Technology - Google News

Apple unveils new iPad Air and iPad mini - CNN
Simplify Your Life With the Best Minimal Apps for Your Phone - Gizmodo
[Update: Offer comes to UK] Spotify Premium for Family account holders can snag a free Google Home Mini starting November 1 - Android Police

Apple unveils new iPad Air and iPad mini - CNN

Posted: 18 Mar 2019 09:06 AM PDT

Typically Apple creates fanfare around the arrival of new hardware. But this year it wants the focus of its upcoming spring press event to be all about its rumored streaming service. That's why the company let the world know about its new iPads in a press release.

The iPad Air comes with a bigger 10.5-inch display (starting at $499), and the iPad mini has the same 7.9-inch screen (starting at $399). The devices support the Apple Pencil and a processor that's three times faster than the previous models.

The iPad mini will mostly serve as an entertainment device, likely to attract students and teenagers, while the lightweight iPad Air replaces the 10.5-inch iPad Pro in Apple's online store.

Apple was widely expected to tease the iPads ahead of its spring event on March 25. But the press release was a surprise.

"Apple wants to get the iPad out of the way so it can hold its first event truly focused on streaming," Lauren Guenveur, senior research analyst at IDC told CNN Business. "If Apple announced new Pads, it would turn into a hardware event, and that's not what it wants."

Tablet shipments have declined in the past few years, especially among devices that don't come with a keyboard. "Perhaps what's the point for having an event for a declining category?" Guenveur added.

Guenveur believes the new 10.5-inch iPad Air could struggle to find a place in the market considering the 11-inch iPad Pro is still a more powerful option that also supports the pencil. The iPad Mini, however, could push a decent amount of people to upgrade.

"There is certainly a market for the iPad Mini, especially among students and teens, but I don't know for how long the upgrade cycle for it will be,' Guenveur said. "I suspect it will do very well for one large upgrade cycle for the rest of the year and then slowly drop off."

Correction: An earlier version of this story detailed incorrectly what ships with the new iPads

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Simplify Your Life With the Best Minimal Apps for Your Phone - Gizmodo

Posted: 18 Mar 2019 07:38 AM PDT

Life is complicated enough without apps that are weighed down with features you don’t need. Make your smartphone an oasis of calmness, tranquility, and elegant design choices with our picks for the best minimalist apps of the moment—they stick primarily to the job they were made for, and are easy on the eyes.

Edison Mail (Android/iOS, free)

It’s hard to find a truly stripped-down, lightweight email client for mobile but Edison Mail keeps its interface neat and tidy even if there are a lot of features and functions under the hood—it can automatically pick out attachments and bills for example, and features an instant unsubscribe feature. For the purposes of this article though, it sports a clean, lightweight design, and keeps everything moving quickly, from syncing to searching.

Timepage (iOS, freemium)

Schedules and calendars aren’t the easiest data sources to show in a minimalist way, but Timepage from Moleskine manages to do it admirably. Your messy agenda is suddenly transformed into something much simpler to navigate, with a choice of views available (the Timeline is perhaps our favorite). A bunch of smart features are hidden behind the scenes as well, and the only downside is it’s not available on Android.

Google Tasks (Android/iOS, free)

Google Tasks is undoubtedly worth a place on this list of minimalist apps, but whether that’s by design or because Google just hasn’t got around to doing much with it yet isn’t really clear. Let’s hope the app stays as clutter-free and lightweight as it is at the moment, with basic functions for adding and tracking items on your to-do list and not much else. The apps for Android and iOS also sync with the Tasks panel inside Gmail on the web.

HQ Music (Android, freemium)

Not only does HQ Music stick to the absolute basics in terms of its interface design, it also offers interesting gesture controls for adjusting volume, skipping tracks, jumping to sections of a song, and so on (a pinch gesture changes the volume for example). There’s nothing fancy here, just quick access to all the tracks stored on your Android device, and the now playing widget is nicely minimalist as well. There’s no iOS version, unfortunately.

nPlayer Plus (iOS, $9)

It can be tempting for video apps to try and stuff as many features as possible into the interface, but although nPlayer Plus has a lot of options and tricks to try out, it never feels busy or confusing—the focus is on the content. The app supports a host of formats and services, and comes with playback speed control, playlist support, file management, gesture controls and more. If you’re on Android, try the freemium MX Player.

Signal (Android/iOS, free)

Some would call Signal basic and simplistic compared with rivals like Telegram, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp, but we’d call it refreshingly minimalist—it sticks to the essentials of messaging and calling, and what extra features it does have are well hidden away in the background. You get all the other benefits of Signal as well of course, including end-to-end encryption, the option of messages that disappear, file sharing, and so on.

Notion (Android/iOS, freemium)

Notion defies easy categorization, but it’s a sort of Evernote-esque all-in-one note-taking and task management tool (it runs on the web and desktop as well as mobile). As well as being intelligent and intuitive, the interface of the app is also clean and straightforward to use—your tasks and your notes are easy to arrange and view at a glance, and you should find yourself just a little less weighed down by everything you need to keep track of.

Overcast (iOS, freemium)

When it comes to podcast players, you’ve got plenty of options, but as far as minimalist aesthetics go, our favorite is Overcast. It’s got some really neat features, like variable playback speeds and a sleep timer, but whichever screen you’re on, everything feels well designed and elegantly laid out. You’re out of luck if you’re not on iOS, but the recently revamped Pocket Casts is worth checking out for $4 on Android and iOS.

Kiwi Browser (Android, free)

What do you want in a web browser for your smartphone? If it’s speed and simplicity then the minimalist Kiwi Browser fits the bill perfectly: It comes with all the basics you need to get around the web, but cuts down on the extra clutter to leave you with an app that’s refreshingly minimalist. It can automatically remove intrusive ads from pages as well. This is Android only, but Brave is also a good free choice and available on both Android and iOS.

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[Update: Offer comes to UK] Spotify Premium for Family account holders can snag a free Google Home Mini starting November 1 - Android Police

Posted: 18 Mar 2019 07:41 AM PDT

Spotify has announced a new promotion for members with family accounts. Starting tomorrow, November 1, the master account holder on any Spotify Premium for Family plan in the United States can get a Google Home Mini for the low low price of zero dollars.

The Google Home Mini's speaker isn't particularly robust, but you can have it play music from Spotify on a paired Bluetooth speaker or any cast-enabled device. And even if you don't have those things, it's hard to quibble with the sound quality of your free smart speaker. Spotify points out that its family plan is for up to six people, and Google Home can recognize up to six voices with Voice Match, providing access to everybody's account. A happy coincidence!

The deal is available to "New and existing Premium for Family plan master account holders" starting tomorrow and lasting through the end of the year. I can hear you wondering if you can sign up for a single month of service to get a Home Mini for $15 (you cheapskate), and I'm not sure; the announcement doesn't say much to that end. There's sure to be more information available at spotify.com/us/family/ once the promotion actually starts.

The deal is now live, complete with the full terms and conditions on who's eligible. See if that includes you, then go ahead and snag your Home Mini.

Spotify Family subscribers in the UK are now eligible too

Previously, UK Spotify users could only look on with envy as their US counterparts were able to claim a free Google Home Mini with the above promotion. The offer has now arrived this side of the pond, however, so if you're a current or prospective Premium for Family subscriber, you should follow this link and claim your free smart speaker without delay. There will be a limited number available and the offer ends May 2019.