Starting today, the beta version of music videos on Spotify will be available albeit with a limited catalog of music videos, including songs from artists like Ed Sheeran, Doja Cat, and Ice Spice, to name a few. As such, this is a much-welcome call back to the times when music videos dominated the airwaves, especially on channels like MTV.

With that in mind, watching videos on your Spotify app is pretty easy, given that you’re in one of the supported markets. Here’s how to watch videos:

• Log into your Spotify app via iOS, Android, desktop, or TV device
• Select the “Switch to Video” toggle for supported music tracks (the music video will start playing from the beginning within the Now Playing view).
• To return to background listening, simply press “Switch to Audio”
• Music videos will play in both portrait and landscape mode

With all that being said, we’re hoping that more music videos get added into the feature, especially from other genres and less mainstream artists, given Spotify’s rather large library.

Source: Spotify

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The report points at code strings in which a TikTok app called “TikTok Photos” was referenced. Based on the name, it’s safe to say that this will be a photo sharing app.

In some ways this is kind of funny. With the rise of TikTok, Instagram introduced a new Reels feature that allowed creators to create TikTok-like content on their platform. In fact, to encourage users to use Reels, Instagram went as far as modifying its algorithm. This is so that videos with the TikTok watermark won’t be promoted on its platform.

Other platforms have also introduced their own version of TikTok, like YouTube with YouTube Shorts. There’s no word on when this new TikTok Photos app will launch, but it could be an uphill battle. Instagram is a very well-established platform especially for photos, so we’re not sure if TikTok Photos will have what it takes to challenge the crown.

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This comes in the form of a new “Web Distribution” feature. Basically what this means is that developers will now be able to distribute iOS apps directly from their website. Users will not need to download and install a third-party app store just to get these apps. Instead, they can just download them directly from the developer’s website.

If that sounds familiar, it is because it is more or less similar to how Android users sideload apps. This is useful and efficient because users who might only need one app won’t have to go through the process of downloading a brand new app store just to get it. The downside is that developers who choose to use this method will have to pay Apple’s Core Technology Fee.

The apps will also need to abide by Apple’s notorization guidelines, and the website the app is downloaded from has to be registered in App Store Connect. It seems that there are more hoops to jump through, but like we said, it does seem more convenient than downloading an entire store just for a single app.

This new feature isn’t live yet. Apple says that it will be launching this Spring. Another thing to note is that it still only applies to users in the EU. The rest of us can only hope that Apple will implement this sideloading apps feature for iPhone users in the rest of the world.

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According to a report from Android Police, it seems that Google is working on an update to Google Messages. The update to Google Messages will allow users to change the colors of their chat bubbles and use custom backgrounds. This means that if you’re sick of the whole blue-green bubbles debate, you can change all your chat bubbles to blue or green or something else entirely.

Obviously this doesn’t change the underlying technology. Instead, it could be a fun way of making your conversations more personalized to your aesthetic preferences. This feature appears to be server-side enabled, so not everyone will see it yet.

That being said, Apple did confirm that they will eventually enable RCS messages. This is expected to be part of the iOS 18 update. This means that iOS users chatting with Android users using the native messaging app on their phones can send rich text messages instead of regular SMS.

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“Dear Friends and supporters, after seven incredible years of development and adventures with my apps, I have made the difficult decision to remove them permanently from the Play Store. My family comes first, and for this reason, I have chosen to prioritise my family over the development of my apps. I want to thank each and every one of you for your incredible support over the years. Your words of encouragement, feedback, and constant support have been a source of inspiration for me and my work. Thank you again for everything. You have been fantastic. With gratitude, Davide.”

READ: Android DS Emulator “DraStic” is now Free to Download

Berra cites that his family now comes as his main focus, resulting in the removal of his emulation apps on Google Play. Given how ruthless Nintendo is when it comes to emulation, we can’t say we blame him; just days ago, DraStic emulator developer Exophase announced that he will soon be removing his app from Google Play as well.

Source: Nintendolife

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The feature works by allowing the Wallet app to automatically detect when a user has purchased movie tickets and boarding passes, and when a confirmation email is sent to their Gmail account. From there, the passes and/or tickets will then appear within the wallet app. Google adds that the integration is now live for select global movie chains and airlines, with planned expansion for the future.

