Microsoft has begun rolling out Cortana inside of its Skype apps, the company said yesterday.
Microsoft is starting to roll out Cortana inside of Skype
Messaging
Instagram launches new ways to reply with photos and videos in Direct
Instagram on Thursday announced new ways to reply with photos and videos in Direct that the company hopes will help users conduct fun conversation with their friends in a more visually appealing manner, including one feature that permits you to send a split-screen reply.
Honolulu becomes first major US city to ban texting while crossing the street
Honolulu, the capital of Hawaii and gateway to the US island chain, has become the first US city to pass a legislation aimed at reducing injuries and deaths from “distracted walking”.
WhatsApp gains chat pinning, comprehensive file sharing & more in latest update
As part of a broader set of capabilities recently teased for the Facebook-owned WhatsApp messaging platform, the app has now gained a trio of new features in the latest update. WhatsApp version 2.17.40 for iOS brings a chat pinning feature, multi-format file sharing and other improvements.
With the pinning feature, you can make it so your favorite chats remain at the top of the list, so you can quickly find them. To use this feature, just swipe right on a chat in the conversation list, then tap a Pin or Unpin option.
The app has also expanded the file sharing feature, which now allows you to share any type of file with one or more recipients. To send files of any type, open a chat, tap the plus icon at the bottom then choose the Document option.
In the popup menu, select your favorite storage provider like iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive and so forth (any app that includes an iOS Document Provider extension should be available from the menu).
And lastly, when you receive multiple photos the app now lets you tap and hold on the group of photos to quickly forward or delete all of them in one fell swoop.
Download WhatsApp for iPhone, iPad and iPod for free from App Store.
Facebook rolling out Messenger ads globally
Ads on Facebook's popular mobile chatting app, Messenger, are now available to advertisers globally, the company said today. Advertisers and brands will be able to add Messenger to their campaigns using existing tools and targeting options.
“A small percentage of people will begin to see ads in their Messenger Home tab towards the end of this month as we build ads inventory,” said Facebook. The social network will gradually extend Messenger ads to more people over the coming months.
Facebook company began injecting ads into people’s conversations on Messenger in the second quarter of 2016. Messenger lets brands send ads as messages to those who previously interacted with that company using the Messenger app.
Only folks who have voluntarily chatted with a business can be sent ads, for now.
https://messenger.fb.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/video-1499474456-1.mp4
When you tap an ad in Messenger's Home tab, you'll be sent to the destination the advertiser chose during the ad's creation, which can be either their official website or a Messenger chat.
The suite of Messenger ads also include sponsored messages and click-to-Messenger ads.
Sponsored messages let business re-engage with people who have started a conversation with them while click-to-Messenger ads drive users to a conversation after they interact with the ad in Facebook, Instagram or Messenger.
Facebook brings animated reactions, filters, masks and effects to Messenger calls
As part of celebrating its two billion monthly active users milestone, Facebook on Monday unveiled new video chat features for its mobile Messenger app, such as the beautifully animated reactions, interactive filters, masks and effects. “Video chats with your friends and family in Messenger just got a whole lot more fun,” said the firm.
You can use these new video features in one-on-one video calls, as well as in your group video conversations. The new capabilities let you easily share your emotions during a video call with one of the five Facebook reactions, alter your appearance (how about making your friend laugh with a bear mask?) by taking advantage of the many built-in filters and much more.
I like how reactions animate onto the screen and then disappear.
Many reactions have different versions, depending on whether your face is on or off the screen. For instance, tap the love reaction when the camera is facing you, then tap it again when the camera is facing outward to see the difference.
A variety of in-call filters are now available to Messenger users, ranging from subtle lighting tweaks to color changes, like black and white, red or yellow. Each one has a live preview so you can test it on yourself before letting others see it. Many new masks are available for video calls, too, including some with hidden effects that react to your facial movements.
From the Facebook blog:
We have also added animated effects, like falling hearts and twinkling stars, to give your video chats expressive flair. Check out what happens when you wave your arm in front of the camera while using one of those effects! Unlike reactions, masks and effects stay on the screen for the duration of the video chat (or until you take them off or switch to another one).
