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Take Better Pictures Today With These 9 Helpful IPhone Camera Settings

November 4, 2019 By David Crozier Leave a Comment

Crop hand holding a phone changing the iphone camera settings

Phone cameras have come a long way. In some cases, it's hard to tell DSLR camera photos from mobile phone photos. But, how do you take DSLR-like photos with your iPhone? Here are our suggestions for iPhone camera settings for taking high-quality pictures.

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Change Your General Camera Settings

Camera App Settings

Conclusion

Change Your General Camera Settings

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Before you get started taking pictures, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the settings found under your phone’s Settings icon. First, tap on Settings icon then on Camera to open the Camera Settings window. From here, you can manage all aspects of an iPhone's camera.

The Preserve Settings Window

This is one of those hidden features that not many people know about. It allows you to choose which settings shouldn't change, and which ones that should revert back to default settings.

Camera Mode

By default, this setting is turned off. This section refers to the picture modes on your camera such as Portrait, Square, and Video. By turning on this option, you are telling your camera to remain in the selected mode each time you take a picture.

Filtering & Lighting

Like Camera Mode, the default setting for this mode is "off." When you turn it on, your camera remembers which filters and lighting settings you last used.

Live Photo

This setting is enabled by default, unlike the previous settings. When turned on, this setting remembers the state it was in when you turn off your camera. If it's turned off, your phone will turn on the Live Photo mode when launching the Camera app.

The Grid Option

When enabled, you'll see grid lines on your camera frame the next time you open your Camera app. The Grid option helps you achieve correct alignment in your picture. You won't see the grid lines in the photo.

The Formats Window

Here is where you choose the format for saving your photos. You’ll want to choose Most Compatible.

For most people, this is the preferred setting because it saves your photos in H.264 and JPEG formats. These formats are the most common in the photography world. As a result, you don't need any expensive conversion tools to view the files.

The Smart HDR or Auto HDR Option

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First, if you don't know what HDR stands for, it's an acronym for High Dynamic Range imaging. Dynamic range refers to the ratio of dark to light in a picture. When you choose the HDR option, your phone will take a light picture and a dark picture. The phone then combines the two for an HDR photo.

Turned on by default, the Smart HDR (Auto HDR in older iPhones) option lets your phone decide when to take HDR photos. Your phone will gauge the lighting and the environment and turn it on or off as necessary.

When you turn off this option, you'll need to turn HDR on or off each time you take a picture. HDR photos are more lifelike, so you will probably want to keep this setting turned on.

The Keep Normal Photo Option

Disabled by default, this setting works with the HDR setting. When you turn it on, you'll save both the normal photo and the HDR photo. You can compare them later and decide which one you want to keep.

Camera App Settings

phone taking pictures in portrait iphone camera settings

Image Source: Pixabay

Now that you've taken care of your Camera app's general settings, it's time to start taking pictures! And if you think you need a separate photo app to achieve high-quality photos, think again. The default Camera app has some high-powered tools under its hood.

Portrait Mode

Probably the most powerful setting on the Camera app is the Portrait Mode setting. When you take photos with the Portrait setting, you can give your photos a professional look to them.

Blur Your Background

Have you ever wanted to take a photo with a blurred background? It's super easy with Portrait mode.

Note that this setting is only available on the iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone XS Max, and the iPhone XS.

The Portrait mode uses depth-effect software to blur the background without expensive lenses.

When you open your Camera app, swipe across the shooting modes at the bottom of the screen. Choose Portrait.

Make sure your photo subject, whether it's a person, animal, or object, is between 2 and 8 feet away. Otherwise, the Portrait mode won't work, and you won't get a blurred background. Your camera will tell you this, so don't worry if you forget.

Now that you have your subject ready, snap your photo using one of the preset modes. Voila! You have a beautiful photo with a blurred background.

If you change your mind and want a standard photo, it's easy to change.

Open your photo and then tap Edit at the top right. Next, tap the yellow Portrait icon at the top middle of the screen. This removes the blurred background.

If you have an iPhone XS, XS Max, or XR, there are more robust options available in Portrait mode. For instance, you can change how much blur you want in your background.

