Technology

After pushing back a planned early-October launch, Samsung has introduced the Android 10 beta of its One UI. The 2.0 version of the Android skin follows a little less than a year after the first versionbeta (released in November 2018). The concept goes counter to the earliest Android overlays, instead intending to create a simpler take on Googleoperating system.

Manufacturers& longstanding instance on putting their own stamp on Android is understandable — if sometimes misguided. Samsunginitial stated intention for One UI is to let software and hardware &work together in perfect harmony,& to paraphrase Stevie Wonder.

One UI is largely a success on these fronts. And Samsung is understandably cautious about the rollout, opting again for a public beta version ahead its Android 10 release. &Select& Galaxy S10 owners in the U.S. can sign up for the program starting today, with a final release &in the coming months.& There are a lot of Galaxy phones out there, so the company clearly wants to get the experience right, gathering up user feedback in the process.

Herewhatnew, per Samsung:

• A new, smarter layout with animated icons and improved edge lighting
• An enhanced Dark Mode that reduces display brightness while viewing content and provides battery saving benefits
• Minimized pop-ups, embedded loading indicators and the ability to only view buttons the user needs
• A streamlined design where notifications take up less space, allowing users to stay up to date while focusing on the task at hand
• Focus Mode to pause apps temporarily for times when you need to minimize distractions

More info on Samsungblog.

Reddit users can now share to Snapchat their favorite content from the site, thanks to a new integration that allows sharing of text, link and image-based posts on iOS from Reddit&Safe for Work& communities. The move makes Snapchat the first platform partner with which Reddit is testing content sharing integration, the company says, and it hopes the result will be an influx of younger users to the site.

Unlike many social media platforms, Reddit has tended to skew a little older when it comes to its user demographics. According to Pew Research Center, just 22% of U.S. adults aged 18 to 29 used the site, compared with 34% of those 30 to 49 and 25% of those 50 to 64. And 19% were aged 65 and up, Pew found. While that particular study was performed a few years ago, a 2019 study continues to show Reddit as one of the lesser-used online platforms among all U.S. adults, Pew found.

And with a growing advertising business thatset to cross $100 million in revenues this year, Reddit needs to even out its user demographics and increase its overall usage to be competitive.

To use the new sharing feature, Reddit users who have Snapchat installed on their iOS device will be able to tap the &Share& icon on posts in the Reddit iOS app, then select the Snapchat option.

You can then choose to send the post to a few friends or post it to your story so all your friends can see it. The content will appear in Snaps and Snap Stories as a new sticker designed specifically for this integration that includes the Reddit logo and source information.

If the viewer also has the Reddit app installed, they can swipe up on the Snap to visit the post. If they don&t have the app installed, they&ll be directed to the App Store to download it.

&Reddit empowers discovery and discussion that many Snapchatters love. With this integration, Snapchatters will be able to share interesting posts they find, adding new context and conversation-starters to their Snaps,& said Ben Schwerin, VP of Partnerships at Snap Inc., in a statement about the launch. &As shared Snaps drive engagement back to Reddit — this helps advance the power of community and connection across both platforms,& he added.

Because Reddit tends to host a wide range of content — some of which may violate Snapchatterms of use — the new integration is only being enabled on Reddit&Safe for Work& subreddit communities, which are those that don&t host adult content. The communities must also be in good standing, Reddit says.

&Snapchat is the first platform partner with whom we&re testing a content sharing integration, and we&re excited to see how the feature will shape the sharing habits and experiences among our users,& said Vaibhav Sahgal, Reddithead of Growth Product, in a statement. &We hope the integration empowers redditors to share Reddit content more frequently, while simultaneously exposing new users to the unique content only found on Reddit.&

The launch follows Reddit$300 million funding round led by ChinaTencent earlier this year, which valued the site at $3 billion. This puts Reddit in competition with Facebook and Google for internet ad dollars — a challenge considering its user base has historically skewed older and male, and users are often anonymous.

The company says the sharing feature will roll out to Android users soon.

DoorDash is opening its first shared commissary kitchen in Redwood City, Calif., bringing new delivery and pickup options to customers in Peninsula towns, including Atherton, Menlo Park and Palo Alto.

This is part of a broader trend of companies like Deliveroo opening shared kitchens that allow restaurant partners to expand their delivery footprint without dealing with all the expenses of opening a new location.

DoorDash says this first kitchen will be used by restaurants including NationGiant Hamburgers, Rooster - Rice, Humphry Slocombe and The Halal Guys.

The company also says it designs the kitchen spaces in collaboration with its partners, and argues that by putting all these restaurants together in one location, it can offer unique menu items and pairings — at launch, if you order from Rooster - Rice, you can add Humphry Slocombe ice cream pints to your order.

&Given our founders& Bay Area roots, we are always interested in how technology can change the way food is delivered and shared,& said Rooster - Rice CFO Min Park in a statement. &We were impressed by the overall partnership and scale DoorDash could reach with this concept, and we found the notion of a delivery-only kitchen in Redwood City very appealing as it helps us test out demand in new markets, reaching new customers and areas quickly.&

As part of the launch, the company says it will offer 0% delivery fees to its DoorDash Kitchens partners through the end of the year.