GoPro’s new Player + ReelSteady app adds stabilization and 360 tools

GoPro has unveiled Player + ReelSteady, a replacement for the GoPro Player app with added technology from GoPro’s acquisition of ReelSteady. The new app introduces ReelSteady tools that let you stabilize most GoPro footage, including HyperSmooth shots. It works in real time, with “the ability to view the full-quality stabilized shot as soon as your video loads,” GoPro wrote in a press release. 

ReelSteady Go has been a popular app with the FPV drone crowd, which used it to smooth out flight videos and add cinematic effects. GoPro purchased the company in March 2020, promising to integrate the tech “across the GoPro App ecosystem to enhance the cinematic output of your content.” GoPro initially sold ReelSteady Go separately, but it’s now been discontinued and replaced by the Player + ReelSteady app. 

Rather than using scene analysis like other apps to stabilize shots, ReelSteady uses gyro data directly from GoPro cameras. Previously, ReelSteady did not work with HyperSmooth footage (the setting needed to be disabled) but the Player + ReelSteady app now supports it. On the Player + ReelSteady product page, GoPro shows that you can achieve even smoother stabilization by combining the two (above).

Along with the stabilization features, the app lets you remove wide-angle lens curvature using ReelSteady, GoPro said. It also comes with a batch export feature to queue “hundreds of files” for export, the ability to reframe 360 MAX content, a player for regular and 360 content, the ability to do frame grabs and a trim function for editing.

It’s now available for Mac and PC, with a $100 in-app purchase required to unlock the ReelSteady and Lens Correction features. However, existing ReelSteady Go customers “can use their existing activation key to redeem a free upgrade to the new GoPro Player + ReelSteady,” the company wrote. 

HBO Max’s Apple TV app gets a much-needed overhaul

HBO Max is following through on promises to overhaul its underwhelming smart TV apps. Both Variety and The Verge say WarnerMedia is rolling out an updated Apple TV app that tackles some of the most glaring problems that remained. For one, it’s finally built on a modern platform that should be more reliable than the relatively ancient HBO Go/Now framework. You’ll also see a new home page with a “hero” banner you can scroll, the option to skip credits, more control over My Stuff watchlists and easier sign-ins.

The new version should reach your Apple TV device either this week or the next. You can already find the framework in many of HBO Max’s other apps, including for Android, PlayStation, Roku players and TV sets from LG, Samsung and Vizio. Similar revamps are coming for Amazon Fire TV devices and the web.

The flawed Apple TV client was the result of WarnerMedia’s desire to hurry the HBO Max launch. Rather than build its smart TV apps from scratch, the media company repurposed its HBO Go and HBO Now apps to cut development time. The company knew it would have to “replatform” the app to modernize it and accommodate both international expansion as well as more content, according to WarnerMedia executive VP Sarah Lyons.

That rushed approach might not have helped HBO Max’s initial growth. JustWatch estimated that the service had 7 percent of the world’s streaming market share in February versus 17.6 percent for Disney+. While we wouldn’t count on a surge in demand linked to the new apps, they might help HBO keep subscribers who would otherwise be frustrated enough to leave.

Google is clamping down on out-of-date Android apps

Google has unveiled new policies for the Play Store that will effectively bar any existing Android Apps that are significantly out of date. All apps in the Store must target an API level within two years of the latest major Android release, or they won’t be available for discovery or installation, it announced on its Android Developer blog. The aim is to “protect users from installing older apps that may not have these protections in place,” the company said. The changes will go into effect on November 1st, 2022.

Currently, Google requires new apps and app updates to target an Android API level within just one year of the latest Android OS version release. The new changes, by contrast, target existing apps that may not have been updated in a while. Google notes that if you’re running an older device, you’ll “continue to be able to discover, re-install, and use the app on any device running any Android OS version that the app supports.”

Google said the “vast majority” of apps already follow the incoming standard. While that may be true, the Play Store has around 2.87 million apps in total, so there are a no doubt a huge number that need attention. For those that don’t conform, it’s notifying developers and giving them any resources needed to update.

Play has seen a lot of new security measures over the last few years. The most significant came in 2017 when Google launched Play Protect designed to scan for rogue apps with help from machine learning. However, some still get through that pose security risks and violate user privacy. The new policy may help stop a good chunk of those, but as we all know by now, it will never catch them all. 

Cash App breach impacted over 8 million users

Block disclosed today that a security breach involving a former employee impacts 8.2 million Cash App users. In an SEC filing, the company reported that an ex-employee on December 10th downloaded a number of reports with information on customer informa…

Epic Games made a mobile app that turns photos into 3D models

Epic Games has built a mobile app that can turn photos into 3D scans. Capturing Reality, a company Epic bought last year, created photogrammetric software called RealityCapture. It can quickly convert laser scans or images into 3D scans of assets. With the RealityScan app, Epic is hoping to give users access to the same tech right on their phone. 

The idea is that creatives will be able to scan real-world objects at any time to use in their projects. After you sign in with your Epic Games account, the app will prompt you to take at least 20 photos of an item. You can also hold down your finger on the capture button as you move around the object. 

After the app processes the images and turns it into a 3D object with the help of RealityCapture’s servers, you can export the scan to Sketchfab (a 3D asset platform Epic also bought in 2021).

You’ll then be able to sell the asset to other creatives or use them for your own 3D, virtual reality and augmented reality projects. Game developers might find the app particularly useful if they’re in need of a particular item to place in a virtual environment. As it happens, Epic just opened up access to Unreal Engine 5.

