Apple

iFixit has discovered in its recent teardown of the 2018 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar that Apple has removed the Customer Data Migration Tool connector from the logic board. The connector helped in transferring data to a functioning MacBook in the event of a logic board failure but it now looks like customers should use inbuilt backup options such as Time Machine on a frequent basis to safeguard their data.

A Reddit user has managed to find out the reason for the high throttling seen in the 2018 Apple MacBook Pros with the Intel Core i9 CPU and it turns out that it is due to power throttling of the VRM than thermal throttling of the CPU. The user has managed to manually alter the turbo power limit for the VRM and thus, was able to achieve steady turbo boost without throttling.

The upcoming OS 12 update for the Apple HomePod is slated to bring a slew of new features to the smart speaker including the ability to make and receive calls when paired with an iPhone and set multiple timers. With the upcoming MacOS Mojave update, the HomePod can also be controlled directly from the Mac.

The Chinese company reports that it should sell 200 million handsets by the end of 2018, which would bring it fairly close to Apple's target. At this rate, Huawei is expecting to overtake Apple in global sales at some point in 2019. The US and Indian markets should help Huawei further their plans in this respect, although the US embargoes could hinder this development.

Apple Authorized Service Providers have been distributed documents from Apple that confirm the presence of a membrane beneath the keys of the 2018 MacBook Pro models to prevent debris from entering the butterfly mechanism. While the membrane is for real, the reason for its existence is apparently not the same in all versions of the documentation.

The move to 8th generation Intel processors has enabled full speed Thunderbolt 3 connectivity on all the four ports in the 2018 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar thanks to the increased number of PCIe lanes available from the CPU. This is an improvement over the 2016 and 2017 models wherein only 2 of the 4 ports had support for full speed Thunderbolt 3.

The last of Siri's co-founders, Tom Gruber, has announced his retirement from Apple. Siri was acquired by Apple in 2010 but two of its founders left in the succeeding years. The news comes in the wake of Apple recently appointing Google's former head of Machine Intelligence, John Giannandrea, as Chief of Machine Learning and AI Strategy.

Research firm Blancco has published a Mobile Device Repair and Security Report that throws up some interesting facts. The report puts Samsung as the OEM with the highest failure rate among Android manufacturers and the Xiaomi Redmi 4 as the specific model with the highest failures in 2017. In the Apple camp, the iPhone 6 was the device with the highest failure rate.

Although the new story content will be playable starting on July 25 and the Battle of Azeroth update is set to arrive on August 14, the pre-patch can be downloaded already. World of Warcraft 8.0.1 comes with multiple changes, including an updated PvP Honor and Prestige system, the ability to create and join cross-realm social groups, updated classes and specializations, and more.

Leakster Ben Geskin tweeted a photo showing the front glass panels for the three iPhone models Apple is expected to announce this September. All the panels sport the now infamous notch and while all of them are edge-to-edge displays, the 6.1-inch panel has slightly thicker bezels compared to the other two.

Glare getting in the way of work? These consumer notebooks may not necessarily be the best, but they are some of the brightest available for outdoor visibility with some models reaching close to 700 nits.

Apple has teamed with Black Magic Design on a new eGPU enclosure to accompany its new MacBook Pro line. The enclosure is fitted with an AMD Radeon Pro 580 desktop GPU with 8GB of GDDR5 RAM and also acts as a Thunderbolt 3 dock.

Without a big keynote, Apple today announced the long expected update of its MacBook Pro line. The 2018 MacBook Pro models are a refresh of the existing designs with new CPUs , GPUs, more RAM and bigger batteries.

If there is one area that Apple has been seriously lagging Google, it is in the effective application of AI technologies to advance its flagship iPhone. Enter Google's former head of Machine Intelligence, John Giannandrea, who is now Apple's first official Chief of Machine Learning and AI Strategy.

Ming-Chi Kuo is back with Apple predictions and expects the 2018 iPhone range to pack several new color options including blue, red, gold and orange. The new colors will vary according to model, with the gold color reserved for the 2018 iPhone X sequel.

A German engineering student has designed a 'mobile airbag' case that protects your phone by detecting when it has been dropped and deploying springs to cushion the fall. The prototype has won a national mechatronics award in Germany, and the product will be launched in Kickstarter later this month.

The first benchmark of a 'Coffee Lake' powered MacBook Pro has been spotted online. It was over 12 months ago that Apple last refereshed the MacBook Pro line with Intel's 'Kaby Lake' CPUs.

Latest leaks show that the iPhone 9 and the iPhone X Plus will feature bigger screens compared to last year's iPhone X. The Phone 9 gets a notched 6.1-inch display, but only one camera on the back, while the iPhone X Plus boasts a big 6.5-inch notched screen and features a tri-camera rear setup. Apple is also rumored to finally ship the 2018 models with an 18 W USB-C charger with Fast Charging tech.

Apple just released the first public Beta of iOS 12. Committed Apple users can download the Beta for free from Apple's site, but be warned - as beta software, there are quite a few bugs still being worked out. Still, this is the only way to get some of the new features in iOS 12 for free.

Apple has finally admitted that its new 12-inch MacBook and MacBook Pro models are prone to malfunctioning. After months of user complaints, the company has officially launched a Keyboard Service Program for affected users, but it continues to sell devices that could be affected by the same issues.

Facebook-owned Instagram has launched IGTV — a new app for sharing and viewing videos on the platform. IGTV enables users to take vertical full screen videos that can last up to an hour with each creator being the channel. Users can follow other creators or upload their own videos to IGTV.