READ: Google’s Pay App will Soon Shut Down in Favor of Google Wallet

Google Wallet will soon replace the older “Google Pay” app, which will be shut down later this year. Google Pay will no longer be available to use starting on June 4, 2024, although users can continue to access the U.S. version of the Google Pay app until the scheduled shut down date to view and transfer their Google Pay balance to their bank accounts.

Source: Google

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According to Apple’s newly-published compliance document, the company is working on ways to make it easier for users to switch from an iPhone to Android. This includes being able to uninstall Safari completely and also change the default navigation app on iOS. At the moment, all brand new iPhones use Apple Maps by default and there’s no way to change that.

As for browsers, Apple has made some changes to iOS that allows users to change their default apps. This allows users to change their default browser and email app. The problem is that users who aren’t familiar with this option may inadvertently use Safari and lose some of their browsing data when switching to a different platform.

By giving users the option to completely uninstall Safari, it would prevent that. These changes won’t be coming into effect just yet. For instance, the ability to transfer browser data isn’t expected until late 2024, while changing the navigation app will only happen by March 2025.

It also does not mention if these new tools will be available globally, or just those living in the EU. Either way, if you don’t think you’ll be sticking with the iPhone for the long-term, hopefully these changes will make switching to Android a lot easier.

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With that being said, the new app features Adobe’s own “Firefly” AI model, which handles generative tasks and integrates into mobile workflows for design projects and more. Adobe confirms that Creative Cloud subscribers can also access and edit their designs from Photoshop and Illustrator directly within the Adobe Express mobile app, adding a new level of convenience with regards to on-the-go workflows.

The app does pack a lot of features, including text to image capabilities, a generative fill function which works with text prompts, text effects with generative AI, video templates, animations and real-time captions, quick actions for one-click image editing, content scheduling, and more.

There is one caveat though, at least at the moment – the app is still in beta, although users can download it for free on Android and iOS devices. It should be said that users can access premium features for free while within the beta phase.

Source: Adobe

The post Adobe’s AI-Infused Mobile Editing App is Now Available on the Play Store appeared first on Phandroid.

Posting via his official social media account, tech reporter Mishaal Rahman shares that the Files by Google app has received a new “scan” button that will allow users to digitize their documents into PDF files. The scanned documents will then be saved via a “Scanned” directory under “Documents.”

The Files by Google app is getting a new "scan" button that lets you digitize documents.

Scanned documents are saved as PDF files under a new "Scanned" collection under "Documents" (the actual location is /Files by Google/Scanned).

Like the document scanner in the Drive app,… pic.twitter.com/ve6lM49mL4

— Mishaal Rahman (@MishaalRahman) March 7, 2024

Rahman says that the scan functionality uses ML Kit’s new Document Scanner API to read and process documents on-device, with Pixel users beginning to receive the new feature on their respective devices. At the time of writing, we were able to check our own Pixel devices and confirm that the scan function is now available within the Files by Google app.

The post Google is Making it Easier to Scan and Save Documents on Android appeared first on Phandroid.

Unfortunately, Huawei’s road to success has since been cut short were due to a trade war between the US and China, the US government has placed Huawei on the Entity List which prevents US companies from doing business with them. This includes Google which means that Huawei cannot use Google’s products or services on their smartphones.

As a result, Huawei’s smartphones since the Mate 30 have been shipping without Google Play Services installed. Thankfully, there is a way to fix that and if you own a Huawei phone or plan to buy one, then this method should get Google Play Services installed on your Huawei phone.

Install Google Play Services on your Huawei phone using Googlefier

Previously, it was possible to install Google’s apps and services on your Huawei smartphone, but the process can take quite a while and might feel a bit daunting to those who aren’t too tech-savvy, but thanks to the work of XDA Developers forum member bender_007, he has developed an app called Googlefier that will help simplify the overall process, and here’s what you need to do.

Before you get started, you might want to consider factory resetting your phone and wipe it back to a brand new state. This is because there might be existing apps or settings that could interfere with the process that could lower your chances of getting this up and running successfully.

You are of course welcome to try it with your phone as it is right now, but if it doesn’t work, then maybe you might want to look into a factory reset. You will also want to make sure your phone is backed up and all your important files are stored elsewhere in the event something goes wrong. Now that we got that out off the way, let’s start.

1. Download and install the Googlefier app
2. Launch Googlefier
3. Grant the app the permissions it requires
4. Follow the instructions on the screen
5. The app will then replace the existing backup app and restore LZPlay
6. Sign into your Google account when prompted
7. You’re done!

