Apple tax might force Facebook to make a new subscription tool exclusive on Android

Facebook is looking to help out publishers monetize their content on its platform. The social network plans to introduce a new subscription tool for its mobile app that will either put up paywalls on certain articles on Facebook’s news feed or redirect readers to the publishers’s sites to buy subscriptions. The issue with bringing this feature to Apple is what can be called Apple tax, where Apple requires app developers to pay as much as 30 percent off an app’s revenue to the company. And, of course, Apple wants in with this new tool, since they reason it is being coursed through the Facebook app. However, Facebook wants to give all the revenue to the publishers.

The two tech giants have been at an impasse for months already. But the tool is already ready to be released on Android in the coming weeks. According to Facebook, they are already working with publishers like Hearst, Washington Post, and Tronc. Whether Apple and Facebook can work it out is something we can’t say right now.

Source: Recode

Microsoft updates Cortana for iOS, introduces new look and better performance

Microsoft is looking to improve the capabilities of Cortana on Apple’s platform with this latest update. The company changed up the look of its artificial intelligence assistant app to make it simpler to supposedly offer a better user experience. Some of the new changes include being able to create reminders on the app in a simpler and faster way as well as getting a new look for the profile and settings page for managing preferences. According to Microsoft, they’ve also tweaked performance to make sure there are faster page transitions and app responsiveness. On top of that, the update also brings the usual bug fixes and performance improvements.

Source: MacRumors

'Monument Valley 2' finally gets Android release date on November 6

Indie puzzle game Monument Valley is back. Its sequel, the aptly named Monument Valley 2, has been available on iOS first but now it's finally making its way to Android in the coming month. The launch trailer for the UsTwo Games-developed Monument Valley 2 shows a November 6 release date on both the Google Play Store and Amazon Underground. You can already pre-register for the game on the Play Store so you can be alerted when the game officially comes out. 

Source: Android Central 

Google Pixel 2 phones to get three-year software update support

We've lived with two-year software update for so long that getting an extra year is a big deal. And it seems Google is willing to give this to it Pixel 2 and 2 XL owners. The tech giant just updated its support page showing that the new Pixels are getting three years for both security patches and software updates. Security patches have had the three-year promise for a while but the software update extension is definitely a welcome change. And if Google continues to release Android updates on a yearly basis, then it's possible your Pixel 2 will receive up to Android R by the year 2020. 

Source: Android Police