Tag Archives: Software

Google begins calling out battery-killing Android apps

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Google is living up to its word and posting warning labels for battery-killing apps. 9to5Google spotted Google's rollout announcement, which the company previously said would arrive on March 1.

The label says, “This app may use more battery than expected due to high background activity.” If you don't yet see the warnings, they may not have reached you yet. Google says the banners will "roll out gradually to impacted apps" in the coming weeks.

Play Store battery warning
Play Store battery warning
Google

Warning labels aren’t the only stick in Google’s fight against infringing apps. They may also be excluded from discovery services like Play Store recommendations.

Google's definition of battery-draining apps centers around Android's "partial wake lock" mechanism. This service allows an app to keep the phone's processor running even while the screen is off. There are logical exceptions where apps do need this: audio playback, location access, etc. But the company apparently sees too many abusing that API for other reasons. And Google wouldn't want people to assume the problem is with the hardware and switch to an iPhone — because then we’re talking about money.

If you're a developer, Google's technical documentation offers much more detail. For everyone else, keep an eye out for those Play Store labels and consider steering clear of those apps until their devs clean things up.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/google-begins-calling-out-battery-killing-android-apps-170650936.html?src=rss

Apple Music can now flag AI content, but only if distributors elect to label it

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While music streaming apps like Bandcamp, Spotify and Deezer have taken steps to inform users about AI-generated content, we haven't heard much out of Apple Music in that regard. However, Apple Music has now introduced "Transparency Tags" designed to show listeners if any elements were generated in whole or part by AI. The catch is that Apple is leaving it up to labels and distributors to create those tags, according to an Apple newsletter to industry partners seen by Music Business Worldwide..  

"Proper tagging of content is the first step in giving the music industry the data and tools needed to develop thoughtful policies around AI, and we believe labels and distributors must take an active role in reporting when the content they deliver is created using AI," Apple wrote, calling it a concrete first step toward transparency around artificial intelligence.

Streaming platforms already use metadata tags for things like song and album titles, genre and the name of the artist. The new tags will now identify any artwork, tracks, compositions and music videos created in whole or in part by AI. 

However, Apple's new system requires labels and distributors to opt in and manually flag their use of AI, a system that's similar to what Spotify is doing. On top of that, Apple has no apparent enforcement mechanism for AI content. 

By contrast, other music platforms including Deezer and Bandcamp are using in-house AI-detection tools to flag content whether the distributor opts in or not. Deezer disclosed in January 2026 that it receives over 60,000 fully AI-generated tracks every day, double the number it saw in September 2025. Synthetic content, also called "AI slop," has accounted for 13.4 million tracks on its platform, Deezer added.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/apple-music-can-now-flag-ai-content-but-only-if-distributors-elect-to-label-it-121521873.html?src=rss

I Ran Android On A MacBook And Even Airdropped Files To iPhone at MWC 2026… And You Can Too

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Mirroring a MacBook screen onto an Android phone is not something you expect to work, let alone work fluidly with smooth animations. At HONOR’s MWC 2026 booth, it did exactly that, and then went further by letting you mirror the Magic V6’s display back onto the MacBook, turning the interaction into a genuine two-way street. Tap your HONOR device near an iPhone and files transfer between them, photos, videos, documents, the whole lot, with the kind of animated polish you associate with Apple’s own AirDrop. The same trick works with iPads. HONOR calls the system HONOR Share, and the cross-platform angle is just one layer of a much deeper ecosystem play the company quietly walked in and demonstrated on final, shipping hardware at one of the world’s biggest tech shows.

This cross-platform handshake is part of a broader upgrade to HONOR Share, and it extends well beyond just sending a photo to your friend’s iPhone. The company is positioning its new flagship trio, the Magic V6, MagicPad 4, and MagicBook Pro 14, as an open bridge rather than another walled garden. For the Magic V6, a feature called OneTap transfer allows it to push files directly to a Mac with a single touch, a claim that seems to hold up based on the MWC demos. It’s a direct, pointed solution to a daily friction point for anyone living with a foot in both ecosystems. While Google is still in the process of rolling out its own Quick Share-AirDrop interoperability to the wider Android world in 2026, HONOR just went ahead and shipped a finished product.

