Google Inc. Launches Health Research Application

Google announced Wednesday that it is launching a new research app for Android phones, which would allow anyone with a device to participate in medical studies. The first study run through the app, called Google Health Studies, will look at respiratory illnesses like the flu and COVID-19. Participants in the study will use the app to report any respiratory symptoms, the precautions they’re taking to prevent disease, and whether they’ve been tested for COVID-19 or the flu. The app will collect demographic data, like age, gender, and race as well. “Researchers in this study can examine trends to understand the link between mobility (such as the number of daily trips a person makes outside the home) and the spread of COVID-19,” Google wrote in a press release.

 

The app will send data to researchers using a technique called federated learning, which will batch aggregated trends from multiple devices, rather than pull information from each participant individually. Health Studies is Google’s answer to Apple’s Research app, which runs on iOS devices. Last year, it launched studies on menstrual cycles, mobility and heart health, and hearing. Apple also lets researchers build their own iPhone apps through its ResearchKit program. Studies run through the app will come with the same caveats as research from other commercial wearable products: they can only enroll people who can purchase products like an Android phone. Aggregated data is a good way to protect privacy, but it means researchers aren’t able to take a granular look at information. Android phone users have a lower median income than iPhone users, which might be a benefit for Google Health Studies. “Android represents probably a more diverse dataset [than iPhone]. We’re pretty excited about the ability to leverage that,” John Brownstein, a chief innovation officer of Boston Children’s Hospital working on the study with Google, told Stat News.

Here’s How To Get The Anime Filter On Snapchat

Snapchat’s anime filter was used more than 3 billion times in the first week after it was released, Snap said today, confirming what we already knew: it was a huge hit. The filter, which morphs its subject into an anime character, is just the latest in a line of fun AR lenses from Snapchat that have gone viral and helped drive usage on the platform. During its third quarter, Snapchat had 249 million daily users, up from 238 million last quarter. The company’s revenue was also up to $679 million, a 52 percent increase even as the pandemic chilled ad spending elsewhere.
"“The adoption of augmented reality is happening faster than we had previously anticipated.”"

There are signs that Snap’s growth is more robust than drive-by filter users. The average number of Snaps created each day is up 25 percent year over year, the company said (though it didn’t say exactly how many that is). Time spent watching shows on Snapchat also grew by 50 percent. Snap called out the success of its AR features, in particular, when highlighting where it saw growth in the longer term. “The adoption of augmented reality is happening faster than we had previously anticipated, and we are working together as a team to execute on the many opportunities in front of us,” Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said in remarks alongside the company’s earnings release for the third quarter of 2020.

Though Snapchat tends to get less attention than other social networks, it’s among the bigger apps out there. Twitter reported having 186 million daily users last quarter, and TikTok reported in August that it had 100 million daily users in the US. (Snapchat has 90 million daily users in all of North America.) It’s still tiny compared to Facebook and its suite of apps, though. Instagram had 500 million daily users when it last provided an updated number in 2018.


How to get the anime filter on Snapchat

Most people will find the filter included at the bottom with all the other Snapchat filters, but some people are still reporting they can’t find the filter. If you haven’t found the filter yet, here’s how to make sure it’s added.

    You’ll first need to download the most up-to-date version of Snapchat if you haven’t already.
    Open up the app and turn the lens toward you like you’re taking a selfie.
    Click on the smiley face filter button to the right of the main button.
    Click on the explore button at the bottom right of filter options.
    Search for Anime Style using the search bar. Make sure the filter’s creator is Snapchat since there are many other anime face filters in the results.
    You can now take a selfie to see how you’d look as an anime character.
    You can also click the Camera Roll option to apply the filter to any photo on your phone.

One little downside to the filter is that it can only “anime” one person’s face at a time. The filter will also only work on your face, not your body.

How to get the anime filter on TikTok

Unfortunately, the anime filter is exclusive to Snapchat, but that hasn’t kept intrepid fans from posting about it on other social media platforms.

You can save any Snapchat videos you take and import them into TikTok to share the filter there.

Google launches Google Kids Space

Google has announced Kids Space, a new mode for Android tablets that includes kid-friendly features and content, and parental controls. It’s making its debut on Lenovo’s new Tab M10 HD Gen 2, also unveiled today. Google says it’s coming to more devices in the future. There are a number of tablets out there that offer content specifically for children, such as Amazon’s Fire HD Kids Edition line. There are also various third-party parental control apps that families can download. Kids Space stands out in that it will be built into a number of Android tablets not just tablets designed for kids. This is a key distinction in the current tablet market, according to Lenovo. Per the company’s research, tablets often function as shared devices among household members, and many kids start preferring grown-up-looking products at a fairly young age.

