This Week in Apps: YouTube TV cancels Apple’s rev share, more bad news for mobile voting, WhatsApp hits 2B users

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the Extra Crunch series that recaps the latest OS news, the applications they support and the money that flows through it all.

The app industry is as hot as ever, with a record 204 billion downloads in 2019 and $120 billion in consumer spending in 2019, according to App Annie’s recently released “State of Mobile” annual report. People are now spending 3 hours and 40 minutes per day using apps, rivaling TV. Apps aren’t just a way to pass idle hours — they’re a big business. In 2019, mobile-first companies had a combined $544 billion valuation, 6.5x higher than those without a mobile focus.

In this Extra Crunch series, we help you keep up with the latest news from the world of apps, delivered on a weekly basis.

This week, we look at YouTube TV’s decision to stop revenue-sharing with Apple, another mobile voting app with serious flaws, new Apple launches in coding and AR, Microsoft’s game-streaming service Project xCloud arrival on iOS and other notable app news and trends, including WhatsApp’s big 2 billion user milestone, and more.

Headlines

YouTube TV fights back against Apple’s cut of in-app subscription revenue

This week, YouTube emailed customers subscribed to its YouTube TV service by way of Apple’s in-app purchases to let them know that this subscription offering will be discontinued starting on March 13, 2020. Current subscribers will have their subscription canceled automatically on their billing date after March 13, the letter said.

This is a pretty severe way for Google to end its subscription revenue-sharing with Apple, however. Most companies that decide to shut off in-app subscriptions still continue to honor those from existing subscribers — they just stop selling to new customers. In YouTube TV’s case, it’s actually ending its relationship with all its customers on Apple devices with the hope they’ll return and resubscribe. That’s quite a risk, given that YouTube TV is not the only streaming TV service out there, and customers getting their subscription canceled may take this opportunity to shop around. The timing is also poorly thought-out, given that YouTube TV just picked up new subs following Sony’s PlayStation Vue shutdown — and now it’s kicking them out.

The move makes Google the latest company to rebel against Apple’s 30% cut of all in-app payments (which drops to 15% in year two). A growing number of app publishers are refusing to share a cut of their revenue with Apple — even saying that Apple’s decision to charge this fee is anti-competitive. For example, Spotify believes Apple’s fee makes it more difficult to compete with Apple’s built-in music service, and has raised the issue repeatedly to regulators. Netflix also stopped paying the “Apple tax” over a year ago.

Mobile voting app Voatz, used by several states, was filled with security flaws

Above: Voatz, via The NYT

Last week, we looked at how a smartphone app meant to tabulate votes from the caucuses really screwed things up in Iowa. This week, MIT researchers took a look at mobile voting app Voatz, which has been used to tally votes for federal elections in parts of West Virginia, Oregon, Utah and Washington as part of various mobile voting pilot programs. The researchers found the app was riddled with security flaws that would let attackers monitor votes or even change ballots or block them without users’ knowledge. Attackers could also create a tainted paper trail, making a reliable audit impossible — despite Voatz’s promise of using blockchain technology to increase security. One security expert, speaking to VICE, called the app “sloppy” and filled with “elementary” mistakes.

Coming on the heels of the Iowa caucus mobile voting disaster, this latest news delivers another huge blow to the promise of mobile voting in the U.S.

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This Week in Apps: YouTube TV cancels Apple’s rev share, more bad news for mobile voting, WhatsApp hits 2B users

Welcome back to This Week in Apps, the Extra Crunch series that recaps the latest OS news, the applications they support and the money that flows through it all.

The app industry is as hot as ever, with a record 204 billion downloads in 2019 and $120 billion in consumer spending in 2019, according to App Annie’s recently released “State of Mobile” annual report. People are now spending 3 hours and 40 minutes per day using apps, rivaling TV. Apps aren’t just a way to pass idle hours — they’re a big business. In 2019, mobile-first companies had a combined $544 billion valuation, 6.5x higher than those without a mobile focus.

In this Extra Crunch series, we help you keep up with the latest news from the world of apps, delivered on a weekly basis.

This week, we look at YouTube TV’s decision to stop revenue-sharing with Apple, another mobile voting app with serious flaws, new Apple launches in coding and AR, Microsoft’s game-streaming service Project xCloud arrival on iOS and other notable app news and trends, including WhatsApp’s big 2 billion user milestone, and more.