But, this is only possible after you've taken the shot. When you open your photo and tap on Edit, a Depth slider appears under your photo. Move the slider back and forth until you have the amount of blur you want.

Achieve Portrait-Like Lighting

Iphone taking pictures of city during night time

Image Source: Pexels

Blurring your background is only one component to this setting. There are a few Portrait Lighting settings to choose from to make your photos amazing:

Natural Light doesn't change the lighting in your photo at all.
Studio Light allows you to brighten the face of your subject.
Contour Light makes the shadows darker and the highlights brighter.
Stage Light makes the subject of your photo look like they're under a stage spotlight. The background is black, and the result is a stunning portrait.
Stage Light Mono gives you a black and white version of your Stage Light photo.

Focus Setting

Did you know that taking sharp pictures is super easy with an iPhone? You won’t have to worry about blurry pictures like you used to get with your older iPhones.

But where is the focus setting? Well, there isn't one. It's one of those things that people easily overlook.

All you need to do is frame your subject and tap on the screen where you want to set your focus. You'll see a yellow box appear around the focus point.

This setting is most important when taking close-up photos. When you take close-ups, the only a small part of the picture is in focus. Anything in front of or behind the point of focus will appear blurry.

Exposure Setting

The term exposure refers to the brightness levels in a photo. Too dark (under-exposed), and you can't see the subject very well. Too bright (overexposed), and it looks washed out.

Like the Camera app's hidden focus feature, the iPhone’s exposure setting is also a little-known feature. Once you know about it, though, it's easy to adjust.

First, frame your subject and then tap on it to focus on it. Then, swipe up or down on the yellow square that appears.

For the most part, you should aim for a happy medium between light and dark. But sometimes, deliberately under or over-exposing your photos is desirable.

Let's say you want to capture a silhouette photo at sunset. You'll want to under-expose to make your subjects appear black against the background.

HDR for More Detailed Photos

Remember choosing the setting for automatically taking HDR photos? Now we're going to discuss where and when to take HDR photos.

If you're in a high-contrast environment, such as a landscape, it's very difficult to get a good picture. The background is light, and the foreground is dark. But, that's where the HDR setting comes in handy.

To take a picture using HDR, frame your subject, and make sure the HDR icon at the top isn't crossed out. If it is, you'll need to check your general settings (see above). Then snap your photo and see the beautiful results.

Gridlines Feature

Image Source: Pixabay

If you turned off your gridlines under the general settings, you'll want to turn them back on.

The gridlines are useful for keeping a level horizon. You can also use them to make sure vertical lines are straight. And if you know about the classic rule of thirds composition, it's super easy to achieve with the gridlines turned on.

All you need to do is line up your subject along one the right or left lines to put it off-center. You can also use the lines to make sure the horizon isn't dead-center for a more pleasing photo aesthetic.

Burst Mode

Enjoy taking lots of action photos but hate missing the perfect moment? Use another "hidden" feature called burst mode. When turned on, you can take up to 10 photos per second.

So where do you locate the burst mode? It's not an icon or a slider. All you need to do is hold down your shutter button. Release the button when you're finished, and review your photos to select the best one.

Live Photo Mode

This is one of the best iPhone camera settings for creating memorable photos. Rather than taking a still photo, Live Photo captures a 3-second moving image with sound.

It's perfect for taking photos of children, pets, nature, or anything else that's moving. To use it, tap on the round Live Photos icon at the top middle of the screen. It looks a little bit like a bullseye with dotted lines. When it turns yellow, you'll know it's on.

Keep in mind that the camera takes 1.5 seconds of video before and after you take the shot, so hold as still as possible. In order to watch the Live Photo, open your picture in the Photos app and hold down your finger on the screen.

You can also add different effects to your Live Photo:

Loop turns your Live Photo into a continuous video loop.
Bounce plays your Live Photo forward and backward.
Long Exposure adds a slow shutter effect to blur any movement.

Want to make your Live Photo a still image? Tap on Edit at the top left of the Live Photo. Then, tap the yellow Live icon to turn off the animation and sound. Change your mind again? Turn Live Photo back on by tapping on the Off option.

