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Entertainment

Apple AirPods 2 fall to just $89

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Now’s a good time to shop if you’re looking for reliable earbuds that won’t break the bank. There’s currently a sale on Apple AirPods, including a 31 percent discount on the second-generation Apple AirPods to $89 from $129. While the second-gen Apple AirPods came out back in 2019, the entry-level option is still a great option — especially on sale.

Apple

Apple’s second-generation AirPods have an H1 headphone chip that provides a low-latency, clear sound. You can access Siri through them and control settings like pause, play and next song by double tapping one AirPod — plus customize which side does what. The second-gen AirPods hold about five hours of juice at a time and last up to 24 hours with the lightning charging case.

The entry-level AirPods are on sale alongside the third-generation Apple AirPod’s 13 percent drop to $149 from $169. The newest model’s improvements include much better audio quality and six hours of battery life (or 30 with the charging case). The second-gen AirPods Pro are marked down to $199 from $249 — a 20 percent discount. These AirPods are worth the extra cost if you want noise canceling, great sound with an H2 chip and a MagSafe USB-C charging case.

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Bisnis Industri

iMessage getting RCS for better cross-platform texting in fall 2024

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iMessage vs. RCS ends in last 2024
The feature-limited version of texting available between iPhone and Android will come to an end in about six months.
Image: Apple

Google let slip that Apple will fulfill its promise to add support for Rich Communication Services to the iPhone Messages app “in the fall of 2024.”

That almost certainly means iPhone and Android users will enjoy higher quality cross-platform texting with the release of iOS 18 and not before.

iMessage could get RCS in late 2024

iPhone and Android users can already exchange simple SMS and MMS messages. But because iMessage does not support Rich Communication Services, what can be included in texts sent between the platforms is limited. There are no emoji reactions, read receipts or other advanced features.

And that’s the way things stayed for years, despite ongoing appeals from Android-maker Google.

But last November, Apple committed to adding RCS to iMessage. It’s possible the change is the result of behind-the-scenes pressure from the U.S. Department of Justice as it prepared the blockbuster antitrust lawsuit against Apple filed in mid March.

iMessage bullying
iMessage is apparently going to keep green and  blue text bubbles so everyone knows who has an Android.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

However, when the iPhone-maker made the commitment it did not give a very specific timeline, just saying in late 2023 that the change would happen “later next year.”

Google revealed a bit more, though apparently without clearing it with Apple first. A new landing page for Google Messages (spotted by 9to5Google) noted, “Apple has announced it will be adopting RCS in the fall of 2024.”

The note has since been removed, though it’s still available via the Wayback Machine.

That seems to be a clear indication that RCS support is coming to iMessage in iOS 18, which is expected to launch in September 2024. That was already likely based on Apple’s own comment about timing, but this might be a confirmation that RCS support won’t arrive in an upcoming iOS 17 update.

We’ll likely find out for sure in June at Apple’s WWDC24 when the next iPhone operating system will be announced.



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Business Industry

Google reveals RCS is coming to iPhones in fall this year

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In November 2023, Apple announced that it would bring Rich Communications Service (RCS) to iPhoneslater next year,” suggesting that the new messaging standard would arrive in iOS with iOS 18. However, the company hasn’t offered any update on the matter since then, and as such, there was no information available on the exact timeframe for the arrival of the new feature to iOS. Fortunately, that’s changing today.

While Apple hasn’t offered an update on the arrival of RCS in iOS, surprisingly, Google has. According to the landing page of Google Messages on the Android website, RCS is coming to iOS in the fall of 2024 (via 9To5Google). The website says “Apple has announced it will be adopting RCS in the fall of 2024. Once that happens, it will mean a better messaging experience for everyone.

RCS Coming Fall 2024 On iOS Poster From Google

That means we are only 6-9 months away from seeing RCS on the iPhone. Once that happens, Android users will be able to chat with iPhone users using Google Messages or Samsung Messages and enjoy many features, including typing indicators, quote replies, and message reactions, without using a third-party application, which is currently available only between iPhone-to-iPhone and Android-to-Android chats.

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