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TikTok is now on Apple Vision Pro, ready to take over your view and eat up your gestures
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TikTok has had a big impact on the world of music since it was launched back in 2016, and now it’s set to make its presence felt in the world of VR with a new native app for the Apple Vision Pro. Is there anything that TikTok can’t do?

In January, Ahmad Zahran, Product Leader at TikTok, revealed that a Vision Pro app was in the works, saying his team had “designed a new TikTok experience for the Apple Vision Pro”. Its reimagined interface takes you out of TikTok in Safari – which used to be the only way to access the platform on the Vision Pro – and into a new app version that’s designed for the Vision Pro’s visionOS platform and takes full advantage of the headset’s visual layout. 

Similar to the design of its iOS and Android apps, TikTok for visionOS has a vertical layout and includes the usual ‘Like’, ‘Comment’, ‘Share’, and ‘Favorite’ icons. What sets TikTok’s visionOS app apart from its iOS and Android versions is its expanded interface designed for the Vision Pro’s widescreen view.

TikTok user interface on Apple Vision Pro

(Image credit: TikTok)

When you tap the icons in the navigation bar they appear as floating panes to the right of your ‘For You’ page without interrupting the main video display, giving you a better view of comment sections and creator profiles. Better yet, the app is also compatible with Vision Pro’s Shared Space tool, allowing you to move TikTok to a different space in your headset view so that you can open other apps. 

If you really want to reap the benefits of using TikTok in the Vision Pro, you can immerse yourself even further by viewing content in the headset’s integrated virtual environments – so you could enjoy your favorite clips on the surface of the Moon if that’s your thing. 

If you thought TikTok was ubiquitous and immersive now, just wait –  it’s already far too easy to get lost in the endless feed you’re presented with in your phone, never mind having it take over the majority of your central view in a headset. 

There is one thing missing from the TikTok Vision Pro app: the ability to capture and create new videos. 

TikTok has also beaten Netflix and YouTube to the punch by arriving on the Vision Pro. While Netflix has no plans to launch a Vision Pro app right now, YouTube recently announced the app Juno – a service that lets you browse YouTube videos specifically for Apple’s ‘latest and greatest device’. 

@techradar

♬ Papaya – Pastel

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Google Maps Immersive View just keeps getting better
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Google Maps’ best feature, Immersive View, just got a whole lot better. You can now explore 3D maps of four new cities and over 500 new landmarks thanks to Google’s AI.

Immersive View is Google Maps’ souped-up 3D map, and it’s a solid free tool for helping to plan trips. Using AI, Google has fused billions of images together to create fairly realistic 3D maps of cities (including the newly released Amsterdam, Dublin, Florence, and Venice) and hundreds of landmarks (such as Sydney Harbour Bridge and Boston’s Faneuil Hall).

While you're soaring over these virtual locations Google Maps will highlight nearby locations such as cafes, restaurants and hotels. This more immersive perspective provides an easy-to-understand sense of size and scale compared to using regular Google Maps. You can even go inside some locations, using a Google AI called NeRF – this allows you to peek into select restaurants and cafes before you book online.

We particularly like Immersive View’s timeline tool. This feature will show you the expected weather – complete with virtual clouds, sun, or rain – and how busy you should expect the destination to be over the following days. Google Maps has always had this data, but Immersive View makes it a lot less tedious to scan through it to find the optimal times to visit particular locations on your trip.

The new landmarks and cities should be rolling out from today to Google Maps users on Android and iOS.

More Maps updates on the way 

Immersive View isn’t the only Google Maps feature getting an update.

Glanceable directions will be rolling out globally on iOS and Android later this month. Once you opt in to the service (Google doesn’t explain how you'll do this, but it’ll likely appear as a popup once the update goes live, and later will be found in your settings), you just need to call up directions and start walking, cycling, or driving to your destination – without hitting Start for in-depth directions or Live View for AR navigation.

Google Maps Glanceable Directions in action, your icon moves along the route, takes a detour and almsot a wrong turn before correcting it and arriving at the destination.

(Image credit: Google Maps)

As you move, your location marker will travel with you, and your ETA will update in real time, and you can even swap to a different route if you decide to travel a slower but more scenic way. Google says this tool is aimed at people who are familiar with where they’re going; they don’t need constant callouts saying ‘Turn here’, they just need to occasionally glance at their phone to make sure they’re still headed in the right direction. 

Next month, Google Maps users on desktop should look out for an update to Recents. Previously, this feature would show you the most recent destinations you’ve looked up in your current Google Maps session, but when you closed the Window this info would be lost. The upcoming update will enable you to see your recently visited locations from previous sessions, which should make it much easier to research potential places to visit on your next trip.

You can research hotels, landmarks, and other attractions across multiple sessions, then make a custom route or saved list when you've decided where you'd like to go. Plus, as you whittle down places to visit, you can remove them from your Recents list so that they aren’t cluttering up the list.

Looking for more ways to use Google Maps? Check out this list of 10 things you might not know Google Maps can do.

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Windows 11 gets ability to view phone photos… just as Apple cans a similar feature for Macs
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Windows 11 has just got a new preview version in the Dev channel which adds some smart features, principally the ability to view your phone photos right on the desktop.

As you may recall, a big project in testing right now for Windows 11 is the revamp of File Explorer, part of which is the addition of a photo gallery feature. What Microsoft has done here is to introduce a new button that lets users add their phone photos to the gallery.

Click the ‘Add Phone Photos’ button and you’ll be given a QR code to scan with your smartphone, then you can set up the device to pipe photos across and view those mobile snaps in Windows 11’s photo gallery.

There’s other work on File Explorer elsewhere in preview build 23471, including some bug fixes, and another feature introduction – the ability to pop tabs out of windows (or merge them back), as you can with a web browser.