Self Timer

One of the more useful iPhone camera settings is the Self Timer. It allows you to set a delay between tapping the shutter button and taking the photo.

This is handy when you want to take a picture of yourself when there's no one to do it for you. It's also great for preventing blurry photos caused by pressing the shutter button.

All you need to do is set down your phone on a solid surface or use a tripod made for cell phones. Tap on the Timer icon that looks like a clock. Set either a 3-second or 10-second delay. Press the shutter button to start the countdown, and get yourself in front of the camera. The camera will take a burst of 10 shots.

Telephoto Lens

Image Source: Pexels

Want to capture an image, but it's too far away to get a decent shot? That's where the iPhone's telephoto lens feature comes in handy.

Note that this feature is only available on iPhone 7 and 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max.

It's very easy to do, and it's not a hidden feature like some of the settings above. To magnify your photo subject, frame it and then tap on the 1x icon at the bottom center of the viewfinder. It will change to 2x. To go back to the wide angle lens, tap on the 2x icon.

Conclusion

As you can see from this guide, you don’t need to buy expensive camera apps to take high-quality pictures with your iPhone. The Camera app that comes with your phone is more powerful than ever before.

All you need to know about are the 9 iPhone camera settings that we covered above. So take this guide and start shooting photos that no one will believe were shot with an iPhone.

Featured Image Source: Pexels

5 Best and Easy Tips On How To Organize Digital Photos

December 1, 2018 By Lori David Leave a Comment

If you are asked where your digital photos are, what would be your response?

Your most likely answer is you have them stored on your smartphone or perhaps in a cloud account or two. It’s also possible that you’ll say that it’s on your computer and then remember that you have it all uploaded to your social media accounts. Then perhaps, you’ll add that you have some unretrieved images from your SLR camera or some other flash drives.

Does this sound familiar?

In this day and age where just about every device can take hundreds or even thousands of photos, this is an all-too-common scenario. Thus, organizing photos can be a real head-scratcher or downright overwhelming. It’s a good thing that there are ways to organize digital photos and make it less of a chore.

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Best Tips on How to Organize Digital Photos

Get your Photos Under Control

Best Tips on How to Organize Digital Photos

Organizing your colossal photo collection might seem well, a colossal task, but it’s not really that hard. You just have to get in there and sort out the mess. Here are some tips to help you out:

Decide the Main Location for Your Photo Files

You can start by deciding on a single location where you can dump all of your photo collection.

You really don’t want some photos saved on your computer, some stored in your smartphone, some uploaded in the cloud, and the rest sitting on your social media accounts. The main idea is to create a destination that will serve as your central hub for all photos you’ve taken and for future captures.

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For your main location, you may use your computer or laptop, but you don’t want to use up your system’s hard drive and slow it down. So in this case, buying an external hard drive is the smarter approach. External hard drives are very affordable these days like the WD 3TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive which costs less than $100.

Create Folders

Once you have decided on a central location, the next step is to create folders that will keep your photos organized.

The simplest way to do this is to create folders for each year, and then create monthly folders within those main year folders. So for instance, you can create one folder for 2019, and within the folder, you can create 12 different folders for each month. Make sure that you name the folder by adding a number before the month such as 01-January, 02-February, 03-March, and so on. This is to make sure that the folders are in order.

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Within each folder month, you can also create more folders for photos that are taken for a particular event or activity. For example, under the 06-June folder, you can have a folder like “John’s Birthday” or “Mt. Rainier Camping.” Be as descriptive as possible to let you know what’s exactly in a folder.

Delete Photos

Sometimes, we just can’t help being trigger-happy when snapping photos in hopes of getting that perfect shot.

This is fine, but you’ll be better off learning photography techniques like the Rule of Thirds and framing. Fortunately, you can just opt to delete photos that won’t make the cut like exposed images or those obscured by the shooter’s thumbs. Also, don’t hoard photos that are basically the same shot or duplicates.

Don’t be afraid to delete photos not only to make your collection a lot easier to organize but also to free up storage space.

