Google Play Music now uses machine learning to suggest songs

GooglePlay Music will now use machine learning and contextual tools to suggest music you like. Users can opt in to get access to personalised music based on their location, activity and weather. “Your workout music is front and center as you walk into the gym, a sunset soundtrack appears just as the sky goes pink, and tunes for focusing turn up at the library,” explained Elias Roman, Lead Product Manager at Google Play Music. Also, the home screen of Google Play Music has been revamped to show music you like at the top. The feature is powered by Google’s machine learning systems that keeps getting better with time.
Google Play Music works offline as well. The app looks at songs you’ve recently listened to and curates an offline list for when there’s no Internet connection. “As long as you remember to charge your phone, you’ll have your favorite tunes, even if you forgot to download them ahead of time,” said Roman. The new version of the Play Music will be rolled outstarting this week on Android,iOS and the web. It will be available in 62 countries globally.
Google had earlier announced it is looking to sharpen Play Store recommendations with artificial intelligence and expand support for various payment platforms, among other initiatives. The Play Music update is an indication company’s plans have started to materialise. Also, the Google Play Store is also expanding to new platforms, including wearable devices, virtual reality headsets and Google’s Chromebook laptops.

Apple considering making iPhone in the US

iPhones may soon be made in US as Apple has asked Foxconn and Pegatron to look into this possibility, reports said. According to Nikkei Asian Review, key Apple assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn Technology Group, has been studying the possibility of moving iPhone production to the US.“Apple asked both Foxconn and Pegatron,the two iPhone assemblers, in June to look into making iPhones in the US Foxconn complied, while Pegatron declined to formulate such a plan due to cost concerns,” sources said.
But the sources have said that making of iPhones in the US will cost will more than double. The general perception among Americans that they are losing manufacturing jobs to other countries overlaps the Apple’s ‘rumoured’ prospect move.
President-elect Donald Trump referred to Apple multiple times during his campaign and vowed to slap a 45 per cent tariff on goods made in China. “We’re going to get Apple to build their damn computers and things in this country instead of in other countries,” Trump said at Liberty University in Virginia in January. Apple’s Chief Executive Tim Cook was quoted by CBS’ 60 Minutes programme in December 2015 that America simply did not have enough skilled workers for the production of iPhones.
To make iPhones, there will need to be a cluster of suppliers in the same place, which the US does not have at the moment. Even if Trump imposes a 45 per cent tariff, it is still possible that manufacturers will decide to continue production overseas as long as the costs together with the tariffs are lower than the amount they need to spend on building and running production lines in the US,” sources familiar with the iPhone production process were quoted by Nikkei Asian Review.
Sources said that to make iPhones, America will need US government to subsidise local companies for domestic productions.

WhatsApp launch video call on Android, iOS and Windows 10 platform

WhatsApp has just announced video calling for all users starting November 15.The feature will roll out to all users over the next few days. WhatsApp was launched in 2009 as a rich messaging service and is now one of the world’s largest OTT messaging platforms with over 1 billion users,. It added voice calls in early 2015.Here is how the new video calling feature works. The Video calling will work on all devices with Android4.1 and above. The rollout is happening at the same time for iOS, Android and Windows Phone devices, thus covering the top mobile operating systems across the world. Users will need to upgrade their app for the feature to show show up. When you click on the call button, you will start getting a new video calls options along with the existing voice calls.
Once the call connects, you will be able to choose either from or back camera of the phone for the video. You will be able to choose if the preview of you video is the main image or the incoming video. Also, the location of the smaller window can be moved to anywhere on the screen.
WhatsApp says it does not assume anything about the quality of the network from which the video call is being made. So the video call quality will improve as the system recognises that the network quality is good. The video calling feature has keep kept really simple so that engages everyone without confusing them. The one additional feature is the ability to multi-task by minimising the video and using other apps on the phone. User will be able to return to the call by tapping on the green band that appears across apps.
At the moment the video calling feature can be used synchronously between two users and not to whole group.

Google is working on a new search index for mobile

Google is working to make the Web experience for mobile users better by indexing search results for smartphones. According to a report in Search Engine Land, Google will create a new primary search index for smartphone users in the coming months. “A separate desktop index will be maintained, one that will not be as up-to-date as the mobile index,” the report added. Search Engine Land quoted Google’s Gary Illyes, who confirmed to the site the mobile index will be rolled out within months. Gary talked about the same in a keynote address at Pubcon as well. However, he didn’t give out a timeline for the launch of mobile index. The Search giant first revealed it is working on mobile index at SMX East last year. Google has since been working to develop the idea. However, no details of the project are known for now. “The most substantial change will likely be that by having a mobile index, Google can run its ranking algorithm in a different fashion across “pure” mobile content rather than the current system that extracts data from desktop content to determine mobile rankings,” the report says. Google’s AMP Project addresses the issue of slow site loading on the internet. It is similar to Facebook’s Instant Articles that is designed to load instantaneously. According to Google, it takes less than one second for an AMP page to load.