Ars Technica: “The EU made Apple adopt new Wi-Fi standards, and now Android can support AirDrop”

Google has updated Android’s Quick Share feature to support Apple’s AirDrop, which allows users of Apple devices to share files directly using a local peer-to-peer Wi-Fi connection. Apple devices with AirDrop enabled and set to “everyone for 10 minutes” mode will show up in the Quick Share device list just like another Android phone would, and Android devices that support this new Quick Share version will also show up in the AirDrop menu.

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But earlier this year, the EU adopted new specification decisions that required Apple to adopt new interoperable wireless standards, starting in this year’s iOS 26 release. If you don’t want to wade through the regulatory documents, this post from cloud services company Ditto is a useful timeline of events written in plainer language.

The rulings required Apple to add support for the Wi-Fi Alliance’s Wi-Fi Aware standard instead of AWDL—and in fact required Apple to deprecate AWDL and to help add its features to Wi-Fi Aware so that any device could benefit from them. This wasn’t quite the imposition it sounded like; Wi-Fi Aware was developed with Apple’s help, based on the work Apple had already done on AWDL. But it meant that Apple could no longer keep other companies out of AirDrop by using a functionally similar but private communication protocol instead of the standardized version.

Andrew Cunningham

I didn’t pay much attention to the initial reports about this – AirDrop always struck me as the type of feature Apple fanboys incessantly fawn about while everyone else shrugs off because there are many alternatives to share files between people that aren’t confined to Apple devices – but this angle of reporting is certainly intriguing. This would not be the first time Apple was compelled by regulation to relax its tight control on its devices and users, the most famous being the forced adoption of USB-C on iPhones.

Financial Times: “How Lidl accidentally took on the big guns of cloud computing”

Starting with a system built for internal use in 2021, Lidl owner Schwarz Group now offers cloud computing and cyber security services to corporate customers.

Its IT unit, Schwarz Digits — which became a standalone operating division in 2023 — has signed up clients including Germany’s biggest software group SAP, the country’s most successful football club Bayern Munich and the port of Hamburg. Last year, the unit generated €1.9bn in annual sales and it employs 7,500 staff.

We did not start with a commercial motivation in mind but just wanted to address our own needs, Christian Müller, co-chief executive of Schwarz Digits told the Financial Times in a rare interview. We’re on a very steep growth path.

A main selling point of its service is that all client data is processed and stored exclusively in Germany and Austria, which have stringent privacy and data protection laws.

Olaf Storbeck

Exciting development for a European business to build its own cloud computing system from the ground up – and striking how closely this origin story resembles Amazon’s AWS. I would say this is a good example of how regulation can foster business opportunities. It would probably have been faster and cheaper for Schwarz Group to contract an existing US cloud provider, but since their products are not prioritizing privacy, the more compliant answer was to build an internal solution.

The Verge: “Why Google decided now’s the time to move on from Chromecast”

The Chromecast is going away after more than a decade in Google’s hardware portfolio, with the company phasing it out to make room for the new Google TV Streamer. In 2013, the timing was perfect for the Chromecast’s success. Most TVs of that era had rudimentary entertainment apps that were often slow, so beaming content from your phone to a TV made a lot of sense.

But times have changed. With the Chromecast with Google TV in 2020, Google pivoted in the opposite direction with a much more traditional, lean-back entertainment experience. Casting took a back seat to carousels of content recommendations, and native apps returned.

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And yet, even right after the announcement, some of our commenters were frustrated that Google had settled for just a 22 percent boost in CPU speed. There’s a good chance this thing will still benchmark underneath the fairly ancient Shield. Why not just drop a Tensor chip into it?

It comes down to cost and keeping the Streamer at a price that’s acceptable for average consumers. We don’t know if there’s functionality that would actually convince people to buy pricier price points than this, but the market is generally telling us right now people are probably not ready for it, Govil-Pai said.

Chris Welch

I have been quite skeptical initially of the Chromecast, but after I purchased one to stream HBO to my non-so-smart former TV I have grown to appreciate its utility and simplicity. While I understand the reasoning behind the decision to discontinue it (nowadays TVs ship with Google TV and Chromecast protocols built-in; I myself have abandoned my old Chromecast when I upgraded the TV last year), it still feels a bit sad and disappointing.

TechCrunch: “Apple Maps launches on the web to challenge Google Maps”

Apple announced on Wednesday that Apple Maps is now available on the web via a public beta, which means you can now access the service directly from your browser. The launch puts Apple Maps in direct competition with Google Maps, which has long been available on the web.

Maps on the web is accessible in English and is compatible with Safari and Chrome on Mac and iPad, as well as Chrome and Edge on Windows PCs. Apple plans to bring support for additional languages, browsers and platforms in the future.

Apple Maps on the web works like it does on the mobile app. You can get driving and walking directions; order food from the Maps place card; browse curated guides and reviews; and more. Apple plans to bring additional functionality, like its 360-degree panoramic views “Look Around” feature, to the web version in the coming months.

