Duolingo isn't just about helping people learn languages anymore. The company has released Duolingo Math on iOS, over a year after it first teased the app. Naturally, Duolingo Math shares a lot of DNA with the language apps, including colorful animations and interactive exercises in bite-sized, gamified lessons.
There are two main components to the app: an elementary-level math curriculum that goes over classroom topics and a brain-training course aimed at adults, with more advanced topics and a focus on improving mental math skills. The former covers topics such as multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, areas, geometry and measurements. The brain-training side has similar topics with tougher exercises. Duolingo hopes to help folks learn practical skills, such as converting between ounces and pounds.
Duolingo conducted a survey into math anxiety. It found that 93 percent of adults in the US have experienced some anxiety over math, while around half of high schoolers have "very high math anxiety." With its latest app, it aims to make math "accessible and fun" for everyone.
While this is far from the only math learning app around, Duolingo's name carries some weight with many folks. Like Khan Academy, Duolingo Math is free. The app is available on iPhone, iPad and some iPod Touch devices and it's only in English for now. The company hasn't revealed when it will be available on Android.
Gaming creators and streamers will already be familiar with Rode. The company’s microphones and podcastingproducts make good options for those plugging into OBS, YouTube, Twitch and anywhere else you might “go live.” But as of today, there’s a whole new sub brand specifically catering to their needs: Rode X.
The first three products under the new mark include two microphones and a comprehensive desktop app for stream routing and mixing. The mics will look eerily familiar to fans of Rode products, but the company assures us they have been “redesigned internally for optimal performance for streaming and gaming.”
The new mics are the XDM-100 ($249) and XCM-50 ($150). The clue to the difference between them is in the name - D for dynamic, C for condenser (you can read about the difference here). The XDM-100, at least physically, looks like Rode’s Podcaster with a dash of red at the top. The XCM-50 is a condenser microphone that appears to be built on the same platform as the NT-USB Mini and features a distinct red button on the front.
James Trew / Engadget
Both microphones are USB only (no XLR), which means you won’t need an audio interface to use them, and they have built-in headphone ports for latency-free monitoring. Which of the two might interest you most will depend on both your preferences and the room where you stream from.
The XCM-50 has a bright sound that will work well for those in acoustically treated, or “softer” rooms. When tested side by side with its NT-USB Mini doppelganger, they do sound incredibly close, but to my ears the XCM-50 is a tiny bit brighter sounding. The NT-USB Mini sounds a shade “closer” by comparison.
The XDM-100 has a more classic “dynamic” microphone sound. While perhaps not quite as well rounded as something like the Shure SM7B or even Rode’s own Podmic, it feels cleaner than the Podcaster that it shares its physical appearance with. If you want a good USB dynamic option, this feels like a competitive choice for the price. Especially once coupled with the new Unify software.
The one thing that a lot of gamers and streamers really need isn’t so much a microphone – there are many options for that – it’s a reliable tool to route all the sounds in your stream, usually some mix of game sounds, chat, music and effects. With Unify, you have a simple software solution that is similar to the routing matrices you find with the GoXLR, the BEACN Mix Create or Elgato’s Wave Link.
Rode
Unify creates a couple of virtual audio interfaces on your PC and you can then control which app uses what, and where that sound goes. For example, you probably want your intro music to go out on the stream, but maybe you don’t want it in your headphones? Or maybe you want your audience to hear a YouTube video you’re playing, but not the music you’re streaming. With Unify, you can pipe most things to most places, and then change the levels, or “mix” for each destination also.
Rode has added the ability to record all your audio directly within the app, too. This makes it appealing to more than just streamers. For example, you could use it to record both sides of a Zoom call and be able to feed audio into that call that would otherwise be tricky. The fact that Unify has sound pads for intros and effects means it also works quite well as a software “Rodecaster Pro.”
Unify looks most similar to Wave Link but offers much more fine-grained control. The app isn’t quite as simple as BEACN’s, which lets you access each mix matrix at all times and has a slightly clearer UI. BEACN also benefits from the hardware mixer, too, but there’s no option to record within that app or trigger sound effects.
Where Unify differs from most of its rivals is that you don’t have to buy the company’s hardware to use it. If you just wanted the software features you can pay $5 a month or $45 a year for the app alone. This means you can easily use it with any microphone you have, you’re not beholden to using a Rode (unlike, Wave Link that requires an Elgato mic). If you do buy a Rode X mic, then the software is free. Sadly, if you already own a Rode USB mic, it won’t unlock the software, you'll be paying like everybody else.
