Eric Slivka
Eric is the Editor-in-Chief of MacRumors and has been writing for the site since 2008.
An avid swimmer and former biophysicist, Eric has been using Apple products for over 35 years and has been interviewed for pieces by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters, BBC, CNBC, and other publications.
Eric's current primary role involves day-to-day oversight of the editorial operations at MacRumors, but he also contributes occasional news and review articles while handling various other duties related to the site's operation.
An avid swimmer and former biophysicist, Eric has been using Apple products for over 35 years and has been interviewed for pieces by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters, BBC, CNBC, and other publications.
Eric's current primary role involves day-to-day oversight of the editorial operations at MacRumors, but he also contributes occasional news and review articles while handling various other duties related to the site's operation.
Eric Slivka's Articles
KGI: iPhone X Production Woes Ending, but Only 2–3 Million Units Available for Launch
With just one week to go until pre-orders for the iPhone X begin, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has released a new report indicating that the "worst [will] soon [be] over" with regards to production difficulties.
According to Kuo, the biggest hurdle has likely been the flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) for the device's antenna, due to increased complexity and initial supply chain...
Read Full Article • 257 comments
Review: Ring's Floodlight Cam Offers Convenient Home Security, but HomeKit Support Still Missing
Back in January, Ring introduced its motion-activated Floodlight Cam, pairing a security camera with two bright floodlights to help protect users' homes. The Floodlight Cam began shipping in April, and I've been using one for about six weeks to monitor the rear of my house. It's a handy product that lets you keep tabs on movement around your home, with push notifications, live and recorded camera ...
LG Screen Manager App for UltraFine Displays Updated for macOS High Sierra
Alongside its UltraFine 4K and 5K displays developed in partnership with Apple, LG offers an LG Screen Manager app for Mac that serves to manage various functions of the display, including handling firmware updates for the display itself, accessing windowing features such as automatic splitting of the desktop into up to four sections, and more. LG Screen Manager includes a menu item for quick...
Apple's September 2017 Media Event: Spoiler-Free Video Stream [Video Posted]
Apple's "Let's meet at our place" media event will be kicking off at 10:00 AM Pacific tomorrow, and as is tradition some MacRumors readers who can't follow the event live are interested in avoiding all of the announcements and waiting until Apple posts the recorded video of the event so as to experience it without already knowing the outcome.
For those individuals, we've posted this news...
Review: Emerson's $200 Sensi Touch HomeKit Thermostat Offers a Large Color Display and Easy Setup
Fueled by the popularity of Nest, thermostats remain one of the more popular categories of smart home devices. I recently took at look at Honeywell's Lyric Round thermostat with HomeKit support, and today I'm following up with Emerson's latest HomeKit model, the Sensi Touch.
Announced back in May and launched in June, the Sensi Touch offers a horizontal design with a color touchscreen taking ...
Review: Plugable's Flagship TBT3-UDV Thunderbolt 3 Dock Offers Lots of USB Ports at a Reasonable Price
I've covered a lot of Thunderbolt 3 docks in recent months, but there's one more upcoming model that's worth taking a look at. The TBT3-UDV is Plugable's upcoming flagship Thunderbolt 3 dock, featuring five USB 3.0 Type-A ports, Gigabit Ethernet, DisplayPort, stereo in/out, and a pair of Thunderbolt 3 ports. The dock isn't available for purchase yet, as Plugable is still awaiting Thunderbolt...
Review: Chamberlain's MyQ Garage and Home Bridge Add HomeKit Support to Your Garage Door
Back in January at CES, Chamberlain announced plans to release MyQ Home Bridge, a hardware hub to allow connected garage openers in the company's MyQ ecosystem to work with HomeKit. The MyQ Home Bridge was initially scheduled to launch in April, but as is common with these types of products needing to gain HomeKit certification, it was pushed back a bit and had a brief quiet launch earlier this...
Review: IOGEAR's Thunderbolt 3 Dock Does the Job, but Comes Up Short on Charging Power
Thunderbolt 3 docks continue to flood the market, and today I'm taking a look at IOGEAR's Thunderbolt 3 Quantum Docking Station. IOGEAR's dock offers many of the same features typically seen on other Thunderbolt 3 docks, including multiple USB ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port, headphone and microphone jacks, a DisplayPort port, and a pair of Thunderbolt 3 ports to allow for daisy chaining, all in a ...
Review: Honeywell's $199 Lyric Round Thermostat Features a Nest-Like Design With HomeKit Support
Some of the more interesting types of smart home devices are thermostats, which can help save energy by optimizing scheduling, automatically sensing when the home is occupied or vacant, and more. One of the early entrants into the field on the HomeKit side is Honeywell, which has introduced several different smart thermostats, starting with the second-generation Lyric Round, which debuted early...
