Apps

Google Maps will now be more colorful and rich in detail

It’ll be a lot more accurate

Published

on

Google Maps is undoubtedly the most widely used navigation tool on smartphones as well as smart cars. The mapping solution has developed a reputation for accurate navigation and traffic updates. Now, Google is further improving the experience by incorporating more colors.

You must’ve noticed that Google Maps cannot retain a lot of geographic information unless you’re using the satellite view. While streets, highways, and buildings are perfectly marked, the surface details are scarce. Google is improving this by adding more color, also known as geographic details.

From now on, Google Maps will switch to a default view that includes visual improvements. Google says this will bring more details and granularity to the maps, making it easier to understand what an area looks like.

Dark green will represent a forest while light green shows a patch of shrubs and bushes. Similarly, different shades will be used to describe snow, ice, desert, dry land, and more. If you’re looking for a beach, just look for a portion of land sandwiched between the sea and forest.

While the update may sound minor, it practically isn’t. With the added colors, Google is trying to port a satellite-like view to a modern map that can find a perfect balance between natural vegetation and man-made structures.

In the next few months, detailed street maps of London, New York, and San Francisco shall be released. Elements like sidewalks, crosswalks, and even pedestrian islands shall be clearly visible.

“These details are particularly helpful as more people are opting to walk or take other forms of solo transportation due to the pandemic.” Sunjoy Banerjee, product manager of Google Maps, said in a blog post.

Apps

You can now connect your Spotify account to ChatGPT

Seamless integration for personalized picks, more

Published

on

Spotify is now available on ChatGPT, with users in 145 countries already able access the live feature. This gives listeners a new way to discover and enjoy music and podcasts.

With the integration,  both Free and Premium users can bring Spotify into their ChatGPT chats to get personalized recommendations. That goes from playlists that match your mood to podcasts based on your interests.

To get started, simply mention Spotify in your ChatGPT prompt, connect your account, and start discovering.

From there, simply ask for songs, artists, playlists, or podcast episodes. ChatGPT will automatically bring up the Spotify app in your chat and use relevant context to accomplish the task.

Alternatively, ask for recommendations based on a mood, theme, or topic, and Spotify will surface personalized picks seamlessly within the flow of your conversation.

Tapping a track will open the Spotify app, allowing you to listen and watch directly from there.

Furthermore, you can also extend an existing ChatGPT conversation, like planning a weekend road trip, by asking Spotify to create the perfect soundtrack.

For best results, add details like genre, mood, or artist for music, or a topic, host, or guest for podcasts.

Save steps

The way it all looks, the integration saves mobile users a few taps and switching from one app to the other. That’s if they’ve initially opened the ChatGPT app and decided to listen to music or podcasts via Spotify.

And like the aforementioned example, it saves users thinking about a curated playlist.

Or, when people are driving, they can just talk to ChatGPT for specific commands. It’s about the Spotify account access. You can start connecting by opting in; and you can disconnect at any time.

Throughout the experience, artists and creators’ work stays protected. Spotify will not share music, podcasts, or any other audio or video content for OpenAI training purposes.

The feature is now live for all ChatGPT Free, Plus, and Pro users on web and mobile.

It’s in early days, and both parties will continue to build, refine, and improve the experience over the coming weeks and months.

It’s intriguing if Gemini will come up with its own version for the music streaming app’s Google counterpart, YouTube Music.

Continue Reading

Apps

Strava is suing Garmin over alleged patent infringements

They want Garmin to stop selling its watches.

Published

on

It’s always awkward when two of your close friends start to fight. For the fitness-minded, Strava and Garmin are what you might call close friends. And yes, they just got into a fight. In an odd change of heart, Strava is suing Garmin for alleged patent infringement.

The fitness segment in tech has one of the most tight-knit collections of companies. Despite how many of them there are, it’s highly likely that one will work with the other. Strava, for example, works well with Garmin’s smartwatches. The two giants were formerly adamant about working together.

Now, the situation has mysteriously changed. Strava is suing Garmin over patent infringements involving the latter’s segments and heatmaps features. The case also alleges that Garmin violated a Master Cooperation Agreement when the company developed its own heatmap technology.

For compensation, Strava is asking the courts to stop Garmin from selling any of its smartwatches which include the infringing features. That’s pretty concerning when most of Garmin’s devices have those features.

According to an official post on Reddit, the proverbial straw the broke the camel’s back is Garmin’s new policies. Partnered software must now include Garmin’s logo in activity posts. Otherwise, Garmin will reportedly revoke access to its API.

Curiously, as some commenters pointed out, Strava has done the same thing in the past. And, according to DC Rainmaker, who first spotted the case, Garmin doesn’t, in fact, require the logo.

It’s still up in the air whether the litigation will result into anything substantial. However, speculation says that Strava might eventually drop the case since Garmin can definitely retaliate.

SEE ALSO: Strava is getting AI, dark mode, and night heatmaps

Continue Reading

Apps

Adobe Premiere now available for free on iPhone

Powerful, fast, and easy video editing for content creators on the go

Published

on

In a major development, Adobe has announced that Adobe Premiere is now  available for free on Apple iPhone devices.

Optimized into a powerful new app built natively for iOS, Adobe Premiere for iPhone empowers creators to make pro-quality video on the go for free. Upgrades are available for additional generative credits and storage.

The Adobe Premiere mobile app makes it fast and intuitive for creators to edit videos with precision edits, crystal clear voiceovers, and AI effects.

They can likewise access millions of free multimedia assets and send work directly to Premiere desktop for further fine tuning on a larger display if needed.

Naturally, the mobile app is tailor-made for shortform content creation for YouTube (and Shorts), TikTok, Instagram, and more apps.

Meanwhile, streamers can select their best live moments for posting online. Podcasters can likewise clean up dialogue and add studio-quality sound effects on the go.

Among the Adobe Premiere mobile app’s powerful editing capabilities are:

  • 4K HDR editing
  • frame-accurate editing
  • bold, animated captions
  • smooth speed and motion effects
  • background removal
  • AI audio tools for studio-quality sound, including Enhance Speech and Generative Sound Effects
  • free creative assets
  • one-tap exports to every major social platform

What about Android?

Android device user? Don’t worry. Premiere on Android is currently in development.

Continue Reading

Trending