TikTok adds new screen time controls to remind users to take breaks

TikTok is rolling out more screen time controls to help users manage how much time they are spending in the app. With the change, the company is adding a new in-app dashboard that will more closely track how long people are spending in the app.The dash…

Twitter’s latest shopping feature alerts you to limited product drops

Twitter is introducing another shopping feature as it slowly tries to ramp up its in-app commerce features. The company’s latest experiment is product drops, which allows users to get notifications ahead of in-demand product launches.The company says …

Apple Maps adds multi-stop navigation routes in iOS 16

During the WWDC 2022 developers conference on Monday, Apple executives announced that that its Maps app will be receiving a number of feature updates, including one long sought after by users: the ability to add multiple stops to a route. 

Users will be able to preload up to fifteen stops for a trip on their Mac, then send the route to their iPhone. Further stops can be added on, either tactilely through the phone app or using CarPlay voice commands if you’re already behind the wheel. 

The company is also expanding Maps to nearly a dozen more countries — France, Switzerland, New Zealand, Belgium, Israel, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Palestinian Territories, Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands — out from the 10 nations already covered. On the development side, the new version of Maps will make the process of integrating Maps’ high resolution imagery with other apps, like Zillow.

Follow all of the news from WWDC right here!

The Google TV app is finally available on iOS

After launching in 2020, the Google TV app is now available to download on iOS. If you already have the company’s previous Google Play Movies and TV software installed on your phone, this app will replace it. As with its Android counterpart, the Google…

Twitter will shut down the TweetDeck for Mac app on July 1st

TweetDeck will soon no longer be available as a standalone Mac app. Twitter will shut down that version of its client for power users on July 1st. “We’re saying goodbye to TweetDeck for the Mac app to focus on making TweetDeck even better and testing our new Preview,” a tweet from the TweetDeck team reads. “July 1 is the last day it’ll be available.”

Killing off the standalone app means Mac users may soon need to have the client open in a separate browser or juggle another tab if they want to keep using TweetDeck. As 9to5Mac notes, however, there are other options. You can turn web apps into native Mac apps using services such as Unite for macOS or Coherence X. Alternatively, you can switch to another app like Tweeten, which is based on TweetDeck.

There have been rumblings that Twitter plans to make TweetDeck a paid feature as part of Twitter Blue to prompt more people to sign up. Twitter’s prospective new owner Elon Musk has ambitious revenue goals for the subscription service, so moving TweetDeck behind a paywall doesn’t seem out of the question. 

Twitter started testing a revamped version of TweetDeck last year. The new-look TweetDeck uses the same design language as Twitter’s web app.

Amazon no longer offers in-app Kindle and Music purchases on Android

If you use Amazon’s Kindle app on Android, you may have noticed the software doesn’t offer the option to buy and rent ebooks or subscribe to the company’s Kindle Unlimited service anymore. Amazon announced the change last month and more recently began notifying customers of the move via email.

If you’re curious about what’s going on, the change puts Amazon in compliance with a policy Google will begin enforcing on June 1st. Starting next month, the company will require all developers to process payments involving “digital goods and services” through the Play Store billing system. Previously, Amazon was among a handful of developers Google allowed to use third-party alternatives to collect in-app payments. Rather than give Google a commission for every ebook it sells on Android, Amazon has decided to remove purchases altogether. It has done the same in its Music app. In Audible, meanwhile, you can still purchase credits through the app, but it’s no longer possible to buy audiobooks directly with your credit or debit card as of version 3.23 of the software. In the US, Amazon doesn’t offer Kindle in-app purchasing on iOS either.  

It’s worth noting Amazon isn’t the only company that has stopped sales on Android. In April, for instance, Barnes and Noble removed direct purchasing from the Android version of its Nook app. Some companies have legally challenged Google on the matter, with Tinder parent company Match Group filing a suit against the search giant in May.

There’s the possibility that direct purchasing could return to Amazon’s Android Kindle, Audible and Music apps at some point in the future. In March, Google partnered with Spotify to test third-party billing systems. However, how soon that pilot could expand to include other companies is unclear.

Update 3:40PM ET: Added clarification about how purchasing works in Audible following Amazon’s response to Google’s policy change. 

PGA has released a new AR gaming app for kids

Young golfers can now turn their physical surroundings into a digital putting green, courtesy of the same tech behind Niantic’s Pokémon Go. The PGA Jr. League today unveiled Safari Par-Tee, a new AR mobile gaming platform available on both iOS and Android. Trigger — the developer behind the app — built it with Niantic’s Lightship kit for AR apps. Players can use their smartphone to scan their physical environment into an interactive golf course.

While Safari Par-Tee is aimed toward youth golfers (it even features very cutesy animal avatars), its AR capabilities will likely make it a draw for parents and older family members to join in as well. The game has a number of multiplayer options, allowing players to match with other local players in real-time, or connect with specific players over WiFi The game also allows players to hold communal scoring contests with multiple rounds and different clubs. For players who are new to golf, the game introduces them to the fundamentals of the game as well as the various styles of play. The game features three different terrains, all with different obstacles and objectives. 

Given that the world of golf video games has plenty of options geared to adults (such as PGA TOUR 2K21, Tiger Woods PGA Tour and the recently delayed EA Sports PGA Tour), a free entry for kids seems like a refreshing change of pace. Safari Par-Tee is now available to download on either Apple’s App Store or the Google Play store.

TikTok has been testing minigames ahead of a ‘major’ gaming push

After entering into a partnership with Zynga last year, TikTok has been testing a pair of mobile minigames on its platform in Vietnam, Reuters has reported. The move could soon allow users to play games directly on the app in what Reuter’s sources called a “major push” into gaming. 

TikTok confirmed that it has been testing HTML5 games on its app via partnerships with Zynga and other third-party developers. it reportedly plans to release ad-supported games drawing from TikTok parent ByteDance’s library to boost revenue and engagement. “We’re always looking at ways to enrich our platform and regularly test new features and integrations that bring value to our community,” a representative told Reuters via email. 

Last year, TikTok announced a partnership with Zynga on an app called Disco Loco 3D (above), an HTML5 app that could work inside the app. The company also created Garden of Good, a FarmVille-style minigame that allows players to earn points to make donations. 

While ByteDance is starting with minigames, it supposedly plans to go beyond that, presumably into more advanced types of games. The Chinese version of the game, Douyin, already offers games, and TikTok has also tested streaming via its Live Studio PC app. The company counts over a billion users worldwide and has projected $11 billion in ad revenue this year, more than the Twitter and Snap combined. 

Google is getting serious about building apps for Android tablets again

For a few months now, Google has been talking about Android 12L, an upcoming version of Android that’s focused on making the OS work better on larger-screen devices like tablets and foldable phones. Thus far, most of those changes have focused on interface tweaks, but today at Google I/O the company had some news about making apps perform better on larger screens, too. 

Google says more than 20 of its apps will be redesigned and optimized for tablets, something that should automatically make Android taps a lot more useful. Among those are YouTube Music, Google Maps and Messages. YouTube Music has a redesigned now playing screen that takes advantage of the extra screen space, while Messages has a multi-column view to quickly jump between different conversations. Google also says that third-party apps like Facebook, TikTok and Zoom will soon be updated to be better optimized for large screens, too. If Google can get more big developers like these on board, the Android tablet ecosystem should benefit greatly. 

Google also says that there are 270 million active users already using large-screen devices, so there’s a decent number of people who’ll be able to take advantage of these updates immediately. To find them, Google Play is getting a large-screen redesign as well that will highlight apps built for tablets. 

Follow all of the news from Google I/O 2022 right here!