It should be noted that Googlefier does not work on Huawei smartphones with EMUI 11 or newer, so if you have a device that has EMUI 11, then maybe you might want to consider downgrading to EMUI 10 or older for it to work. Other than that, you should be pretty much all set.

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In an official Discord post, app developer Exophase clarifies that DraStic will soon be taken down as well, and that the decision had been long coming. As per his post:

“I just changed the app on GPlay to free. I don’t intend to even have it on there for that much longer but I want to make it clear that I don’t have any kind of financial incentive to not opening the source. Releasing the source in short order is something I fully intend on doing.”

“This change can’t be undone, so that’s it. I was already planning on this a while ago so it’s not simply due to the Nintendo stuff, that just made the whole process more urgent which I guess is a good thing because I’m terrible at doing things.”

As mentioned, Nintendo’s legal actions against Yuzu devs Tropic Haze played a part in the current state of things for DraStic, although Exophase states that he will release the source code for the emulator some time in the future.

Source: gbatemp.net

The post Android DS Emulator “DraStic” is now Free to Download appeared first on Phandroid.

For one, users can now edit their messages up to 15 minutes after sending them by pressing and holding down on the sent message, then choose “edit” from the dropdown menu. Users will also soon be able to pin up to three group or 1:1 chats at the top of their inbox for easy access. Instagram will also allow users to toggle their message read receipts on or off, either universally or for specific chats.

For stickers, users will be able to save their favorite stickers in their chats for easy access, so they’ll appear at the top next time the stickers menu is opened. In addition to stickers, GIFs, videos, photos and voice messages are now available when replying to a message.

Finally, Instagram will also allow users to set custom themes for select chats, including “Love”, “Lollipop,” “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” and more.

The post New Instagram Updates Bring Changes to Messages and Chats appeared first on Phandroid.

If you’re not familiar with the Tidal HiFi plan, it costs $20 a month. It gives users access to music streaming at 24-bit, 192kHz, and includes support for HiRes FLAC, Dolby Atmos, and more. For the most part, most users probably can’t tell the difference, but it was an option for those who are a bit more particular about their audio quality.

Now with this change, Tidal has basically merged its various tiers into a single subscription. This new TIDAL tier is priced at $10.99 a month which is the same price as Spotify Premium. Users will be able to enjoy all the benefits of the previous HiFi Plus tier at a much lower price. Users who subscribed to the family plan are being moved to a new TIDAL Family plan at $16.99 a month.

This isn’t all good news though. Tidal’s announcement also revealed that the company is axing its TIDAL Free tier. This means that if you were a free subscriber, you’ll need to start paying for a subscription to keep using the service. These changes will come into effect on the 10th of April, 2024.

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For those unfamiliar, this is thanks to the EU’s DMA. This new law basically forces Apple to open up iOS to third-party app stores, among other things. While it is a welcome change, Apple still appears to be holding onto the leash somewhat tightly.

For starters, these third-party app stores need to be approved by Apple. Users then need to give it explicit permission to download apps on your phone. These apps will also need to be “notarized” by Apple and be scanned for malware. Apple is also making changes to how payments work.

Overall, it seems that developers will now have an option if they do not wish to use Apple’s App Store. It is also a win for developers. It remains to be seen, however, if customers will be willing to make the switch. Apple has largely done a good job of ensuring apps from its own App Store are safe.

Now it will be up to developers and third-party app stores to convince iPhone customers to step outside Apple’s walled garden. Keep in mind that these changes only apply to the EU. It does not appear that Apple has plans to expand this feature to other markets (yet).

The post iPhone users in the EU can now install third-party app stores appeared first on Phandroid.

According to the update, users can look forward to new features like alerts to road hazards such as sharp curves, speed bumps, and toll booths. The update also introduces new speed limit warnings. This will give users more time to slow down to match the limits to avoid potential fines.

Another feature part of the update includes navigating roundabouts. With this change, the app can indicate which lane they should choose and where to exit. There are also safety features to help first responders. Waze will show users if first responders are stopped along their route so they can make driving adjustments accordingly.

Waze has also announced that they are teaming up with Flash to help users find parking. This will give users information about parking garages, costs, if it’s covered, if it has wheelchair accessibility, and more. Users can also make reservations for parking spots within the app itself.

Some of these changes and updates are regional, so depending on where you live, you might not get them. Waze is rolling out the rest of these safety and convenience features as we speak, so make sure to update the app.

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