Use Keywords and Tags

To make your photos searchable, change their metadata.

Metadata is basically the information embedded in every photo file like the location and date it was taken. Many images also list other relevant info like type of camera used, exposure, lens, and more. Adding keywords and tags to the photos themselves will make them easy to track down by simply using a native finder app on your computer.

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For example, if you’ve visited Disneyland on several occasions, you may tag all your photos with a simple keyword like “Disneyland.” This way, you can easily find the photos even if they’re located in different folders.

Back Up!

While a hard drive is a reliable storage device for your photos, it can fail at some point (it’s a matter of when, not if). If your hard drive fails, you will lose all your photos forever – unless you create a backup.

You have several options to back up your files.

First, you can simply buy a second hard drive and manually copy everything. Second, you may use cloud storage services like Apple iCloud, Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon Photos, and more.

Note that some services require a monthly fee or subscription.

Get your Photos Under Control

These are just some of the best ways on how to organize digital photos. Organizing your photo collection isn’t that hard but it does require a bit of work.

Do you have any other tips that you can add? Feel free to share in the comments section.

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5 Life Hacks Using Tech Gadgets

June 24, 2018 By Daniel Giordano Leave a Comment

Though there are definitely times where technology can make our daily life harder or more frustrating, it generally works to make our lives easier. Modern devices help us in a range of different ways, but you can further that help with a few handy life hacks that help you get the most out of your technology.

Life Hacks Using Tech Gadgets To Streamline Your Life

Nobody wants their life to be difficult, and hacks are a great way to take some stress off of your daily grind. There are many, many life hacks out there, but here we will analyze five life hacks using tech gadgets to make your life that much more carefree.

1. Use an Ear Plug to Replace a Lost Earbud

Losing the buds on your favorite in-ear headphones can be extremely annoying. Not only does it make it much harder (nearly impossible) to listen to your music, the products can be a hassle to replace. Rather than spending money on new buds, you can simply replace your lost ones with earplugs. The devices are comfortable and stay snug in your ear.

2. Pen Springs Can Prevent Cords from Breaking

When looking at life hacks using tech gadgets, it always helps to cover ones that protect your electronics. It does not matter how well you care for your devices, at some point they are going to break down. While all equipment is subject to damage, none are as susceptible to chargers.

Chargers go through a lot of twisting and turning, which then frays the cord or causes them to stop working. To keep your cords from bending or breaking under such stress, simply take a spring from an old pen and slip it on at the area where the charger connects to the cord. This will keep it steady and prevent it from moving in any odd ways.

3. Turn on Airplane Mode When You Don’t Have A Strong Signal

It happens to all of us. You’re traveling, out around town, or just relaxing in your favorite spot, and your phone battery dies or drops to the red. That then forces you to either find a plug, which can be difficult to do. Luckily, there is an easy way around that issue.

The best way to extend your battery life is by keeping your phone in airplane mode when your signal is low. This conserves a lot of the battery and stops any unnecessary draining. Nobody wants to constantly plugin, and nobody wants to spend time looking for an outlet. Rather than crossing your fingers and hoping your battery lasts, take advantage of airplane mode.

4. Keeping Distance from Speakers and Sound Bars

This next life hack on this list allows you to get the best sound out of your speakers. Though some people like to put their portable speakers behind or on the sides of them, when watching regular TV it is best to keep 9 to 25 feet between yourself and the soundbar.

This tip may sound odd, but it allows the devices to work unfettered and keep their crisp quality. Staying out of the way and limiting any interruptions will give you the optimal quality you want and help bring the best sound possible through the device.

5. Create Your Own Speaker with Your Phone and a Cup

Our final life hack using tech gadgets also pertains to the idea of creating better sound. Phones come with decent speakers, but there is no doubt that they could be better. Rather than shelling out for expensive technology, you can simply place your phone in a glass or wide cup. That will then echo the sound out and give you the full volume you want.

In addition, you can also download several free balancing or equalizing apps to increase sound quality. This is a great way to get the most out of your device and have it work for you.