Back in January 2017, Google decided to integrate Uber into the popular Maps service. Now, this feature has been silently removed without any prior warning. There is no official reason for this move yet, but it is very likely that this move involves financial disagreements between Google and Uber.

Despite all the leaks and rumors about the successor of the iPhone SE, it seems that Apple has recently decided to stop its development. Insiders familiar with the inner workings of the Cupertino giant mention that three other handsets are in the making, all featuring large screens (between 5.8 and 6.5 inches in size).

According to multiple sources familiar with the matter, Apple is currently redesigning the chargers and the charging interface for its next-gen iPhones and iPads. The iPhones expected to arrive next year will probably drop the existing Lightning connector and replace it with USB Type-C, but — unsurprisingly — Apple still has to confirm this.

Apple's App Store Review Guidelines have recently been updated with a section dedicated to cryptocurrencies. In sum, Apple's app stores (iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS) will no longer allow apps that create or generate cryptocurrencies. Crypto wallets and trading apps are still kosher to distribute, but the rules surrounding these kinds of apps have become much more strict.

According to famous leaker Ice Universe, the Exynos 9820 will integrate Samsung's upcoming Mongoose M4 cores which are said to be better than the ARM Cortex-A76 chips. This should translate into frequencies that go over 3.3 GHz, and, since the M4 are 7 nm chips, they should have improved energy efficiency.

After 20 years since its 1998 release as Yahoo Pager, today's Yahoo Messenger — a Verizon property starting in 2017 — will be shut down in about five weeks. Although there is no official replacement for this iconic product, its successor might be Squirrel, a messaging app which is currently being tested by a few chosen ones.

iPhone X clones are a dime a dozen, and the latest device to join that hallowed list is the subtly-named Ulefone X. The new device may be a shameless clone but it does look good on paper, which is more than can be said for a few other devices in that niche.

The latest version of Apple's mobile operating system, iOS 12, refines a few existing features while introducing few new ones. All said, iOS 12 is exciting for the Apple fanbase, but it seems like the iPhone is playing catch-up to Android.

Join us as we share our thoughts during Apple's WWDC 2018 developer conference.

An unnamed hacker claims to have access to a set of internal tools that can be used to reveal — obviously private — Apple customer account information. According to this individual, at least 20 people have acquired usernames and passwords — obtained using a "private exploit," he said — to access Apple's systems.

Qualcomm is said to be working on a new "Snapdragon 1000" ARM-based chip that it is targeting for Windows 10 machines by either late 2018 or 2019. What will set this chip apart is that it is being specially designed for Windows 10 on ARM PCs with a higher TDP for true notebook-class performance.

A report from analytics firm App Annie has stated that the iOS App Store has made revenue of over US$130 billion from July 2010 to December 2017. The report offers a number of incredible statistics, including the fact that 170 billion downloads were made between the same dates mentioned above, and that there are now over two million live apps available on the App Store.

A report from the research company Gartner has stated that global sales of smartphones in the first quarter of 2018 have risen slightly from figures issued in the same quarter of 2017. Over 383.5 million smartphones were sold in 1Q18 compared to 378.5 million units sold in 1Q17. Samsung was the quarter’s largest vendor, with 78.5 million sales.

Apple is reportedly preparing to introduce ARM-powered notebooks. A Digitimes report says that Pegatron has landed orders from Apple for an ARM-powered MacBook codenamed 'Star' with series number N84. The new MacBooks are speculated to run an iOS derivative and could be marketed separately from other Intel-based MacBooks.

Reports have started to surface of customers complaining that their iPhone X rear camera lens covers are cracking, even though they haven't been dropped. Apple uses sapphire crystal for its lens covers which are resistant to scratching, but are more susceptible to cracking under pressure than Corning Gorilla Glass.

Quinn of YouTube channel Snazzy Labs recently posted a video of Apple's poor repair of his iMac Pro. While attempting to repair a damaged VESA mount, the repair technicians at an Apple Store severely damaged the original stand of Quinn's iMac Pro and scratched the body of the machine in a few places.

According to reports, Valve Corporation’s new Steam Link app has been denied entry to the world of Apple. A review team at the Cupertino-based company apparently rejected the application on grounds of “business conflicts with app guidelines.” This has led to some speculation that Apple could be working on its own game-streaming service.

Apple could beat Qualcomm to market with the first consumer smartphone equipped with a 7 nm SoC. Its custom A12 processor is predicted to power the next generation of iPhone and iPad devices coming later this year. As usual, the iPhone maker is keeping quiet until its annual WWDC press event next month where refreshed MacBooks are also rumored to make an appearance.

LG is apparently now selling its older devices like the G6 and V30 with a ThinQ branding. Quite amusingly, the ThinQ-branded devices are exactly the same as they were at launch—there is nothing to differentiate them from the regular model.

A new quarterly research report has been released that shows Amazon and Google currently leading the pack in terms of global smart speaker shipments and market share. However, although Amazon has shipped twice as many units in Q1 2018 than in Q1 2017, the Seattle-based retailer has seen a notable dip in overall market share.

There is a lot of buzz surrounding the next iPhone SE at the moment with the odds favoring at least one new iPhone SE model to surface this year. However, there are currently two designs floating around, with one featuring a fullscreen bezel-less display and iPhone X-like notch, and another virtually unchanged externally, leaving some wondering what could be going on.

Rumors are flying concerning Microsoft's Surface line, speculating that the Redmond regent may soon produce another low-cost Surface tablet to compete directly against Apple's iPad. If true, the budget Surface will feature a 10-inch screen, rounded corners, and USB Type-C.