Epic is testing a beta of the app with a limited number of iOS users before a broader, early access rollout on iPhone this spring. An Android version of RealityScan will arrive later this year.

Google Maps is getting toll pricing and other route details

With road trip season about to commence, Google Maps is getting an update that should help make vacation planning a bit easier thanks to enhanced details and a new feature that will calculate estimated toll prices. 

Previously, while Google Maps could tell you which routes had tolls or not, you didn’t get much info beyond that. But now, in an update rolling out later this month that will cover more than 2,000 roads across the US, India, Japan and Indonesia, users will be able to see estimated toll pricing sourced from local authorities.

For spring 2022, Google Maps is getting a new feature that will show estimated toll pricing in select countries.
Google

This means you should have more information when trying to figure out the cheapest way to get to your destination, with Google Maps even factoring in things like different payment methods (e.g. paying with a pass versus cash/credit), the day of the week or even the specific time you’re expected hit a toll. And of course, if you want to save as much money as possible, Google will still surface toll-free routes and provide an option to completely block routes with tolls from being displayed.

Enhanced details in Google Maps are coming for spring and summer 2022.
Google

On top of that, to help make driving through unfamiliar territory a bit less scary, Google Maps is also getting enhanced details. Soon, you’ll be able to see things like traffic lights and stops signs along with additional info regarding nearby points of interest and even more precise building outlines. Google also says that in select cities, users will be able to spot details like the shape of the road, including features such as medians and islands. The update is slated to roll out to Android, iOS, Android and CarPlay throughout select countries in the coming weeks. 

Finally, for those with iOS devices, Google is adding a few extra features for use across Apple’s ecosystem. On iPhones and iPads, Maps is getting a new trip widget that will let you pin your next trek to your home screen. Additionally, the standard Google Maps search widget is also getting a size reduction, so you can quickly lookup a destination without the widget taking up too much screen real estate. 

For 2022, Google is adding a new pinned trip widget for Google Maps to iOS, while shrinking the sizer of the default Maps widget.
Google

Meanwhile, for those who want to travel super light, Google is adding deeper support for Google Maps to the Apple Watch. This will allow you to look up a destination and even see directions on your wrist, all without ever having to pick up your phone. Additionally, iOS Spotlight, Siri and the Shortcuts app are also getting Google Maps integration in the coming months, so you can more easily search for a place using voice commands. 

Hulu’s iOS and Apple TV apps now support SharePlay

When Apple rolled out SharePlay with iOS 15.1 last year, it was only supported by a handful of apps. The list has grown a bit over the past months, with ESPN, Twitch and Disney+ updating their apps with the capability to use the group viewing feature. Now, you can add Hulu to the roster. The streaming service’s latest iOS and tvOS update introduces SharePlay as a feature for its iPhone, iPad and Apple TV app, so you can hold watch parties for shows like The Handmaid’s Tale or The Dropout, which tells the story of controversial Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. 

To use SharePlay, all participants in the watch party will have to be on iOS 15.1 or newer and will need to have Hulu accounts and subscriptions. You have to start a FaceTime call before you open the app. After you do, you’ll see an alert at the top of your screen asking if you want to stream your content. Anyone who joins the session will have access to the pause, skip forward and rewind controls to make sure you’re all watching the same thing at the same time. FaceTime will also have a picture-in-picture box at the top, which will show whoever is talking at the moment. SharePlay even comes with a feature called smart volume that automatically lowers the show’s volume whenever somebody in the call is talking. 

In addition to SharePlay support, Hulu’s latest update has also introduced a new feature that gives you a way to easily flip between the live TV channels you’re currently watching. You can now get the update Hulu app from the Apple App Store.  

Apple now allows Netflix, Spotify and other ‘reader’ apps to link to their sites for payment

Netflix, Spotify and other similar services will now be able to add a link in their iOS apps that take users to their own websites for payment and account management. Apple now allows developers of “reader” apps to link to a website that they maintain. The tech giant defines reader apps as applications that “provide previously purchased content or content subscriptions for digital magazines, newspapers, books, audio, music and video.” 

Apple first announced that it will allow certain media services to add in-app links last year as part of a settlement with the Japan Fair Trade Commission. The company agreed with the stipulation, because those apps “do not offer in-app digital goods and services for purchase” anyway. While the change was a result of JFTC’s investigation, Apple will apply the new policy to all reader apps around the world. That said, developers will have to request access to the External Link Account Entitlement program first before they’re allowed to add in-app links. Also, while the change gives developers a way to avoid giving Apple a 15 to 30 percent cut, the company will still collect commissions for purchases within the app itself if the service offers any. 

Google also recently launched a pilot program to test third-party billing systems in Android, allowing users to pay for services either via its own payment system or the developer’s. Spotify, one of the apps piloting the feature, will show subscribers Google’s and its own billing system side by side starting later this year. Google will still get a cut even if the user chooses the service’s own billing system, but it will be smaller than the 15 percent commission the tech giant typically collects for subscriptions. 

Apple faces €5.5 billion lawsuit from Netherlands over its app store

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Google will test alternatives to its Play Store billing system, starting with Spotify

As part of a program that could have far-reaching consequences for the tech industry, Google is launching a pilot to test third-party billing systems in Android and across its wider ecosystem. The company announced on Wednesday it plans to conduct the …