Airbnb rolls out a host of new perks for hosts

Airbnb has more than 4 million hosts managing accommodations and experiences on its platform. Now, as it looks to drive more bookings, it’s on the hunt for more. After introducing a major redesign for customers earlier this year, Airbnb is now turning its attention to improving the experience

Supported iPhones in the US and Canada can now contact emergency services via satellite

Months after it was announced at an event in September, Emergency SOS via satellite, Apple’s service for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro that uses satellite to route emergency calls, launched today. Supported iPhones in the U.S. and Canada updated with the latest iOS 16 can send an SOS even w

Google Play finally adds UPI subscriptions in India

Unified Payments Interface — commonly known as UPI — has become the most popular mobile payment route for P2P and merchant payments in India, and now Google's stepping up with updated UPI functionality to meet user demand. Google Play has enabled users in the South Asian country to make sub

The Epic Games-Apple antitrust battle resumes today in appeals court

Apple’s antitrust battle against Fortnite maker Epic Games is returning to the courtroom after both sides appealed last year’s ruling in a potentially precedent-setting case over Apple’s alleged anti-competitive behavior. Last year, a U.S. District Court judge had largely favored

Apple faces new lawsuit over its data collection practices in first-party apps, like the App Store

A new lawsuit is taking on Apple’s data collection practices in the wake of a recent report by independent researchers who found Apple was continuing to track consumers in its mobile apps, even when they had explicitly configured their iPhone privacy settings to turn tracking off. In a propos

DoorDash rolls out new safety features for delivery people on its platform

DoorDash is rolling out new in-app safety features to help ensure delivery people on its platform are safe before, during and after every order. Now, if DoorDash detects that a delivery is taking longer than expected, the app will automatically check to see if the delivery person is okay. The new c

Numerous social apps see gains in wake of Twitter chaos, new data shows

The drama at Twitter following Elon Musk’s acquisition has seen some users looking for an exit. In recent days, alternative social apps and microblogging platforms have seen strong gains, including, most notably, the open source decentralized Twitter alternative Mastodon. The service’s

Have you tried turning it off and on again, Elon?

A few days ago, new Twitter owner Elon Musk said that the company will try a lot of dumb things in the coming days. And that seems to be the product strategy of the company — even if it causes utter chaos all around. It’s a tough time for anyone keeping tabs on changes at the social network

Google Play to pilot third-party billing in new markets, including US; Bumble joins Spotify as early tester

Google today announced it’s expanding its user choice billing pilot, which allows Android app developers to use other payment systems besides Google’s own. The program will now become available to new markets, including the U.S., Brazil and South Africa, and Bumble will now join Spotify

Pinterest launches its collage-making app Shuffles to the general public

Pinterest’s new collage-making app Shuffles is now available to the general public, after entering an invite-only test phase earlier this summer. The app grew in popularity with Gen Z users, who used the creative expression tool to make “aesthetic” collages, sometimes set to music and p

Apple pledges $450M toward expanding the satellite infrastructure powering Emergency SOS

As a part of its Advanced Manufacturing Fund, Apple will invest $450 million in satellite network and ground stations to power Emergency SOS, its service for the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro lineups that uses satellite to route emergency calls, the company announced today. The majority of the fundin

Google is launching cross-platform features to make it easier to follow the FIFA World Cup

Google is rolling out a bunch of updates across platforms making it easier for fans to follow the FIFA World Cup starting November 20. These include a daily highlights video from TV networks, customized notifications, a dedicated section on Google TV and a multiplayer game. Just like for any sport,

YouTube Music and Premium top 80 million paid subscribers

Today, YouTube announced that it surpassed 80 million YouTube Music and Premium subscribers globally, including customers using free trials. The year-over-year increase of 30 million subscribers is noteworthy and puts the company on track to becoming one of the top streaming music providers. In Sep

Spotify revamps its Apple Watch app with larger artwork and new features, like direct downloads

Spotify today announced it’s revamping its Apple Watch experience. The new version of the small-screen streaming app has been redesigned to make it easier for users to find the music or podcasts they want to hear from the “Your Library” section, as well as catch up with the latest