Pocket Casts app acquired by consortium of US radio stations

The Pocket Casts app has been arguable the best podcast app on Android with versions for iOS and the web. A consortioum of buyers comprised of NPR, WNYC, WBEZ, and This American Life have purchased Pocket Casts and collectively hope to improve the growing podcast space. What does this mean for the app? Nothing right now since it should work normally. NPR allready has an NPR One app but that could be folded into Pocket Casts in the future.

Source: 9to5Google

Apple's GymKit comes to Canada at Equinox Fitness Clubs

GymKit is a feature of the Apple Watch that allows it to interact directly with gym equiptment for more precise tracking of exercises and performance. Having rolled out in select US gyms, the functionality has arrived in Canada through LA Fitness equiptment available in Equinox Gyms in Canada.

Members of these gyms using the La Fitness machines can enjoy “gymKit-enabled treadmills, ellipticals, stair steppers, and indoor bikes for more accurate distance, pace, and energy burn metrics.” Life Fitness has also introduced GymKit in various  fitness clubs in the US, Hong Kong, and Japan.

Source:9to5mac

Google Assistant on Wear OS will help make your life easier

Google Assistant on Wear OS is about to get that much more useful with several updates heading its way over the next few days. One thing coming is smart suggestions. This means, when you ask Google Assistant a question, it’ll automatically populate the screen with contextual follow-up questions that you can select. Another is that if you ask Google Assistant to “tell me about my day,” it’ll speak back to you through the watch speaker or Bluetooth headphones to let you know about what you have going on for the day. You previously had to look at the watch’s display to get these answers. Last new feature is Google getting support for third-party actions with Assistant. Actions are the little things you can do with Google Assistant and third-party developers that support it. By making Actions available on Wear OS, you can do things like turn on a compatible oven while you unload groceries and help get things started.

‘Remixed’ version of ‘Arrested Development’ season 4 drops on Netflix on May 4

Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz announced in 2014 that he was going to recut the show after the fourth season made its Netflix debut in 2013. The original structure of the season has each episode focused on one character. Hurwitz has “remixed” this version that intercuts all the characters’ stories chronologically. And has lengthened the 15-episode season into a shorter 22-episode season with 20-minute long episodes that create a more “interwoven” narrative than the original. And after four long years, this new version is coming to Netflix tomorrow, May 4. As for Season 5, it’s “right around the wall,” according to Arrested Development’s official Twitter account.

Source: The Verge