Note that the latter feature is an incremental rollout, so not every Windows Insider will see it yet. Microsoft did announce, though, that every tester in the Dev channel will now have the photo gallery in File Explorer (which has been a phased rollout, too, but one that’s now finished).

For the full details of all the fixes and tinkering in preview build 23471, as ever you can immerse yourself in Microsoft’s lengthy blog post.

Analysis: Microsoft adds while Apple takes away

The further work on File Explorer is welcome, and particularly the functionality allowing you to view phone photos right there on the Windows 11 desktop with a minimum of hassle.

There’s some interesting timing here – though no doubt coincidental – as well, in that as Microsoft is introducing this new feature, Apple has just announced that its My Photo Stream offering is being shuttered. (It’s now effectively on the chopping block, and will be shut down at the end of July).

Now, that might be an old service, and one not used much anymore, but it’ll still be something of a blow when it finally shuts it doors for the diehard set of niche Mac owners who still use My Photo Stream to view their phone photos on the desktop.

Of course, as Apple points out, My Photo Stream has been long been superseded by ‌iCloud Photos‌, and you should turn that on instead. But some folks haven’t set up iCloud Photos‌ because they don’t want to (enjoying just seeing recent snaps automatically on their Mac, courtesy of Photo Stream, without having to sync an entire – possibly huge – photo library to iCloud).

There’s also the fact that ‌iCloud Photos‌ requires payment (beyond the 5GB that you get free, a rather measly allowance these days), and some aren’t happy about that, either – and the apparent financial motive for Apple to make this move.

At any rate, whatever your view of how redundant or pointless My Photo Stream is at this point – indeed, you may never even have heard of it – the fact remains that Apple is taking away one path for easily viewing your phone photos on the desktop (that at least some folks still use), while Microsoft is going in the opposite direction and adding one.

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Google Maps is getting a better Immersive View to help you plan trips
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Google Maps is getting a big boost to its impressive Immersive View Mode to help you plan routes and trips using its bird's-eye view.

Announced at Google I/O 2023, which you can follow at our Google I/O 2023 liveblog, Google Maps Immersive View for routes will bring you a 3D view of your planned journey – for example, a bike ride or drive. This will give you a clearer real-world view of the neighborhoods you're going through, plus other information like traffic, air quality, temperature and more.

This all sounds a lot more useful than Google Maps' traditional overhead view, and could also be a very helpful tool for planning photography trips. But given that many of us are still waiting for the first version of Immersive View to roll out, it may be a while before you can start using it to plan trips.

A Google Maps Immersive View map showing a city

(Image credit: Google)

Google says it will begin rolling the feature out for a few cities this summer (in other words, between now and August), and will eventually cover 15 cities “by the end of the year”. These will include Los Angeles, New York, Miami, London, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Tokyo, Seattle, and Venice.

We've previously called Google Maps Immersive View a “next-gen Street View”. That's because it uses a combination of Street View and aerial imagery to give you digital recreations of cities in Google Maps, complete with real-time information. 

A Google Maps Immersive View map showing a city

(Image credit: Google)

The fact that this is all coming to route planning, rather than just tourist attractions in major cities, is great news, and should make piecing together journey plans a lot more intuitive. 

Combine this with Indoor Live View, a separate feature that displays AR arrows over your real-world view, and Maps will soon become an even bigger essential for tourists and the perennially lost. 

But Apple Maps is also becoming a stronger rival thanks to features like Flyover view, and we'll want to see Immersive View roll out much quicker than it has done so far before declaring a Street View-sized success.

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Uber is giving riders the ability to view the awful truth about their star ratings
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Uber is ending the mystery of your ride-sharing rating score. If three drivers gave you 2 stars, you’ll now be able to see it. You won't, however, see which drivers gave you which scores.

After more than a decade in business, whipping out a smartphone and summoning an Uber driver has become second nature for many people, as has the sometimes-awkward process of giving the driver a rating after the trip. However, Uber’s star rating system is a two-way street as drivers also rate passengers. Until now, though, riders could only see an average of their scores. In a company blog post on Wednesday, Uber announced that riders could view a breakdown of their star scores in the app.

“Now, we’re making it easier than ever to see exactly how your rating is calculated, and for the first time, we’re showing you the good (and the bad) ratings you received,” the company wrote.

Understanding how Uber drivers perceive and rate you could be either comforting, “Oh, they notice I’m always on time and in the right place,” or demoralizing, “I guess drivers don't like me eating my foot-long heroes, in their back seats.” At the very least, it might lead to a more egalitarian relationship between riders and drivers.

If you’re ready for this experience, here’s how to access your detailed ratings in the Uber app. 

Start by heading to Settings in your Uber app. There, select Privacy and then the Privacy Center. Swipe over to the section titled “Would you like to see a summary of how you use Uber?” In addition to a breakdown of ratings drivers have given you, this menu shows general statistics, such as how many trips you’ve taken, how long you’ve been a member, and more. You can also view information on individual trips you’ve taken and how you paid for them. 

The feature is available to all riders and is part of a transparency push by the ridesharing company. Though Uber keeps your data for the duration of the time you have an active account, the ratings you see in the app only reflect an average of the last 500 trips. If you’re looking at your score and wondering how you can bump your average rating, Uber has some tips, most of which are common sense:

  • Don’t leave trash in the car when you leave
  • Buckle up
  • Don’t make the driver wait for you
  • Don’t be a jerk
  • Don’t slam the door

 Uber also outlined the cities where riders get the best and worst scores from their drivers. Seattle and Washington, DC were among the worst, but New York City ranked the lowest. At the other end of the spectrum, riders in Nashville, St Louis, and San Antonio earned better scores. 

Wherever you live, this Uber passenger information could help you make a difference in your and your next Uber driver's shared experience.

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