DirecTV has extended its popular free Apple TV 4K promotion with three months of prepaid DirecTV Now service. Plans start at $ 35 per month, making the 32GB Apple TV 4K with service as low as $ 105.
AppleInsider – Frontpage News
Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android TV apps and games that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the last few months or so. Due to how large this list is, it has been broken up into two pages. The first page lists only ATV apps, and the second page is made up entirely of ATV games.
39 new and notable Android TV apps and games from the last 8 months (7/12/18 – 3/31/18) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
Android Police – Android news, reviews, apps, games, phones, tablets
Back in October last year, in the wake of multiple Pixel 2/2 XL issues, Google extended the manufacturer warranty for both flagships from one to two years. But the length of the Preferred Care program remained unchanged (one year), effectively making the extended coverage useless. That’s, however, changing now. The Preferred Care coverage for both Pixel 2 and 2XL has been extended by 6 months. This means now users have a total of 30 months of accidental damage coverage, effective when the device is purchased. Those already using the Pixel 2 series have started receiving…
GSMArena.com – Latest articles
Last year’s Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are some exceptional smartphones, but they didn’t land without causing a few controversies. A number of early criticisms centered around the displays these two phones were using, complaining about possible burn-in, under-saturated colors, and an annoying blue tint. While none of these problems were so severe as to sink the fortunes of either model, Google still had to acknowledge that customers were upset, and we saw it reach out to do so by extending the manufacturer warranties of both phones from one year to two.
Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL Preferred Care coverage extends to 30 months (6 months longer) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
Android Police – Android news, reviews, apps, games, phones, tablets
When Apple released iOS 11 last year, it highlighted ARKit as one of its core new features. With ARKit, Apple was going to bring augmented reality to the mainstream by allowing developers to integrate it into their apps and games. Since then, data from Sensor Tower shows that ARKit apps have been downloaded over 13 million times by iPhone and iPad owners. Continue reading 
Fresh statistics from market research firm Sensor Tower suggest uptake of Apple’s ARKit is on a steady upward trajectory, with more than 13 million augmented reality apps downloaded since the framework launched last September.
AppleInsider – Frontpage News
Founder and CEO Ben Rubin explains the livestreaming company’s extreme makeover on Recode Media.
Three years ago, the mobile livestreaming app Meerkat was the app of South By Southwest in Austin, Texas. But this year at SXSW, Meerkat’s founder Ben Rubin was happy just hanging out.
On the latest episode of Recode Media with Peter Kafka, Rubin reflected on why, just months after SXSW 2015, he pivoted the Meerkat team away from livestreaming into a different product, HouseParty. For starters, the splashy debut was not as carefully orchestrated as it may have seemed at the time.
“Two weeks before the conference, people were already streaming and talking about ‘Meerkat at South By,’” Rubin said. “But it was just me, a chubby guy with a yellow t-shirt that didn’t even know he was going to South By four days before that.”
The mobile broadcasting model — later mimicked by Facebook Live, Facebook-owned Instagram and Twitter-owned Periscope, among others — wasn’t good for making “meaningful connections,” Rubin noted.
“The amount of people who can make meaningful live content on a daily basis is very, very few,” he said.
Although Meerkat attracted millions of users, the company noticed that they would broadcast once or twice and then peace out — so, Meerkat became HouseParty, which lets multiple friends video chat with each other simultaneously (think FaceTime, but for groups). Rubin characterized that decision as a “pivot from courage,” rather than a “pivot from fear.”
“The pivots from fear always come too late, and three months before you run out of money,” he said. “A pivot from courage is the one where everybody’s shaking in the chairs in the board meeting. Everyone was afraid because I was this crazy guy who’d just raised $ 12 million.”
You can listen to Recode Media on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast or wherever you listen to podcasts.
On the new podcast, Rubin said the thing he cares most about HouseParty creating is a sense of “presence” among the app’s users — a technological fascimilie of hanging out in the same room with other people, including not-close friends. Half of the app’s users are under the age of 24.
