Amazon Echo Show helps identify household pantry items in the US

Accessibility is one of the areas technology companies have been focusing on and improving in the past few years. The new feature available on the Amazon Echo Show helps the blind or low-vision customers to identify everyday household pantry items that are difficult to distinguish by touch. The feature makes use of computer vision and machine learning to recognize what item is placed before it. It'll be available on the first- and second-generation versions of this device. This Alexa-powered smart speaker is geared towards kitchens as it helps out with kitchen-related tasks, such as setting timers and watching recipe videos.

Users simply need to say things like "Alexa, what am I holding?" or "Alexa, what's in my hand?" And then the Echo Show will give verbal cues to inform the users what the product is. Amazon worked with blind Amazon employees, including its principal accessibility engineer, Josh Miele. They got feedback from both blind and low-vision customers and collaborated with the Vista Center for the Blind in Santa Cruz. It's currently only available in the US, but we're hoping it gets a broader rollout in the future.

Source: TechCrunch

Twitter for iOS lets you pin lists to your Home timeline

If you want an easier way to access your favourite lists on Twitter and you're using an iPhone, this new feature is for you. After testing it out with some users back in July, Twitter now allows all iOS users switch from viewing your timeline to lists you follow or subscribe to by simply swiping. You can pin and unpin up to five Lists, giving you a more curated experience on the app. 

The update also brings a new landing page for lists. It shows a header image and more context about these as well as the number of members and subscribers. To edit your Lists, head to your profile picture and then in the Home menu, look for the Lists tab. The GIF above shows how this can be done. Now, if you're an Android user, Twitter told Engadget that the feature would be available outside of iOS "in the near future."

Google launches Play Pass app subscription service in the US

Subscription services have made their way to games and apps. Google is the newest company joining the fray with the launch of the Play Pass app subscription service. While it's the company's answer to the Apple Arcade, Google might have the upper hand since they included not just games but apps as well. The service is priced at US$4.99 a month, with a limited-time introductory offer of $1.99 per month for the first twelve months. Play Pass comes with a 10-day free trial. The service is currently available in the US only, but it's expected to launch in other countries soon.

Play Pass gives you full access to over 350 games and apps, including Monument Valley 2, Limbo, Stardew Valley, AccuWeather, and FaceTune, to name a few. The service allows you not to see things like ads and in-app purchases while using these games and apps. Google promises that new games will arrive each month. Each subscription can be shared with up to five family members with each member getting individual access. The Play Store has a new tab to show what apps are available through the service.

Leak reveals names of the Google Pixel 4 colours

Based on leaks we're getting three Google Pixel 4 colour options. And that bit of information hasn't changed. What the latest leaks reveal are the names for said colours. According to 9to5Google, we're getting Just Black, Clearly White, and Oh So Orange (no Coral here apparently). There will reportedly be colour cases available as well with less clever names: Blue, Chalk, Black, and Orange.

Google will unveil the Pixel 4 on October 15th. It is expected to come with a Snapdragon 855 processor paired with 6GB of RAM and up to 128GB of storage, a Soli sensor for gesture support, a triple camera system, and Android 10.