Aisha Malik

Seven years on, I guess it’s time for another comparison between Apple and Google where it counts most for me: my hometown. Last time around I found Apple Maps utterly lacking, failing to show a large lake and the surrounding park on the map. This version is far closer to reality: Herăstrău lake is properly outlined, and so are several businesses and landmarks around it. But the park itself is still weirdly truncated: only the southern half is colored green to indicate vegetation, while the rest is tinted the dull dark grey of the offices and housing areas around it. The level of detail in the roads and alleyways in the park is also evidently lower than in Google Maps. On this basic test, Apple falls short of Google Maps one again, despite the praise in (US) tech circles about its massive improvements.

Android Authority: “I’ve already ditched the new Google Home widget and watch tile”

It feels like the Google Home team took forever and a day to gift us with the most basic Android feature of all: a home screen widget to control our smart home devices. And basic it is, even if, at first glance, it looks quite neat with its sexy Material You color scheme.

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So yup, for now, it seems like we get an all-or-nothing approach of favorites. Still better than nothing, eh? Until you add the widget and realize it’s a matter of all or nothing with most controls too. Lights? On or off, there’s no brightness or color wheel. Fan? Robot vacuum? Air purifier? Same. Even the few controls that Google Home is generous enough to give us in its app aren’t available here.

And if, like me, you think, “Eh, no fuss, I’ll just tap and hold to access more options”, then no, that won’t work. Tapping and holding triggers the widget movement and editing mode, not the selected device’s extra options.

Rita El Khoury

Sadly, that was my experience with this experimental Google Home widget as well. I added it to my home screen as soon as it launched last month, but it lacked many basic features and even in this bare-bones state it didn’t work reliably. Sometimes the status of smart lights wouldn’t update, other times the widget would ignore my first tap and send the command only after a second tap, while in other cases a tap would open the full Google Home app instead. At this stage it’s preferable to just open the app than to take your chances with a buggy widget.

The Wall Street Journal: “AI Work Assistants need a Lot of Handholding”

CIOs interested in moving forward with the technology are now working hard to clean up and manage their data so they can take full advantage.

Bala Krishnapillai, vice president and head of the information technology group at Hitachi Americas, said the organization has encountered instances of inconsistent, duplicated, and incorrect data, leading to contradictory information that confuses AI outputs.

He said the company is regularly updating and refining its data to ensure accurate results from AI tools accessing it. That process includes the organization’s data engineers validating and cleaning up incoming data, and curating it into a “golden record”, with no contradictory or duplicate information.

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Google Cloud Chief Evangelist Richard Seroter said he believes the desire to use tools like Gemini for Google Workspace is pushing organizations to do the type of data management work they might have been sluggish about in the past.

If you don’t have your data house in order, AI is going to be less valuable than it would be if it was, he said. You can’t just buy six units of AI and then magically change your business.

Isabelle Bousquette

An entirely foreseeable obstacle for anyone working in operations, as opposed to top management who get their information about the company’s internal mechanisms neatly delivered to them in a glossy presentation. I have been through enough jobs to know that most large companies are built on a jumble of disconnected legacy systems that rarely communicate seamlessly. Also, most C-level executives are reluctant to invest into upgrading and modernizing the data infrastructure, fearing disruptions to regular operations and sunk costs without tangible benefits. Expecting an AI system to leapfrog these issues and deliver perfect results with no human input was always a rose-tinted proposition – if not downright delusional.

Android Police: “Google Maps Timeline now stores your location data on-device”

Right off the bat, it isn’t a Google change unless something is lost or killed off, and unsurprisingly, it’s time for Timeline on the web to bite the dust. Explaining the change, Google says it won’t have any data to display on the web interface after the switch to on-device location data management through the Maps app.

To retain access to your old Timeline data and ensure subsequent collection is localized, you’ll need to update to a recent version of Maps and follow the instructions in a push notification, in-app alert, or email you receive. You just need to specify your data management preferences on a device of your choice. That’s because the new system curates Timeline for each of your devices independently. Alternatively, you can back your Timeline data to Google servers manually or automatically. This can come in handy if you’re planning to switch to a new phone or tablet without losing the Timeline data.

The email we received mentioned that users have until December 1, 2024, to keep their saved visits and routes on the device or back them up. It warns that inaction could result in partial or complete loss of old data. If you miss the deadline, Google will try to move the last 90 days of location history to the first device you sign in to after the cutoff date, and all the older trips will be auto-deleted. We suggest keeping an eye out for this email.

Chandraveer Mathur

I haven’t received this email notification yet, so I’m still holding on to a slim hope that Google might reconsider until December. Needless to say, this news made me suddenly angry at Google for what I can only regard as a self-serving, user-hostile, and plainly stupid decision. Despite privacy concerns by some, Timeline was one of the best features of Google Maps, and I regularly checked that the places I visited were accurately recorded. The whole point of Timeline is to store your travel logs forever, so that you can revisit those years later to remind yourself of past trips and maybe find inspiration for new ones. Erasing this data automatically after some number of days or when you switch devices defeats this purpose entirely and makes Timeline borderline irrelevant.