MacRumors

Image messaging and social media app Snapchat has had its Stories page redesigned to increase exposure of commercial publisher's content and boost the company's ad revenue.

The new look, which goes live today, enables publishers to include an image and headline with each daily story in user feeds to increase visibility. The more popular user-contributed Live Stories will now compete for attention alongside them on both the Stories and Discover page.

In addition, Snapchat users can now subscribe to specific publisher channels so that they see unread stories below updates from friends on the Stories page, however non-subscription stories will continue to appear on the Discover page.

The change to the app signals Snapchat's latest effort to boost its advertising business, which remains its primary revenue stream. Currently 19 publishers regularly create specialized content for the platform in the U.S., including Buzzfeed, MTV, Mashable, and Cosmopolitan.

Users can subscribe or unsubscribe to channels by tapping and holding on a story, which should also allow Snapchat to evaluate the success or otherwise of its hosted publishers, while merging Live Stories with Discover should bring more exposure to its channels.

Snapchat reportedly surpassed Twitter recently in its number of daily active users. The redesign is being seen as an abandonment of its earlier strategy to charge users for particular features, and instead focus on increasing its shared publisher and advertising revenue through user clicks.

Snapchat is a free download for iPhone and iPad available on the App Store. [Direct Link]

Microsoft today launched the Microsoft Surface Membership, an upgrade plan for Surface devices that allows business customers to "get the latest Surface devices, accessories, support and training." The new plan was first spotted by Thurrott.com (via Engadget). The plan is similar to Apple's iPhone Upgrade Plan.

The Surface Membership is available for three Surface devices with payment plans that can be spread over 18, 24 or 30 months. The Surface 3 is $32.99 per month for 30 months, $37.99 per month for 24 months, and $48.99 per month over 18 months. The Surface Pro 4 is $51.99 per month for 30 months, $58.99 per month for 24 months, and $70.99 per month for 18 months. The Surface Book is $79.99 per month for 30 months, $89.99 per month for 24 months, and $108.99 per month for 18 months.

All Microsoft Surface Memberships come with Surface accessories, which include the Surface Type Cover for the Surface 3, both the Type Cover and pen for the Surface Pro 4 and the Surface Pen for the Surface Book. Members will also get phone and in-store tech support, one-on-one personal training, in-store discounts on future hardware and software and the Microsoft Complete for Business Extended Service Plan with accidental damage. Finally, users will be able to upgrade to the latest Surface devices when they launch.

Apple announced the iPhone Upgrade Plan last year alongside the iPhone 6s, allowing customers to pay a monthly fee for their devices and upgrade every year. Apple's plan is also limited to iPhones and does not include discounts for future hardware, though it does include AppleCare+. However, Apple's plan is open to all sorts of customers rather than just business users.

Microsoft isn't the first company to follow Apple's lead in device upgrade plans. Shortly after Apple announced the iPhone Upgrade Plan, Samsung began planning an upgrade plan for its Galaxy phones, officially launching the service in March 2016.

Withings today announced the launch of its latest connected health product, debuting the Body Cardio, a scale that incorporates Pulse Wave Velocity measurements to give users an overview of their cardiac health.

According to Withings, the Body Cardio represents the first consumer scale that uses Pulse Wave Velocity, a measurement of the velocity at which a person's arterial pulse propagates through the body. It can detect arterial stiffness caused by problems like high blood pressure and high cholesterol, and has a strong correlation with stroke, heart attack, and other cardiac events.

PWV analyses are traditionally conducted in clinical environments and generally reserved for those diagnosed with high blood pressure or other chronic diseases. For the first time, Body Cardio brings this capability to the home scale, computing PWV based on the user's age and time it takes for blood to flow from the aorta in the heart to the vessels in the feet.

Body Cardio, along with its app, Health Mate, provides the user with the evolution of its PWV (m/s) over time and with an indication of whether their PWV is normal, optimal or at risk.

Design wise, the Body Cardio is slim and sleek, measuring in at 0.7 inches with a flat aluminum base for stability and heat-tempered glass for durability. Available in black or white, the Body Cardio is accurate on any surface, from wood floors to carpet. A built-in rechargeable battery is able to last up to a year between charges.

In addition to providing details on cardiac health, the Withings Body Cardio also measures weight and gives users information on body mass index, body composition, and standing heart rate. Body composition measurements, done through biometrical impedance, are also a new addition to the Body Cardio. Past Withings scales, such as the Smart Body Analyzer, offered fewer features.

The Body Cardio, like all of Withings' health related devices, connects to the company's Health Mate app to deliver information like weight trends over time for long-term health-related tracking.

The Body Cardio is available starting today from the Withings website and from Apple retail stores for $179.95. Later in the summer, the Body Cardio will also be available from additional retail partners.

Withings is also releasing an updated "Body" scale, able to measure weight and body composition. Body sells for $129.95 and is available from a variety of retailers.

Developer and Tendigi CTO Nick Lee, who previously got an Apple Watch to run Windows 95, today showed off a new project he's been working on, which allows Android to work with an iPhone using a specialized iPhone case.

As seen in the video below, Lee created a 3D printed iPhone case and outfitted it with a built-in Lemaker HiKey board, a battery pack, and other hardware so it could support a version of Android. The case plugs into an iPhone's Lightning port, turning the iPhone into a display and emulating touch events on Android. While the iPhone is able to display the Android operating system, the Android OS itself is powered by the hardware in the case.

Over several design iterations and experiments with 3D printing, Lee was able to shrink the case containing the parts down to a reasonable size and perfect the connection between the case and the iPhone. The result is an relatively thick iPhone case that lets the iPhone display and control a full version of Android.