Headlines

YouTube TV fights back against Apple’s cut of in-app subscription revenue

This week, YouTube emailed customers subscribed to its YouTube TV service by way of Apple’s in-app purchases to let them know that this subscription offering will be discontinued starting on March 13, 2020. Current subscribers will have their subscription canceled automatically on their billing date after March 13, the letter said.

This is a pretty severe way for Google to end its subscription revenue-sharing with Apple, however. Most companies that decide to shut off in-app subscriptions still continue to honor those from existing subscribers — they just stop selling to new customers. In YouTube TV’s case, it’s actually ending its relationship with all its customers on Apple devices with the hope they’ll return and resubscribe. That’s quite a risk, given that YouTube TV is not the only streaming TV service out there, and customers getting their subscription canceled may take this opportunity to shop around. The timing is also poorly thought-out, given that YouTube TV just picked up new subs following Sony’s PlayStation Vue shutdown — and now it’s kicking them out.

The move makes Google the latest company to rebel against Apple’s 30% cut of all in-app payments (which drops to 15% in year two). A growing number of app publishers are refusing to share a cut of their revenue with Apple — even saying that Apple’s decision to charge this fee is anti-competitive. For example, Spotify believes Apple’s fee makes it more difficult to compete with Apple’s built-in music service, and has raised the issue repeatedly to regulators. Netflix also stopped paying the “Apple tax” over a year ago.

Mobile voting app Voatz, used by several states, was filled with security flaws

Above: Voatz, via The NYT

Last week, we looked at how a smartphone app meant to tabulate votes from the caucuses really screwed things up in Iowa. This week, MIT researchers took a look at mobile voting app Voatz, which has been used to tally votes for federal elections in parts of West Virginia, Oregon, Utah and Washington as part of various mobile voting pilot programs. The researchers found the app was riddled with security flaws that would let attackers monitor votes or even change ballots or block them without users’ knowledge. Attackers could also create a tainted paper trail, making a reliable audit impossible — despite Voatz’s promise of using blockchain technology to increase security. One security expert, speaking to VICE, called the app “sloppy” and filled with “elementary” mistakes.

Coming on the heels of the Iowa caucus mobile voting disaster, this latest news delivers another huge blow to the promise of mobile voting in the U.S.

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Steam Now Helps You Decide What Games to Play Next

Steam can now help you decide what game to play next. And it’s all thanks to a Steam Labs experiment called Play Next. This uses an algorithm to recommend which of the many unplayed games you have in your Steam library you should play next.

Do You Own Too Many Games on Steam?

We’re going to hazard a guess that your Steam library is packed full of games. Thanks to the frequency of Steam sales and the generosity of the discounts, you probably have too many games to play on Steam. And you end up not playing any of them.

Thankfully, Steam has come up with a solution. Called Play Next, this Steam Labs experiment is designed to end the pointless charade of mindlessly browsing your Steam library looking for something to play and not actually playing anything.

Play Next Recommends What Games to Play

Steam announced Play Next in a post on Steam Community. In the post, the Steam Labs developers explain that its “machine learning system helps you to choose, by suggesting the games it thinks you’ll enjoy most, among games you already own.”

Introducing Steam Labs Experiment 008: Play Next! ?

Got a bunch of unplayed games in your Steam library, unsure what to play next? ?

Let the Interactive Recommender system help you choose by predicting which of your games you'll enjoy the most!https://t.co/VrD1ZJgrYd

— Steam (@Steam) February 13, 2020

Play Next uses the same underlying technology as the Interactive Recommender. The latter recommends games for you to buy based on what you and others are already playing. Play Next just applies the same algorithm to the games already in your library.

To use Play Next, log in to your Steam account and click this link. Play Next will then suggest the three games you should play next on Steam. And if you don’t like the selections, just cycle through to see the next set of games Steam recommends.

Another Reason to Stop Buying Games on Steam

Having too much content at your fingertips is a modern problem. And it affects more than just Steam. Still, hopefully Play Next will help you choose a game to play rather than wasting time deciding. And if not, maybe it’s time to stop buying games on Steam.

Read the full article: Steam Now Helps You Decide What Games to Play Next

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The Todoist Shortcuts Cheat Sheet for Task Management

Todoist is one of the best cross-platform apps for task management. The free version of the app is robust in itself, but if you sign up for one of the premium plans, you get access to everything from reminders, comments, and file uploads, to labels, filters, and templates.

