Hasta La Gadget!

When Google announced that they would be acquiring Fitibt, it was largely assumed that future Fitbit devices would run Google’s Wear OS smartwatch platform. After all, why wouldn’t Google want to get more Fitbit customers to start using its Wear OS platform, right?

However, according to an APK teardown by the folks at 9to5Google, it seems that might not be the case. According to the APK, the publication discovered three new devices which would be successors to current Fitbit models like the Versa, Sense, and Luxe. But based on the APK, none of them mention Wear OS and instead refer to a software “bridge”.

This bridge would basically connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth. This is versus how Wear OS devices connect to Android which has its own method of communicating, so obviously a Wear OS powered Fitbit would not require this “bridge”. This seems to suggest that at least for these three upcoming models, they might not be powered by Wear OS.

It is possible future Fitibt devices would run Wear OS because like we said, it would be a wasted opportunity for Google otherwise. Maybe Google doesn’t want to antagonize Fitbit users who might already be familiar with the software and might not appreciate a different OS being forced on them.

Future Fitbit Devices Might Not Necessarily Run Wear OS

, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

On platforms like SoundCloud, you can see comments littered throughout a song. This is useful because maybe there are certain parts of the song you really like, so you can actually leave a comment at that particular moment so that the uploader and other people listening to the song know about it.

YouTube did test out something similar with its timed comments feature (which is still in beta), and now the company has announced a new feature that they’re testing out in the form of timed reactions. It is basically the same as timed comments, except that for users who don’t want to leave comments, they can just leave a reaction in the form of an emoji instead.

This reactions feature is similar to what Facebook has done for its platform, allowing users to react to a post without words in case they don’t really know what to say. According to YouTube, “If you’re watching a video that is part of this experiment, you can react and see crowd reactions by opening the comment section of the video and tapping into the reaction panel.”

Reactions will be anonymous which means that no one knows that it’s you who left an emoji reaction at that point in a video, but it will be helpful for those who are watching a video and might want to jump to the more exciting parts quickly and easily.

YouTube Testing Timed Reactions With Emojis

, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

When you think of Rode, chances are you think of microphones because honestly, that’s pretty much what the company is known for. However, it seems that Rode is expanding its product lineup as they have announced their latest product offering in the form of the NTH-100, the company’s first pair of headphones.

Yup, if you somehow thought that Rode would have already launched a pair of headphones, they haven’t, at least until now. However, the NTH-100s are really more of a studio pair of headphones rather than something more consumer-grade, meaning that they’re designed for podcasters or creators that deal primarily with audio.

According to Rode, they have designed the drivers in the headphones to have an accurate frequency response and according to the initial impressions of the headphones, they are quite neutral sounding. This is important for professionals who need to hear the sound as it is, instead of a sound that’s already been processed to feature more low-ends, for example.

The headphones also sport a rather simple design and use Alcantara as the choice of materials for the earpads, with “CoolTech” gel underneath to help make it more comfortable to wear for longer periods of time. These are wired headphones too, so for those hoping for a wireless option, maybe that might be an option for the future. The Rode NTH-100 is priced at $150 and is available for purchase via Rode’s website.

Rode Debuts Its First Ever Pair Of Headphones

, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

Sometimes a YouTube video deserves more nuanced feedback than a simple comment, or a “thumbs up” or a “thumbs down”. YouTube today is testing timed-specific emoji reactions for a small group of users. Viewers can throw out an emoji when a specific moment in a video resonates with them (or doesn’t). 

Users can also get a feel for how others reacted throughout the duration of a video. There will be a separate reaction panel in the comment section of each video that will display emoji reactions by the moment, similar to features already offered by Facebook Live and Twitch. 

“If you’re watching a video that is part of this experiment, you can react and see crowd reactions by opening the comment section of the video and tapping into the reaction panel. The test will also show you which moments other viewers are reacting to (which will be anonymized – we won’t show who sent each reaction). We’re testing multiple sets of reactions and will add or remove reactions based on how the experiment goes!,” wrote Meaghan, a representative from Team YouTube.

Google frequently experiments with new features on YouTube, but they don’t always become permanent. YouTube recently tested letting users time their comments to specific points in a video and hiding the “dislike” button. As far as user engagement goes, YouTube is relatively light on options. 

Emoji reactions have been hit-or-miss on other social media platforms. Twitter experimented with emoji reactions to tweets last year, and reactions were largely ambivalent. But unlike tweets, videos are a lengthier medium and more likely to elicit a multitude of reactions. YouTube creators are likely to receive more detailed user feedback via emoji as well, such as being able to nail down if a joke landed or bombed.

YouTube is testing emoji reactions on a small number of channels to start but will expand the feature depending on the reception. Users will have a wide array of emoji reactions at their disposal, including the face with tears of joy, a heart, the shocked face, the celebration party poppers, the “keep it 100” sign, a question mark, the idea light bulb and a screaming cat.

A battle royale of rovers could help uncover new designs for mining ice and other resources on the moon, and that’s the basis for a challenge from the ESA.