Designer: HONOR

The MagicRing integration goes several layers deeper than the Apple-facing features (FYI, it’s a software feature, not an actual ring). Within the HONOR ecosystem, the Magic V6, MagicPad 4, and MagicBook Pro 14 all communicate through HONOR Connect, and any screen can project onto any device bidirectionally, something Apple’s Sidecar only partially replicates within its own hardware range. The mechanics are drag-based: open HONOR Connect, find your target device, drag the screen sharing icon over to it, and projection starts. Bidirectional means both directions work, the MacBook’s display mirroring onto the foldable, the foldable mirroring onto the laptop, same process either way. Dropping files and folders between devices with continuity-style drag behavior runs natively on the MagicPad 4, without a companion app or cloud relay.

At 4.8mm thick with a 12.3-inch 3K OLED running at 165Hz, the MagicPad 4 is a serious piece of hardware to run a MacBook’s extended display onto. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 inside means you’re not compromising on the secondary screen, which matters when you’re doing real creative or coding work. Used as a real-time extended display for a MacBook, it eliminates the need for additional hardware, and for mixed-ecosystem users that’s already a compelling argument on its own. Cross-device drag-and-drop turns it into a productivity node rather than a conventional Android tablet, a designation very few Android tablets have earned. Xiaomi’s iOS Bridge in HyperOS 3.1 gestures at something similar but still relies on companion apps and hasn’t been demonstrated on final shipping hardware.

Apple’s Continuity framework has set the benchmark for multi-device workflows since 2014, and the gap between what Apple offers and what Android could offer was real enough to function as a legitimate reason to stay in Apple’s ecosystem. That gap is narrowing. The Magic V6’s foldable form factor already does things no iPhone can, and layering genuine Apple interoperability on top removes the last practical friction for anyone straddling both worlds. The MWC demo landed on execution: working software on final hardware, smooth animations, no companion apps required. For a certain kind of user, the question of whether to stay full-Apple or go mixed just got significantly harder.

HONOR’s AI Connect Platform, projected to integrate over 20,000 AI services by end of 2026, is the infrastructure underneath all of this, and the MWC demos are its first serious public proof of concept. The company has been repositioning from a budget device manufacturer into what it now calls a global AI device ecosystem company, and this is the first time that framing has been backed by something you could touch and test on a show floor. The Magic V6, running the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, is the first foldable to carry that chip and the anchor device pulling the whole network together. Google’s Quick Share-AirDrop interoperability is confirmed for broader rollout this year, but it carries sharing mode caveats that HONOR has already cleared. The demo in Barcelona was an answer, not a preview.

The post I Ran Android On A MacBook And Even Airdropped Files To iPhone at MWC 2026… And You Can Too first appeared on Yanko Design.

OpenAI brings its Codex coding app to Windows

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At the start of February, OpenAI upgraded its Codex coding app to give it the ability to manage multiple AI agents. At the same time, it released a standalone macOS app. If you've been patiently waiting for Windows to get that same treatment, OpenAI just released a dedicated Codex app for Microsoft's operating system. 

Like its macOS counterpart, the software allows you to coordinate multiple coding agents to work on the same task. There's also support for automations to streamline repetitive tasks like bug testing. To help users get started, Codex includes a dedicated "Skills" section. Skills bundle together instructions, resources and scripts the software can use to connect agents to specific tools and workflows. OpenAI has also included native sandboxing to help make Windows developers feel at home. 

Codex is available to ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus and Pro users. If you decide to give the app a try, know that your session history is saved to your OpenAI account, meaning you can start coding on Mac and then move to Windows without losing your work.   

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-brings-its-codex-coding-app-to-windows-195345429.html?src=rss

Google ends its 30 percent app store fee and welcomes third-party app stores

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Google is officially doing away with its 30 percent cut of Play Store transactions, and rolling out changes to how third-party app stores and alternate billing systems will be handled by Android. Some of these tweaks were proposed as part of the settlement the company reached with Epic in November 2025, but rather than wait for final judicial approval, Google is committing to revamping Android and the Play Store publicly.

