iOS 11.4 Bring HomePod Stereo Pairs, Multi-Room Audio With AirPlay 2

Apple’s HomePod wireless speaker now delivers an even more immersive listening experience throughout the home with support for HomePod stereo pairs and a new multi-room audio system in iOS 11.4. 

This free software update introduces a wireless multi-room audio system using AirPlay 2 to play music in any room from any room, move music from one room to another or play the same song everywhere using an iOS device, HomePod, Apple TV or by asking Siri. AirPlay 2 is Apple’s followup to the original AirPlay Wi-Fi-based music playback standard. While Sonos popularized Wi-Fi-based multi-room audio playback, Bluetooth became ubiquitous, and multi-platform Wi-Fi audio standards spread in popularity, Apple lacked a competing story until AirPlay 2.

AirPlay 2 controls are available across iOS within any app and in Control Center for quick access to what’s playing in every room, on every speaker. Apple Music subscribers can also ask Siri to play different songs in different rooms or the same song everywhere, without ever leaving the room. Just like iPhone and iPad, HomePod will be able to communicate with other AirPlay 2-enabled speakers when they become available, so Siri can control music playing on speakers from Bang & Olufsen, Bluesound, Bose, Bowers & Wilkins, Denon, Libratone, Marantz, Marshall, Naim, Pioneer and Sonos.

When it comes to setting up a stereo pair, when a second HomePod is set up in the same room, the user is prompted whether they would like to form a stereo pair, and in just a matter of minutes, the room is filled with amazing audio. Even though these two speakers act as one, each HomePod communicates with each other so that only one speaker responds to Siri requests. With an A8 chip in each speaker, each HomePod is able to play its own audio channel — left or right — while separating out both the ambient and direct energy.

To install iOS 11.4, update your iPhone or iPad. Then you can upgrade your HomePod by:

• Opening the Home app.
• Tapping the Compass button (in the upper left corner).
• Under the Speakers tab, select Software Update.
• Tap the Update (All) button.

The HomePod is arrives in Canada, France and Germany starting June 18.

Twitch Announces A Desktop App

Twitch has revealed a desktop app, that allows Twitch users to watch Twitch streams, mod in overlays, and more. The app also allows users to text and video chat. The app can be downloaded here. The app sounds like a nice alternative if you don’t want to use a web browser or phone or the many others ways you can watch Twitch. Still, good on Twitch for giving people options. Thoughts ?

WSJ Claiming New Pokemon TCG App Is Coming Soon

Following their recent Legend of Zelda rumor, the Wall Street Journal has claimed that The Pokemon Company is working on a new Pokemon TCG app. . If this is true, the company might be hoping to recreate the popularity of Pokemon GO. Would you play a new TCG app? I know I would as the TCG app that’s out now is out for tablets and not for mobile phones. Thoughts ?

Apple Introduces New App, Clips

Apple has debuted Clips, a new app that allows iPhone and iPad users to create “expressive videos.” It lets you combine video clips, photos and music into videos to share with friends through the Messages app, or on Instagram, Facebook and other social networks.

Clips also introduces Live Titles, a feature that lets users create animated captions and titles using just their voice. Effects including comic book filters, speech bubbles, shapes and full-screen animated posters. Clips lets users create multi-clip videos on iPhone or iPad without timelines, tracks or complicated editing tools, according to Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Apps Product Marketin. Touch and hold a single button to shoot live video and photos, or add them from the Photo Library. Then add artistic filters, speech bubbles, shapes or emoji. Users can also add full-screen posters with animated backgrounds and customizable text. Clips has dozens of music soundtracks to choose from, and they automatically adjust to match the length of a video. With Live Titles in Clips, users can add animated captions and titles using just their voice. Captions are generated automatically as a user speaks, and appear on screen perfectly synced with the user’s voice. Users can mix and match different styles, and tap any title to adjust text and punctuation, or even add inline emoji. Live Titles supports 36 different languages.

Videos made with Clips can be shared directly to social networks and video websites, including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo and more. When sharing with friends in Messages, Clips can suggest who to share with based on the people who appear in the video, and the people a user shares with most often. When a suggested name is selected, Clips inserts the video right into Messages so it’s ready to send with one tap.

Clips will be available on the Apple App Store for free beginning in April, and is compatible with iPhone 5s and later, the new 9.7-inch iPad, all iPad Air and iPad Pro models, iPad mini2 and later, and iPod touch 6th generation. Devices must be running iOS 10.3.

Miitomo Has Reached 5 Million Downloads On Android

Nintendo’s Miitomo app has surpassed 5 million downloads on Android, according to the app’s page on the Google Play store. This shows that Miitomo is still popular, even though it has been more than a month since the apps release. What do you think of Miitomo ?

Reddit Now Has An Official App

Reddit has just released an official iPhone app, simply titled Reddit. The app replaces Alien Blue, which has been the "official" for Reddit until now, though Alien Blue is still the official Reddit client for iPad, as the new Reddit app is iPhone only at this time. The app has both card and compact views, and also has dark mode "Reddit night" that was in Alien Blue. If you're skimming Reddit at work, there's a "safe for work browsing" switch that has you covered. Log into Reddit during this launch week and you’ll get a free 3-month trial of Reddit's gold membership. The membership is usually $3.99/month of $29.99/year, so you're essentially getting $12 worth of value from the launch week offer. Some perks of gold are the able to turn off ads, reddit themes and more. 

Nintendo’s First 5 Smartphone Apps Will Be Free to Play

The Wall Street Journal reports that DeNA has clarified some information on the first 5 Nintendo partnership games. The first 5 titles,will all be free to play. All 5 titles are due by March 2017. Nintendo previously announced that its first smartphone app Miitomo. The app appears to be a chat app with elements of Nintendo’s Tomodachi Life series using Nintendo’s Mii creation system. Anyone else bummed it’s not a actual game? What do you think of Miitomo ? I’d like to wait until the game comes out say anything about it, but its looks someone interesting from what we’ve seen of it. 

Adblock Comes To iOS And Android

Adblock has come to iOS and Android in the form of Adblock Browser, enabling people to cut out most or all ads on a web page. By blocking ads, the developer claims that the app can stop malware, cut bandwidth use in half, and improve battery life by as much as 23%. 

Is Facebook Making A Twitter Like App ?

It looks like Facebook is working on a standalone mobile news applications, according to Business Insider. The site says the app looks similar to Twitter, in that it will allows users to write in short brusts, 100 character push notifications to others when they have news to share. The app is in early alpha testing, but heres how it’s expected to work. Users download the new Facebook app and select which publications and topics they want to follow. When there is breaking news, notifications are sent out to users with a link to a news article where they can read more. There’s no word on when or if the app will see a public release.