Dominic Preston
Apps, but make them AI.
Generative AI is going to remake the world, but first, it’s giving us apps.
chespirito:
Genius, who ever would have thought of apps
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Apps
The best apps download superpowers to your smartphone. The Verge covers the new and noteworthy Android apps, iPhone apps, and games, highlighting great design, impressive utility, and novel features. If it belongs on your phone, you’ll find it on The Verge.
Jay Peters
Duolingo is introducing its own mobile ads platform.
The company says the ads will be “playful and infused with the signature charm of Duolingo’s cast of characters.” Early companies on board include Adobe, Intrepid Travel, and Universal Pictures.
Plus, in this week’s Installer: Amazon’s smart new stuff, OpenAI’s social network, and much more.
David Pierce
Richard Lawler
Emma Roth
Gmail’s end-to-end encryption for organizations now works across email providers.
With this update, Gmail users with client-side encryption can send E2EE emails to people using other providers, like Outlook. The recipient will receive a notice about the encrypted message, and can view it using a guest Gmail account.
This feature is only available to Google Workspace subscribers with an Enterprise Plus plan.
Image: Google
Richard Lawler
Pocket Casts turns off the ads for people who paid for old versions.
Last week, we noted that the popular multiplatform podcast app was showing ads to people who’d paid for the mobile version years ago, before subscriptions. Now, a post in its forum says, “We have removed the banner ads, and they will not be displayed to app purchasers in the future.”
From the app store notes:
Banner ads won’t be shown to Plus/Patron subscribers or users with accounts created prior to Sept 2019 – thanks for your support.
Andrew Liszewski
Emma Roth
Microsoft Excel turns 40 today.
If you’re feeling particularly spreadsheet-y today, this BBC podcast highlights some interesting details about the creation of Excel, including Gabe Newell’s involvement and how developers wanted to name it “Number Buddy.”
Also, make sure to check out this wild piece on competitive Excel from my colleague David Pierce.
Jess Weatherbed
Yelp is using DoorDash to expand restaurant delivery options.
Starting on October 1st, the partnership will give Yelp users access to more than half a million US restaurants via DoorDash’s delivery network. Tapping the “order” button will automatically take users to the restaurant page on DoorDash where available, instead of manually having to switch platforms.
Jess Weatherbed
Adobe’s Premiere video editor arrives on iPhone.
The free iOS app is now available to download worldwide today, following its announcement earlier this month, bringing Premiere Pro editing features to mobile devices. An Android version is also in development, but Adobe hasn’t said when it will arrive.
Sean Hollister
I feel for the Google employee who torpedoed its Windows desktop app growth.
If you installed the new Google app for Windows, Google’s now telling you to remove it! To “keep receiving Google app updates,” you have to uninstall and reinstall from scratch. I wonder how many will skip the second step... particularly since it won’t uninstall until you dismiss this message and close the app.
Andrew Liszewski
David Pierce
Emma Roth
Snapchat will start charging to store more Memories.
If you have more than 5GB of Memories, you’ll have to pay $1.99 / month to store up to 100GB of your past snaps. Snapchat will also include up to 250GB of storage in its Snapchat Plus plan and 5TB with its Snapchat Platinum subscription.
Snap notes that the “vast majority” of users have less than 5GB of Memories.
Introducing Memories Storage Plans
[Snap Newsroom]
Emma Roth
Google Vids can now do more with your slides.
In June, Google launched the ability to turn your Slides presentation into a video, but now, you can have it automatically generate an AI script, voiceover, and background music to go along with each of your slides. The feature is rolling out now to Workspace and AI plan subscribers.
David Pierce
7
Verge Score
Good for side sleepers but ANC kills battery life.
Thomas Ricker
Jay Peters
Checkmate.
Duolingo’s chess course is now available on Android, and the iOS version will soon get a player-versus-player mode, the company says.
Duolingo Unveils Major Product Updates that Turn Learning into Real-World Power at Duocon 2025
[GlobeNewswire News Room]
Richard Lawler
Steve Ballmer’s Kawhi Leonhard controversy intersects with another scandal.
ESPN NBA writer Brian Windhorst points out that when Aspiration signed up to be the Clippers’ jersey patch sponsor (and, allegedly, help circumvent the NBA’s salary cap) it replaced another company.
That was Honey, the shopping tool exposed for swapping referral codes, which actually got ads featuring Kawhi.