Of course, regardless of the pricing tier you’re on, you can transform your Todoist workflow with a few simple shortcuts. What’s more, you’ll find the best Todoist shortcuts in our cheat sheet below!

The cheat sheet covers keyboard shortcuts for Todoist on the web, desktop, and mobile. It also includes filters, keywords, and other operators that can make both task searching and scheduling seem effortless.

FREE DOWNLOAD: This cheat sheet is available as a downloadable PDF from our distribution partner, TradePub. You will have to complete a short form to access it for the first time only. Download The Todoist Shortcuts Cheat Sheet.

The Todoist Shortcuts Cheat Sheet

Shortcut	Action
Basics
Q	Add new task with Quick Add
¹A	Add new task at bottom of list
¹Shift + A	Add new task at top of list
²S	Add section
³Ctrl + M	Add quick comment
U	Undo last action (if possible)
Shift + Left-click	Select multiple contiguous tasks
Ctrl + Left-click	Select multiple non-contiguous tasks
Ctrl + Up Arrow	Move to task above task currently being edited
Ctrl + Down Arrow	Move to task below task currently being edited
/ OR F	Shift focus to Quick Find (search box)
Esc	Cancel current edit
Enter	Save newly created task and create new task below it
Shift + Enter	Save changes to existing task and create new task below it
Ctrl + Enter	Save newly created task and create new task above it OR Save changes to existing task and create new task above it
?	Show Todoist shortcuts
⁴Ctrl + Right Arrow	Increase task indent
⁴Ctrl + Down Arrow	Decrease task indent
Shift + Left-click	Complete and archive a sub-task or recurring task
⁵Text Formatting
@	Add label
#	Pick project
#ERROR!	Add assignee
p1, p2, p3, p4	Set priority level
* TaskName	Hide checkbox for current task
Ctrl + B OR **Text** OR __Text__ OR !!Text!!	Emphasize text in bold letters
Ctrl + I OR *Text* OR _Text_	Italicize text
***Text*** OR ___Text___	Emphasize text in bold letters and italicize it
URL(AnchorText) OR [URL](AnchorText)	Create hyperlink
`Code`	Insert code inline
```CodeBlock```	Insert code block
⁶Task Sorting
D	Sort tasks by date
P	Sort tasks by priority
N	Sort tasks by name
R	Sort tasks by assignee (person responsible)
Windows-Only Shortcuts
Ctrl + Alt + T	Show/Hide Todoist
Ctrl + Alt + A	Open Quick Add task panel
M	Enter multi-select mode
Alt + Enter	Save and go to comments
Tab	Open full task editor
Ctrl + F	Open search
F5	Sync manually
Home	Navigate to default page
PgUp	Navigate to previous view
²Alt + Shift + Right Arrow	Increase task indent
²Alt + Shift + Left Arrow	Decrease task indent
macOS-Only Shortcuts
Control + Cmd + T	Show/Hide Todoist
Control + Cmd + A	Open Quick Add task panel
²Cmd + Right Arrow	Increase task indent
²Cmd + Left Arrow	Decrease task indent
Mobile-Only Shortcuts
Ctrl + N	Open Quick Add task panel
⁷Ctrl + Shift + N	Create new task at top of list
Ctrl + Shift + P	Create new project
Ctrl + Shift + L	Create new label
Ctrl + Shift + F	Create new filter
Ctrl + Enter	Submit comment
Ctrl + 1	Open Inbox
⁸Ctrl + Shift + 1	Open Team Inbox
Ctrl + 2	Open Today
Ctrl + 3	Open Next 7 days
Ctrl + 4	Toggle Projects list
Ctrl + 5	Toggle Labels list
Ctrl + 6	Toggle Filters list
Ctrl + F	Open Search
Ctrl + ,	Open Settings
Ctrl + S	Sync manually
Keywords for Task Scheduling
every day OR daily	Every day starting from today
every morning	Every day at 9am
every evening	Every day at 7pm
every weekday OR every workday	Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
every monday, friday OR ev monday, friday OR every mon, fri OR ev mon, fri	Every Monday and Friday
every 3 days	Every three days starting today
every week OR weekly	Every week starting today
every month OR monthly	Every month starting today
every year OR yearly	Every year starting today
every 2nd friday	Every second Friday of the month
every 25th OR every 25	25th of every month
every jun 25th	Every June 25th
every last day	Last day of every month
every day starting may 5 OR from may 5	Every day starting May 5th
every day ending may 5 OR until may 5	Every day starting today and ending on May 5th
every day for 3 weeks	Every day for the next three weeks starting today
every day from 10 aug until 20 aug	Every day starting August 10th and ending August 20th
every 6 weeks at 09:00 starting jan 3	Every six weeks starting on January 3rd, at 9am
every! two months starting jan 3	Every two months starting from last completion date
⁹Filters and Other Operators
#ProjectName	Tasks in ProjectName
##ProjectName	Tasks in ProjectName and its sub-projects
assigned to: CollaboratorName	Tasks assigned to CollaboratorName
assigned by: CollaboratorName	Tasks assigned by CollaboratorName
assigned by: me	Tasks assigned by you
assigned	Tasks assigned to anyone (including you)