Using Technology in a New Way

There is much life hacks out there, but the above ones are some of the most useful. Life hacks using tech gadgets are always great because modern technology is everywhere. Rather than fighting with it or letting it bring you down, you can employ the above tips to reduce stress.

These five hacks are some of the best ones around. Everyone can get something out of them, and you can use them throughout your entire life. Cords will always break and it always helps to save some extra battery. It does not matter how connected you are, or what type of life you live, if you use any modern conveniences, the above tips can help you out for years to come.

Upset Users Are Suing Apple for MacBook’s Faulty Keyboard System

May 14, 2018 By Mary Duncan Leave a Comment

MacBook with black keyboard and the Start bar visible on the desktop

Apple users are upset with the new butterfly keyboard system on MacBooks

Three years ago, Apple revolutionized the laptop market with a new keyboard system in a butterfly shape that was supposed to make it slimmer and more stable. However, not all users were happy with the change, while others were truly outraged. Some of them went so far that even filed a lawsuit against the company, as they blamed the keyboard for their failing devices.

The new keyboard system appears to be failing Apple users

Older MacBooks used a keyboard system in scissor shape but, in 2015, the company regarded it as a bit outdated. Therefore, they moved to the butterfly system that should make it significantly thinner and more stable. However, the system is not as foolproof as Apple wanted.

A few users have teamed up and have now decided to file a lawsuit against the company. It turns out a series of devices produced in 2015 and 2016 have gathered dust and stopped working completely. Therefore, these unhappy customers blamed the company it didn’t inform them of the issues of the MacBook.

Now you might say these people could have used their warranty to have the devices replaced. However, more problems arise. They claimed that Apple had refused to honor these obligations and hadn’t provided them with new MacBooks.

Two upset people filed a lawsuit against Apple

There were two users who decided to file the lawsuit, but the document states that it should work on behalf of all users who were affected by the faulty keyboard system. The law firm that took over the case was Girard Gibbs. This company, originating from San Francisco, is well-known for other accusations it brought against Apple.

This scandal prompted a few experts to look more deeply into the matter. This way, they found out the new keyboard system started causing trouble soon after the implementation. These results were fully supported by the users, who teamed up and put up a Change.org petition for Apple to return to the older keyboard system. So far, the petition has gained over 17,000 signatures.

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Blizzard Is Planning to Use AI to Combat Game Toxicity in Overwatch

April 4, 2018 By Nicholas Anderton Leave a Comment

Blizzard Entertainment booth at Gamescom 2009

Blizzard wants to use AI against game toxicity in Overwatch

Blizzard is thinking about the well-being of its players, and wants to improve everyone’s experience by all means. Overwatch is one of those games that is full of toxic players which ruin anyone’s play. This is why Jeff Kaplan, the vice president of Blizzard, is thinking of unusual methods to get rid of them. He is pondering the AI alternative to fight game toxicity.

Blizzard declared war on game toxicity

Most online games are full of players that ruin the experience of others. However, the levels of game toxicity are extremely high in Overwatch. Since picking out all of them manually takes a lot of time, Blizzard thought of automation as a solution against toxic players.

At the moment, the game developers aren’t aware if artificial intelligence can really work against game toxicity. They have been trying to develop algorithms and teach bots how to recognize toxic language within the game. This way, everything will be quicker.

The game company will try to use AI to spot toxic language

Blizzard can take action against toxic Overwatch players only after they receive a report. This means other players will have to suffer unpleasant incidents in the game. If an automatic system can label toxic language and behavior, it will take action immediately, and players won’t have to report others.

This is not the first time when the game industry is thinking of using AI algorithms. Last year, IBM and PlayFab used machine learning to generate player data, and then offered it to game developers. Also, Electronic Arts considered using artificial intelligence to generate more powerful backstories for its games.

However, what Blizzard is trying to do is on a whole new level. Its algorithms will seek to identify game toxicity, namely toxic words and phrases in different languages. However, according to Kaplan, this will apply only to in-game language. Direct messages between players seem to be out of the scope of the algorithms.

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

California Thinks Smartphone Owners Should Have a ‘Right to Repair’

March 8, 2018 By David Crozier Leave a Comment

California has join 18 other states that are considering legislation that would give smartphone owners a ‘right to repair’ and could end years-long predatory practices from smartphone makers.

