Technology - Google News

Apple wants iPhones to detect car crashes, auto-dial 911 - Fox Business
Microsoft launches Loop, an Office app for helping workers stay on top of projects - CNBC
Get the updated Apple AirPods Pro at Black Friday 2021 prices on Amazon now - USA TODAY

Apple wants iPhones to detect car crashes, auto-dial 911 - Fox Business

Posted: 01 Nov 2021 05:01 PM PDT

Zane Tankel CEO of Apple-Metro joins 'Varney and Co' the staff shortages restaurants face amid supply chain crisis.

Beginning next year, iPhone users who are in a car accident could have their phone dial 911 automatically.

Apple Inc. plans next year to roll out a product feature called "crash detection" for iPhones and Apple Watches, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and people familiar with the feature.

Crash detection uses data from sensors built into Apple devices including the accelerometer to detect car accidents as they occur, for instance by measuring a sudden spike in gravity, or "g," forces on impact.

The feature would mark the latest move by Apple and its competitors to use motion-sensor technology to build safety functions into their devices. Apple introduced a fall-detection feature in its smartwatch several years ago that senses when wearers have taken a hard fall and dials 911 if they don't respond to a notification asking if they are OK. The company this year added a feature to the newest version of its iPhone operating system that assesses the walking steadiness of users.

Photo credit: Apple / iStock (Apple Inc./iStock / iStock)

The timing of the new feature could change, or Apple could choose not to release it, people familiar with the company's development process said.

MICROSOFT UNSEATS APPLE AS MOST VALUABLE COMPANY

An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.

Apple has been testing the crash-detection feature in the past year by collecting data shared anonymously from iPhone and Apple Watch users, the documents show. Apple products have already detected more than 10 million suspected vehicle impacts, of which more than 50,000 included a call to 911.

Apple has been using the 911 call data to improve the accuracy of its crash-detection algorithm, since an emergency call associated with a suspected impact gives Apple more confidence that it is indeed a car crash, according to the documents.

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 10: Apple CEO Tim Cook delivers the keynote address during a special event on September 10, 2019 in the Steve Jobs Theater on Apple's Cupertino, California campus. Apple unveiled several new products including an iPh

The documents don't specify how Apple users are sharing information with the company so it can test its new crash-detection algorithm.

Apple wouldn't be the first company to roll out a crash-detection feature for its smartphones. Google added such a feature to its Pixel smartphone in 2019. A number of apps on Apple's App Store also offer automatic car crash detection, which they say is possible through AI and location tracking.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE STORIES ON FOX BUSINESS

General Motors Co.'s OnStar subsidiary has offered "automatic crash response" since 1996 in vehicles equipped with OnStar. That service responds to more than 6,000 crash notifications a month, according to a GM spokeswoman. OnStar recently introduced a subscription smartphone app that can be used in any vehicle and provides a service called "mobile crash response."

The Apple logo is seen at an Apple Store, as Apple's new 5G iPhone 12 went on sale in Brooklyn, New York, U.S. October 23, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo (Reuters Photos)

Apple wants to offer more health and safety features with its devices, the Journal has reported. These include a blood-pressure measure and thermometer in the Apple Watch, algorithms to detect depression and cognitive decline in the iPhone, as well as posture monitoring and a thermometer in AirPods.

Adblock test (Why?)

Microsoft launches Loop, an Office app for helping workers stay on top of projects - CNBC

Posted: 02 Nov 2021 08:00 AM PDT

In this article

MSFT

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks at the company's annual shareholder meeting on Nov. 30, 2016, in Bellevue, Washington.

Stephen Brashear | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Microsoft said at its online-only Ignite conference on Tuesday that it will release a new Office application called Loop that people can use to collaborate on projects.

The effort shows Microsoft is attempting to provide more value to Office subscribers, which will start paying higher prices next year. That should boost financial results for the world's most highly valued public company.

Microsoft's Office subscription bundles already come with Word and Excel, where people can be co-authors on text documents and spreadsheets. And the SharePoint tool gives workers online hubs for accessing relevant files. Loop promises a modern alternative, which is important because Microsoft's core productivity software increasingly faces pressure from well-funded start-ups such as Airtable, Coda and Notion, which aren't weighed down by proprietary file formats.