shared	All tasks in shared projects
recurring	Tasks with a recurring due date
no date OR no due date	Tasks without a due date
overdue OR over due OR od	Overdue tasks
3 days OR next 3 days	Tasks due within the next three days
due before: May 27	Tasks due before May 27th
due after: May 27	Tasks due after May 27th
p1 OR priority 1	Tasks with priority level 1
p2 OR priority 2	Tasks with priority level 2
p3 OR priority 3	Tasks with priority level 3
no priority	Tasks with no priority
@LabelName	Tasks with label LabelName
no label	Tasks without a label
created: Mar 5	Tasks created on March 5th
created before: -365 days	Tasks created more than 365 days ago
created after: -365 days	Tasks created within the last 365 days
search: KeywordName	Tasks containing keyword KeywordName
&	Boolean AND (Eg: p1 & overdue)
|	Boolean OR (Eg: shared OR @red)
!	Boolean NOT (Eg: no label & !p2)
*	Wildcard operator (Eg: @*tech)
¹Available in Inbox, Today, Next 7 days, and Projects. ²Available in Inbox and Projects only. ³Available on web and macOS only. ⁴Available on web only. ⁵Syntax works in task names and comments only. ⁶Available on web and desktop only; available in Inbox and Projects only. ⁷Available on Android only; available in Inbox and Projects only. ⁸Team Inbox is available only as part of a Todoist Business subscription. ⁹These are available only with Todoist Premium and Todoist Business subscriptions.

Todoist Features You May Have Missed

Given that Todoist is such a feature-rich app, it’s unsurprising that users miss certain features completely. Have you overlooked any Todoist features yourself?

Read the full article: The Todoist Shortcuts Cheat Sheet for Task Management

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XP Pen Note Plus is a Magical Paper Notepad That Scans Everything You Write

Our verdict of the XP Pen Note Plus:
A clever concept that bridges the digital divide and saves your paper scribbles, works with any A5 notepad, and for an entirely reasonable price. But it's seriously let down by a buggy app, and if you want to make changes to previously written notes, the concept starts to fall down flat. 610

Putting pen to paper is so much more satisfying than writing on a screen. But if you need to share your creation, or back it up, your options are to take a bad photo or get a scanner. The XP Pen Note Plus is really quite magical. It’s a paper notepad, but anything you write on it is synced with the accompanying app via Bluetooth. And it costs less than $100.

XP Pen has carved a name for themselves offering digital artist tablets at affordable prices, but for those of us who prefer a pen and paper, can this device bridge the divide?

Yes, It Works With Any Notepad!

You’re probably thinking that this sort of tech needs a special type of paper, or a particular replaceable notepad. The good news is that any slimline A5 notepad will fit, and works just fine.

The back page tucks into the Note Plus folder, and the whole thing weighs less than a pound.

You do however need to use the supplied ballpoint pen. XP Pen sells replacement ballpoint cartridges, but they appear to be standard Ministar refills, so you should be able to find them anywhere.

How Does It Work?

To use the Note Plus, open the stylish folder, turn to your latest artistic creation, and carry on writing. It’s hardly complicated, assuming you have battery power. The device will automatically power on when opened and begin recording your pen strokes.

To start a new page, press the single button on the bottom edge of the folder. A small white LED will flash to indicate you’ve started a new page. If you forget to do this, or it doesn’t register, then your pages become a muddled mess and chaos will reign.

Did I forget to press the button?

Besides this single button, you’ll find a proprietary magnetic charging port. Use the supplied cable with any standard USB charger. A single charge should last around 10 hours of continuous use, with a standby time of a month.

The XP Pen Note Plus has enough internal memory for around 50 pages before they need to be synced or deleted.

But Where to Put That Pen?

The only design flaw in the Note Plus is that there’s nowhere to store the pen. Which, considering it can only be used with that pen and therefore it isn’t really something you’d want to lose, seems like a significant oversight. I’m sure they could have made the folder a bit bulkier and included somewhere to tuck it in.

How to Sync Your Notes?

Open up the accompanying app, and after the initial pairing is complete, it should reconnect over Bluetooth. Pull down from the top and hit sync.

