Apple

Google offers the option to store a timeline of places in which a user's location-enabled phone has been. The account-holder in question can also disable this ability and delete this information if they choose. The latest update to the app involved adds buttons that automates this procedure after 3 or 18 months.

Recent rumors from analyst group IHS Markit are predicting a 16-inch MacBook Pro. The new device, which is speculated to feature a larger 3072x1920 display from LG, could debut at Apple's fall event this September. The laptop would be a good way to address fan requests for a larger MacBook Pro. Despite the larger screen, it may still have a small case that would continue the thermal issues that have plagued the MacBook Pro for years.

Popular video and media player VideoLan Client (VLC) has been found by security researchers to have two serious vulnerabilities, allowing malicious .avi and .mkv files to execute any code with full user privileges. Version 3.0.7 or newer addresses this vulnerability, so check to make sure your version is up-to-date.

Tech fans were disappointed to learn that Google has officially killed off any plans for a successor to the Pixel Slate. While there had been suspicions the decision was made some time ago, it looks like the arrival of iPadOS might have been the final nail in the Pixel Slate's coffin.

Apple has announced a free battery recall and replacement program for MacBook Pros with Retina display sold between September 2015 and February 2017. The company says that the batteries in these units are likely to overheat and pose a safety risk. Customers can check the serial number of their MacBook Pro on Apple's website for eligibility.

With a total of 11 new features and no less than 57 bugs squashed, Vivaldi 2.6 is a solid update to the browser that was created to be Opera 12's spiritual successor. This new release comes with a native content blocking mechanism, new customization options, multiple performance improvements, and more.

Listings for the Core i7-10510U and Core i5-10210U have appeared on Geekbench, although their scores should be no cause of worry for AMD. The chips are outgunned by not only the Ryzen 7 3700U and Ryzen 5 3500U but also the current crop of Intel Core i U series processors. Oddly, these 10th generation CPUs do not appear to be based on Intel's Ice Lake architecture either.

The usually reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expects Apple to launch its first 5G iPhone in 2020. He also expects we will see a new smaller 5.4-inch model along with a larger 6.7-inch device both with 5G connectivity. The iPhone XR-style model will get OLED for the first time, but will continue with the 6.1-inch form factor.

Apple could have refreshed or redesigned MacBooks inbound for later this year. Seven new model numbers have been registered with the Eurasian Economic Commission with hopes that at least one of them could be a redesigned MacBook Pro led by the new Pro Workflow Team.

Brydge is a company that makes premium external keyboards for tablets from OEMs such as Microsoft and Apple. Most recently, it has released the 'Pro', a Bluetooth accessory for the 2018 iPad of the same name. It is made of aluminium and has variants for the 11- and 12.9-inch SKUs of its corresponding device.

KaiOS is the most prominent alternative to either iOS or Android on mobile devices. Its CEO, Sebastien Codeville, has just given an interview outlining this platform's directions and goals for the immediate future. They include greater functionality, more form factors and new markets.

According to a new report from The Information, Apple has been considering the acquisition of Intel's 5G modem business for almost 2 months now, but Intel has not yet provided a clear valuation for its wireless asset portfolio. This would be Apple's most expensive acquisition, which will enable it to manufacture its own mobile modems in 3-4 years.

Apple's 2019 MacBook Pros integrate Intel's latest 8-core/16-thread Core i9 CPUs, which add 2 more cores over the 2018 version. Those additional cores should mean higher temperatures and lower clockspeeds compared to the previous generation, yet a recent series of tests by well-known YouTube Channel Linus Tech Tips found some very surprising results.

Bethesda is asking gamers to sign up for a beta test program for DOOM 2016 on iOS. The program is designed to test Bethesda's new Orion framework for game streaming. Selected users will be able to stream DOOM 2016 on their iOS devices free of charge later this year.

In a recent interview, Mozilla CEO Chris Beard confirmed that premium services are coming soon. A VPN service and cloud capabilities could be bundled in a premium browser for those interested in paying for such features. The VPN and online storage services would be offered by Mozilla and its partners.

Dr. Guy Leschziner, a prominent neurologist and consultant in London's sleep-medicine arena, has recently indicated his belief that sleep-tracking apps and similar technology may backfire on the user. This is apparently due to a 'one-size-fits-all' approach to sleep metrics employed by these apps.

