Facebook to reportedly launch ‘Notify’ news app next week

Facebook is said to be taking on the likes of Apple’s News app with its own standalone news app next week. According to the Financial Times, Apple will be launching an app called Notify and they’ve partnered with the likes of CBS, The Washington Post, Comedy Central, CNN, and Vogue. Unlike other news apps, Notify will reportedly notify users when new stories develop instead of users having to go to the app to discover content. Facebook has been developing experiences and features to help bring news and media easier to its users, like Instant Articles. We have to wait and see if there’s any truth to the rumours and how this app would fare if it were to be unveiled in the coming week.

Source: Financial Times | Via: 9to5Mac

Report claims Google to merge Chrome OS and Android

If rumours are to be believed, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, might be taking cues from Microsoft by merging its mobile and desktop operating systems. According to the Wall Street Journal, they got information from individuals who have knowledge on the matter. They say there will be a new version of Android that can run on PCs, aside from being able to run on tablets and phones as it does now. The new OS is reportedly slated for a 2017 release but early versions of it might show up some time next year. This would mean Chrome OS, which runs on Google Chromebook laptops, will be replaced with this new Android OS. This might be done in a move to unify the Android experience and get more people to use Chrome on desktops/laptops. Google won’t confirm anything at the moment though. If there is any truth to these, we might be hearing more about this by next year.

Source: Wall Street Journal | Via: SlashGear

Layoffs might be in Twitter’s future

After assuming the post, Twitter’s returning CEO Jack Dorsey looks to be preparing for layoffs as early as October 13^th. The company won’t address these rumours but sources for both The New York Times and Recode say that there will be some people losing their jobs soon, as to how many these would be is yet to be determined.

Recode believes that these layoffs are part of an attempt to streamline a “bloated” engineering team. While the social network has been improving its bottom line, there’s supposedly a sense among insiders that the engineering team of the company is bigger than it should be when related to its growth. The company has doubled its workforce in the past couple of years even if they’ve added around 50 percent more users.

Source: Engadget

Leaks of Microsoft Band 2 show a better looking wearable

Microsoft is rumoured to be announcing its Band 2 wearable at the company’s October 6^th event. And we might be getting an early look thanks to a leak by Spanish site Microsoft Insider. Although we can’t confirm the veracity of the image, it shows what seems to be official renders of the new wearable. It shows a curved face and metallic finish that helps move it away from the utilitarian looks of the first Band device. We’ll find out soon enough what Microsoft has up its sleeve and see if this is indeed what their new Band will look like.

Source: Microsoft Insider | Via: The Verge