With the first betas of iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2 and macOS Ventura 13.1 rolling out earlier today, Apple is letting developers try its Freeform app for the first time (via MacRumors). Announced at WWDC this past June, Freeform is a whiteboard-style collaboration app with integrations across the company’s ecosystem.
The software provides a “flexible canvas” where multiple participants can add text, photos, sketches and PDFs, as well as other content, to a shared space. Like Google Docs and many other collaboration apps, Freeform allows groups to edit their work together in real time. You can invite someone to a Freeform session over FaceTime, with Messages tracking any changes in a corresponding group thread.
Given its inclusion in the latest iOS, iPadOS and macOS betas, Freeform is likely to officially arrive alongside those updates later this year. The new versions of those operating systems don’t have a release date yet.
Google is on the hook for another nine-figure fine after India’s antitrust agency said the company abused the dominant position of the Play Store. The regulator told Google to pay 9.36 billion rupees ($113.5 million) and to allow Play Store developers to use third-party payment systems for app and in-app purchases.
After a lengthy investigation, the Competition Commission of India said Google's requirement for Play Store developers to use its billing system “constitutes an imposition of unfair condition,” as TechCrunchreports. The regulator found that Google didn't use the billing system for its own apps, which it said constituted an “imposition of discriminatory conditions.”
The agency has ordered Google to open up the Play Store to third-party payments within three months. It said Google can't impose any anti-steering provisions on app developers and mustn't hinder them from promoting apps and services to users. Likewise, the company can't restrict users from accessing developers' services and features.
The Competition Commission also stated that Google must be fully transparent with Play Store developers and that it can't impose any condition on them "which is unfair, unreasonable, discriminatory or disproportionate to the services provided to the app developers." Furthermore, Google will need to have a clear and transparent data collection policy, and it will not be allowed to use "competitively relevant transaction/consumer data of apps generated and acquired" through the Google Play Billing System to its competitive advantage.
The regulator has determined that Google has a dominant position in the spheres of licensable smartphone operating systems, app stores, web searching, video hosting platforms and "non-OS specific" mobile web browsers. Last week, the Competition Commission fined the company $161.9 million after finding that Google abused Android's dominance. It said smartphone makers shouldn't have to preinstall Google's apps and that the company shouldn't withhold Play Services APIs and monetary and other incentives from other parties.
Google reportedly has a 97 percent smartphone market share in India, while Google Play is one of the most popular payments services. India is the company's largest market in terms of user numbers. Google told TechCrunch that its legal team was reviewing the most recent ruling.
It's a major Apple update day, as the company is rolling out new versions of its iPhone, iPad and Mac operating systems. While iPhone users at large have already had a taste of iOS 16, this will be the first time that most folks will get their hands on iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura.
Apple delayed the release of iPadOS 16 amid reports suggesting it needed more time to polish up the Stage Manager multitasking feature (which we felt was unrefined in an early iPadOS 16 beta). In fact, Apple said it was skipping a public release of iPadOS 16 and going straight to version 16.1 — just in time for the company's latest iPad Pro and entry-level iPad shipping this week.
The latest version of the iPad operating system will include many of the same updates as iOS 16, including significant changes to Mail, Safari, Messages and other key apps. There are more collaboration-centric features, while the Weather app is finally coming to iPad.
As for iOS 16.1, that offers shared photo libraries through iCloud and a clean energy charging function, which optimizes iPhone charging times depending on when the power grid is using greener energy sources. Apple Fitness+ is now available on iPhone without the need for an Apple Watch. Also new are an improved battery life icon, Live Activities and per-app copy-and-paste permissions, which should mitigate iOS 16's irritating paste prompts.
Evaluating the new iPad Pro is a simpler task than the basic iPad that Apple announced alongside it last week. That iPad has been completely redesigned. But the 2022 iPad Pro is a minor iteration of the model released in early 2021, which was powered by the M1 chip. Now, with M2 Macs out in the wild, Apple decided its best tablet needed one, too.
That new chip is by far the most notable change here. Otherwise, the design, screen, cameras, storage options, accessories and price are all the same. That’s not a big problem, though, because the iPad Pro was already an outstanding device — and the Liquid Retina XDR display Apple introduced on last year’s 12.9-inch model is still a simply outstanding screen. There are a couple new tricks here, like the Apple Pencil “hover” feature and the ability to shoot video in Apple’s ProRes codec, but by and large this iPad Pro isn’t angled at people who bought that M1 model. Instead, it’s just a case of Apple flexing its muscles by making the most powerful, spare-no-expense tablet that it can.
