Apple

The Tor Project has announced that it has had to let go 13 employees, which counts for one-third of its core workforce. Entirely funded by donations, the team has been forced to make the layoffs due to the effects of COVID-19.

Apple Music’s web-based interface is finally out of beta and is now widely available. The interface is long overdue and now puts Apple Music in line with its leading competitors all of which have browser-based access in addition to mobile and desktop apps.

Late 2019 saw rumors that Google was developing a type of Apple Card-competitor in partnership with certain financial institutions. Now, there may be more evidence that this new instrument is indeed nearly a reality. It is to be a debit card rather than a credit card, and will be tied into and controlled through an app.

MacOS 10.15.5 Catalina will bring a new battery health tool that can reduce the maximum charge of a MacBook's lithium-ion battery. The tool aims to lengthen the overall longevity of a laptop's battery, but it may reduce battery life between recharges.

Imagined as a 16-inch iPad Pro, the iPad Pro Max concept is a joy to behold. Featuring more ports and a reimagined Magic Keyboard, the concept takes the idea of an iPad Pro being a laptop replacement and runs with it.

Rumour has it that Apple has hit a snag with the development of its mini-LED iPad Pro refresh. Apparently now launching in early 2021, the fifth-generation iPad Pro series was originally slated for a Q3 2020 release instead. Confusingly, an A14X Bionic and 5G iPad Pro may still arrive before the end of this year, though.

EverythingApplePro and XDA’s Max Weinbach claim to have exclusively revealed the final iPhone 12 Pro Max design. It certainly looks authentic and aligns with recent rumors about its overall look. The biggest highlight from the apparent leak is just how much thinner the bezels are, something also noted by frequent Android leaker @UniverseIce.

A new report from Bloomberg confirms that Apple is working on a set of on-ear or over-ear headphones. However, in a very Apple-like twist, the design is said to feature interchangeable parts to emphasize personal customization.

Counterpoint Research has released its latest report on the smartphone SoC market. It reports that Qualcomm remained the #1 vendor of such silicon worldwide in 2019, even though its share of the market fell slightly year-on-year. This can also be said of the rest of the top 5 manufacturers, with the exception of Samsung and Huawei's HiSilicon.

The new iPhone SE packs a lot of Apple's latest mobile hardware, but the U1 Ultra Wideband is absent. While this chip isn't used for much now, it does mean that the iPhone SE will be locked out of any features that rely on the chip in the future.

AMD is emerging as one of the largest clients for TSMC, as team red has already secured 5 nm production allocations for the upcoming Zen 4 CPUs launching in 2021. The 5 nm node is still expected to go online this quarter, but advancements with the 3 nm nodes may be pushed back by half a year due to the global pandemic.

The dust has settled, the new iPhone SE is finally here. But with Apple being typically vague about what hardware it has included in its US$399 iPhone, there is some confusion about the device's 12 MP camera. What does the best single-camera system in an iPhone mean, exactly?

Can the upcoming Envy 15 persuade MacBook Pro users to hop the fence? HP certainly thinks so, but Apple users still have some key advantages on their side that most Windows laptops have yet to match.

Apple’s most expensive iPad Pro accessory yet is now available to purchase. The new Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro features a number of upgrades over its predecessor, but Apple is making you pay dearly for them.

At first glance, the iPad Pro 11 2020 may only seem like a small update compared to the previous model. However, there are a couple of great new features and the prices were reduced.

So, Jon Prosser was right all along. Apple has finally announced the iPhone SE. No, we have not stepped back into 2016. Instead, Apple has revitalised the SE branding for 2020. Featuring an A13 Bionic SoC, 3 GB of RAM, a 4.7-inch screen with Touch ID and up to 256 GB of storage, the iPhone SE replaces the iPhone 8. Starting at US$349 for the 64 GB model, the iPhone SE will be available to order from 17:00 PDT and 13:00 BST on April 17. There is no word on Indian availability yet, though.

According to a suspect claim by a Chinese retailer, the iPhone SE 2020 (or iPhone 9, depending on the final name) may launch later today (April 15) at 11 A.M. Eastern. Several leakers have claimed that Chinese retailer Suning is prepping for the launch of the iPhone SE 2020 today.

