Support for iPhone's HEIC image format coming soon to Windows 10

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Apple introduced a new image format with the iPhone 8 and iPhone X. HEIC or High Efficiency Image Format creates smaller file sizes that use smarter compression so they are not as lossy as jpegs.Another advantage of HEIC is flexible data container that can accommodate live photos, bursts of photos, 3D scene data useful for special effects and audio

The problem is that they are not a standard format. As an iPhone X user who works on Windows 10, this means I need to add an extra step to convert my iPhone X photos to something I can work with (usually through an online image conversion service like HeictoJpg.

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Animated Emoji wars heat up as Samsung partners with Disney on AR Emoji

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

In case you missed it, animating yourself as various AR (Augmented Reality) Emoji characters is now as important as the specs, camera functionality and design of today's flagship phones.

The gauntlet was thrown down by Apple last year when it made Animoji a key feature of the iPhone X. Being able to talk and match facial expressions with various emoji animals was the sexy feature for one hot minute and led to a short deluge of TV ads and Animoji Karaoke videos.

Apple's Animoji did resonate with many users, although I'm not sure if they were a defining feature for people to consider purchasing the iPhone X.

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Google rebrands Android Wear to 'Wear OS by Google'

There's been a long lull in Android Wear news, specially since smartphone companies left the platform in droves while traditional consumer watchmakers adopted the format bringing down the price and expanding the variety of connected timepieces available. No one seemed to notice.

The biggest issue with Android Wear is that it is stuck in circa 2014 hardware from Qualcomm, heavily limiting modern software features. Now rebranded as 'Wear OS by Google,' it looks like they are hoping to kickstart interest in the wearable platform. This isn't a great time for Google to mount an offensive. The Apple Watch is already the dominant smart watch (even as it is limited to iPhone use) and Fitbit has proven to be the master of fitness trackers now stepping up into the smartwatch space with more modest pricing.

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Intuit's app helps self-employed workers invoice, manage expenses, and file taxes

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Self-employed workers are faced with a lot of pain points when tax time comes around. Not only do they need to carefully monitor expenses as well as send and follow up on invoices for jobs, getting all the necessary information to file taxes accurately and on time is a constant challenge. Intuit's QuickBooks Self-Employed mobile app eliminates the pain points associated with financial management and helps self-employed workers easily manage their operations from anywhere.

"We identified this new market, the independent contractor and we noticed that there wasn't a quick adoption of the traditional QuickBooks App.  We did a ton of research and identified what their unique needs were. Rather than needing a full financial picture of their business, the things that were important to them were being able to keep track of their expenses and getting ready for tax time," says Melika Hope, Senior Product Manager at Intuit.

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