A representative told me that Lenovo “didn’t want a kids tablet that looked like a toy.” Instead, it’s marketing the Tab M10 HD Gen 2 as a product for families to share. Users create separate profiles with their own settings so children can use Kids Space while parents can browse as normal. Within Kids Space, children can access a library including apps, games, videos, and books. Google says it worked with children and parents to curate the content “through the lens of child development.” The offerings, the company says, are “enriching, high-quality, and trustworthy.” They’re meant for kids under 9. The interface is colorful and cute, and looks easy to navigate. Kids can sort content by topic animals, princesses, cooking, vehicles, homework help, etc. and can swap between tabs labeled “Make,” “Play,” “Read,” and “Watch” in addition to the home screen. They can also create an avatar for themselves, customizing various characteristics including outfits and backpacks. Parents can add additional apps through the Google Play store, which could be helpful as school gets under way. Kids Space is a follow-up to Google’s Family Link, a parental control app for all Android devices, which allows parents to create and monitor Google accounts for their kids. You can set regulations on screen time, select what apps they can use, remotely lock their devices, and keep tabs on their activity. Parents will be able to use Family Link controls to manage their children’s use of Kids Space. “Parents can extend the experience and customize it even more for themselves,” Google told me. Google doesn’t use any data from children’s accounts to target ads (and Lenovo says it doesn’t collect any either). “Join us in our journey as we continue to create productive and healthy experiences for kids that adapt to the evolving world and needs of your family,” says Google in its press release.

Tiktok And Twitter Reportedly Have Had Talks About A Deal

Twitter has had preliminary discussions about a “combination” with TikTok, the Wall Street Journal reported, making the social media platform the latest possible suitor for the popular video-sharing app. As the WSJ notes, it’s not clear whether Twitter would pursue a possible acquisition of TikTok, and any such deal would have big obstacles. The biggest challenge to any deal is the Trump administration’s executive order from August 6th, which bars TikTok parent company ByteDance from handling transactions in the US.

The order takes effect within 45 days. The administration considers the Chinese-owned app a potential security threat, despite no evidence indicating ByteDance or TikTok has ever shared Americans’ data with the Chinese government. TikTok has said it plans to challenge the Trump administration’s order. And then there’s Microsoft, the only company so far to publicly acknowledge it was in talks with TikTok owner ByteDance for a possible acquisition. The WSJ says Twitter would be considered a long-shot in a bid for TikTok, with Microsoft the likely front runner in any deal. Twitter is much smaller than Microsoft, and the WSJ’s sources say the social platform could be likely to face less antitrust scrutiny than Microsoft. But Twitter also doesn’t have as much money as the software giant for a possible purchase. Microsoft said in an August 2nd blog post that its CEO Satya Nadella had spoken to President Trump about a possible TikTok acquisition, which would include TikTok operations in the US, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Microsoft said it expected its talks to wrap by September 15th. Any deal with Twitter would involve TikTok’s US operations, according to the WSJ. Twitter declined to comment. A TikTok spokesperson said the company does not comment on market rumors.

Samsung And Microsoft Will Let You Run Galaxy Note 20 Application On Windows 10 Pc

Samsung and Microsoft announced at last year’s Galaxy Unpacked that they would be forming a closer partnership to help Android and Windows work better together. At today’s Galaxy Unpacked, the two companies revealed new integrations between their two ecosystems including a way to run apps from your Galaxy Note 20 on your Windows 10 PC. Here’s a GIF from Microsoft showing a Windows 10 PC running WhatsApp and Instagram side by side from a Galaxy Note 20:

You’ll only be able to use one app at a time on your PC at first, but Microsoft says that you’ll be able to run multiple apps, as is shown in the GIF, sometime in November. You’ll also be able to pin apps to your Windows taskbar or Start menu so you can access them more quickly. The two companies are also making it easier to sync information between your Galaxy Note 20 and the Microsoft 365 suite of apps. Notes from your Samsung Notes app will be able to sync with the OneNote app and with your OneNote feed in Outlook on the web, for example. Microsoft says this feature is “coming soon.” And Samsung Reminders will be able to sync across Microsoft To Do, Outlook, and Microsoft Teams.

Google Stadia tests 4G and 5G Streaming

You can now play games on Google’s Stadia cloud gaming service on your Android phone over 4G and 5G connections, though you have to opt in to an “experiment,” Google announced today (via 9to5Google). Since the service’s launch in November 2019, you’ve only been able to play Stadia games on your phone over Wi-Fi that is, unless you tricked Stadia into playing over a cellular connection by tethering a laptop to a phone or hotspot.

If you want to opt in to the experiment, open up the Stadia app on your Android phone, tap on your avatar, select Experiments, and then “Use Mobile Data,” according to Google. Sean found that when he played Stadia over a 90Mbps LTE connection for his review, “the experience ranged from totally playable to annoyingly stuttery.” But that was all the way back in November 2019, and it’s unclear if Google has made changes to make things run smoothly more consistently when playing over a cellular network, especially when it’s a direct connection (as opposed to a tethered one). Today’s news is one of many notable updates to Stadia since its launch, including bringing the service to practically any Android phone, allowing the Stadia controller to work wirelessly with Android devices, and launching a free version of the service.