The next Apple TV refresh looks set to bring with it Apple’s next-generation A14 SoC according to a fresh rumor. Also on the cards is an Apple HomePod with a display along the lines of a Google Nest Hub and Amazon Echo Show after code examinations shows that Apple has switch to tvOS for the HomePod operating system.

As we reported exclusively, the iPad Pro (2020) is fitted with a rebinned A12X chip that it has simply renamed the A12Z. The confirmation comes after TechInsights carried out an x-ray of the A12Z highlighting it has exactly the same physical layout as the A12X.

The latest market research from the Gartner group indicates that the market for PCs has experienced its "sharpest decline" since 2013. However, it seems this year-on-year drop in shipments, which applies to the first 3 months of this year (1Q2020), is related more to the Covid-19 pandemic rather than to demand for this category.

We have now reached a part of April 2020 increasingly regarded as "iPhone SE 2 Week"; however, this has not stopped the new Apple Watch rumors coming thick and fast. They now point to a new form of authentication for this device, as well as the ability to detect anxiety as well as blood-oxygen levels in the user. There may also be new case-variants in the offing.

Apple is now rumored to have had a second go at getting the AirPower product ready for launch, following an uncharacteristic failure to do so in 2019. A new leak asserts that this has been done by incorporating the iPhone X's SoC into the device. This apparently disproportional processing power may address what held the fabled power accessory back in the first place.

Bloomberg sources indicate that 2020 iPhone models will feature a new design, with sharp corners and flat edges that hearken back to the iPhone 4S. The Bloomberg report also confirms a number of other 2020 Apple rumors about, about Apple Tags, and 5G iPhone models.

The new Apple MacBook Air 2020 was supposed to deal with two major issues of the popular subnotebook by implementing a new keyboard and the choice of more powerful quad-core processors. But the performance and the cooling system is still a major problem, but it looks like Apple does not want to change that.

With rumours abound that the iPhone SE 2 is launching next week, word has got out to analysts too. The A13 Bionic-powered and US$349 smartphone is said to feature a 4.7-inch LCD and the body of an iPhone. The iPhone 12 series is now said to arriving this October, too.

The latest update to the AltStore/AltServer iOS app allows users to sideload their own IPA files without the need for Jailbreak or the worries of possible revokes. AltStore uses a method that exploits the app developer license system to circumvent the potential for revokes. As such, AltStore users can now install any app, even those not on the App Store, on their iPhones permanently.

Consumer tech has already been used for 'Covid-19 contact tracing' in Taiwan and South Korea already. Now, Google and Apple have jointly announced a new API to do the same using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). It will apparently used voluntarily-donated, anonymized data on those infected with the virus to alert other users who may have been in transmission-range of them.

Apple is now selling the 2018 Mac Mini desktop in its refurbished store. Prices start at US $599 for a Mini with a quad-core Core i3 CPU, 8 GB of DDR4 RAM, and a 128 GB PCIe SSD. While this might be more expensive than an equivalent Windows desktop, the value compared to other macOS computers may be enticing for some.

Said to be launching on April 14 or April 15 at US$349, the iPhone SE 2 will feature the body of an iPhone 8 but with newer hardware. Now, Apple has pushed iPhone 8 delivery dates until the end of next week, possibly after the company launches the device that will replace it.

Online Chinese retailers are selling the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max at significant discounts. Retailers hope the cuts will spur Chinese consumers to buy an iPhone. However, many Chinese people are delaying the purchase of their next smartphone due to the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Although playing World of Warcraft with a game controller is possible, the game does not fully support this control method out of the box. However, World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is expected to sport support for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 controllers, so we can only wonder if the game will also hit Sony's console.

Apple has added support for 15 W Ice Lake processors in macOS Catalina, fuelling speculation about an upcoming MacBook Pro refresh. Supposedly arriving next month, Apple is said to be upgrading the baby MacBook Pro to a 14-inch display and its Magic Keyboard.

Tuned, an app designed for couples, is now available on iOS. The app comes from the NPE Team within Facebook. Though Tuned is billed as a private app for couples, users should be aware that anything sent through Tuned could be sent to third parties for targeted advertising, per Facebook's data use policies.

