WhatsApp adds CarPlay app for messaging whilst driving

by | Jan 29, 2018 |

With its latest update, WhatsApp users are finding a new icon app appear when they connect to CarPlay. A WhatsApp icon and basic on-screen app interface are now part of the CarPlay experience, beyond what was already offered by WhatsApp’s SiriKit integration.

You can’t browse a list of conversations, but you can tap on the icon to start sending a new message using dictation. Notifications from WhatsApp also appear in the CarPlay UI and users can tap to listen and respond.

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Logic Pros: An in-depth look at the new LPX Step and Phat FX units

by | Jan 28, 2018 |

Apple continues to support Logic Pro X (and its other flagship software), and the latest update has even more than we expected after having some hands-on time for the last couple days. The completely free version 10.4 upgrade hit this week with loads of new content for the company’s professional audio recording suite. For those that may have missed our launch coverage, we aren’t just talking about enhancements and fixes here, this is new effects units and instruments along with nearly 1,000 new loops and sounds, among many other things.

This week on Logic Pros it’s all about the new LPX features/content starting with its first major jump into the multi-effects unit space… more…

KGI predicts 6.1-inch LCD iPhone will help Apple rebound from ‘lower-than-expected’ iPhone X sales

by | Jan 28, 2018 |

Reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities is today out with a trio of new investor notes that offer some addition color on the supplier breakdown for this year’s new iPhones. The analyst has previously stated that Apple will introduce three new iPhones this year, including two OLED models at 5.8-inches and 6.5-inches, and an LCD model at 6.1-inches…

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HomePod hands-on questions whether sound quality is worth $349, cites ‘distinct lack of mid-range’

by | Jan 27, 2018 |

Following a pair of hands-on looks earlier this week, Wired is the latest to share their initial thoughts on the HomePod following a “first listen.” Wired seems to have been given the same demo as other news outlets, but has slightly different thoughts…

First and foremost, Wired’s Jeremy White praises the bass on the HomePod, as well as the room-shaping sound. White explains that the sound stays constant as you walk around the room:

First up on our demo is Ariana Grande’s Side to Side. What becomes immediately apparent is the formidable bass the HomePod kicks out. What’s more, the sound remains constant as you walk around the room, no doubt thanks to those beam-forming tweeters. The vocals are clear as a bell, too.

White then notes, however, there’s a “distinct” lack of mid-range sound from the HomePod. For instance, in demos of “Let It Go” from Frozen and “My Shot” from Hamilton, White says the mid-range takes a “back seat to the high and low frequencies.”

For songs that rely on the high frequencies, such as Ed Sheeran’s “Shape Of You,” the HomePod is great:

Finally, Ed Sheeran’s Shape Of You is also much better than what has come before with loads of attack – but this tune relies heavily on the high frequencies, so perhaps it’s no surprise it sounds so good on the HomePod.

As for Siri integration, White praises support for identifying what track is playing and who it’s by, though he notes that Siri failed three times in the demo he was given.

Ultimately, White says that based first impressions, HomePod looks great and is easy to setup, but that the “sound produced does not immediately match up” to its £319/$349 price. White’s first impressions differ from two other articles from earlier this week, both of which praised the HomePod’s sound quality and Siri integration.

Of course, the true test will be when HomePod officially becomes available to everyone on February 9th. Does Wired’s first impressions piece worry you at all? Let us know what you think down in the comments.

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