Shortly after Apple announced the Mac Pro desktop earlier this week, AMD said that it is introducing two new Vega 20 cards for workstation users — the Radeon Pro Vega II and the Radeon Pro Vega II Duo targeted at high-compute workloads. The Radeon Pro Vega II Duo is the world's most powerful GPU at the moment with an FP32 performance of 28.3 TFLOPs. Sadly though, this GPU is only available to the Mac Pro and it will be some time before gamers can reap the benefits of Infinity Fabric on GPUs.

Apple's long-awaited Mac Pro has finally been revealed ahead of its fall launch. Apple initially promised it would arrive in 2018, but it appears that the design team got quite creative and developed several innovative design solutions worth highlighting.

The next upcoming version of Apple's mobile device OS has finally been released at WWDC 2019. It brings the long-awaited Dark Mode, in addition to improvements for many other iOS features and functions. They include a 'new' swipe keyboard, faster app launch times and Sign in with Apple.

Apple has taken off the covers of its both its long-anticipated all-new Mac Pro and companion 32-inch Pro XDR 6K display. At US$4,999 it is far from cheap, but for what it offers it is arguably a good value proposition.

Apple revealed a lot of interesting new technology at WWDC 19, but the one thing that almost everyone is talking about is the insane price it is charging for its fancy new Pro XDR monitor stand. The monitor is already eye-wateringly priced at US$4,999, although with all the technology packed into it that part makes sense. What makes little to no sense is that Apple is charging a whopping US$999 for the almost mandatory companion stand.

Apple has finally let its iPad off the leash by releasing a new forked version of iOS that it is calling iPadOS. The change brings with it extended features and functionality that takes advantage of the iPad's larger canvas, delivering a more Mac-like computing experience. Yet, at the same time, it retains its distinctive iOS heritage.

The new version of macOS, 10.15 Catalina, is getting rid of iTunes in lieu of three dedicated media management apps. Replacing the storied software is Apple Music, Apple TV, and Apple Podcasts. MacOS 10.15 will also use Finder to back up, restore, and update a connected iOS device, but users still won't have unfettered access to their iPhone's or iPad's file system.

MSI has alerted its customers advising them of a fraudulent email that may be sent due to their possession of an account with the company. The message attempts to direct the reader to change their Apple IDs using its link. However, MSI asserts that no users' personal, financial or otherwise sensitive data is at risk as a result.

Announced today, the new 2019 Mac Pro looks like an updated "cheese grater" Mac Pro. Featuring a massive spec bump over the current Mac Pro, the new desktop features 8 PCIe slots and Apple's new Mac Pro Expansion (MPX) Module system. MPX Modules use a proprietary connection that allows for enough PCIe lanes to deliver 500 Watts and support dual Radeon Pro Vega Duo GPUs with a total of 56.8 teraflops of computing power and 128 GB of HBM2 VRAM.

B&H is currently running a sale until tomorrow on one 2nd generation Apple iPad Pro 12.9 SKU. The 4G tablet comes with 4 GB LPDDR4 RAM, a 512 GB of storage and comes in a choice of Gold, Silver or Space Gray. The SKU originally cost US$1,279, but the sale brings it down to US$719, a saving of US$560.

The video-game industry could accrue as much as US$179.1 billion by 2024. This is in line with a new market-research report on the subject. This valuation may be driven by conventional platforms such as mobile devices, PCs and consoles; however, VR and AR are also likely to have an increasingly large influence on the space.

The possible exitstence of a 2nd-generation iPhone XR is relatively well-supported in the Apple rumor sphere. Most lately, a blog claims to have gotten hold of images showing what could be this phone with and without clear cases. As it has more than 1 rear camera in these pictures, it could just be a real 2019 phone.

A Twitter user has shared a video and information about his MacBook Pro, which exploded during normal use. The video shows the laptop emitting copious amounts of smoke, with the battery having caught fire. The device has been brought to Apple, which needs five days to diagnose the problem.

Apple likes to claim that buying an iPhone means buying into an ecosystem where user data is sacrosanct. An examination by the Washington Post demonstrates that the reality is quite a different picture.

Apple looks to be working on an in-display Touch ID solution for a future iPhone, possibly in time for a 2020 or 2021 release. With most of the flagship competition working hard to eliminate notches for a truly all-display design, it looks as though Face ID may be on the way out.

ARM's recent announcement to cut ties with Huawei may leave the Chinese dragon in a lurch. While Huawei manufactures its own custom processors, they are built on ARM's architecture. Should ARM revoke Huawei's ability to use this architecture, Huawei has few options outside of developing its own CPU architecture to continue its electronics business.