Emerging productivity software from those companies can handle content creation, but they're lacking in communication, said Jared Spataro, a Microsoft corporate vice president. Workers can share Loop elements in Teams text conversations. Users can quickly discuss Loop projects by kicking off voice or video calls in Teams, which has grown to more than 250 million monthly active users following the onset of Covid-19, he said.

"Essentially what we're doing with Loop is we're blowing up the document," he said.

The combination of communication and creation is more well suited to hybrid work configurations, where not everyone is located in the same physical space, Spataro said. That's important now that the pandemic has pushed many organizations to adopt remote work at a greater scale. Cisco's Webex, Salesforce's Slack and Zoom have all developed enhancements to better accommodate hybrid work.

Microsoft's Loop shows where people's cursors are located as they view and contribute to pages.

Microsoft

Loop contains three elements:

Components. Multiple people can simultaneously read and contribute to these miniature documents. Drawing on the Fluid Framework technology that Microsoft first talked about in 2019, Loop components can appear in multiple Microsoft applications. They're coming first to OneNote, Outlook and Teams, starting this month. Components stay up to date across different applications, so people don't have to worry about sharing the latest version of a file.

Microsoft has developed ready-to-use Loop components for voting on ideas and tracking the status of projects, and the company said a Loop component could also be as robust as a customer record drawn from the Dynamics 365 cloud service for tracking sales opportunities. Third-party developers will be able to build Loop components, too.

Pages. These are full-on documents in which people can type text, enter reactions and find related Loop components, links and documents. The user interface shows other users' cursors to give a sense of what people are doing in the document right at a given moment, similar to the redesigned Whiteboard digital brainstorming app in Office.

Workspaces. These are areas where people can check progress on shared initiatives and enter reactions, as a casual hub for project management. People can reach multiple pages from a workspace.

Even though Loop promotes the presentation of information across various programs, Microsoft will provide a dedicated Loop application where people can quickly get to Loop content. The idea for the app came from Microsoft employees who were using Loop components internally and realized it was hard to locate and organize them, Spataro said.

Microsoft will begin a preview of Loop's application, workspaces and documents in the first half of next year, Spataro said.

WATCH: Jim Cramer on why Microsoft had 'the best quarter of the year'

Adblock test (Why?)

Get the updated Apple AirPods Pro at Black Friday 2021 prices on Amazon now - USA TODAY

Posted: 01 Nov 2021 12:37 PM PDT

— Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed's editors. Purchases you make through our links may earn us a commission.

Of the many discounts available for Black Friday 2021, deals on tech are some of the most coveted—and Apple's AirPods Pro earbuds are at the top of many shoppers' lists. If you've been considering getting the new upgraded model but were leery of paying full price, Amazon has a deal right now you don't want to miss.

Tackle your holiday shopping with deals and expert advice delivered straight to your phone. Sign up for text message alerts from the deal-hunting team at Reviewed.

Amazon is selling the latest model of the AirPods Pro—which have generally retailed between $200 and $230 for previous models—with wireless charging case for $189.99. This new version of the buds adds MagSafe, which means you can hold the earbuds near a MagSafe charger and they will snap firmly into place and start charging.

In our testing, the previous model of the AirPods Pro earned a place on our list of the best wireless headphones, as well as our ranking of the best headphones overall, for their great battery life, incredible noise cancellation and comfortable fit for most ears. The Pros connected to devices easily and the silicon ear tips that come with purchases come in multiple sizes to match your preferred fit. The AirPod Pros also have Active Noise Cancelation, which registers environmental noise around you and automatically dampens it, making them an excellent companion for both traveling and working from home.

If you're looking for a holiday gift that'll truly wow your loved ones, the Apple AirPods Pro are hard to beat. But be sure to shop soon, as these beloved buds may sell out fast.

Don't get thwarted by shipping delays or sold-out favorites this holiday season. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter to get shopping tips, deals, product reviews, gift guides and more.

The product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered. Follow Reviewed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok or Flipboard for the latest deals, product reviews and more.

Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.

Adblock test (Why?)