Light Start: Twitter wants TikTok, Apple Watches with sleep tracking, Twitch Prime rebrand and comparing Apples to Pears

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Twitter wants in on the US TikTok deal

The brawl to acquire the Chinese short-format app TikTok in the US has gained another fighter. It now looks like Twitter may also be keen on buying out TikTok’s US-based operations. Following the news that Microsoft was looking to purchase, apparently there has been some preliminary talks about Twitter doing the same. 

Although Microsoft is still the front-runner, there’s some hope that Twitter can swoop in and take the acquisition from under the. Honestly, we would prefer a Twitter-owned TikTok, just because the company has built and grown a social platform that can be respected. Microsoft hasn’t managed that in its many years of being a software company. But we can’t get too excited just yet. Twitter’s position in this deal is fairly insignificant, according to The Wall Street Journal. Remember, Twitter is far smaller than Microsoft, and the bigger conglomerate can easily outbid it. 

But this isn’t a small acquisition and all companies bidding on the app could face increasing security-related scrutiny — something Microsoft may not want to deal with, and something Twitter is used to dealing with. We’ll have to wait out the 45-day reprieve set up by pres. Donald Trump to see how this whole deal plays out. 

Source: The Wall Street Journal[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Apple Watches are finally getting sleep tracking in the new watchOS 7 beta

You know that feature almost every other smartwatch or fitness tracker already sports? The Fitbit range implemented sleep tracking years before most smartwatches had the capability, followed by almost all other fitness tracker and smartwatch brands in the world. 

Now, it looks like the industry’s premier smartwatch, the Apple Watch, is finally introducing sleep tracking in its newest update to watchOS 7. The watchOS 7 software beta is available for the public now, and it includes new watch faces and sleep tracking. “watchOS 7 comes with a new Sleep app that’ll show you how many hours you’re asleep each night — though Apple isn’t yet diving into the quality of sleep and different cycles,” The Verge reports. 

One of our worries with the introduction of sleep tracking on the Apple Watch range, is the abysmal battery life on these little gadgets. Fitbit’s and HuaweiGT smartwatches last anywhere from a week to two weeks on a charge with sleep tracking every evening. Apple Watches, by design, don’t last more than two days, and sleep tracking will likely bring that time down significantly. The thing is, for sleep tracking to work, you need to wear the watch during the night. Every night. But if you’re keen, you can test the new beta features by updating to watchOS 7. 

Source: The Verge[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Twitch Prime has been rebranded to Prime Gaming

Twitch streaming platform’s parent company Amazon has made a small leap of faith. Okay, it’s not that much of a leap of faith, but what it does do, is cement its plan with Twitch. Amazon took the step when it rebranded its Twitch Prime subscription service for the game streaming site.

Hold onto your hats, fam, because this is a big change that absolutely no-one cares about. Twitch Prime will from now forth be known as Prime Gaming. It’s a strange move that comes while the platform is increasingly being used by creators and creatives outside of the gaming industry. The new service, which is for Amazon Prime subscribers who pay $120 per year, still gifts players with free titles and in-game items, among other things. 

The service has been running for Twitch users since 2016 following Amazon’s acquisition of Twitch in 2014. Now it is the spot to be if you’re keen on streaming games. Some creators also stream music, DJ sessions, live band performances, cosplay tutorials, podcasts and a whole bunch of different categories. Users would now have to sign up for Prime Gaming to get more value on terms of gaming content and free games. Fair enough. 

Source: Prime Gaming[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Apple is threatening a small company with a pear logo

It has been a rough month for top tech companies in the US who have been facing numerous antitrust violations in court. Because, well, they’ve all done some dodgy deals in the past, not to mention most of ‘em have very clear monopoly in their industries. Now, Apple is once again and quite literally, picking on the little guy. 

The multi-billion-dollar corporation is putting pressure on a small homegrown business called Prepear. It’s but a small business and “connected cooking app” service that specialises in meal prep, recipe databases, and online grocery shopping. Apple’s quite literally comparing Apples to Pears in the recent debacle, with Apple arguing that the pear logo used by Prepear is too similar to its own Apple logo that the whole world knows all-too-well. It claims Prepear’s minimalist green pear logo too closely resembles Apple’s non-pear logo. Sure guys. I think we need to step back and realise we’re grabbing at straws here. Prepear has a total of five employees in comparison to Appl’e’s how many? 

Despite the fact that Prepear’s logo legitimately looks nothing like Apple’s, the tech giant is still threatening legal action that is very clearly an intimidation tactic. Because where is a small-time company going to find the legal representation and funding to take on one of the most powerful tech conglomerates in recent history? We’ll wait. 

Source: The Verge[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]