In the short time that I’ve been testing the latest 12.9-inch iPad Pro, I can say that it’s far more responsive than my personal 11-inch iPad Pro from 2020 as well as the new iPad I’ve also been testing. Those other devices aren’t slow by any stretch of the imagination, but the M2-powered iPad Pro responds to everything almost instantaneously. Of course, the same can be said about the M1 iPad Pro, especially given my modest workflow.
Nathan Ingraham / Engadget
In a demo last week, Apple showed how the new iPad Pro can chew through apps like the forthcoming DaVinci Resolve and Octane X. The former is an intense video application that combines things like professional-level color correction, color grading, visual effects and much more, while Octane X is meant for 3D rendering. Both apps are pretty far outside things I’d use, but in the demo it was pretty easy to see how responsive the new iPad Pro was scrubbing through and editing frames from an 8K video or applying different effects.
One thing I can tell is that the new Stage Manager multitasking feature in iPadOS 16 is working much better on this new iPad Pro than it did in my testing on last year’s model using various beta releases over the last four months or so. Again, my needs are modest, but I never had any app crashes or moments where the interface just shut down and threw me back to the Home Screen. In a sign of Apple’s confidence, Stage Manager was even enabled out of the box, whereas it was turned off by default when iPadOS 16 was in beta.
Conceptually, I’m still struggling a bit with how Stage Manager decides what apps (or groups of apps) show up on the left-side switcher, and I feel like the experience of using it on any iPad smaller than the 12.9-inch Pro is not going to be much better than just using two apps in Split View, but it does seem a lot more stable now. I don’t know if that’s thanks to software optimizations, the more powerful hardware or some mix of both, but it’s a welcome change.
If you’re an Apple Pencil aficionado, the M2 enables a pretty cool new feature called Hover. As the name suggests, the iPad Pro can detect when the Pencil is within 12mm of the screen, and elements will start to react. For example, if you hold the Pencil over the apps in your dock or on the homescreen, the one that the Pencil is over will zoom in slightly to show you what you’re targeting. It’s similar to what happens when you use the trackpad to move the pointer over apps. It’s not the most essential trick, but it’s a good example of what Hover can do. But this is just a trick that doesn’t really change the iPad experience; developers will need to build Hover functions into their apps for it to be really useful.
Nathan Ingraham / Engadget
That said, I was able to see a few potential use cases for it. In the Notes app, there’s a new watercolor brush, and when you hover the Pencil over the screen you’ll get a little preview of the color you’ve selected. And when you select a new color, you can hover the Pencil over your existing sketch to see how the watercolor interacts with it before actually drawing. In a demo of the illustration and animation app Procreate, hovering the Pencil over a project brings the animation to life or shows a 3D view of your creation. It’s one of those features that is clever but doesn’t have an essential use case yet, but I’m definitely curious to see how developers implement it.
Otherwise, most of what we said about the iPad Pro in 2021 still applies here. Performance is outstanding, the screen is one of the nicest that we’ve seen on any device, the Pencil and Magic Keyboard are great but expensive add-ons, but iPadOS 16 still feels like it occasionally holds back the hardware here. Over the next few days, I’m going to do more detailed performance testing to see how the M2 compares to the M1, though we already have a good idea of how that’ll play out thanks to how M2-powered Macs stack up to older models. Even after a few days, I’m pretty sure that people who own the M1 iPad Pro don’t need to worry about upgrading. If you really push your iPad Pro to the limit, and it’s a few years old, these new models should offer a pretty significant upgrade.
At the tail end of last year, a curious new entry into the ebike market emerged: Urtopia. The company’s mission seemed pretty clear, to make the most feature-rich, connected bike the world has ever seen. And with a built-in 4G SIM, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, a fingerprint reader and mmWave sensors for collision detection, it was likely accomplished. Except, the model we tested was a prototype leaving us unable to evaluate some of the more interesting features. Until now.
The retail version of the bike is almost identical to the pre-production version we tested at the end of last year bar a few minor cosmetic details. The D-pad on the left handle has been slightly redesigned and the fingerprint reader on the right is also now a button. The only other visible change is the dot-matrix display, which is now flat and easier to read.
