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Google Maps for iOS updated with a fresh new Material Design layout, integrated OpenTable and Uber

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Update: The new Google Maps app is now available on the App Store.

Google announced an update for its Google Maps for iOS app today that adds a fresh new Material Design layout focusing on bright colors and real world surfaces and shadows. The software’s refreshed interface is set to roll out over the next few days, with new features like dinner reservations from OpenTable (US only) and enhanced information cards with photos and reviews of popular attractions near your location.


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Uber introduces API for integrating the transportation service into other apps

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Uber API integration sample

The popular transportation service Uber has quickly been growing this year with new features like adding your destination right on the smartphone app when requesting a ride and poaching long time Apple engineering manager Chris Blumenberg who managed the Maps team. The service is even integrated into the Google Maps app on iPhone and Android, and check out the Uber care package the company sends new employees.

Today Uber is taking a major step toward integrating its service into even more apps and services as it introduces an API for developers to use in their own apps and a list of partners already planning to take advantage of it.

As of today, we officially open—to all developers—access to many of the primitives that power Uber’s magical experience. Apps can pass a destination address to the Uber app, display pickup times, provide fare estimates, access trip history and more.


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Former Siri team working on radically new virtual personal assistant with true artificial intelligence

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“Siri is chapter one of a much longer, bigger story,” says Dag Kittlaus, one of three of the original creators of Apple’s virtual personal assistant. The team, originally acquired by Apple as part of its $200M purchase of Siri, has now left the company to form a new startup, Viv Labs, to work on the rest of that story.

The vision described by the team in a lengthy piece in Wired is certainly ambitious. The problem with Siri, they say, is that it can only do things it has been explicitly programmed to do.

Though Apple has since extended Siri’s powers—to make an OpenTable restaurant reservation, for example—she still can’t do something as simple as booking a table on the next available night in your schedule. She knows how to check your calendar and she knows how to use Open­Table. But putting those things together is, at the moment, beyond her.

What Kittlaus and his team want to do is create a personal assistant which can learn to do new things for itself … 
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A look at what some high-profile apps will look like when iOS 7 hits

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Apple announced on Tuesday that iOS 7 will be publicly available on September 18th. The revamped OS moves completely away from the realistic designs of the past six generations, dropping almost all “artificial shadows” (as Apple SVP Craig Federighi called them), gloss, and even button borders. Instead, the Jony Ive-inspired interface features an entirely rethought design language that focuses heavily on large icons, lightweight fonts, whitespace, transparency, and conservative use of color.

We previously took a look at what some of Apple’s own in-house apps could look like when redesigned for iOS 7. During Apple’s September 10th event, Federighi flashed up a slide displaying the upcoming iOS 7 updates for many third-party applications. None of the apps were labeled, but we’ve tracked down names for most of them.

The apps featured are:


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Facebook update brings restaurant reservations and TV listings to mobile apps; Path adds 13 API partners

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As announced on the Facebook for Business news blog, the social network has added new features in an update to their mobile applications today.

Taking advantage of the OpenTable service, visiting a restaurant’s page now shows available times and reservations and everything can be completed right inside the Facebook app.

Using their mobile devices, will be able to book tables via Facebook Pages for restaurants. The update represents a new way for people to discover and book great dining experiences, all within the Facebook mobile app. There’s no need to visit a separate mobile site or open a separate app.
The new feature will be available on the Facebook mobile Pages for more than 20,000 OpenTable restaurant customers across North America.

In addition, the update brings listings to the pages of primetime TV shows and movies:

Finding shows and movies on TV is getting easier as well. For people that use iOS, Facebook will display TV listing information on US primetime TV and movie Pages. Listings will be based on your current time zone and include the channel name, air time and a description of the show or movie playing, meaning that the listings that exist in cable box guides, magazines and newspapers are now conveniently located on the Facebook Pages of peoples’ favorite shows.

The update has also brought hashtag search to iOS.

What’s New in Version 6.4

• Search for hashtags or tap them in posts to see what other people are saying about a topic
• Make restaurant reservations directly on participating Pages in the US
• Faster loading and a cleaner design for timelines on iPad
• Fixed a bug that was causing some people to see red notification badges when there weren’t any new notifications

path-appSmaller, private social network Path has announced the addition of 13 new API partners, including Pic Stitch, WordPress, Viddy, Over and several other notable apps. The company notes that the API will come to more applications over time, but they are starting out with partners of applications they love and find to be related to the philosophies of the app.

To start, we have hand-selected developers we admire for their innovation and quality, as well as a few that have been most requested by our users. From more workout moments, to photo moments, to thought moments, we have worked closely with these developers to ensure that sharing to Path is a seamless and beautiful experience.

Moving forward, we will continue to work with developers with whom we share values. In addition, we’ll continue to work closely with each developer to guarantee an integration that truly delights the user. Our current list of developers that will be able to share to Path are:

Photos & Video

  • Over
  • Viddy
  • PicMix
  • PicFrame
  • Pic Stitch
  • Pic Collage
  • papelook
  • Manga-Camera
  • Otaku Camera
  • Miil

Thoughts

  • WordPress
  • Holy Bible

Workouts

  • Strava Cycling
  • Nike+ Running
  • Nike+ FuelBand

Some of these are available today, others in the coming weeks. We invite you to download them and start sharing to Path!