Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro's design gets leaked

A recent FCC filing all but confirms that Samsung's next true wireless earbuds will be called the Galaxy Buds Pro. Now, we learn what it might look like, thanks to notable leaker Evan Blass. Samsung seems to be ditching the bean-like shape of the Galaxy Buds Live. In its place, we have a design similar to what the Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Buds+ look like. But it has a more oval than triangular shape. The speaker grille is also more prominent, hinting at a cover for microphones for speech or active noise cancellation.

The case will also reportedly be more squarish than be pill-like. This time, the charging case will have a larger 500mAh battery case, but we don't know yet how this will translate into overall listening time. According to previous reports, the Galaxy Buds Pro will "likely" come with ANC, which both the Buds and Buds+ didn't have. And these new wireless earbuds will reportedly launch alongside the Galaxy S21 in January. There will supposedly be more budget-friendly options available, too.

Source: Engadget

Apple shares its best apps, podcasts, books/audiobooks of 2020

Source: Apple

Apple has released its comprehensive list of the best app, podcasts, and books/audiobooks based on editorial picks and data from the App Store, Apple Podcasts, and Apple Books. Vancouver-based game developer RAC7 won the Apple Arcade Game of the Year with Sneaky Sasquatch.  

The company noted that a trend that dominated the year lent towards helpfulness, which meant to help users "stay healthy, educated, connected, and entertained."

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Waze's Snow Alert helps you avoid unplowed roads

While this isn't a new feature, it's definitely a useful one as snow has started to descend in the Greater Toronto Area. Waze's Snow Warning feature lets you know if roads are coming up haven't been plowed. Since Waze relies on crowdsourcing, you can also report in real-time if you spot a road that hasn't been plowed. As expected, Waze Canada notes that reports of unplowed roads peaked around days with the most snowfall. 

"The trips Canadians make this winter will be to pick up essentials as we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic," said Mike Wilson, Waze's Canada country manager. "We want to make sure these trips are as smooth as possible so people can focus on navigating safely to their destinations. Knowing which roads have been plowed—and flagging unplowed roads for others—can help drivers avoid difficult driving conditions and provide some extra peace of mind." 

Salesforce buys Slack for US$27.7 billion

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There's another significant acquisition in the business software segment. Cloud computing giant Salesforce is buying workplace chat app Slack for US$27.7 billion, making it Salesforce's biggest acquisition yet. According to a press release from both companies, "Under the terms of the agreement, Slack shareholders will receive $26.79 in cash and 0.0776 shares of Salesforce common stock for each Slack share, representing an enterprise value of approximately $27.7 billion based on the closing price of Salesforce's common stock on November 30, 2020."

While we don't know what this would mean for the app, it seemed like this acquisition was a long time coming as the company hasn't been profitable in recent years, even as COVID-19 has forced more and more companies to focus on remote and online work. Slack continues to face intense pressure from competition like Microsoft Teams. Maybe this acquisition will make it easier for both companies to go against their competition.

One thing is certain, a Salesforce-backed Slack now has the latitude to be a dominant player in the business-software space. Not only do we expect tighter integration between Slack and Salesforce products and services, the staggering Salesforce partner ecosystem will be opened up to Slack which can potentially be the nerve-center of a businesses communication and activity. We're talking project management, marketing, sales, CRM, support and other functions piped into Slack. The future is bright and the software landscape had definitely changed because of this acquisition.

Source: The Verge