The biggest change is to how Google will collect fees from developers publishing apps on Android. Rather than take its standard 30 percent cut of in-app purchases through the Play Store, Google is lowering its cut to 20 percent, and in some cases 15 percent for new installs of apps from developers participating in its new App Experience program or updated Google Play Games Level Up program. Those changes extend to subscriptions, too, where the company’s cut is lowering to 10 percent. For Google’s billing system, the company says developers in the UK, US, or European Economic Area (EEA) will now be charged a five percent fee and "a market-specific rate" in other regions. Of course, for anyone trying to avoid those fees, using alternatives to Google's billing system is getting easier.

Google says that developers will be able to offer alternative billing systems alongside its own or "guide users outside of their app to their own websites for purchases." The setup, as described by Google, appears to be more permissive than what Apple settled on in 2025. For iOS apps on the App Store, developers interested in avoiding Apple's fees can only direct customers to alternative payment methods on the web through in-app links. Allowing for these outside transactions is part of what prompted Epic to bring Fortnite back to the App Store in the US in May 2025. The developer added the app back to the Play Store in the US in December of that year, and Epic CEO Tim Sweeney shared alongside today's changes that Fortnite will soon be available in Google's app store globally.

Epic is ultimately interested in getting people to use the mobile version of its Epic Games Store, and Google’s announcement also includes details on how third-party app stores can come to Android. Third-party app stores will be able to apply to the company's new "Registered App Stores" program to see if they meet "certain quality and safety benchmarks." If they do, they'll be able to take advantage of a streamlined installation interface in Android. Participating in the program is optional, and users will still be able to sideload alternative app stores that aren't part of the program, but Google clearly has a preference.  Changes the company plans to make to sideloading later in 2026 could deliberately make the process more difficult, which might force developers to apply to Google’s program.

The interface for installing "qualified" third-party app stores on Android.
App stores approved by the Registered App Stores program get a simpler installation interface.
Google

Given the scale of the changes, not all of Google's tweaks will be available everywhere at the same time. Google says that its updated fee structure will come to the EEA, the UK and the US by June 30, Australia by September 30, Korea and Japan by December 31 and the entire world by September 30, 2027. Meanwhile, the company's updated Google Play Games Level Up program and new App Experience program will launch in the EEA, the UK, the US and Australia on September 30, before hitting the remaining regions alongside the updated fee structure. For any developers interested in offering their own app store, Google says it'll launch its Registered App Stores program "with a version of a major Android release" before the end of the year. According to the company, the program will be available in other regions first before it comes to the US.

Google has made changes to how it collects app store fees in the past, the most significant being in 2021, when it lowered its cut to 15 percent on the first $1 million developers earn, and 15 percent on subscriptions. The difference here is that the regulatory scrutiny brought about by Epic's lawsuit against Google and Apple seems to be a key motivator for its changes. Well, that, and an entirely separate business deal the company made with Epic. Google and Epic's settlement served as the basis for these changes, but The Verge reported in January that the companies also agreed to an $800 million joint partnership around product development and Google using Epic's "core technology." Letting developers keep more of their money is ultimately good, but it's a business decision Google felt comfortable making, which likely means it has its own share of upsides. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/google-ends-its-30-percent-app-store-fee-and-welcomes-third-party-app-stores-185248647.html?src=rss

TikTok won’t add end-to-end encryption to DMs

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If you’ve ever wondered if TikTok would ever offer a more secure messaging experience, you now have an answer. TikTok has told the BBC that it will not protect direct messages sent in the app with end-to-end encryption, because it believes it will make users less safe. In a briefing about security at its London office, TikTok said that implementing the technology would prevent its safety teams or law enforcement from being able to read messages if needed. The ByteDance-owned app framed it as a deliberate decision, made in an effort to keep users, especially younger ones, safe on its platform.

With end-to-end encryption, only the sender and receiver are able to read messages exchanged between them. The technology isn’t typically implemented in China, where ByteDance is located, though TikTok didn’t say whether its parent company had an influence on its decision. TikTok said messages sent through its app are still protected by standard encryption and only authorized employees will be able to access them if the app gets a request from authorities or gets user reports for harmful behavior.