“Everybody has two or three friends who they can FaceTime at any minute, out of the blue,” he said. “But there’s another 20 people who, ‘It’s gonna be weird if Peter FaceTimes me out of the blue, why should I answer this?’ With HouseParty, it’s actually okay to say ‘I’m around’ and for your friends to opt in, and their friends can join in.”
“That’s one of the beautiful things about the internet, the ability to have connections that you otherwise would not have,” Rubin added. “Everything became flattened into a two-dimensional feed. A real dialogue between people is bringing back empathy that I think we’ve been missing.”
If you like this show, you should also sample our other podcasts:
If you like what we’re doing, please write a review on Apple Podcasts — and if you don’t, just tweet-strafe Peter. Tune in next Thursday for another episode of Recode Media!
Beau HD revisits the Google Pixel 2 XL and shares what he likes and dislikes about the device.
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Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is offering six free months of Apple Music with select cars that have standard CarPlay support.
Thinking of investing in a new automobile sometime soon? Good news: if you purchase a CarPlay-enabled vehicle from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), you may also be eligible to receive six months of Apple Music completely free of charge.
Starting on May 1, 2018, those in the U.S. who purchase a new Chrysler, Dodge, FIAT, Jeep, or Ram vehicle with CarPlay support will also be offered a free six-month subscription to Apple’s music streaming service, which usually costs $ 9.99 per month for an individual plan or $ 14.99 per month for a family plan. That means you’d be saving approximately $ 60 — definitely nothing to sneeze at. Especially because with a subscription, you’ll be able to access a catalog of 45 million songs — with super high-quality BeatsAudio sound, no less.
The deal is also available (with slightly different terms) in Europe. There, customers who purchase a new Volkswagen with standard CarPlay support will receive the free six months of Apple Music.
In addition to experiencing everything Apple Music has to offer, you’ll get all the cool features of CarPlay, including calling, podcast streaming, messaging, customized directions that can help you avoid getting stuck in traffic, and more.
This promotion lasts almost a full year and will end on April 30, 2019, so if you’re planning on participating, make sure to do it within that window. Also note that unfortunately, if you’re already an Apple Music subscriber, you won’t get as much of a reward for buying that new vehicle — you’ll only get three free months out of the deal instead. Still not bad, though!
Are you thinking about taking advantage of FCA’s Apple Music promotion? Let us know in the comments below!
If you’re thinking of buying a new vehicle that supports Apple’s CarPlay, Fiat Chrysler and Volkswagen are ready to sweeten the deal. In the U.S., select Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, and Ram cars with CarPlay will come with six months of free Apple Music; in Europe, certain new Volkswagens with CarPlay will offer the same six-month deal, so long as customers register with VW’s Car-Net connectivity service.
Apple offers pretty much anyone a free three-month trial of its unlimited audio streaming service Apple Music, but once that trial ends, you generally can’t get an equivalent or longer second trial. With six months of service, the Fiat Chrysler/Volkswagen deal is the longest free Apple Music service offer out there, and a great perk for CarPlay users looking for a better-than-radio alternative. U.S. and European customers will have access to the full 45 million song Apple Music catalog, plus standard CarPlay features.
There are a few caveats. First, the deal is available for a year, starting on May 1, 2018 and ending on April 30, 2019. Second, the free service being offered is an individual membership, rather than the more expensive family plan. That means the value of the six-month trial is around $ 60, not $ 90, and only one person can listen to Apple Music at a time.
Third, existing Apple Music subscribers will get only three free months of service from the deal instead of six free months. The U.S. press release notes that the six-month trial is for “new Apple Music subscribers,” while the European press release explains that the “six-month membership consists of three free-of-charge trial months and three additional months provided to customers free of charge.” In other words, if you’ve previously signed up for Apple Music or received a three-month trial, expect only three extra months of service, not a six-month extension.
