Apple introduced some major changes to its in-car system CarPlay back in June of last year, introducing the light theme, updated album art, support for the Calendar app, and a new dashboard mode.
The global coronavirus pandemic is ongoing, which means some companies are still making changes and adjustments to help their customers adapt.
Apple Maps recently completed the rollout of its new design not too long ago, and it sounds like there may be more in the works.
Apple Maps and Google Maps are remarkably helpful tools for a variety of tasks, but especially when it comes to getting from one point to another. But some safety advocates say the big tech companies aren't doing enough to point out potentially dangerous sites like rail crossings.
iOS 13 has brought detailed street view imagery to Apple Maps thanks to the company's LiDAR-outfitted vehicles that have been roaming the streets of major cities in the US and around the world for years now, dutifully capturing high resolution street-level imagery.
I/O, Google's annual developers conference, kicked off today with a keynote talk and there are some notable announcements Apple fans should be aware of. We've summarized all the news in a bulleted fashion so check out what's new in the Google world, then meet us in comments.
Here's what was announced today at Google I/O 2019.
Android QThe next major iterations to Google's mobile operating system (Android is reaching version 10) is Android Q. It includes a system-wide dark theme along with some cool AI-driven features, such as suggested replies from the notifications and live captioning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL-8Xfx6S5o
With Android Q, Google is promising (stop me if you heard this) background security updates that won't require a restart and new privacy options that will hopefully limit what developers can do with your data. Android Q is getting its own Screen Time—they're calling it Focus Mode and it lets you limit distracting apps, like Instagram and Facebook—while new parental controls let parents limit apps their kids can access on a per-app basis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgXVd60f02o
A Smart Reply feature will offer up suggested actions, similar to how Siri suggestions work on iOS devices. Android Q, like iOS 13, will have a built-in system-wide dark mode option.
The Android Q beta for all Pixel phones is available today.
Cheaper PixelsThe Pixel smartphone brand now includes additional options covering the lower end of the market, with Pixel 3a and 3aXL offering features from the premium Pixel devices at lower price, starting at $399.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vc7LlUtQgNw
These phones have smart cameras the Pixels are known for and include the AI-powered Night Sight feature that boosts night shoots with a little help from machine learning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLtWyLVjDg0
Google's adaptive battery technology delivers up to 30 hours of run time on a single charge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HcEath46Ks
A new Home hubGoogle is renaming all of its smart home products under the Nest brand whilst unveiling a new screen and camera-outfitted hub, dubbed Nest Hub Max. You can play YouTube videos on it, watch movies and television shows, enjoy pictures or even use it as a digital photo frame. Like Apple TV, it acts as a remote hub for all your smart hopme products.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW9-8ih147A
The device doubles as a security camera that streams video to the cloud. Multi-user support is also part of the package, thanks to Google's Face Match technology.
Priced at $229, Nest Max Hub is arriving this summer.
Search goes augmented realityGoogle Search is getting support for augmented reality objects in search results. Similar to AR QuickView in macOS Mojave and iOS 12, people will be able to just click an object to enter augmented reality mode, which should be cool for certain shopping scenarios.
https://twitter.com/Google/status/1125810617774772224
As part of Google's newly-found privacy angle, Search is getting Incognito Mode like Google's Chrome browser. So, rather than use a privacy-browsing mode in your browser, you'll be able to enter Incognito Mode on Google Search for those times when you don't want your searches to be saved in your Google Account.
https://twitter.com/Google/status/1125811318597005312
Search will also index podcasts and let you play episodes inline. Lens, Google's impressive AI-powered visual search technology, can now calculate a tip by scanning a receipt, read aloud a menu and even highlight the most popular dishes.
TidbitsHere are some other notable announcements:
New domains for DuplexDuplex, Google's creepy human-sounding AI that can book a reservation for you, can now book a rental car from a supported service on your behalf, as well as reserve a movie ticket and even fill in web forms for you.
Incognito in MapsGoogle Maps is getting an Incognito mode akin to the Chrome browser which lets you research directions and get directions without sharing your data with Google.
https://twitter.com/Google/status/1125818881543634951
Another legitimately cool feature in Google Maps: an augmented reality walking mode, something we've suspected would come to Apple Maps, too.
https://twitter.com/googlemaps/status/1125829356834775040
A faster AssistantGoogle has done some plumbing work so now Assistant is 10x faster, responding to rapid fire requests with ease without needing to hear the Hey Google hot word multiple times. According to Goole, Assistant will be running directly on the new Pixel phones launching later this year.
https://twitter.com/Google/status/1125815241026166784
The algorithm has been perfected so Assistant is now smarter, and you'll get some new recommendations as well, such as podcasts and recipes. On top of that, Assistant will be picking up a new Driving Mode on Android this summer.
Assistant will be also coming to Waze soon, Google has said.
What's your favorite announcement from Google I/O 2019?
Let us know in the commenting section down below!
Despite its shaky startup, Apple's Maps app has quickly become a solid competitor with Google’s own mapping platform. But if there’s one way Apple could improve its Maps app, it would be making it easier to discern distance by adding a traditional map scale to the interface.
Fortunately, iOS developer Julio Verne was thinking along similar lines when he created a free jailbreak tweak called MPScale. Just as the name implies, MPScale adds a tiny scale indicator to the Maps app that can help users estimate distances.
Google announced today at the CES 2019 show that it has begun rolling out its popular voice-activated Assistant feature to the mobile Maps app for iOS and Android.
Dark Mode-centric jailbreak tweaks have become quite the hot commodity as of late, but many lack support for the different types of mapviews used in the bevy of map and navigation apps available for download in the App Store.
Enter Night Maps, a new jailbreak tweak by iOS developer FoxFortMobile that fills this particular niche. As shown above, Night Maps brings a universal Dark Mode experience to the mapview of almost any map or navigation app you might use on your iPhone or iPad.
Due to the high volume of dark mode-centric jailbreak tweaks that are launched in the Cydia Store, we seldom cover them here at iDB. But because I use the Google Maps app so much on my daily driver during my commute, a new release dubbed Dark Gmaps by iOS developer FoxfortMobile seemed like a no-brainer.
If you were expecting a barebones tweak that merely colorizes the Google Maps app to look more appealing at night, then we think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by Dark GMaps. After installation, the tweak adds a preference pane to the Settings app where you can experiment with a plethora of creeper comfort features:
Google yesterday announced that customers can now use its Maps app for mobile devices to easily pinpoint the locations of nearby electric vehicle (EV) charging stations on the map.
Despite how Apple Maps has matured over the years, Google Maps continues to be one of the most popular navigation solutions on the iOS platform. Google Maps is reliable, easy to use, and encompasses a bevy of conveniences that Apple Maps doesn’t; but one thing it lacks customization.
Here to fix that dilemma is a new free jailbreak tweak called GMEnhancer by iOS developer b01s. This tweak provides users with several ways to modify the stock look and feel of the Google Maps app on pwned iOS handsets.