Hasta La Gadget!

The former U.S. cardinal is the highest profile church figure to be dismissed from the priesthood in modern times.

What’s the best way to milk cash out of the worst blunder in the history of music festivals and internet hype? Make another one! That’s just what seems to be happening now thanks to a tip from none other than Ja Rule, letting the world know that “[The Fyre Festival] is the most iconic festival that never was. I have … Continue reading

Pictionary seems like one of those perfect games that doesn’t really need an upgrade. You draw on a piece of paper, and people guess what you’re trying to show them. Sure, you can put the game on a phone or tablet, but the basic concept remains the s…

Apple’s CEO has recently acknowledged that demand for the iPhone is weak and that China is one of the markets that the company is struggling in. However it seems that the company might have a way to turn things around by pandering to the Chinese market by launching a red iPhone XS and XS Max.

This is according to a post on Weibo spotted by iPhoneHacks (via MacRumors) in which the post claims that Apple could launch iPhone XS and XS Max models in China with a “China Red” finish. Apple has launched red iPhones in the past as part of its PRODUCT(RED) lineup. This has been part of Apple’s tradition for years, but it seems that this particular red model will not be featuring the PRODUCT(RED) branding.

Given how the color red is seen as a particularly auspicious color in China, it’s not surprising that Apple could potentially launch such a color in the country. Previously Apple had seen success with launching colors targeted at China. That was one of the reasons behind the introduction of the gold iPhone which was apparently met with a lot of positive feedback when launched in China. Take this with a grain of salt for now, but we’ll have to wait and see if this rumor pans out.

Apple Rumored To Be Preparing Red iPhones Exclusive To China

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Apple has just bought up the talent it needs to make talking toys a part of Siri, HomePod, and its voice strategy. Apple has acquired PullString, also known as ToyTalk, according to Axios’ Dan Primack and Ina Fried. TechCrunch has received confirmation of the acquistion from sources with knowledge of the deal. The startup makes voice experience design tools, artificial intelligence to power those experiences, and toys like talking Barbie and Thomas The Tank Engine toys in partnership with Mattel. Founded in 2011 by former Pixar executives, PullString went on to raise $44 million.

Apple’s Siri is seen as lagging far behind Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, not only in voice recognition and utility, but also in terms of developer ecosystem. Google and Amazon has built platforms to distribute Skills from tons of voice app makers, including storytelling, quizzes, and other games for kids. If Apple wants to take a real shot at becoming the center of your connected living room with Siri and HomePod, it will need to play nice with the children who spend their time there. Buying PullString could jumpstart Apple’s in-house catalog of speech-activated toys for kids as well as beef up its tools for voice developers.

PullString did catch some flack for being a “child surveillance device” back in 2015, but countered by detailing the security built intoHello Barbie product and saying it’d never been hacked to steal childrens’ voice recordings or other sensitive info. Privacy norms have changed since with so many people readily buying always-listening Echos and Google Homes.

In 2016 it rebranded as PullString with a focus on developers tools that allow for visually mapping out conversations and publishing finished products to the Google and Amazon platforms. Given SiriKit’s complexity and lack of features, PullString’s Converse platform could pave the way for a lot more developers to jump into building voice products for Apple’s devices.

We’ve reached out to Apple and PullString for more details about whether PullString and ToyTalk’s products will remain available.

The startup raised its cash from investors including Khosla Ventures, CRV, Greylock, First Round, and True Ventures, with a Series D in 2016 as its last raise that PitchBook says valued the startup at $160 million. While the voicetech space has since exploded, it can still be difficult for voice experience developers to earn money without accompanying physical products, and many enterprises still aren’t sure what to build with tools like those offered by PullString. That might have led the startup to see a brighter future with Apple, strengthening one of the most ubiquitous though also most detested voice assistants.