Like Windows 95 running on the Apple Watch, Lee's Android case is conceptual and not practical for real world use, but it's an interesting take on getting Android to work with an iPhone.

Apple today released an update for the WWDC app for iOS devices and the Apple TV, introducing a number of bug fixes ahead of the kickoff of the conference next Monday.

The 5.0.1 update addresses several issues, fixing bugs that could cause news and schedule updates to display in the wrong case and making videos on the Apple TV more stable.

Thank you for your bug reports and feedback. This update includes the following resolutions:

- News displays properly in all cases.
- Friday sessions display correctly on iPad with a time zone outside of PDT.
- The schedule updates correctly in all cases.
- VoiceOver label is correct for the shuttle stop on Thursday's Bill Graham Civic Auditorium map.
- Videos on Apple TV are more stable.

Apple released the 2016 update for the WWDC app last week, debuting a new look and a new version thts also works on the fourth-generation Apple TV.

The WWDC app is designed to be used by both conference attendees and developers who were not able to obtain tickets for the event. In addition to providing on-site tools for viewing start times for labs, sessions, and events, the app also offers the ability to watch live streaming sessions with Apple engineers.

Developers who are not able to attend WWDC will still be able to virtually attend sessions through the WWDC app on iOS devices and the Apple TV.

Earlier today, Apple updated its event website to note that it will be live streaming the 10:00 a.m. keynote event on June 13. It is not yet clear if the live stream will be available through the WWDC app, but if not, it will be viewable on Apple's events website and through an events app on the Apple TV.

The WWDC app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Apple Pay will expand to Switzerland on Monday, June 13, marking the seventh country where the mobile payments service is available, according to German-language financial website Finews (via iPhone-Ticker).

Swiss private bank Cornèr Bank will purportedly be one of the first participating issuers in Switzerland, but the report did not specify if the country's two "big banks" UBS and Credit Suisse will also support Apple Pay upon launch.

Apple Pay's arrival in Switzerland has been expected since Apple filed a trademark for the service with the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property in February. The U.K. is currently the only other European country with Apple Pay.

Apple is "working rapidly" to expand the service to additional regions, including Hong Kong and Spain, and possibly France, Brazil, and Japan, in partnership with American Express, MasterCard, Visa, and other payment processors. Apple Pay has also expanded to ANZ in Australia, five large banks in Singapore, and Canada's big five banks BMO, CIBC, RBC, Scotiabank, and TD Canada Trust.

(Thanks, Nicolas!)

Microsoft recently announced that it will be holding an afterparty at WWDC this year, taking place next week on Monday, June 13 following Apple's State of the Union keynote (via WinBeta). In partnership with its software-focused company Xamarin, Microsoft's party is centered around "The Future of Apps," and is confirmed to last from 5 PM to 8:30 PM PDT, located in Twitter's headquarters near the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium.

Any iOS and OS X developer is welcome to attend Microsoft's party, even if you aren't directly attending WWDC, and the company is also giving anyone who checks in a chance to win either an Apple Watch Sport or Xbox One every hour. Microsoft hopes to discuss the latest iOS apps and updates created by the company at the event -- everything from Outlook to Excel and SwiftKey apps for iPhone and iPad devices -- including their future on the platform.

Likewise, Xamarin's inclusion in the afterparty will generate some talk surrounding its Test Cloud platform, which lets developers run and test every feature of their apps "on more than a thousand devices," without having to worry about inconsistencies fragmenting data due to different smartphone designs and OS interfaces. The company's tools in the past have helped developers design apps for iOS, Android, and Windows platforms.

Xamarin Test Cloud lets teams test every feature on more than a thousand devices and on every commit. Catching bugs before release shortens development cycles and allows more time for innovation. We'll also be offering exclusive one-on-one time with a Xamarin Test Cloud Engineer to walk you through the best way to automate testing on your apps.

Any developer interested in attending Microsoft and Xamarin's WWDC afterparty can RSVP to the event here.

Apple was granted patents today that include a concept for water-resistant iPhone speakers and a bone conduction technology that could bring advanced noise cancellation to future earbuds (via AppleInsider).

The first application granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is titled "Liquid resistant acoustic device" and details a protected acoustic port that uses a special mesh "umbrella" inserted between apertures in a device's housing, similar to the design of the mesh-covered loudspeaker found in current iPhones.

If liquid enters through the housing apertures it immediately comes into contact with the umbrella and is directed away from the internals, although in some versions a small amount of liquid is allowed to pass through if the handset is under significant pressure, to avoid structural damage.

Apple's invention also includes a second line of liquid defense, in the form of a "hydrophobic" coating applied to the outer surface of the iPhone housing and mesh umbrella, while a "hydrophilic" coating applied to the inside of the mesh works to draw liquid out.

As with all patents, whether or not Apple decides to use the invention in any future product remains unclear, although AppleInsider notes that a similar port design can already be found on the current Apple Watch.

Several rumors claim that the upcoming iPhone 7 could be properly waterproof, but it's not obvious that the invention described above would meet the requirements of such a specification.

Another Apple patent was awarded today, called "System and method of mixing accelerometer and microphone signals to improve voice quality in a mobile device". This one describes a headset that uses bone conduction technology to effectively filter out ambient noise.

The invention works by using accelerometers that detect vocal chord vibrations which reverberate through the user's skull. Coupled with an onboard microphone, the system is able to measure output signals and effectively parse out ambient noise vibrations.

Output from both systems are processed through a noise cancellation unit which then outputs a clean signal for transmission.