Friday, September 30, 2016

Type in 5 different languages at once with latest SwiftKey Beta

best android keyboards

SwiftKey has been on the news a lot as of late: it got itself in a bit of an awkward situation a few months ago and had to suspend its cloud syncing, and just a few weeks ago, it announced that the keyboard will now be powered by a neural network to improve suggestions. With the latest beta, SwiftKey takes that even further by adding more languages, and now you can even type in five different languages at once!

Among the new additions that are coming with the latest beta, the biggest one might be its support for five simultaneous languages. Yes, five. If you are multilingual – and especially if you speak more than two languages – switching back and forth between languages can be very annoying. SwiftKey already supported two languages to be typed at once, but now the company has increased that number to five. No more tediously searching for the right language!

Another is the expansion of its neural network support. Earlier in September, SwiftKey introduced us to its new word prediction system: a neural network. It essentially looks at the whole sentence rather than a few preceding words to offer better suggestions. Unfortunately, the neural network was only available for English, but now French, German, and Spanish will also be powered by the company's neural network.

With the latest beta version, you also get more language support and some UI changes. You can check out the full changelog below:

  • You can now type in 5 languages at once!
  • We've added 4 new languages: Sindhi Pakistan, Pashto, Scottish Gaelic, Uyghur
  • New Neural Net languages: French, German & Spanish
  • You can now turn on/off key press popups
  • New setting in a tablet layout to turn on/off dedicated emoji key that appears to the left of the space bar
  • No more red underlines when typing in multiple languages
  • Bottom row now visible on stroke + emoji + arrow + landscape layout
best android keyboardsSee also: 10 best Android keyboards185

If you already have the SwiftKey Beta app, you should be able to see the update; if you don't, click the button below to download it and give it a go!

Download from Play Store

Have you noticed improvements in word prediction with SwiftKey's new neural network? Will you be taking advantage of being able to type in five languages at once? Let us know by leaving a comment below!



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Data from the US Department of Education's College Scorecard is now available in Google Search

scorecard

If you're a student, you've probably used Google to look up information about colleges and universities. You've also likely noticed that most, if not all, schools have their own personalized cards with figures such as acceptance rate, tuition, total enrollment, and endowment. Now, Google is partnering with the US Department of Education to integrate statistics from the College Scorecard into Google Search.

In case you didn't know what the College Scorecard is (I didn't), it's a website that contains a college search tool and "nearly 2,000 elements for more than 7,000 institutions, dating back 18 years." In other words, it could be a major assistant for high school students who are applying to college in the near future.

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Data from the US Department of Education's College Scorecard is now available in Google Search was written by the awesome team at Android Police.



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Alexa now supports scenes for Smart Home Skills

nexus2cee_alexa_thumb.png

Amazon took to its developer blog today to announce that Alexa, its very successful smart home speaker, will be supporting scenes. These will allow users to speak simple commands to set predefined conditions on various connected devices. Prior to this announcement, interaction with them was limited to specific manufacturer apps.

Scenes contrast from the already present groups feature, even though both allow control over multiple devices via one command. The difference is that scenes can set anything configured in them to a desired state, whereas groups only permit on/off statuses.

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Alexa now supports scenes for Smart Home Skills was written by the awesome team at Android Police.



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Google is finally kicking out unsupported cards from Android Pay in mid-October, causing people to freak out

androidpay

Last year around this time, Google announced that unsupported cards already in Google Wallet accounts would be able to be used with Android Pay, but only for a limited time. Problem was, we didn't exactly know how long Google's "limited time" would be. Thanks to a ton of emails that were sent out to Android Pay users with unsupported cards today, we now have an actual date: October 14th, 2016.

Or maybe it's the 15th; the emails sent out and Google's support page have conflicting information.

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Google is finally kicking out unsupported cards from Android Pay in mid-October, causing people to freak out was written by the awesome team at Android Police.



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[RIP YouTube Gaming] Twitch now supports video uploading through Uploads Open Beta

twitch-upload

YouTube Gaming, Google's direct competitor to Twitch, has had something of a lukewarm response from the gaming community. Many streamers opt to stay on Twitch's site, the advantages over the standard YouTube app and website are minimal, and YouTube's infamous Content ID system can result in channels receiving copyright notices for seemingly anything.

