Notability is now available on the Mac

Note-taking app Notability is bringing its powerful and helpful iPad features to the Mac. Ginger Labs was able to port its iPad app to the Mac with Mac Catalyst technology. The new app can take advantage of the Mac's larger screen size, speed, and keyboard. Popular iPad features like shape detection, favourite tools, Apple Pencil support via Sidecar, paper backgrounds, and more are available on the Mac app, too.

For existing iPad and iPhone users, Notability on the Mac will be free to download. New users can get the app at a discounted price of $5.49 for a limited time. Afterwards, it will revert to $11.99.

Instagram Lite makes a comeback

Source: Instagram

Instagram pulled its smaller Lite app in the spring of 2020 but now has decided to resurrect it. The app is getting new features and a larger file size to accommodate them. It has rolled out on Android in 170, with a global rollout in the works. There is no plan for an iOS version at the moment. Instagram Lite will only need two megabytes to install compared to the regular Instagram app's 30MB. The original app only needed 573 kilobytes, so it's a significant increase.

But this bigger size allows users to send direct messages and record and post videos, too. The Reels tab will also take the place of the shopping tab in areas where Reels is available. However, you won't be able to make Reels on the Lite app. Shopping won't come to Instagram Lite. According to its product manager Nick Brown, Reels received "a lot of engagement" in India, which is why it opted to keep this tab. With TikTok banned in India, it makes sense for Instagram to double down on this feature.

Click to read more ...

Twitter targets April to roll out Spaces for all users

Embed from Getty Images 

Twitter's audio chat feature and its answer to the popular and exclusive chat app Clubhouse might be coming to all users soon. The company said it plans to make Twitter Spaces available for all users by April. It is not a set release date, though, but it's the timeframe Twitter hopes to have the feature in all of its users' hands.

Click to read more ...

Instagram tests an auto-caption sticker for Stories

It might soon be easier to caption Instagram Stories. The social network is testing out a way to add automatic captions to the feature. Social media consultant Matt Navarra shared a video on Twitter of auto-captions in action. It shows a new CC captions option available alongside the other stickers you can add to your stories. When you enable it, the sticker will show a transcription of the audio. It also lets you change the captions' font and style as you would when you type text on your Stories.

As Engadget pointed out, the feature didn't transcribe Navarra's audio completely accurately as it mistook the word "finally" for "find." Errors with automatic transcriptions are inevitable, though. 

Click to read more ...