Google brings Cardboard SDK to iOS

As the rumours have suggested, Google is bringing its Cardboard SDK to iOS developers. This means, developers of iPhone apps can create apps that will work with Google's virtual reality viewer. The Google Cardboard is a low-cost viewer that lets you slot in your smartphone into the front of the viewer to bring both virtual and augmented reality experiences to you via apps.

Aside from launching the SDK for iOS, Google's also introduced VR view, a feature to let developers include immersive content within apps and websites. It can turn images and videos into 360-degree VR images and videos that can be viewed on the desktop or with a phone attached to a Cardboard viewer. Both the SDK and the tools needed to create VR views are available starting today.

Source: MacRumors

Apple's Safari Technology Preview released for developers to test and tweak new functions

Apple announced the Safari Technology Preview for developers is available today which focuses on new functionalities to the Safari browser. Available today, Safari Technology Preview brings the latest layout technologies, visual effects, and developer tools that provide input on how they are implemented and deliver an even better user experience across Apple devices.

Apple says Safari beats Chrome and Firefox in benchmarks, performing 1.15x faster in Jetstream, 2.2x faster in Speedometer and 6.0x faster in JSBench. Safari can browse the web up to two hours longer than Chrome and Firefox, it can also watch Netflix videos up to four hours longer.

In Safari Technology Preview developers can get the latest web technologies, including HTML, JavaScript and CSS and WebKit. They can get access to the latest versions of Web Inspector and Responsive Design Mode to modify, debug, and optimize their websites. Apple is making this available so devs can integrate into their websites for improved compatibility. A Bug Reporter is also available to send feedback directly to Apple about issues and enhancement requests. 

Takata's airbag recall cost could reach $24 Billion

Takata is the provider of airbags for various carmakers and is facing a massive recall of its airbag inflators which have proven defective on various vehicles. The cumulative recall of the inflators is expected to cost the company $24 billion. 

A source told Bloomberg that the comprehensive callback of Takata's airbag inflators would cost about 2.7 trillion yen ($24 billion) and involve the recall of 287.5 million airbag inflators. Takata and the automakers still have to determine how the costs are shared, the person said. Takata has declined to comment as of this time.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Takata airbag inflators have caused nine fatalities in the U.S. by rupturing and spraying plastic and metal shards at motorists. The regulator is investigating all Takata inflators that use a chemical propellant that's been banned from future modelsand gives the company until as long as the end of 2019 to determine the root cause of the flaw or prove the inflators are safe.

Source: Autonews

Twitter adds image descriptions to mobile apps

Helping out the more visually impaired, Twitter is introducing image descriptions—also known as alternative text or alt text—into its Android and iOS apps. The social network wants their content to be as accessible to as wide an audience as possible. To enable the feature, head over to the accessibility settings of Twitter app and switch the slider to on for the “compose image descriptions” option. So, the next time you compose a tweet with an image, there’ll be an add description button. The descriptions can be up to 420 characters. For those who are visually impaired, you’ll see these descriptions via the assistive technology on your devices.

Source: Twitter