Apple

Some subscription-based streaming platforms have become huge for a number of reasons, the total lack of ads being one of them. However, there are emerging alternatives that reinstate this potential disadvantage back in return for no monthly fee. Research has shown that their uptake in the United States has increased by nearly 10% over the last 12 months.

Huami has released a statement on how its latest device, the Amazfit GTS, did in the recent November 2019 sales event. It claims that the smartwatch was a hit on numerous regional online sales platform. The GTR and Bip Lite wearables also allegedly sold out in 1 hour in 1 store.

DxOMark has shared its thoughts on what it considers to be the best smartphone cameras of 2019, grouped into specific sub-categories. There are a few iffy choices, but one major takeaway from the list is just how impressive the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Pro is.

The 16-inch MacBook Pro may have pleased fans and reviewers alike with its scissor-switch keyboard, Apple's latest laptop remains just as difficult as ever to disassemble. Even a mundane task like cleaning the fans poses the risk of damaging the device if you remove its bottom case incorrectly. We accidentally damaged our review unit, but you don't have to.

Recently, reports of Twitter's intentions to delete inactive accounts, starting December 2019, came to light. However, the company has come up against resistance to this idea from more vocal users. Their main objection appears to be that the move would result in the removal of the timelines of the dead.

North Pole Engineering has launched heartbeatz, a new device that acts as a bridge between an Apple Watch and any exercise bike or treadmill with ANT+. This enables the machine in question to display heart rate information directly from the wearable while in use. No more checking your wrist during a workout!

Prompted by the botched and buggy release of iOS 13, Apple has changed its internal development and testing processes for future operating system releases. The new changes will disable new or in-development features by default in OS versions under testing, allowing testers to better pinpoint problematic software.

OPPO may have an equivalent to Samsung's Exynos SoC line in the works. This is in line with a new report that the OEM has registered the name M1 in relation to this product category with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). This hardware could thus join or even replace Qualcomm silicon in future phones from this company.

Apple launched battery cases for the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max today. The new cases feature a dedicated camera button that can snap a photo or start recording video without the need for launching the Camera app or unlocking the device. The cases are priced at $129.

The Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max costs between US$1,099 and US$1,449 depending on which version you buy, making it one of the most expensive smartphones currently on the market. However, although Apple extols the device's camera capabilities, DxOMark seems to think that a smartphone that costs up to 3x less offers a better camera experience than Apple's latest flagship does. While DxOMark is not the arbiter of camera reviews, but Xiaomi can probably chalk this one up as a win.

Rumors of Apple releasing a 14-inch MacBook Pro have been around since at least the start of this year, although the 16-inch refresh of the 15-inch model points towards the smaller entry in the series receiving another incremental upgrade. Apparently launching in mid-2020, Apple may once again be taking inspiration from its past with the next baby MacBook Pro.

NUVIA, a new company founded by three former executives with experience in designing and manufacturing Apple CPUs and SoCs, has officially been announced. NUVIA will manufacture hardware for use in data centers with a focus on delivering more powerful silicon that runs significantly more efficiently than existing chips from AMD and Intel. The venture has currently raised $53 million from companies like Dell.

B&H Photo Video is offering a US$100 "holiday" discount off the first MacBook Pro 16" units it has in stock. However, they all have 16GB of RAM, whereas this new Apple product also has 32GB and 64GB options. Some do have a core i9 processor, albeit the one with a base clock of 2.3GHz.

A new study of wearable uptake in the US shows that 56% of its participants own such a device. Furthermore, another 13% of this group reported considering the purchase of one by 2020. This study's publication also contained some recommendation for Google's next moves in this game following its Fitbit acquisition.

Google has reportedly set up partnerships, or at least talks for partnerships, with various US banks and credit unions to offer a new kind of checking account linked to the Pay service. This may help it battle Apple, not to mention other bodies such as AliPay and Samsung Pay.

The wait is over for long-suffering Apple MacBook Pro fans as the company’s rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro finally debuts. Among the headlining features is a new Magic Keyboard with scissor switch, up to 64 GB of RAM and the option to ramp storage all the way to an 8 TB SSD.

