The New Fitbit Sense... Looks a Lot Like an Apple Watch

Fitbit unveiled a new set of products today, including the Sense, as well as the Versa 3. You’d be forgiven for thinking the Sense looks… familiar. The Verge has a rundown of the device’s specs.

The Sense has a few more advanced health tracking features, such as detailed heart rate scans with atrial fibrillation (afib) detection via the electrocardiogram (EKG) app built into the watch (still pending FDA approval). In that way, it’s on par with Apple’s and Samsung’s recent smartwatches (though, Samsung’s EKG capability in the Galaxy Watch 3 isn’t available in the US yet). Where the Sense stands out is with its stress detection features, which it’s pitching as something that’s crucially needed — especially in today’s increasingly stressful world. To take a reading, you hold your palm over the screen and start to breath. The Sense will measure your heart rate, and uniquely, your skin’s temperature will be collected with its electrodermal activity (EDA) sensor. If your skin feels hot, chilled, or clammy, the Sense might be able to make sense of why it’s happening over time. Fitbit’s app will score you on your stress level, with a higher score being better than a lower one.

Protect Your iPhone and Enable Qi Wireless Charging with the Magnetic Desk Stand: $69.99

We have a deal on the XVIDA Wireless Charging Desk Stand kit. It includes both a Qi wireless charging stand and a case for your iPhone with magnets that then stick your iPhone to the stand while charging. That makes for a smaller footprint for the stand and protection for your iPhone, too. You can get the stand and case for iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max, and iPhone SE for $69.99 through our deal.

New Apple Maps is Undergoing Public Test in the UK

Public tests of the new version of Apple Maps have reached the UK and Ireland. Justine O’Beirne noted the change, the first time the update has been rolled out beyond U.S. shores.

In the past, Apple has spent between 16 and 49 days publicly testing its earlier expansions… and the more populated the area, the longer Apple has typically spent testing. All of this suggests that Expansion #9 will go live for all Apple Maps users sometime between mid September and early October. Given past patterns, iOS 14 is also likely to be released during this same period—so it seems that Expansion #9’s release might coincide with iOS 14’s.

Apple Updates iMovie With Comic, Comic Mono, Ink Filters

Apple released an update for Final Cut Pro X for professional video editors. For the editors that are perhaps more casual, iMovie 2.2.10 was also updated. Give your videos a hand-drawn look with 3 new filters: Comic, Comic Mono and Ink; Choose from 25 new soundtracks — in genres including action, chill, and sentimental — that automatically adjust to match the length of your movie; Addresses an issue that could prevent the viewer from updating after duplicating a photo in the timeline; Improves reliability of Redo when editing a trailer; Includes performance and stability improvements.

Directors of Apple TV+ ‘Boys State’ Discuss ‘Girls State’ Sequel

The directors of documentary “Boys State” on Apple TV+, Jesse Moss and Amanda Mcbaine, discuss the film. They also mention they are actively developing a sequel to examine a similar program called “Girls State.”

We’re actively developing what we call a sibling, or sequel, to this film which is a look at a Girls State program.  Had there been, as Steven Garza says early in the film, a “people’s state,” we might have been drawn to an experiment that brings both girls and boys together in the same space. The film we made does provide an unexpected and we think valuable look at masculinity in this moment. It’s hard to know how the dynamics would be different, either within an all female space, or a space in which there was equal representation. It’s something we think about a lot.

New Level Touch Lock Lets You Unlock With Your Finger and Voice

Level introduced a new lock on Tuesday called Level Touch that lets you unlock it with your finger, voice, or programmable keycard. It also has an app that works with HomeKit and Siri. Features include auto-lock, auto-unlock, sharing access, recent activity, passes, and audio confirmation. With HomeKit you get features like remote connectivity, voice control, automations, and notifications. You can order one today for US$329.

Astronomy Professor Dr. Emily Levesque - BGM Interview

Dr. Emily Levesque is a professor in the University of Washington’s astronomy department. Her research program is focused on improving our overall understanding of how massive stars evolve and die. She received her bachelors in physics from MIT and a Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Hawaii.

Emily knew she wanted to be an astronomer from the moment she saw Halley’s comet in the night sky as a child. As an undergraduate at MIT, she was already developing a technical interest in massive stars, the focus of her career. And so we explored massive stars in some detail: formation, evolution and the final fate for many: supernova. Is Betelgeuse, in our own stellar backyard, about to go supernova? Emily weighs in. We finished with a discussion of her new book The Last Stargazers.. It shares the tales and experiences of astronomical observing. And, finally, spiders and lasers.

Sign Documents and Get Signatures on Any Device $49.99

We have a deal on a 1-year subscription to DottedSign Pro, an electronic signature platform. With this service, you can import documents with your device camera, or from your photos, email, Google Drive, Dropbox, Kdan Cloud, or other apps. It offers real-time status updates for each signer, as well as reminders and automatic expiry dates. It’s $49.95 through our deal.

‘Mintegral’ iOS App SDK Caught Hijacking Ad Clicks

An iOS app SDK called Mintegral was found to contain malicious code that would hijack ad clicks so that iOS thinks a user clicked on one of its ads, instead of those belonging to a competitor. This SDK is used by over 1,200 apps representing over 300 million downloads per month.

The malicious code was uncovered in the iOS versions of the SDK from the Chinese mobile ad platform provider, Mintegral dating back to July 2019. The malicious code can spy on user activity by logging URL-based requests made through the app. This activity is logged to a third-party server and could potentially include personally identifiable information (PII) and other sensitive information. Furthermore, the SDK fraudulently reports user clicks on ads, stealing potential revenue from competing ad networks and, in some cases, the developer/publisher of the application.