Or at least this is how it should work in theory. In my testing on an iPhone X, I needed to pair every single time I opened the app. This was quite frustrating, but I’m confident it’s a software bug they can fix. I’ve yet to receive a response on my support request, but that’s forgivable given the situation in China at the moment.

Once your notes are synced, you can use the text recognition button to turn them into digital text. Since I’ve had a keyboard close to hand since the age of about three, my writing is barely legible to humans, let alone machine AI. Frankly, the concept of turning your written note into a digitally recognized text seems a little pointless, since you probably would have been a lot faster to just type it out in the first place.

It's pretty cool when it works, though.

Get used to seeing this.

The back button slows down playback, the forward button speeds it up, and the slider isn't interactive. Could this be any more badly designed? No, no it couldn't.

Another seemingly pointless feature is the ability to “playback” your creation. This shows an animated representation of your pen strokes. While I’m sure it’s fascinating to see a true artist at work, this feature doesn’t quite convey the same beauty of the pen stroke. What this feature does allow you to do, however, is fix merged pages by painstakingly watching for the moment you started a new page but forgot to press the new page button, and then hit the split to create two separate pages.

Be very careful though, because if you miss the right spot, you’ll have to start again from the start. For an example of horrible design choices, observe the final UI screenshot above. The skip back button doesn’t, in fact, go back, it just slows down the playback. The forward button doesn’t go forward, it speeds up playback. And the progress slider? You can’t actually drag it. It’s just a visual indicator. After discovering this fact, I hit the main back button to go back and try again at splitting my accidentally merged pages; and then the app crashed.

Can You Edit Previous Notes?

Normally, adding some scribbles to a previous page in a paper notepad would be a relatively simple affair. Turn to the page, and keep writing! But with the Note Plus, it’s not quite as simple, since the only button on the device itself is to start a new page. If you’ve already started a new page, there’s no way to tell it you want to go back again.

However, it is actually possible to make changes to previously synced notes. Just open the app, select the note you want to edit, then select the edit button in the top right. Then tap to confirm. Keep the app open while you write on the page, and the additions will sync live with the app. You can even change the color, though I hope I don’t need to point out that this is only going to be on the digital copy, not your physical original. Yes, it’s weird.

Do You Really Need to Save Your Scribbles?

The XP Pen Note Plus is a unique and fascinating concept that really does manage to bridge the divide between a physical pen and paper, and digital storage. It creates a perfect copy of your creation, recording individual strokes. Assuming you want to use a ballpoint pen that is, not a pencil.

It’s truly magical to see it in action. You couldn’t design a product that’s easier to use, really. Unless you want to edit something you wrote a few pages back, then you’ll need to keep the app open and Bluetooth connected.

For less than $100, you can’t go too wrong. But only if they can fix the Bluetooth pairing bug, which makes every sync a bit of a chore at the moment.

My closest comparison will have to be an iPad or Android tablet. And for most people, the truth is that a tablet will simply be more convenient and a better value device in the long run. If you don’t particularly care where you jot down notes, an iPad will serve you better and do so much more. But just as telling a book lover to buy a kindle isn’t particularly helpful, if you’re the type of person who just can’t abide writing on a digital screen, the Note Plus might be precisely the product you’ve been looking for.

Got that creative bug but not sure if the XP Pen Note Plus is right for you? Check out XP Pen’s full range of great value digital drawing tablets!

Thanks to XP Pen, we have another Note Plus to give away to one lucky reader. Just enter your details below, and be sure to watch the review video to find the bonus code. Good luck!

Enter the Competition!

XP Pen Note Plus Giveaway

Read the full article: XP Pen Note Plus is a Magical Paper Notepad That Scans Everything You Write

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How to Track and Find AirPods With Your iPhone

Apple’s AirPods and AirPods Pro are small and light. That makes the wireless earbuds perfect for long stretches of listening to music and other audio content.

