YouTube announced this week the rollout of “Thumbnail Test & Compare,” a new tool for creators to see which thumbnail performs the best.
When creators publish a new video (or update an existing video), they can test up to three thumbnails, which will be shown “evenly” across viewers, the company explained in a post.
YouTube encourages testing thumbnails with distinct differences, such as variations in layout compositions, backgrounds, and text overlays, to ensure a comprehensive test.
Creators can test thumbnails on a variety of content, including regular videos, podcast episodes, archived livestreams, and public long-form content.
Over the coming weeks, Thumbnail Test & Compare will become available in YouTube Studio on desktop to all creators with access to advanced features.
This week at WWDC 2024, that prize went to Apple Intelligence.
It’s something that I’ve been requesting from Apple for several years, fueled by my own health struggles and the fact that I’ve somehow managed to contract COVID four times so far.
The ability to pause your activity rings is a minor feature update for most, but for those of us who obsess about such things to an unhealthy degree, it’s the best Apple Watch update in years.
There are several options for pausing: You can do it for one day, by day of the week or for entire months at a time.
Once entered, this will be the goal for that day of the week until it’s changed again.
You could open up the TikTok app and snap a picture of it to find similar items available for purchase on TikTok Shop.
The ability to use image search for shopping is something that Google has offered for years with Google Lens, its visual search tool.
TikTok recently revealed that TikTok Shop now has more than 15 million sellers worldwide, including over 500,000 in the U.S.
It spent more than $400 million on platform safety and created a team of more than 7,500 people to help keep TikTok Shop safe.
TikTok has been betting big on e-commerce, as it sees TikTok Shop as its next big potential revenue source.
The biggest updates coming to Apple’s iMessage and its Messages app in iOS 18 aren’t its AI emoji, Genmoji, or even the ability to send texts via satellite.
Because of Apple’s longtime refusal to add support for RCS, texting with Android users meant no typing indicators or read receipts, broken group chats, and blurry photos and videos.
Instead, the text box indicates in a light gray font that your texts with someone support both “Text message + RCS,” while the texts themselves are still green.
However, issues that make the Messages app a broken experience for Apple’s customers will be addressed, it seems, as Apple says it will support the standard later this year.
That’s likely why there was no mention of encrypted messaging in Apple’s announcement of RCS.
Google is finally making its Gemini Nano AI model available to Pixel 8 and 8a users after teasing it in March.
The June Pixel drop will allow users to access the model as a developer option.
Apart from that, the feature drop includes Display Port connectivity support for Pixel 8 and Pixel 8a, reverse phone number lookup for unknown numbers, fall and crash detection for Pixel Watch 2, and doorbell notifications on the Pixel tablet.
The update brings manual lens picking in the camera to the Pixel 6 Pro, 7 Pro, and Pixel Fold.
Pixel WatchThe newest Pixel drop brings car crash detection to the Pixel Watch 2.
Crunchbase is expanding the scope of its tagging options in Europe to start tracking how much venture capital funding goes to minority founders on the continent.
Diversity Spotlight is a feature on Crunchbase that lets companies add tags to their profiles to label themselves.
Crunchbase is now making this feature available in Europe.
Crunchbase initially launched the Diversity Spotlight feature in 2020, and last year expanded it to add an LGBTQ+ tag.
Women globally, meanwhile, typically receive less than 2% of venture capital funding across the world.
At Apple’s WWDC 2024, the company revealed a handy new feature for Apple TV+ called InSight.
Apple TV+’s new feature appears to be similar to Amazon’s X-Ray technology, where Fire TV users get an overview of actor bios and behind-the-scenes information while watching TV shows and movies.
To use “InSight,” Apple TV+ subscribers can use their remote to bring up a display with actor names and character information in real-time.
Apple also announced several updates to tvOS, the software running on Apple TV.
According to the company, there will be better vocal clarity over background noise, music, and action scenes on Apple TV 4K.
An “Apple Intelligence” (AI)-powered feature coming in iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to create AI images of people they’re messaging with — a feature that works something like an AI-upgraded Bitmoji.
Image Credits: AppleFor example, Apple showed off making an AI Bitmoji of a friend celebrating their birthday with an image that included cake, balloons and flowers.
The Genmoji can be used as a sticker for reacting to messages with a Tapback or inline with your messages, Apple said.
Apple Intelligence will also suggest concepts related to your messages conversation, but all this takes place on the device, according to Apple.
Also at WWDC 2024, Apple announced updates to Siri and introduced macOS Sequoia.
Apple’s emergency SOS feature has proven useful for a fair number of people whose cars break down (or tumble down) in areas with no signal.
Soon you’ll be able to use iMessage and SMS as well — though it’s not clear what the limitations on the service may be.
Announced at Apple’s WWDC 2024 keynote on Monday, “Messages via Satellite” works much like the SOS feature did.
When you have no signal — otherwise the phone will use that — you’ll be given the option to find a satellite to relay the data.
Apple did not say when the new feature will be available or whether it’s restricted to certain phones or plans.
Developers who want to show off apps, or anyone whose iPhone is currently out of reach, will appreciate a new Continuity feature arriving on the new version of macOS Sequoia.
The new OS, announced at WWDC 2024, will allow users to mirror their iPhone screen directly on their Mac and even control it, like swiping through pages on the Home Screen and launching apps via the Mac’s trackpad.
In addition, as Apple showed, it would make it easier to use Mac apps and iPhone apps alongside each other.
When using the feature, users will be able to use the Mac keyboard to enter text and other input into iPhone apps.
Plus, iPhone notifications will appear alongside Mac notifications when it’s mirrored, and users will also be able to interact with them and take action.