But Twitch is first and foremost a streaming site - broadcasts can only be watched for a few days after the air date before they are removed.

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[RIP YouTube Gaming] Twitch now supports video uploading through Uploads Open Beta was written by the awesome team at Android Police.



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Twitch Prime provides ad-free Twitch streaming and other goodies with your Amazon Prime subscription

twitch-prime

Amazon has owned streaming giant Twitch since 2014, but besides a Fire TV app, you would be hard-pressed to find evidence of Amazon's handywork. Today that changes, with Twitch announcing their new premium subscription, Twitch Prime. And as you may guess from the title, it comes free with an Amazon Prime subscription.

To put it simply, Twitch Prime is a bit similar to YouTube Red. You get free game content every month (such as indie games or DLC), as well as discounts on new games sold by Amazon during the pre-order period and first two weeks of launch.

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Twitch Prime provides ad-free Twitch streaming and other goodies with your Amazon Prime subscription was written by the awesome team at Android Police.



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Android Central 308: The Andromeda Strain on Google

This week, Alex, Jerry, Daniel, and Flo talk about the Google event happening on October 4, and how Google's Pixel phones need something truly special to make a mark on the industry in ways the Nexuses never could. Speaking of which, what exactly is that Andromeda thing that leaked?

And BlackBerry is no longer making its own phones. Is that a big deal when the company pledged years ago to be a software company first?

Finally, Android Wear 2.0 has been delayed. Boo! But its scope is much bigger than when it first debuted earlier this year, so when smartwatches finally are released with it, we'll actually have some pretty cool new stuff to look forward to.

Thanks to this week's sponsor:

  • Harrys: Use promo code AC to save $5 off your first purchase — start shaving smarter.


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iPhone 7 Plus vs Galaxy Note 7 Camera Shootout

iphone 7 plus vs samsung galaxy note 7

This post originally appeared on our sister site TabTimes.com

It's the battle of the beasts, with the iPhone 7 Plus and the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fighting over the title for the best over-sized smartphone in the market. But let's put all other features and capabilities aside to focus on the camera, easily one of the most important factors to consider when choosing a good smartphone.

We have been playing around with both devices for some time and decided to put their shooters against each other in a feisty encounter in Sydney. Which will come out victorious? Let's compare some images to find out.

In the galleries below, images captured by the Apple iPhone 7 Plus are on the left, while images from the Galaxy Note 7 are on the right. All images have been compressed to 1440 pixels wide and you can see the full, unedited images in our Flickr gallery.

Gallery 1

 

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iPhone-7-Plus-vs-Note-7-Camera-Samsung1

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is outputting warmer tones and more saturated colors, which some may argue gives this specific image a bit of a more dramatic look. It's certainly a nice photo, but once we look closer we can see the iPhone 7 Plus image on the left does display crisper details on the rocks. The iPhone also seems to capture a much more realistic photo.


Gallery 2

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The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is definitely winning this round. Samsung's photo shows improved exposure on the front, all while showing superior shadow handling in the background. The iPhone's picture also seems to have duller colors, in general. Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 appears to handle dynamic range much better.


Gallery 3

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Once again, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is displaying better handling of shadows and highlights. Furthermore, the image on the right shows more detail. The iPhone 7 Plus does capture a great image too, but the tint seems to be a bit too green.


Gallery 4

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iPhone-7-Plus-vs-Note-7-Camera-Samsung4

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 continues proving its camera performance with better shadows and highlights. Just take a look at the darker areas in the park and you will see how much more detail the Samsung phablet captures. Some prefer the way Samsung works with temperature, but those who prefer warmer images might like the iPhone 7 Plus image better.


Gallery 5

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The iPhone's odd green tint is back, but that is not the only thing making its photo a bit inferior. We manage to see more details in the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 photo's image. It is crisper, there's more visibility in the shade and even the buildings in the background look clearer.