But if you’re not careful, it’s easy to lose or misplace your AirPods. And Apple charges a significant amount to replace a lost AirPod or AirPod Pro. The good news is that before you tear your home apart looking for the lost earbuds, you can track AirPods using your iPhone.

We’ll show you how to find lost AirPods or AirPods Pro with Apple’s Find My app.

How to Add AirPods to the Find My App

The best part of using the Find My app is that it requires no setup. As long as you connect your AirPods with an Apple device and an Apple ID, they will automatically appear in the Find My App.

You can access the Find My app using an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or even on the web at iCloud.com. When logging onto Find My on another device, you will need to use the same Apple ID and password on the device that connects to your AirPods.

How to Track AirPods Using the Find My App

To track your AirPods, open up the Find My app and select the Devices tab. You’ll then see all of your Apple devices using the same ID.

Scroll down to your AirPods and select the device. When you do this, you’ll either see No location found or the last known location of the AirPods, plus the time and date they were found. If you need it, the app can also provide direction to the last known location using Apple Maps.

Note that there’s another step if you’ve only misplaced one AirPod. The app can only show the location of one earbud at a time. Thus, you’ll need to take the AirPod that you still have, put it in its case, and shut the lid. After this, close the Find My app and restart it to see the location of your lost AirPod.

If the Find My app isn’t available, your iPhone or iPad is using a managed Apple ID. Those are most often from schools and universities.

How to Find My Lost AirPods

As long as one or both AirPods are near your Apple devices and can connect via Bluetooth, you have a great way to find them.

Just like a lost iPhone, iPad, or Mac, the AirPods can play a loud, high-pitch chirping sound to make them easier to find. The sound will get progressively louder for two minutes or until you stop looking for the location.

Launch the Find My app on your iPhone and then tap the Devices tab. Scroll down the list to your AirPods and tap their name. On the next page, you’ll see the last known location at the top of the screen.

Right below the location, you’ll see three options: Left, Stop, and Right. You can press either Left or Right for the sound to start playing on the corresponding AirPod. At any time before the two-minute playback completes, just hit Stop to end the noise.

The range of AirPods and AirPods Pro is around 100 feet from your iPhone or other Apple device. So if you can play a noise, expect to find the earbuds within that distance.

Don’t lose hope if your AirPods are offline. On the same information screen, select the Play Sound button. If your AirPods ever reconnect and come online, you’ll automatically receive a notification where you can see the location of the earbuds and play a sound if necessary.

How to Find an AirPods Case

If you happen to lose your AirPods charging case, we’ve got some unfortunate news for you. The AirPods and AirPods Pro buds have Bluetooth and speaker technology that allows you to locate them with the Find My app. The case has none of that technology. So you can’t use the Find My app to locate it.

While there’s no built-in tracking technology for the case, you might look to a third-party option. A great choice is the Tile Sticker.

This tracker, which is around the size of a nickel, offers a built-in adhesive and will easily remain secure on an AirPods or AirPods Pro case. Thanks to its small size, it won’t interfere with any functionality of the AirPods or case.

Using the companion smartphone app, you can find the Sticker within a range of 150 feet. A built-in, non-replaceable battery provides up to three years of use.

What to Do If You Can’t Find Lost AirPods or Case

While the Find My app is a great tool to help find lost AirPods, it isn’t perfect. If you end up truly losing the earbuds or even the case, you won’t need to shell out the money to buy a whole new set of earbuds.

You can contact Apple to purchase just a left or right AirPod, or a new charging case. Take a look at Apple’s AirPod repair fees, which don’t include shipping or tax. The replacement AirPods or case will be new, not refurbished.

Even though it’s obviously no fun to pay for a replacement, this option can save some significant money over a brand-new unit.

Finding Your Lost AirPods

Thanks to the great integration between hardware and software, Apple makes it easy to track down lost AirPods. That’s another big reason to take a look at the wireless earbuds if you own another Apple device.