On Wednesday, a California lawmaker announced that The Golden State is considering legislation that would make devices easier to fix.

Under the “The Right to Repair Act,” the owners of electronic products and home appliances will have the right to go to a service provider or repair shop to have their devices fixed.

Democrat Susan Talamantes Eggman, who introduced the bill, believes that tech companies are behind a “planned obsolescence” that prevents their products from being fixed or refurbished.

The plan to introduce the bill was announced officially Wednesday but it has been in the making since last week. Under the new legislation, device makers will be forced to offer clear instructions on how their products can be repaired and offer access to repair parts.

Gadget Makers Concerned Bill May Spark Safety Issues

Apple Inc. is one of the companies that has repeatedly refused to offer repair guides and the tools needed by independent professionals to repair an iPhone are locked behind patents. Independent repair shops would also have access to diagnosis tools, after the bill passes.

Starting this year, the ‘right to repair’ has been considered by multiple states. So far, 19 states have introduced bills while several others are holding hearings to clarify the issue.

Apple, AT&T, Microsoft and other corporations have strongly lobbied against such legislation. These companies claim that allowing individuals to fix their own phones or appliances would create security and safety issues. When asked to be more specific on what those issues may be, none of the companies offered an explanation.

In Nebraska, Apple voiced concerns that a similar bill would create a Mecca for hackers. In California, the legislation was heavily backed by the digital security advocacy group, the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
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What Makes Samsung Galaxy S9 Stand Out in the Premium Segment

March 6, 2018 By David Crozier Leave a Comment

Samsung is preparing the rollout of its Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ flagship phones on the Indian market weeks after it unveiled the handsets at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018.

Indians will be able to pre-order the phones via the e-commerce portal Flipkart.com starting Tuesday. The prices weren’t immediately clear, but in the U.S. the S9 sells for $720, while the S9+ sells for $840.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ are the successors of the S8 and S8+ respectively in the premium market. The new handsets have the same heights and screen sizes as the S8 models but will sport more vivid colors.

The S9 models will be powered by Exynos 9810 processor (2.9GHz) which is considered to be as strong as Qualcomm Snapdragon 845. However, the new models from Samsung will likely face fierce competition from other high-end phones like the Google Pixel 2 XL, the Apple iPhone X, LG V30+, the OnePlus 5T, and the HTC U11+ in India.

What Makes Samsung Galaxy S9 Special

The Galaxy S9 and S9+ stand out with their brighter AMOLED displays and high resolution. Plus, Bixby now has Augmented Reality support. The Galaxy S9 can also be submerged down to 1.5 meters. The camera sensor has an aperture that can be mechanically adjusted for low-light and daylight snaps.

The Galaxy 9 is similar to the iPhone X in screen size. They both have 5.8-inch screens, but the latest iPhone’s display seems more edge-to-edge as the company removed unnecessary bezels on the sides. The iPhone X, though, can be submerged just 1 meter, and includes a storage of 256 GB maximum. The S9 comes with 64GB of storage but it can be upgraded to 400 GB.

The S9 is not much different than Google’s Pixel 2 XL. The Pixel 2 XL has a screen of 6 inches, and it is slightly lighter than its rival (175g vs 189g). Pixel 2’s Snapdragon 835 octa-core processor is comparable in performance to S9’s Exynos 9810 chipset but has a better camera. The Google phone comes with up to 256 GB of storage.
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Amazon Wants Alexa to Put Language Translators Out of Business

March 2, 2018 By David Crozier Leave a Comment

According to a recent report, Amazon is working on boosting its smart assistant Alexa’s language translation skills. Just like Microsoft translator and Google Translate, Alexa could place many language translators out of business.

The news was first reported by Yahoo Finance, which claims that it has interviewed several people “familiar with the matter”. One of the sources told Yahoo that the e-commerce giant is working on turning Alexa into “a context-savvy, real-time universal language translator.”

Alexa is already capable of translating short terms and phrases from Spanish, German, Italian, French, and English into native languages. However, Amazon thinks that it is not enough.

