB on your phone. Don’t worry, you can still send stickers, images, and emojis.
LinkedIn Lite

Keeping in touch with your professional connections online will be a lot easier with LinkedIn Lite. You can chat with your connections to get job referrals and career advice without a heavy app on your phone.
Messenger Lite

If you have Facebook Lite, you should have Messenger Lite to complement it. Like with Line, you can still do messaging basics with photos, stickers, and even voice calls for longer chitchats.
Opera Mini

Even before Android phones became affordable for the masses, Opera Mini was around on feature phones for loading mobile web pages quickly and neatly. Now that we all have smartphones, the app still doesn’t fail to deliver.
Shazam Lite

Quit guessing and typing the lyrics of what’s playing around you. Shazam already has a straightforward app which lets you record first offline and search when you go online.
Skype Lite

Video calling is pretty heavy on data and storage space, so if you worry about that, Skype’s own lightweight app can help you. You can even do group video calls for free. Some of its features are primarily for India, but everything else works well everywhere.
Twitter Lite

Twitter’s mobile website works wonderfully, but then again, having a dedicated app on your phone is better. If the main Twitter app is too much for your phone (or even for you), there’s the Lite version available for download.
YouTube Go

Here’s another Google-made lightweight app for the rollout of Android Oreo’s Go edition. YouTube Go is designed to be offline-first because it asks to download the video instead of streaming it instantly. You can re-watch the saved video after without spending your data allowance.
With Android Oreo (Go edition) already on its way to manufacturers, these lightweight apps list will soon have more names. Which app should be next?
SEE ALSO: 10 offline free-to-play mobile games on iOS and Android
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Apps
Apple Creator Studio: Creative apps bundled into single subscription
All the tools you need, one payment
Apple has officially streamlined its popular creative apps into one single subscription suite with the introduction of Apple Creator Studio.
The collection includes some of the most useful apps for today’s creators: Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage.
New AI features and premium content in Keynote, Pages, and Numbers also make the Apple Creator Studio an exciting subscription suite. Freeform will eventually be added to the lineup.
The groundbreaking collection is designed to put studio-grade power into the hands of everyone. It builds on the essential role Apple devices play in the lives of millions of creators worldwide.
The apps included cover video editing, music making, creative imaging, and visual productivity to give modern creators the features and capabilities they need.
Final Cut Pro introduces exceptional new video editing tools and intelligent features for Mac and iPad.
For the first time, Pixelmator Pro is also coming to iPad with a uniquely crafted experience optimized for touch and Apple Pencil.
Logic Pro, meanwhile, for Mac and iPad introduces more intelligent features like Synth Player and Chord ID.
Apple Creator Studio will be available on the App Store beginning January 29. In the Philippines, the rates are PhP 399 a month or PhP 3,990 annually.
There is also a free one-month trial which includes access to:
- Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Pixelmator Pro on Mac and iPad
- Motion, Compressor, and MainStage on Mac
- Intelligent features and premium content for Keynote, Pages, Numbers, and later Freeform for iPhone, iPad, and Mac
College students and educators can subscribe for a discounted price of PhP 149 per month or PhP 1,490 per year.
Apps
Apple gives up on making AI, inks a deal with Gemini to power Siri
Gemini gets another feather in its cap.
In the not-too-long-ago past, the biggest names of the tech industry competed to build their own AI software. Now, though some brands are still on the hunt, it’s easier to name certain software that have more successfully drowned users in a flood of AI-powered features. Today, Google gets another win by adding Apple’s Siri to its Gemini cap.
In the past, Apple peddled Apple Intelligence, an upcoming AI-powered system to compete against the giants of the industry. However, much like other features from other brands, Apple Intelligence came out half baked with features still lacking months after the initial launch.
Now, Apple has signed a deal with Google to use Gemini for a revamped Siri. The former plans to launch a new version of Siri later this year. Because of the deal, the voice assistant will start using Gemini as a foundation for its own services. Currently, Samsung’s Galaxy AI already uses Gemini.
Formerly a battleground between so many competing brands, it’s now looking like a battle between two major companies: Google and OpenAI. Google now has a huge grip, though. Both Samsung and Apple are no slouches when it comes to owning market share in the world’s smartphones.
Now, as consumers, Apple’s deal probably doesn’t mean much besides the continued influx of features that add little to no value to a smartphone.
SEE ALSO: Google paid Samsung a lot of money to install Gemini on Galaxy
Apps
Microsoft continues to shove Copilot where it’s not wanted
This time, it’s reportedly coming to File Explorer.
If you look at a modern keyboard, you’ll find that the Copilot button is the cleanest one on the entire panel because no one ever willingly presses it. And yet, Microsoft still believes in the feature’s value. To show their odd commitment, the company is reportedly adding Copilot to File Explorer.
According to @phantomofearth from X (via Windows Central), a new Windows 11 preview build will add a button beside File Explorer’s navigation menu. Currently, the button is invisible and doesn’t do anything. However, the report says that the feature is tied to something called “Chat with Copilot.” It’s becoming clear that the system aims to add the AI software right inside the file organization app.
Besides revealing the potential addition of the egregious feature inside File Explorer, @phantomofearth also added mock-ups of a desktop with Copilot right on the taskbar, hinting at a potential nightmare of the feature lording itself over where it’s not wanted.
Thankfully, the preview build doesn’t always represent a final version of the system. There’s still a chance that Microsoft will not add the AI to the File Explorer.
As of late, Microsoft has received a lot of flak for persistently pushing Copilot onto users, regardless of how they feel about the feature. The company is also facing criticisms in the background for being a major proponent of AI data centers in the United States, which, in turn, have caused the prices of tech to skyrocket this year.
SEE ALSO: Dell admits AI PCs were a mistake
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