One of the best new in-call video features is the screenshotting ability.
During an one-on-one or group video call with one or more friends, tap the camera icon at the bottom to take a screenshot of your time together and share it with other friends via Messenger Day or other social media accounts
The image of your video conversation will be saved to your iPhone's Camera roll. Plus, you can quickly send the screenshot to the person or group that you’re video chatting with.
Check out the new Messenger video features in Facebook's video embedded below.
Earlier today, Microsoft started rolling out a much redesigned Skype for iPhone with a Snapchat-like Stories feature, dubbed Highlights.
Moreover, Skype for iPhone now lets you talk to Cortana and other chat bots, as well as post message and in-call reactions by adding huge emoticons, live text and photos with drawings to an overlay that appears on top of the call.
Facebook Messenger is available free on App Store.
Skype for iPhone gains chat bots, its version of Stories, message & in-call reactions and more
Following a preview at the start of June, Microsoft today began rolling out a redesigned Skype for iPhone app with a refined user interface and new capabilities such as chat bots, a Snapchat-like Highlights feature, message and in-call reactions, easier photo capture and more.
Aside from Microsoft's own smart assistant Cortana, other chat bots now available or coming soon to Skype for iPhone include Gfycat, Giphy, MSN Weather, Bing, Polls, Expedia, Stubhub, BigOven, YouTube and Upworthy.
With in-call reactions, users can add live emoticons, live text and even real-time photos to an overlay that appears on their video and voice calls. Similarly, message reactions let you inform your chat participants how you feel by adding expressive reactions to your chats.
The new Home screen launches with your chat view, but you can now swipe left to get to the Skype camera or swipe right to show your Highlights. Speaking of which, Highlights is a new Snapchat-like feature that lets you share your day-to-day with friends and family on Skype while keeping up with what they are up to.
Your highlight is basically a collection of photos and videos that you can decorate with emojis and text. Only people who follow you on Skype can see your highlights.
You can also respond to others' highlights by reacting with emoticons or even use them as a conversation starter. Unlike Snapchat, your published highlights remain live for a full week.
It remains to be seen if Highlights gains any traction given that every major chat app now has a similar feature of its own. Between Snapchat Stories, Facebook and Instagram Stories, I'm not sure I have the time to update Skype Highlights for my contacts on a daily basis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qItfRVJFljM
Microsoft readily admits that Highlights is a Snapchat clone.
“There’s a new medium that has risen,” Amritansh Raghav, Corporate Vice President of Skype, said recently of Stories in a comment to TechCrunch. “When you think about this new way of interacting, we want that to be available also in this app.”
The new features are available in Skype for iPhone, but not in Skype for iPad. Skype for Mac and Windows computers will receive the new capabilities within the next few months.
According to Microsoft, a future version of Skype will integrate gaming features into video calls and users will have the ability to synchronize and watch streaming videos together.
Visit skype.com/new to learn more about the app's latest feature additions.
Skype for iPhone and Skype for iPad are available free on App Store.
Video: watch iOS 11 Messages new “Echo” and “Spotlight” fullscreen effects in action
Apple's expressive Messages app gained some interesting fullscreen effects with last year's release of iOS 10. With iOS 11, Apple is bringing a pair of brand new effects to the built-in messaging app, called “Echo” and “Spotlight”.
The two new effects are in addition to the existing ones: Balloons, Celebration, Confetti, Love, Lasers, Fireworks and Shooting Star. To use these effects, press the Send button in Messages with 3D Touch, then tap the Screen tab at the top to swipe through real-time effect previews.
Echo, as the title suggests, multiplies your text all over the screen. Spotlight puts a large spotlight on your chat bubble to emphasize your text.Watch the new Messages effect in action.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur08nXULKvo
Subscribe to iDownloadBlog on YouTube.
As for the so-called bubble effects, no new ones have been added in iOS 11. iOS 10 currently includes five different bubble effects: Slam, Loud, Gentle and Invisible Ink.
How do you like the two fancy new effects in Messages for iOS 11?
Let us know by posting a comment below.
Twitter’s inbox now separates out messages from people you don’t follow
Twitter is rolling out a new inbox section which it says is designed to separate direct messages from people you do and don’t follow, making it easier to accept or delete unsolicited chats.