And if your AirPods or case got a little dirty when they were lost, don’t worry. Here are some great tips to safely clean your AirPods and case.

Read the full article: How to Track and Find AirPods With Your iPhone

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The drunken HQ Trivia finale before it shut down was insane

“Not gonna lie. This f*cking sucks. This is the last HQ ever!” yelled host Matt Richards. And it just got crazier from there.The farewell game of HQ Trivia before it shut down last night was a beautiful disaster. The hosts cursed, sprayed champagne, threatened to defecate on the homes of trolls in the chat window, and begged for new jobs. Imagine Jeopardy but Trebek is hyped-up and blacked-out.

Yesterday HQ Trivia ran out of money, laid off its 25 employees, and shut down. It was in talks to be acquired, but the buyer pulled out last minute and investors weren’t willing to pour any money into the sagging game show. It had paid out $6 million in prizes from its $15 million-plus in venture capital since launching in late 2017.

HQ Trivia shuts down after acquisition falls through

But HQ was in steady decline since February 2018 when it peaked at over 2.3 million concurrent players to just tens of thousands recently. The games grew repetitive, prize money was split between too many winners, co-founder Colin Kroll passed away, original host and quiz daddy Scott Rogowsky was let go, the startup’s staff failed in an attempt to mutiny and oust the CEO, and layoffs ensued. You can read how it all went down here.

But rather than wither away, the momentary cultural phenemenon went out with a bang. “Should HQ trivia shut down? No? Yes? Or f*ck no!” Richards cackled.

You can watch the final show here, and we’ve laid out some of Richards’ and co-host Anna Roisman’s choicest quotes from HQ’s last game:

• “If you just got here, this is HQ Trivia. It’s a live mobile gameshow. We’re gonna read about 34 questions and then you’re gonna win about 2 cents and you’re gonna fucking loooooove it” -Roisman
• “This $5 prize is coming out of my own pocket. We ran out of money. We just kept giving it away. We gave it all to the players, to you, you loyal HQties” -Richards
• “Take this time now to buy some extra lives. You never know when you’re going to need them. I wish we had an extra life for the company. I’m sorry. I f*cking can’t. I’m gonna cry. My dogs eat $200 worth of food a day. My dogs are gonna starve” -Richards
• “Why are we shutting down? I don’t know. Ask our investors. What am I going to do with my fish tank? I think our investors ran out of money” -Richards
• “Who likes healthy snacks! That’s why the investors stopped giving us money, because there wasn’t any f*cking snacks in this b*tch. We were snackless. Who the fuck can work in a place without snacks!” -Richards
• “I met a couple who told me HQ is part of their foreplay” -Richards
• “Who’s going to miss the HQ chat? I’m going to miss all those people telling me I don’t have eyebrows or to do the Carlton” -Richards
• “Maybe we should close every night. These are the nicest f*cking comments I’ve ever seen. Wow, you’re finally telling me I look hot. I tried for a year and a half -Roisman
• [Reading comments] “‘Won’t miss you at all, good riddance'” -Roisman. “Who said that? Let’s find that mothef*cker and sh*t on his porch” -Richards
• “Hire everyone! All the people who don’t have jobs they f*cking rock!” -Richards
• [While doing a headstand] “Someone hire me! I’m f*cking talented” -Roisman
• “We should have unionized a long time ago” -Richards
• [To his girlfriend] “Hello baby! I don’t got a job, you still love me?” -Richards
• “We bought this giant bottle of champagne for when we hit 3 million players” -Richards (HQ never got there)
• [Shakening up the champagne and opening it to a disappointing trickle] “It wasn’t as big as I thought it was gonna be” -Richards. “That’s what she said. It was anti-climactic” -Roisman. “Much like this episode” -Richards. “Much like this app” -Roisman
• “They gave me like two double shots of tequila” -Richards, on why he was drunk

Then things really went off the rails at 41 minutes in, cued up here:

• [Upon a bunch of people getting a question wrong] “Y’all fucking fucked up!  You are dumb! I’m kidding, you’re not dumb. You fucked up. It happens” -Richards
• [Reading the final question together] “What does Subway call it’s employees? Ham hands, sandwich artists, or beef sculptors?”
• “520 people are splitting $5. Send me your Venmo requests and I’ll send you your fraction of a penny” -Richards

Farewell, HQ Trivia, you glorious beast.

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