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The popular multi-platform podcast app Pocket Casts has been acquired by a consortium of podcast producers today, providing the Australian company more resources to accelerate innovation.  The four companies that bought Shift Jelly, the company behind the app, consists of WNYC, NPR, WBEZ and This American Life.

In a post on the company’s blog, the company explains that nothing in the short term will change but the backing of the new owners will allow them to more rapidly iterate the app.  It will remain a paid app and will remain available on both Android, iOS and the web.

Google today announced several new improvements coming to Google Assistant on Wear OS by Google.  The updates will take a few days to roll out to everyone and will give Assistant on your watch the ability to leverage Actions from Assistant and improved voice responses.

Google Assistant on Wear OS is not new.  It rolled out with the latest generation of watches running what was then Android Wear 2.0.  Rebranded as Wear OS by Google over the course of the past few months, Google has been focusing efforts on overall improvements in the platform as well with Assistant.

Following up the release of the third beta of iOS 11.4, Apple has also released a third, and likely final, beta build of MacOS 10.13.5 to beta testers.  The Apple Beta Program is open to anyone with an eligible device and you can sign up if you want at this site.  Remember, it is beta software so you may find the odd bug or behavior as final testing is done.

Much like the iOS 3rd beta, the MacOS 10.13.5 3rd beta more or less is a polishing and bug crushing exercise.  There aren’t any new features of note other than those which are already known about, namely Messages in iCloud and AirPlay 2.

Less than a month after the second beta for iOS 11.4, a new build is now rolling out to testers in the Apple Beta Program.  The update has all of the appearances of a bug fixing exercise as no new features have been noted by the beta testing community to this point.

If you want to test in the Beta program, you can register your device here.  Keep in mind that your device has to be able to run iOS 11 to register into the program.

As most readers will know, there are two significant features expected to arrive when 11.4 is finally released to the public:  Messages in iCloud and AirPlay 2.