“If you’ve opted-in to get Direct Messages from anyone, messages from people you don’t follow will go into Requests in the Messages tab,” wrote the company in a tweet yesterday.
New group chats you’re added to by people you don’t follow will also appear in Requests.
Upon entering the chat, you'll be asked to either Delete or Accept the message. Accepting the chat moves it to your inbox, allowing you to continue the conversation with that person.
“Please note that they will not know you have seen the message until you have accepted their request,” said Twitter. All media will be hidden prior to accepting the message.
If you wish to view any hidden media, tap the View Media option.
https://twitter.com/Twitter/status/869608493548011520
Conversely, deleting the message removes it from the inbox although that account is still able to message you in the future unless you block or report it. These new features are available on the mobile Twitter app for iOS and Android and on twitter.com.
TUTORIAL: How to find Messenger chats you didn't know existed
Facebook-owned Messenger introduced a similar feature back in October 2015, replacing the “Other” inbox with a Message Requests section that brought all the messages from people you’re not friends with on Facebook in one central place, separate from your regular chats.
Grab Twitter for iOS for free from App Store.
Instagram Direct now lets you send links and images in landscape and portrait orientations
Instagram yesterday announced a pair of minor updates for Direct, a direct-messaging feature built into its mainland mobile app for iOS and Android. For starters, Instagram Direct now supports sending images and videos in portrait and landscape orientations.
Plus, Instagram is just now offering support for sending links in direct messages.
The ability to send a permanent photo or video in landscape and portrait orientations through Direct means you no longer have to worry about weirdly cropping it as it will now show up properly in its intended orientation.
“We’ve added support for links in Direct,” noted the company. “You can share website links with friends and preview them directly from your thread.” As a bonus, the team also has implemented automatic links to phone numbers and addresses send through Direct.
Landscape and portrait uploads in Direct are available today on iOS, with Android coming soon. Links in Direct messages are available today on both iOS and Android.
Today's features are part of Instagram's version 10.22 update.
Grab Instagram for free via App Store.
AI powered, end-to-end encrypted calls now available in Telegram Desktop
Secure instant messaging service Telegram today launched voice calls in its desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux nearly two months after implementing the voice-calling feature in Telegram Messenger for iPhone and iPad.
To make sure Telegram calls are the best in terms of quality, speed and security, the app uses artificial intelligence to update its neural network after each call about things such as network speed, ping times, packet loss percentage and other factors that influence the quality of your VoIP calls.
Based on gathered data, the app optimizes dozens of parameters to improve the quality of future calls on the given device and network. By default, Telegram calls are lightweight.
https://twitter.com/telegram/status/864543129847955457
If there's a change in your connection during the call, the app will make necessary adjustments.
For instance, Telegram may boost your sound quality on stable Wi-Fi connection or use less data if your Wi-Fi or cellular coverage is spotty at best.
Whenever possible, your calls will go over a peer-to-peer connection using the best audio codecs to save traffic while providing “crystal-clear quality.” When a peer-to-peer connection cannot be established, the app will use the closest server to you.
Telegram has its own distributed infrastructure all over the world to ensure the fastest possible delivery of your texts and seamless voice calling experience. As mentioned, VoIP calls on Telegram use end-to-end encryption, just like the app's Secret Chats feature, to prevent eavesdropping.
For voice calls, however, they've improved the key exchange mechanism. “To make sure your call is 100 percent secure, you and your recipient just need to compare four emoji”, said the team.
Bottom line: the quality of Telegram calls will further improve as you and others use them, thanks to the built-in machine learning. And with group calling, video calling and screen sharing apparently on the team's to-do list, Telegram is bound to become a capable Skype alternative.
As soon as VoIP calls are enabled for your country, a phone icon will appear on every profile page in Telegram Desktop.
Telegram for iOS is available free via App Store.
Telegram Desktop can be downloaded from Mac App Store or through the official website.
How to change the default notification sound in Viber for iPhone
In this tutorial, we will show you how to change the default notification sound for all chats or choose different sounds for each of your chats in the Viber app on your iPhone or iPad.