Gallery 6

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The iPhone 7 Plus image does show more detail in the background, but its colors seem a little duller. Meanwhile, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is producing a striking image with great shadow handling, but its colors seem to be over-saturated. Neither is perfect, but the Galaxy Note 7's photo does look prettier.


Gallery 7

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iPhone-7-Plus-vs-Note-7-Camera-Samsung7

What's going on with the iPhone 7 Plus? It must not be great for shooting cities. The green hue is back and shadows seem much less visible. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 may provide an image that seems a bit overly processed and almost looks like a filter was added, but at least it's a good picture.


Gallery 8

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iPhone-7-Plus-vs-Note-7-Camera-Samsung8

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is on fire! OK… excuse the joke. But really, it just keeps producing better images than the iPhone 7 Plus. Just take a look at the crisp details in buildings and the shadowed areas. You can see much more of what's going on. It does still show signs of over-processing, though.


Gallery 9

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iPhone-7-Plus-vs-Note-7-Camera-Samsung9

I am a bit broken with this one. I happen to like the color reproduction and contrast in the iPhone's photo, but the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 image does still handle shadows much better. Just take a look at the streets down below and see the difference in detail.


Gallery 10

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iPhone-7-Plus-vs-Note-7-Camera-Samsung10

This is a very similar image to some of the ones we have seen above, so don't be surprised to see similar results. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 handles shadows and details better. And yes, both the green tint (iPhone) and the colder temperature (Samsung) are back.


Gallery 11

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iPhone-7-Plus-vs-Note-7-Camera-Samsung11

The iPhone 7 Plus definitely wins this round, and I believe it is mostly because it knew how to work the exposure and processing better. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is lighting up the building too much, as well as making it warmer (too warm for our liking). Therefore, the iPhone image shows less distractions and better details.


Gallery 12

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iPhone-7-Plus-vs-Note-7-Camera-Samsung12

Great photograph, right? What a stunning city, and both did a great job capturing, but I feel like Samsung's camera makes the city look more… alive. The way the lights and colors pop out really makes the image more enticing.


Gallery 13

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iPhone-7-Plus-vs-Note-7-Camera-Samsung13

Except for their odd coloring tendencies, both images seem to be equally as good. The only main difference is that I feel the iPhone 7 Plus managed to capture a bit more details of the city in the background. But they both need to be able to handle the contrast and dynamic range a bit better. The bridge itself is too under-exposed in both instances.


Gallery 14

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iPhone-7-Plus-vs-Note-7-Camera-Samsung14

Things start changing once we get a little closer to our subject. In these images there's an interesting shift, as the iPhone 7 Plus now seems to show much better exposure and color reproduction. The sculpture is shown in more detail, the building in the back looks clearer and the trees display a lot more detail.

We do notice there is more detail in the sky with the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, though. The iPhone 7 Plus image displays no sky at all! It's just white.


Gallery 15

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Exposure and details show better in the Samsung Galaxy Note 7-taken image this time around. We get a better view of the shadows in the sculpture, as well as under the fountain.


Gallery 16

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iPhone-7-Plus-vs-Note-7-Camera-Samsung16

Both images here look great, but we can see a clear difference in processing. Samsung makes all the colors saturated and images crisper. We do notice its easier to see details in the iPhone image, though. Especially when looking at the people and the building's outer side.


Wrap up

iphone 7 and 7 plus vs samsung galaxy note 7 tt-7

You can't go wrong with either camera, but it is true that they are very different. In terms of quality and detail, both devices have their specific strengths and weaknesses.

Mainly, I notice that the iPhone 7 Plus may be for those who want a more realistic photo experience. The colors can be dull and the shadows too harsh, but they do produce what seems like a more accurate representation of the scene. Meanwhile, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 may be for those who want images that really pop. They are good at dramatizing images in processing, but a few elements may make photos look a bit too artificial at times.

At the same time, each phone has a tendency to alter color, depending on the subject being photographed. We noticed warmer colors and a greenish tint in a few of the iPhone 7 Plus photographs, while shots coming from the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 looks colder and more saturated.

What do you make of these image comparisons though? Which photos do you think suit your preferences better? Vote in the poll and let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

This post originally appeared on our sister site TabTimes.com



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