Perhaps one of the main features we couldn’t test wasn’t available at all – the app. With so much going on in the bike, it’s more important to have a companion tool on your phone to confirm settings and to extract more use out of some of the sensors (ride tracking, for example).
James Trew / Engadget
All I’ll say is, the bike might be the final hardware, but the software side of things started out a little... less complete. But in the space of a few weeks, the app has been redesigned and there have been a couple of firmware updates for the bike itself and the experience feels much less like a work in progress.
But first a little reminder. The Urtopia bike is a fixed-gear (Gates carbon belt), single hub-motor ebike with three levels of speed assistance (20MPH in the US, 15MPH in Europe). The 30lbs/15Kg city bike offers approximately 60 miles of assistance out of the 360Wh battery. That’s a fairly common spec for an ebike, but one look at the Urtopia will tell you this isn’t really a normal bike.
Last time around I was able to test Urtopia’s cred as a general road bike, and despite a slightly stiff ride (there’s no suspension) it performed well, with smooth pickup from the torque-based motor. The voice control for changing speed, locking the bike and more was also fun but perhaps not the smoothest experience (and even if it were, I’m not sure we’re collectively ready to be speaking to our bikes in public yet).
The first thing I wanted to try here was the 4G connectivity. Utopia isn’t unique in having a cellular connection (newer VanMoofs, for example, also offer connectivity), but the 4G here is behind a few interesting features. For once, you’ll (theoretically) get a log of your ride in the app every single time you go out. I say theoretically as it often didn’t work for me. Then sometimes it did. I couldn’t quite pin down what caused it to work sometimes and not others, but I suspect it’s to do with whether you leave the bike in standby while at home, or if you power it down (thus fully resetting the sensors).
After one of the firmware updates this feature became more reliable. Which is good, because it was frustrating to put in double-digit miles only to come home and find your ride wasn’t logged. Right now, there’s not a lot you can do with the data other than see where you went and how fast in a slick animation. It, of course, logs all your miles and… as I went to check the app for what other data it records there was an app update (duration, calories, average speed and even CO2 saved is the answer). Right now, you can only share the rides with the in-app “community” but the option to share to services like Strava would be a real positive.
James Trew / Engadget
In a similar way, the app can also tell you exactly where your bike is at any time, as long as the battery is connected and has enough power to ping the network. It will stop working once the battery totally dies, of course, but if someone steals your ride, you should have plenty of time to ping it and locate it before they realize it’s the world’s most connected bike and what a fool’s errand stealing it was.
Another security feature is the fingerprint sensor. This was physically present on the prototype, but without the app, there was no way to set it up. It works surprisingly well and allows you to turn the bike on or to disable the alarm quickly. You can still ride the bike without assistance without unlocking the bike with your finger, but it’s effectively a cumbersome fixie at this point. Unless you turn the alarm on, then it’ll start sounding an alert at the slightest, and I mean slightest movement which can only be disabled with a registered digit.
One of the more intriguing additions to the Urtopia’s spec sheet are the mmWave sensors. These are designed to detect vehicles approaching from behind on either side. If something is detected, you’ll be alerted through a visual signal and vibrating handlebars. In practice, it’s a little hard to test without deliberately endangering yourself, but it does seem to work. Although, I am not sure whether, if faced with a truck coming up behind, you might be more distracted by the alerts than the traffic itself. That’s to say, this is clearly a valuable feature, but the outcome of it is hard to quantify at this time.
James Trew / Engadget
Something much easier to evaluate is the onboard navigation. Or rather, the ability to punch a destination into the app, and then have visual and audio turn instructions via the speaker and display on the handlebars. There are, of course, other ways to do this - either with a phone in a mount or maybe just in your pocket with audio instructions via headphones. But having it here right in the handlebars feels a lot more futuristic and means you don’t have to expose your phone to the elements/thieves.
The dot-matrix screen does have a bit of a retro vibe to it, and makes it feel a bit more like KITT (especially when it speaks to you). For the navigation, this works well enough as the arrows/directions are shown clearly enough that you can glance at them without being distracted.
Urtopia calls this screen and speaker combo the “smart bar” and it has other plans for it beyond serving up data and other visual feedback. One example is using the bike’s speaker as a Bluetooth speaker for music. This may have accidentally been my idea. I suggested it to them the first time we tested it, and now it’s part of the app. It’s kinda fun, though I have never felt quite so self conscious as I did riding through a busy park with phonecall-quality Drum & Bass playing from my bike. Podcasts might be a bit more its speed, but happy to see the feature here nonetheless.