You have a lot of other apps to choose from if you want to communicate through apps with end-to-end encryption. Apple’s iMessage and Google Messages use the technology, and there’s also Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal. It looks like TikTok just isn’t the place to go if you want to use secure messaging, though it’s unclear if its US entity also shares the same stance. If you’ll recall, TikTok signed a deal to spin off its US business, which is now an entity called the TikTok USDS Joint Venture. A group of non-Chinese investors, including Oracle, purchased an 80 percent stake on the app, while ByteDance retained only a 19.9 percent stake. The entity will be in charge of content moderation in the country and will retrain TikTok’s algorithm on US users’ data.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/tiktok-wont-add-end-to-end-encryption-to-dms-123431502.html?src=rss

X adds ‘Paid Partnership’ labels so users can more easily identify ads

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X is rolling out a built-in “Paid Partnership” label that creators can apply to sponsored posts, replacing the hashtag workarounds they’ve had to rely on until now. The feature, announced by the platform’s head of product Nikita Bier, adds a toggle that places a disclosure label directly below a post’s content. It can also be applied retroactively.

The label is meant to help creators comply with years-old FTC regulations requiring clear disclosure of sponsored content. The agency sent out letters reminding influencers about this requirement in 2017, and Instagram added a disclosure feature that same year. Without a native tool, X creators had been left to use hashtags like #ad and #paidpartnership.

X has been trying to court creators for some time with tools like ad-revenue sharing and creator subscriptions, but the platform still struggles with major image issues following a string of scandals like Grok creating CSAM. The Elon Musk-owned platform is under investigation both domestically and abroad for the AI agent’s behavior.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/x-adds-paid-partnership-labels-so-users-can-more-easily-identify-ads-183528227.html?src=rss

Anthropic’s Claude grabs top spot in App Store after Trump’s ban

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Anthropic may have lost out on doing business with the US government, but it's gained enough popularity to earn the number one spot on the App Store's Top Free Apps leaderboard. At the top, Claude beat out both ChatGPT and Google Gemini, which respectively sit at the second and third spots on Apple's free apps charts.

The sudden surge in user downloads isn't random. It follows news that President Trump has barred any federal agency from using Anthropic's Claude or other AI tools after the AI company refused to concede on certain guardrails. After declining to have its AI models be used for mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons, Anthropic was also threatened with a "supply-chain risk" label by the Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The very public spat led to a wave of user support that finally allowed Claude to dethrone OpenAI's ChatGPT on the App Store as the most downloaded free app.

While OpenAI has stepped into Anthropic's shoes after agreeing to a deal with the Department of Defense, the CEO still offered up some thoughts about the debacle during an AMA on X. Even though Claude is a competing model, Sam Altman said that Anthropic's supply-chain risk designation was "a very bad decision" that he's hoping gets reversed. On top of that, OpenAI's CEO called Anthropic's blacklisting "an extremely scary precedent," but he's "still hopeful for a much better resolution."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/anthropics-claude-grabs-top-spot-in-app-store-after-trumps-ban-193610130.html?src=rss

A cheap MacBook is the perfect way for Apple to win over Windows users

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The MacBook is coming back — or at least, that's what the rumors claim. Next week, Apple is expected to announce a colorful, low-cost, non-Air, non-Pro MacBook powered by one of its mobile processors. By avoiding its pricier M-series chips, Apple may reportedly be able to reach a low $699 or $799 price for the MacBook. The $999 MacBook Air is the cheapest laptop on the company's website right now, but Apple also sold the older M1 MacBook Air at Walmart for $700 in 2024, which later went down to $650 last year.

That Walmart deal was a smart way for Apple to test out the viability of cheaper MacBooks without building an entirely new product. But now the M1 Air’s design looks seriously dated, and the company also needs to move beyond the six-year-old M1 chip. It's time to get serious about delivering a true low-cost Apple laptop.

There's another compelling reason to bring back a cheaper MacBook: It's the perfect way  to court disgruntled Windows users, something Apple hasn't really done since its "Get A Mac" ads from the mid-2000s. I figure the unbridled success of the iPhone and iPad made Apple focus less on directly competing with Windows. The sleek designs of the 2011-2015 era MacBook Air and Pros were their main selling points, but Apple's push towards USB-C-only machines and unreliable butterfly keyboards later made it clear it wasn't totally focused on Macs.