A certification for what may be 2019 iPhones has allegedly surfaced on the Eurasian Economic Commission's database. The submission details a total of 11 different model numbers apparently associated with the Apple brand. They may represent different SKUs of the XR, XS and XS Max's successors.

Released for Windows in September 2014 and for macOS in February 2015, The Sims 4 received mixed reviews from both the press and the general public. Now, anyone can enjoy it for free thanks to Origin's generosity. Sadly, only the Windows and macOS variants of the game are part of this deal which will last until May 28.

A recent survey run by Blind shed some light on what various tech employees think of Apple and the App Store. Apple's own employees largely believe the company doesn't hold a monopoly on iOS app distribution, but other companies (namely Qualcomm and Spotify) believe that Apple's App Store constitutes a monopoly. The survey comes as a response to a recent Supreme Court ruling upholding the validity of a lawsuit filed against Apple for monopolistic practices.

Although apparently not available in this moment, Firefox 67 is scheduled to arrive today all over the world. The new release of Mozilla's browser comes with private browsing mode extension controls, WebRender enabled for 5 percent of compatible systems, as well as various performance improvements and fixes.

Samsung Semiconductor held its Foundry Forum this week and announced a breakthrough in its fabrication process for making the Exynos chips that power its Galaxy smartphones. The new technique will give the company at least a 12-month lead on the competition in moving to the 3nm process that will result in a 50 percent boost in battery life just in time for the Galaxy S12.

Nura the company behind the critically acclaimed NuraPhone learning headphones has launched its first Bluetooth earphones. The like NuraPhone, the NuraLoop learns and adapts to the way a listener’s ears respond to audio tones to create a customized listening experience.

According to a new report, the virtual reality (VR) gaming market will grow from its most recent US$10.3 billion valuation to one of $40.2 billion in 2024. This is likely to be driven by advancements in VR equipment design and function. However, the cost of the same is also thought to be what is holding this market back at present.

A flaw in Intel's modern CPU architectures can be used in a new attack. Dubbed "ZombieLoad," the vulnerability is similar to the Spectre and Meltdown bugs that haunted the PC market last year. ZombieLoad uses a similar flaw in Intel CPUs' speculative execution processes to access and leak data, including passwords, keys, and sensitive data.

In changes to be announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, Apple looks set to increase the number of its own Apps available on the App Store, directly challenging Google and Amazon. Changes look likely to increase existing tensions between the Cupertino company and third-party developers.

Bloomberg reports that the processor for this year's generation of iPhones has now entered production. This SoC, likely to be known as the A13 chipset, has apparently already entered production by TSMC at a testing stage. However, it is set to be mass-produced some time this month (May 2019).

The popular audio company Skullcandy has unveiled Indy, a pair of truly wireless earbuds aimed at those wishing to get into this product category at a decent price. They offer IP55 ingress protection, Bluetooth 5.0 and a combined battery life of 16 hours for US$79.99.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has ordered the recall of a wireless charging pad sold by the company Imagine Nation Books due to a burn hazard. This order affects about 64,000 of these products circulating in the country. Those who have bought them are advised to return them for a refund without delay.

Apple has apparently delisted the LG UltraFine 5K Display from its online retail store. This could possibly mark the end of the product and might be a harbinger of Apple selling its own professional-grade monitor. Rumors are flying that Apple will soon release a 31.6-inch 6K display for use with the Mac Pro desktop.

Anker has released details on its new PowerIQ chips to control its upcoming charging accessories. The OEM asserts that they are compatible with QuickCharge 3.0 and PowerDelivery (PD) platforms that charge at up to 100 watts (W). However, the first PowerIQ 3.0 product will be a 60W 2-port charger that can be used with a MacBook.

The display notch has become one of the biggest polarizing factors in the smartphone industry. It has also resulted in a number of design tweaks to avoid it while maximizing screen real-estate. Huawei has patented an innovative form-factor that avoids the notch without resorting to one of these.

Concept renders and a brief video of the supposed successor of the iPhone XR have been published online. The device is expected to be the “cheap” member of the next series of iPhones and will wield lower specifications than the other 2019 smartphones. One obvious example of the cost-cutting is the rear-facing dual camera setup.

Vivaldi 2.5 is now live and this update turns Opera 12's spiritual successor into the first browser to feature full integration with Razer Chroma — the world's largest lighting ecosystem for gaming devices. Other noticeable changes are the ability to resize Speed Dial thumbnails and improved Tab Selection options.