According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the Apple Watch Series 6 will mark a switch to flexible circuit boards made of liquid crystal polymer. These new circuit boards should make the Series 6 noticeable faster than the Series 5 and may breath new life into the stagnant wearable brand.

Apple release iOS 13.2.2 this week, bringing a fix to the RAM management bug introduced in iOS 13.2. There are a few other bug fixes and patches. Considering Apple's terrible track record with iOS 13, it may be prudent to wait a few days to update your iPhone or iPad.

Apple continues to dominate the smartwatch market; 47.9% of smartwatches sold in Q3 2019 were from Apple. The company enjoyed a 51% year-over-year growth from Q3 2018, bumping sales to 6.8 million units during the past quarter. Samsung and Fitbit trailed behind Apple with 1.9 and 1.6 million units sold, respectively, in Q3 2019.

Six more games are now available for mobile devices through the Apple Arcade service. The monthly subscription service is fast approaching its goal of offering over 100 high-quality games for $5/month.

Pokémon GO remains one of the world's most popular augmented-reality (AR) mobile games. However, it has a persistent discrepancy as a title in this ecosystem, which is a lack of Pokéstops, particularly in more isolated regions. Therefore, its maker Niantic is about to launch a more global method of taking user suggestions for additional such item-sources in the future.

Apple continues to dominate the smartwatch market, but is its latest iteration the best device of its kind? Part fashion accessory, part lifestyle smartwatch, but not a professional fitness tracker. We expected better battery life from a device that costs a minimum of US$399 too.

Apple heralds its latest AirPods as a "Pro" product that offers amazing audio quality and immersive Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), but do they live up to the hype? Our time with them would suggest otherwise, although they will likely impress those who already own a set of AirPods. Audiophiles will probably be less enamoured by the US$250 wireless earbuds, though.

Artistic concept renders for the Apple iPhone 12 have offered fans an idea of what the Cupertino company could be planning for the next generation of its popular smartphone range. The notch is still present but slightly more modest, and the rear of the device sports a quad-camera setup. The conceptual iPhone 12 also features straighter edges than its most recent predecessors.

Apple released the first developer beta for iOS 13.3 yesterday. While the update seems to fix the RAM management issues discovered in iOS 13.2, it offers little else. In fact, a new bug in the iOS 13.3 beta disallows the use of Beats Solo Pro headphones; an iPhone running iOS 13.3 Beta 1 will not recognize the headphones at all.

While recent leaks suggest that Apple will soon introduce the 16-inch MacBook Pro, they also point towards the device not living up to the hype. Current evidence indicates that the new MacBook Pro will neither sport a major redesign nor a higher screen-to-body ratio than the current 15-inch MacBook Pro. Sadly, the reality is likely to be far more mundane.

Although the launch date of the next Dragon Age game is not set in stone yet, BioWare has recently published a teaser on Twitter that labels December 4 as "Dragon 4ge Day" so at least some kind of Dragon Age 4-related official announcement is definitely in the pipeline. Sadly, this highly-anticipated title might launch in 2022.

A recent claim made by a MacRumors contributor states that macOS 10.15.1 Catalina contains a string of code referencing the new AMD Radeon RX 5500M. This statement has kicked off rumors that the long-speculated 16-inch MacBook Pro will feature the latest mobile GPU from AMD.

Microsoft looks set finally break from its Internet Explorer past with a brand-new stylized e-shaped wave logo. The new look is undoubtedly fresh while just hinting enough at its past for those with a sense of nostalgia, but it is certainly on point for its debut using the Chromium web engine.

Aukey has unveiled its new Omni-Power series of accessories. The company claims that it integrates various state-of-the-art charging technologies, including a graphene skin, GaN and USB Power Delivery. This line includes new adapters, car chargers and power banks.

Canalys and Strategy Analytics have just released their findings for the worldwide smartphone market's third-quarter performance for this year (3Q2019). The 2 groups have reported slightly different sets of statistics. However, they generally agree on who the top OEMs are, and their performance compared to the previous year.

Orbita, a company that makes a personal assistant-like AI platform focused on healthcare, has published the results of a study that shows this is what the US adults recruited to it want from their voice-controlled searches. It apparently concludes that 7.5% of this group has used services such as Alexa for this purpose, whereas over 50% would like to.