Details about Apple's first set of over-ear headphones have been released, along with information about the "AirPods Pro Lite". Apparently called the AirPods X, they are part of a wider plan to gradually wind up the Beats. 9to5Mac disagrees, though.

Amazon.in has reportedly made pages for the new iPads Pro live, suggesting that these tablets will be available on this platform soon. The site allegedly has listings for the 11- and 12.9-inch variants of this series, which both have Wi-Fi only and SIM-enabled options too. They may be sold with 128GB to 1TB of internal storage.

Rumoured to be featuring an all-new 14-inch display, the MacBook Pro J223 is said to be making the switch to faster processors and Apple's Magic Keyboard too. Previously thought to be arriving at WWDC 2020 in June, word is that Apple will launch the MacBook Pro J223 next month, instead. A new MacBook Pro is still slated for WWDC 2020 though, with a refreshed MacBook Pro 16 a likely candidate, apparently.

As the guessing game behind the name and release date of Apple's next budget smartphone continues, more retailers continue to list the device on the websites. The device, which has been rumoured to be called the iPhone SE 2, iPhone 9 or iPhone SE (2020) will supposedly feature a 4.7-inch display, 3 GB of RAM, up to 256 GB of storage and the A13 Bionic SoC from the iPhone 11 series.

Apple's much-awaited iPhone 12 series is reportedly in its final prototyping stages. The base iPhone 12 will come with a 5.4 or 6.1-inch screen and two cameras, while the larger iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max will come with three cameras and 6.1 and 6.7-inch screens respectively. Both phones will also feature a LiDAR sensor next to the camera array. All three iPhone 12 variants will come with Apple's latest A14 SoC and will be 5G-ready out of the box.

According to a new Counterpoint Research report, music-streaming service subscriptions have increased in 2019 compared to 2018. Spotify has retained the top spot in this market year-on-year (YoY), also other popular platforms such as Apple Music have taken decently-sized shares of it as well.

A research group has released its report on app use and purchasing for the first quarter of 2020 (1Q2020). It has concluded that the average amount of time spent on them per week increased by 20% year-on-year (YoY). In addition, app revenues increased 5% on both the App Store and Play Store.

Apple has filed patents that would allow a device's screen to respond to the user while immersed in water and that allow for rotation that adapts to a human face's orientation. These documents' images suggest that they are intended for mobile devices. Therefore, next-gen iPhones could come with these features.

The market for smartwatches is associated with an estimated 43.87 million unit shipments in 2018. However, this number is now thought to reach a possible total of 108.91 million by 2024. This growth may be driven by an increased demand for health- and fitness-management, as well as standalone connectivity, in these wearables.

Rumours about the iPhone SE 2 hit critical mass this morning, with multiple sightings of the upcoming US$349 smartphone contradicting previous claims that Apple plans to launch the device on April 14. In a separate leak, the colours, storage options and first-party cases have been revealed, too. The iPhone SE 2 may not be called the iPhone SE 2 or iPhone 9 after all, either.

Fortnite maker Epic Games has teamed with Star Wars director J.J. Abrams on a new mobile game for iOS and Android. Dubbed ‘Spyjinx’, the new game will pit players against each other in a multiplayer that mixes action-strategy with RPG character development.

The alternative WWDC should be where Apple showcases some new hardware delicacies, according to one very active leaker. Apart from new over-ear headphones, Apple is set to unveil the long-rumoured Bluetooth tracker "Air Tags" and a new MacBook Pro, likely the overdue 14-inch variant.

The Mi Bands 3 and 4 have a new firmware update that fixes several UI-related bugs. It also introduces a first-party notebook-unlocking facility to these fitness trackers. They also now support Apple ID logins for the first time.

Looking forward to the launch of the OnePlus 8 series? Well, Apple may have other plans, as rumour has it that the company is planning to scuttle the release of the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro by announcing the iPhone SE 2 on the same day. Expected to start at US$349 and feature the A13 Bionic SoC, the iPhone SE 2 has possibly been spotted in iOS 13.4.5 beta code, too.