Review: iDevices' Switches and Outlets Bring HomeKit to Your Existing Lights and Home Appliances
iDevices was one of the first companies to announce plans for producing HomeKit-compatible products, focusing primarily on switches and outlets but also branching out a bit with a thermostat. Earlier this year, iDevices was acquired by major electrical equipment manufacturer Hubbell, but the iDevices brand and product lineup lives on.
I've been using a number of iDevices products, including...
Ring Debuts New Spotlight Cam With Wired, Battery, and Solar Models for Home Security
Ring, maker of the popular video doorbells and recently launched Floodlight Cam, is today announcing a new line of Spotlight Cams.
Similar in function to the Floodlight Cam but with a different lighting system, the new Spotlight Cam features LED light panels that automatically turn on when motion is detected, as well as a 1080p camera with night vision, two-way audio, and a 110 dB siren to...
iPhone 8 Infrared Face Detection and General Device Design Revealed in HomePod Firmware
Late last week, Apple released early firmware for its HomePod smart speaker, which won't be launching to the public until December. HomePod will run a version of iOS, and the firmware released by Apple corresponds to iOS 11.0.2.
One iOS developer has dug into the firmware and discovered that it also contains hints of what we can expect for other devices. Most importantly, the firmware includes ...
Apple Pressing LG to Add OLED Display Production for 2018 iPhone, Limiting Samsung's Leverage
Amid reports Apple is investing billions of dollars to help LG begin production of OLED displays for future iPhones, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has issued a new report sharing his take on the situation.
According to Kuo, the OLED display panel for this year's "iPhone 8" has been the "single most troublesome component for Apple in terms of bargaining power," as Samsung is currently...
Review: Elgato's $300 Thunderbolt 3 Dock Offers a Solid Set of Ports in a Slim Design
Over the past few months, I've taken a look at a number of Thunderbolt 3 docks that all hit the market around the same time, including models from OWC, CalDigit, Belkin, and Kensington. There's at least one more major player in the market, so today I'm sharing my thoughts on Elgato's $300 Thunderbolt 3 Dock. Elgato's dock has a lot in common with many of its competitors, including a slim...
Tim Cook Appears Onstage at Cisco Live to Debut New Enterprise Security Partnership
Apple CEO Tim Cook took the stage at Cisco Live in Las Vegas today, sitting down with Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins to discuss the ongoing partnership between the two companies that has leveraged Apple's expertise in devices and apps and Cisco's strength in networking and enterprise tools.
Wow! @tim_cook and @ChuckRobbins announcing our IOS security partnership at #CLUS! https://t.co/izPv9neWvZ pic.t ...
Apple Working With Hertz on Autonomous Car Testing [Updated]
Apple's effort to test autonomous vehicle technology in California involves a collaboration with Hertz, the second largest U.S. car rental company, reports Bloomberg.
The disclosure of the relationship between Apple and Hertz came in documents recently released by the California Department of Motor Vehicles. The documents note Apple is leasing its small fleet of Lexus RX450h SUVs for autonom...
Pearl Automation Shuts Down After Poor Sales of Its $500 Vehicle Backup Camera
Pearl Automation, the vehicle accessory company founded by ex-Apple engineers and which debuted its $500 "RearVision" wireless backup camera system just one year ago, has shut down following poor sales of the device, reports Axios.
What happened: Early product sales disappointed, which was exacerbated by a high burn rate.
What next? The Pearl Automation team received several "acqui-hire"...
Original iPhone's First Four Reviewers Reminisce About Getting Their Hands on It for the First Time
With the iPhone's tenth birthday coming up this week, CBS Sunday Morning aired a segment today taking a look back at the development and launch of the original iPhone.
The segment from David Pogue includes a roundtable session with Pogue, Walt Mossberg, Steven Levy, and Ed Baig, the four journalists who received review units of the iPhone in 2007 just prior to its launch."After three days,"...
Review: Kensington's SD5000T Thunderbolt 3 Dock Packs Some Neat Security and Convenience Features
Earlier this week, Kensington launched its entry into the Thunderbolt 3 dock market with its SD5000T Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station, an enterprise-focused accessory that incorporates a couple of unique features in the form of a Kensington lock slot and the ability to mount the dock to the rear of VESA-compatible displays for "Zero Footprint Mounting" with a separate bracket accessory.
I've...
'The One Device' Explores the Creation of the iPhone, the Technology That Went Into It, and More
As we noted last week, today marks the release of The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone, a new book from Motherboard editor Brian Merchant chronicling the development of the original iPhone. I've had a chance to read through the book before its launch, and overall it's an entertaining read, although it comes up a bit short in its promise to unveil the secret history of the landmark...
