Snapchat now has over 500 million installs on Android

Image credit: Android Central

It comes as no surprise that messaging app Snapchat crossed the half a million mark of installations on Android. And this landmark is reached a couple of days after Snap Inc., the company behind Snapchat, went public. It isn’t a secret though that development on Android has been a bit subpar when compared to the app’s development on iOS. Thankfully, the recent IPO filing of Snap Inc. acknowledges this shortcoming. And it might bring better features on Android, finally.

As mentioned in the IPO: “The majority of our user engagement is on smartphones with iOS operating systems. As a result, although our products work with Android mobile devices, we have prioritized development of our products to operate with iOS operating systems rather than smartphones with Android operating systems. To continue growth in user engagement, we will need to prioritize development of our products to operate on smartphones with Android operating systems. If we are unable to improve operability of our products on smartphones with Android operating systems, and those smartphones become more popular and fewer people use smartphones with iOS operating systems, our business could be seriously harmed.”

Source: Android Police

Facebook Messenger gets the dislike button we’ve been waiting for

The dislike button something a lot of Facebook users have been asking for but it isn’t coming to the main app, instead it shows up on Messenger. The social media giant is testing out reactions with a small group of users. And aside from including the usual reactions you can do for Facebook posts, there’s also the thumbs up and thumbs down (a.k.a. dislike) options. However, Facebook says this is more of a “no” button than dislike.

Reactions option can be activated when you hover over messages sent in a thread. You can tap the emoji button and select the reaction you want to make. This shows what statement you are reacting, too, which will come in handy if you’re in a group thread and delayed responses cause confusion about the conversation. It is similar to Slack’s Emoji Reactions and the recently-added Tapback emoji on iMessage.

Source: Tech Crunch

Toyota unveils autonomous vehicle platform

Toyota revealed its second autonomous vehicle platform from the Toyota Research Institute (TRI). The Lexus LS 600hL is mounted with cameras, radar and lidar sensors for gathering realtime information and maintaining the car's pace.

Toyota is using thethe platform to develop a driver assist suite and a level 4 and 5 autonomous system:

• Chauffeur refers to the always deployed, fully autonomous system classified by SAE as unrestricted Level 5 autonomy and Level 4 restricted and geo-fenced operation.

• Guardian is a high-level driver assist system, constantly monitoring the driving environment inside and outside the vehicle, ready to alert the driver of potential dangers and stepping in when needed to assist in crash avoidance.

Toyota hasn’t released a clear timeline for when it plans on bringing full autonomy to market, but most companies are aiming for 2020-2021.

Source: Electrek

1 million Mercedes-Benz vehicles recalled due to potential fire hazard

Mercedes-benz just recalled 1 million vehicles globally due to 51 fires. The German company said no injuries or deaths were reported relating to the vehicles that it will begin recalling in the U.S. market in July when parts become available. 

The recall affects newer models, including those from the 2017 model year.

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