But now Microsoft is distracted by AI — it's been pushing Copilot and AI features for years, instead of improving the Windows experience with more useful upgrades. Recent talk of agentic AI capabilities, which would let Copilot handle tasks for you automatically, also sparked plenty of criticism from Windows users. And with all of the focus on AI, Microsoft has also released some disastrous Windows updates over the last year, which have bricked OS installations. So, Apple, why not make a direct play for Windows users? 

Last year, I covered why it's a great time to jump ship from Windows to Mac, and I haven't been able to let go of that idea since. Apple's M-series chips are shockingly fast and efficient, and its hardware tends to be more durable than typical PC fare. Rumors point to Apple developing a new aluminum case for the low-cost MacBook, so it will likely feel more polished than a typical sub-$1,000 Windows laptop. macOS has also avoided the bloat that's plagued Windows for years — you can turn off Apple Intelligence with two clicks if you want to, and there aren't any annoying ads to deal with. 

A laptop on a table.
A MacBook Air M5 on a table.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget

And while it used to be a pain to transition from Windows to Mac, it’s far easier these days, especially if you mainly rely on web apps. It also wouldn't be tough for Apple to make short tutorials to help Windows users get their bearings with the macOS basics, like installing apps and juggling app windows. Apple could also make a play for iPhone owners using Windows, who may not be aware of the many ways iOS and macOS are integrated. iPhone mirroring may be a huge draw on its own.

Rumors also suggest the upcoming MacBook might use the A18 Pro from the iPhone 16 Pro, a chip that benchmarks faster than the M1. Even if it only has six cores, making it slower for heavy workloads than the M2, an A18 Pro-powered MacBook would still be more than enough power for basic productivity work. Not everyone needs the surprising amount of GPU power in the MacBook Air — especially if downgrading means they can save $200 to $300.

I'm not saying any of this through any sort of Apple-loving bias. I typically use a MacBook Pro for work, but I'm a Windows user at heart. Windows was my gateway to computing in the '90s, back when Macs were far more expensive than PCs. These days, I spend more time on my Windows desktop making podcasts, playing PC games and bumming around the internet than I do working on Macs. 

And yet, it’s hard to deny everything Apple is doing right today — the only thing it’s missing is an inexpensive laptop entry. A $699 or $799 MacBook simply makes sense. And for many Windows users, it’ll be just the escape from Microsoft they need.



This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/a-cheap-macbook-is-the-perfect-way-for-apple-to-win-over-windows-users-130000045.html?src=rss

Google’s Nano Banana 2 is a faster version of Nano Banana Pro

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Google has launched its new image generation model, the Nano Banana 2, which is powered by Gemini 3.1 Flash Image. The company says the new model has the capabilities, world knowledge and reasoning of Nano Banana Pro, but it can accomplish tasks at “lightning-fast speed.” That enables rapid editing and the quick creation of various iterations using a single prompt.

Nano Banana 2 will give more people access to capabilities that were previously exclusive to the Pro model. That includes Pro’s ability to pull real-time information and images from web searches to create, say, infographics and diagrams. It will also be able to generate texts on images for marketing materials and greeting cards.

Google says Nano Banana 2 can maintain character resemblance for up to five characters in a single workflow, which could be especially valuable if you’re using it to create storyboards or visual stories. It can follow precise instructions for complex requests, as well, and can generate input with up to 4K in resolution with richer textures and sharper details than its predecessors could.

Nano Banana Pro could already generate images so realistic, it’s almost impossible to tell that they were AI-generated. Google even had to limit its use due to high demand. Whether Nano Banana 2 can generate images that are markedly better than what Pro could create — and whether we could still tell if an image was made by AI — remains to be seen. The new model will replace Nano Banana Pro in the Gemini app, but Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers will retain access to Nano Banana Pro for specialized tasks. It will also be the default model in Search for AI Mode and Lens, as well as in Google’s Flow AI creative studio.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/googles-nano-banana-2-is-a-faster-version-of-nano-banana-pro-160000695.html?src=rss