James Trew / Engadget
There is… more. Another addition that was conceived after our initial testing is “game” mode. It’s not quite what you’re likely imagining. Or at least, what I was imagining. I assumed it might be some sort of virtual race where you have to “catch” up with a ghost rider like in a Mario Kart time trial. Or maybe some sort of way of making training/intervals fun? But no, it’s actually a game of Snake you can play on the display using the control buttons which, to be fair, are basically a D-pad. Obviously, not to be played while moving.
Perhaps the biggest chance since we last looked at the bike is the price. Now that the crowd-funding campaign is complete and the bikes are made and ready to ship, the $2,000 early-bird price has given way to the regular $2,799 retail price. That puts it in a similar category to something like the Cowboy C4 which has fewer high-tech features, but does have the important theft detection and locating capabilities.
All to say that, the Urtopia definitely has a lot of tech appeal, but it still feels like the software and features are settling into themselves. If they can continue to make that side of the experience as comfortable and as exciting as it is to ride, this will be a solid choice for those that want a capital-E e-bike.
The next time you want to download an app on your iPhone, prepare to see more ads. Starting on October 25th, Apple will begin rolling out two additional ad categories to the App Store, according to an email seen by MacRumors. In all countries outside China, the company plans to begin selling ad space within the “Today” tab and at the bottom of individual app listings. Once they arrive, the ads will feature an icon with a blue background to distinguish them from other recommendations.
While Apple has sold search ads through the App Store since 2016, the Today tab was previously reserved for recommendations from the company’s editorial team. “With a Today tab ad, your app can appear prominently on the front page of the App Store — making it some of the first content users see when they begin their App Store visit,” the company states on a support page.
Apple first announced it was bringing ads to the Today tab in July. The expansion is part of a broader push by the company to expand its advertising business. According to a recent report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the company hopes to nearly triple its advertising revenue to $10 billion annually over the next few years. In addition to more App Store ads, the company reportedly plans to introduce search ads to Maps in the near future.
One of the Pixel 7 family's signature software features is available to try if you're willing to live on the bleeding edge. Android Policereports Google has shared a third beta for Android 13's first Quarterly Platform Release (QPR1) that adds Clear Calling for the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro. Enable it in the sound settings and AI will eliminate background noise on the other end of cellular calls while boosting voices. You might not have to ask someone to repeat themselves when traffic sounds drown them out.
Google notes that Clear Calling availability depends on your cellular and WiFi connections, and that the company doesn't collect any call content. The beta also adds a toggle for voice calls over 5G and a few cosmetic interface tweaks.
You'll have to wait considerably longer if you'd rather not beta-test a patch. The completed QPR1 release isn't expected until December. You'll have something to look forward to then whether or not you're a tester, though. 9to5Googlenoticed that the Pixel 7's free lifetime Google One VPN will be available that same month, so you'll have an easy way to secure your mobile internet access.
There's no mention of if or when Clear Calling will come to non-Google devices. Google sometimes makes Pixel-first features available elsewhere after a delay, but others tend to remain exclusive. You may have to sit on the sidelines if you use a third-party Android device.
Apple isn't just updating iPad and Mac software next week. The company has revealed that Fitness+ will come to the iPhone on October 24th in tandem with required software updates, including iOS 16.1. You'll need the handset to sign up, but it will also be accessible through the iPad and Apple TV. You also won't need an Apple TV to put vital stats on the big screen — Roku players with AirPlay will display metrics as of November.
You'll have access to the full range of workouts and meditations through the relevant tab in the Fitness app. The main limitation, as you might guess, is accuracy. Where Apple Watch owners can rely on constant heart rate monitoring to determine their calorie burn, iPhone users have to trust estimates. You may still want Apple's smartwatch if you insist on personalized performance data. The wristwear is also useful if you want to listen to Time to Walk or Time to Run workouts without bringing your iPhone.
There are added incentives to give the service a try, too. You now get three free months of Fitness+ if you buy an iPhone, iPad or Apple TV, not just an Apple Watch as before.
iOS 16.1 will include a number of changes beyond Fitness+ support. You can expect an improved battery life icon, Live Activities like sports scores, iCloud Shared Photo Library, per-app copy-and-paste permissions and clean energy charging. Simply speaking, many of Apple's OS update promises will become reality in a matter of days, regardless of which device you're using.
