Apple Music has introduced a Sing feature, best described as a karaoke mode. Not only can you adjust the voice levels, but you can also use multiple lyric views if you’re looking to share a duet or even just wail harmonize in the background. Apple has tweaked existing lyric views, so they’re now cued to the beat and light up slowly.
The company says “tens of millions” of tracks will get the feature in December on the new Apple TV 4K, as well as recent iPhones (iPhone 11 and later) and iPads (including last year’s ninth-generation model). Competitor Spotify already has a singing mode, but it’s more for rating your vocal skills. Apple told Engadget its feature doesn’t use microphones at all – so all you need to worry about is family members recording you during your rendition of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.”
– Mat Smith
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HBO Max returns to Prime Video Channels in the US
The move comes after a two-year fight.
The long-running squabble between Amazon and HBO appears to be over. Amazon and Warner Bros. Discovery have returned HBO Max to Prime Video Channels in the US. For $15 per month, you’ll have access to House of the Dragon and other HBO shows within Prime Video – and you won’t have to manage separate apps or subscriptions. This will also provide access to the unified HBO Max and Discovery+ service (possibly called Max) when it goes live in 2023.
Apple’s Self Service Repair program comes to Europe
It will encompass ‘more than 200 individual parts and tools.’
Apple’s Self Service Repair program has arrived in eight European countries. Using it, you can perform many of the most common fixes on the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lineups, along with MacBooks with Apple silicon – that is, non-Intel models. If you’d rather not purchase a tool for a one-time repair, you can rent a kit for a week at £54.90 (€59.95). You can send back replaced parts for refurbishment and recycling and potentially receive a credit. A few examples of part prices include a battery module for £70.78 (€77.04) and a camera module for £168.55 (€192.76).
Waze is getting its own dedicated app in Renault cars
It’s available in new Renault Austral Hybrids and Megane E-Tech EVs.
Waze is France’s most popular navigation app, to the point that it was recently updated with three regional accents (Toulouse, Provençal and Ch’ti). So it makes sense that Waze partnered with French automaker Renault to launch a new, dedicated version of the app for cars. Sure, you can use Waze on Android Auto by installing it as an app from your smartphone. What’s different is Renault drivers can now install the app directly to the infotainment system – and won’t need a phone to use it.
Apple’s rumored electric car may not be fully self-driving after all
The project also might not be ready until 2026.
More car news as Bloomberg sources say Apple’s EV, codenamed Project Titan, is no longer a fully self-driving machine. It will reportedly have a conventional wheel and pedals and will ‘only’ drive itself on highways. The company has also pushed the launch back by a year to 2026, according to those sources. The vehicle may offer enough autonomy for you to play games or watch videos on the highway, but it’ll ask you to take control to drive on city streets or in adverse weather.
‘Elden Ring’ update will add multiplayer colosseum brawls
New arenas and three vs. three battles arrive on December 7th.
Bandai Namco announced that a free multiplayer-focused update will go live later today. The Colosseum update will open up the titular arenas in Limgrave, Leyndell and Caelid, where players can battle it out in “duels, free-for-alls and team fights,” according to a YouTube video description. The colosseums have been in the game since launch, but were inaccessible. There aren’t a lot of details about the update, but having dedicated arenas for player-versus-player (PvP) battles should freshen things up for those who like to duke it out against other humans in Elden Ring. The trailer showed off some three vs. three combat as well. The video also includes text stating that players can “join forces to fight for the Elden Ring.” That suggests there will be more robust co-op options, too.