Yahoo found that Alexa could soon help a native English speaker attending a meeting with Japanese business partners understand what those people are saying in Japanese. The smart voice-based assistant will reportedly integrate its knowledge of the Japanese culture to make the translations more accurate.

Alexa Getting Better at Translations

Sources claim that the new feature will be readily accessible to all users from any device. Amazon also plans to instruct Alexa to translate conversations between people that are from different countries and are speaking simultaneously to one another.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the project will be successful or not. Amazon couldn’t be reached for a request for comment on the revelations.

Amazon is not the only major tech company that seeks to beef up the translation capabilities of its products. In 2017, Google boasted that the Pixel Buds ($159 ) were able to perform accurate real-time translation on the go, but the feature was not well received.

Users said at the time that the experience of Google Translate in a wireless earphone was “awkward” so they would rather use their smartphones for any translation needs since those devices are a more compelling solution.
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Amazon Adds Wi-Fi-Connected Doorbells to Its Smart Home Arsenal

February 28, 2018 By David Crozier Leave a Comment

Amazon is in talks to buy Ring, a California-based firm specialized in wi-fi-connected doorbells, connected video cameras, and other smart home devices. The e-commerce giant plans to unveil the acquisition these days.

The price of the takeover was not immediately clear, but Reuters estimates the acquisition at over $1 billion. We expect Amazon not to replace the Ring brand on the products after the buyout, just like it did with Audible, Twitch, and Zappos. The company will likely be allowed to do business as usual after the deal.

A Ring spokesperson explained that the firm’s mission is to lower crime rates in communities via its home security tools. Ring is confident that a partnership with Amazon, which has a history of being customer-centered, would help it carry out that mission.

We look forward to being a part of the Amazon team as we work toward our vision for safer neighborhoods,

Ring said.

Smart Doorbells a Welcome Addition to Amazon’s Echo

A spokesperson for Amazon unveiled that Ring’s products have been very popular with its clients. The company likely plans to integrate the new technologies into its tremendously popular home technology hub aka the Echo smart speaker.

Ring sells wi-fi-connected doorbells which can tell who is at the door via connected video cameras. The doorbells prompt users via their smartphones or tablets and enable them to talk to the person at their door even if they are not at home.

Ring hopes its smart doorbells could help trim crime rates after making the devices affordable for everyone. A basic smart doorbell costs $179, and it comes in several versions.

In January, Ring bought Mr. Beams, a firm that produces smart LED lighting triggered by motion sensors.

It is not the first time Amazon interacts with Ring. In the past, it invested in the company via the Alexa Fund to help it develop products for its smart home lineup.
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Snapchat Replies to Redesign Haters

February 22, 2018 By David Crozier Leave a Comment

After undergoing a major redesign to lure in more users, Snapchat had to deal with a tidal wave of discontent from hard-core fans that simply hate the app’s new interface.

In a recent statement, Snapchat said that it hears those users’ pain and that it “completely understand[s]” their feelings, but the redesign is here to stay. The good news is that the company is working on a new update that will make fans hate the redesign less.

Over 2 million Snapchat users signed a Change.org petition, urging the company to get rid of the changes and revert the app to its original form.

We hear you, and appreciate that you took the time to let us know how you feel,

Snapchat wrote in response to the backlash.

More Changes to Come

It added that the new face of Friends page will stay but will adapt to users’ preferences over time. The page will get “smarter” and be able to tell between the friends that you care about most based on the number of mutual interactions.

The new Discover page is also redesigned to “adapt” to each particular user the more that user accesses the page. The company unveiled that it plans to add new tabs to the two pages that will enable users to find the stories they want faster.

The next update will be rolled out for iOS “soon” while Android will see it “in the coming weeks”.

The update will enable Snapchat users to better customize their Group Chats, Stories, and Subscriptions in an effort to improve user experience on the app. The company added that this is just the beginning, as there will be other updates designed to make the messaging service even better.

The redesign was launched only in the United States, but 30 online petitions demanding a rollback popped up on the same day. Many Snapchat fans claim that the interface is now over complicated.
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