The latest update, labeled 2.9.1705.31, is now available with multiple enhancements to the Vivaldi Menu, the ability to set global default preferences for requests based on sound, geolocation, camera, microphone, motion sensors, Bluetooth devices, and pop-ups, as well as multiple tweaks and fixes.

The Your Phone app in Windows 10 has acted to effectively mimic iPhone syncing on Mac, but for Android devices. It has also allowed users with these devices to mirror their phone screens on PCs via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). However, this has come to an end in the latest Insiders' build.

A new image of the next 16-inch MacBook Pro has been spotted in macOS 10.15.1 revealing a new approach to the Touch Bar. The device is also expected to drop Apple’s disastrous butterfly keyboard mechanism for a more traditional scissor switch approach. Other design changes are minimal.

Super Mario Kart is off to a phenomenal start. The mobile racing game hit 123.9 million downloads in its first month on the market, making it the most downloaded Nintendo smartphone game in its first month. However, total revenue pales in comparison to Fire Emblem Heroes, possibly because of Mario Kart Tour's controversial subscription system.

Sony has joined the ranks of Samsung in offering the Apple TV app on its smart TVs. Users who own some of the newer models have noted that the latest firmware update introduces the Apple TV app to the collection of preinstalled apps.

Do not install iOS 13.2. If you have a HomePod and have installed iOS 13.2, DO NOT RESET YOUR HOMEPOD. Multiple users are reporting that iOS 13.2, released yesterday, bricked their HomePod smart speakers. Apple has since pulled the update.

The Rich Communications Service (RCS) standard has been touted as the ultimate messaging platform for some time. Unfortunately, its implementation and adoption worldwide could be described as sluggish at best. Therefore, Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile have collaborated on the Cross Carrier Messaging Initiative (CCMI), which aims to bring it to their customers by 2020.

A report from noted market analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has detailed when Apple could set the long-awaited iPhone SE 2 into production. Apparently, the diminutive smartphone will start being mass manufactured in January 2020, with March set as the potential launch period. Rumored hardware specifications for the iPhone SE 2 include the presence of a fast A13 Bionic chip.

Apple launched iOS 13.2 and iPadOS 13.2 today. The update brings 60 new emoji, the ability to opt-out of sharing Siri interactions with Apple, and Apple's Deep Fusion image processing technology for the iPhone 11 family of smartphones. However, given prior iOS 13 updates, it may be wise to wait on this one.

Apple unveiled its new AirPods Pro wireless earbuds earlier today. The buds feature a new design and active noise cancellation. However, the $249 price tag is significantly higher ($90) than the current AirPods'. AirPods Pro will be available for purchase starting October 30th.

Apple's AirPods are currently projected to gain a Pro version soon, thanks to a recent slew of leaks and rumors. The latest of these may indicate that they will finally launch in colors besides white for a change. Furthermore, it is even vaguely possible that they will match those of the iPhone 11 Pros.

The consumer-grade security development group Nok Nok Labs has unveiled its new SDK. It asserts that it is the first such app software capable of conferring FIDO-based authentication on smartwatches. This, then, may help users depend more on their wearable for more functions typically carried out on a phone.

A recent study by the analyst group Asurion has concluded that being brought along to celebrate Halloween is one of the biggest potential nightmares a smartphone can go through. The risks of damage and other adversity these devices may face go up by as much as 42% on the date in question. The study indicates this is linked to phone use at night during these festivities.

Wandera, a security research firm, has found malware in 17 apps on the Apple App Store. The apps use a clicker trojan module to generate fraudulent web traffic in the background, likely to pump up ad revenue for specific websites. The apps passed through Apple's stringent review process because they connected to a remote server to execute the fraudulent activity rather than having malware embedded directly in their code.

iPhone owners could be due a hefty slice of compensation following a Court of Appeal judgment against Google. The complainant, Google You Owe Us, is seeking up to £3.2 billion (~US$4.1 billion) to compensate over 4 million iPhone owners for the misuse of their data. There are a few caveats to be eligible for making a claim, though.

The Pixel 4 phones have caught a lot of flak for being unable to record 4K video at 60 fps. According to a discovery, however, it would seem that the devices were originally able to do that but the feature ended up not making it to release software.