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As promised, Snapchat has gained universal search and updated look

As promised recently, Snapchat's mobile application was refreshed on App Store this morning with an updated look and a brand new universal search feature. Snapchat 10.0 for iOS, a free download from App Store, puts a universal search bar at the top of the interface. Other aspects of Snapchat's experience have been refined as well. The refreshed look was available to Android users for some time now as the company said it would reach iPhone users soon, and now it's made good on that promise.

Galaxy S8’s assistant to be called Bixby, offer camera-based visual search & text recognition

Galaxy S8 is widely expected to include a new Siri-like personal assistant, called Bixby, which may let users search for objects identified in a photograph and recognize text on images. These features should be integrated directly into Samsung's standard Camera app via a dedicated Bixby button, SamMobile learned Thursday.

Aside from these rumored visual search features, Bixby is thought to let the user control all stock apps and conduct payments, similar to Apple's Siri, and more.

How to quickly fix mispronounced Siri queries

You may be aware that there is already a feature in iOS that sort of lets you type in your questions to Siri instead of using voice commands. It's quite handy for those situations when talking aloud isn't an option or Siri fails to recognize repeatedly what you said. Starting with iOS 10, Siri includes a “Maybe You Said” feature.

Taking advantage of machine learning and artificial intelligence, it suggests corrections for mispronunciations or incorrectly recognized queries. In this post, you'll learn how to leverage this feature to avoid having to manually correct any mispronounced words.

Apple TV universal search expands to Apple Music and nine other apps

Following last week's additions of AMC and The Hallmark Channel to the list of apps which work with tvOS's universal search, as many as ten additional apps have now gained support for this feature, including Apple Music. Apple's list of universal search providers was updated at pos time to reflect this. With universal search, 4th generation Apple TV owners can use their voice to search movies and TV shows across all supported apps.

AMC and The Hallmark Channel added to Apple TV universal search

As first reported by MacRumors, Apple on Tuesday added AMC and The Hallmark Channel to its growing list of video apps supporting tvOS's universal search function, which lets owners of the fourth-generation Apple TV in the U.S. use Siri voice search to find TV shows and movies across participating channels.

Other video apps have gained support for tvOS's universal search feature this fall, including Australian streaming service Stan, popular Spanish network Telemundo Now, The CW, Viacom-owned Comedy Central, and music networks MTV and VH1.

You can now start Chrome in Voice Search or Incognito mode from Spotlight Search

Google added Spotlight Search integration to Chrome for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch back in January 2016, allowing you to search for your Google bookmarks using iOS's Spotlight feature. Today, the Internet giant issued a small update to Chrome for iOS, bumping version number to 55.0.2883.79 and adding a pair of enhancements.

The first lets you start Chrome in Voice Search mode or open a new Incognito tab right from Spotligh.

As for the other change, Google has now removed the folder named All Bookmarks from your bookmarks view in Chrome “by popular request”.

Google Maps for iOS updated with searching along route and Nearby Traffic widget

Google today pushed an update to its native Maps app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, adding a pair of new features whilst bumping version number to 4.25.0. Like with Apple Maps, Google's app now supports searching for points of interest along your route while in navigation mode. In addition, you can also see traffic information on your Home/Lock screen and in the Notification Center with a handy new Nearby Traffic widget.

Early App Store Search Ads adopters seeing $0.40 CPA and 49.4 percent conversion

Announced in June of this year, first ads started cropping up in search results on the App Store beginning October 5. Aside from a few launch hiccups, App Store search advertisements seem to be performing pretty well in their early days.

A new study by mobile data intelligence firm Mobile Action—based on a random and anonymous sampling of 77 Search Ads campaigns—has determined that the average Conversion Rate (CR) is 49.4 percent while Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) sits around $0.40.

Search Ads, the survey concludes, is “the biggest opportunity in app marketing right now.”

Search Ads are now live in the App Store

As promised, Apple on Wednesday officially launched Search Ads in the App Store. You'll notice them at the top of select App Store search results, denoted by a light blue background and a clear 'Ad' placed just below the app's name.

In our few quick tests, we saw Search Ads for generic terms like 'email,' 'weather,' and 'calendar,' as well as for specific app names like 'Uber.' Sometimes the ad matched our search term, and sometimes it showed a competing product.

App Store Search Ads go live October 5, Apple offering developers $100 credit

Apple on Wednesday began emailing developers regarding the launch of App Store Search Ads. The ads will go live in the App Store on October 5, and for a limited time qualified developers can get a $100 credit toward their first campaign.

The Search Ads have been in beta testing since the feature was announced in June. Apple describes it as an "efficient and easy way to promote apps at the top of relevant search results," and promises this won't negatively affect app searches.

Snapchat rolls out Sticker Search

Snapchat recently rolled out a minor refresh to its iPhone application in the App Store, bumping version number to 9.39.3.0 and bringing out a new Sticker Search feature. As the feature's name suggests, this lets you find precisely the sticker you want simply by typing its description. A previous Snapchat update introduced a few tweaks, including support for caption styling with the new bold, underline and italic options.