Joe Rossignol

Apple is actively building its own cellular modem chip for future iPhones, according to a paywalled report by The Information today. The report, citing a person briefed on the plans, claims that Apple has engineers working on the project close to its headquarters in Northern California. For several months, Apple has also been actively hiring engineers in San Diego, where the company has an...

Earlier this year, Apple acquired digital magazine subscription service Texture and confirmed that it will be integrated into Apple News. And in April, it was reported that Apple plans to offer a Texture-based subscription news service with unlimited access to select newspapers and magazines for a monthly price. Texture Now, Bloomberg News reports that the Apple News subscription service...

Microsoft today updated its suite of Office for Mac apps, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, with support for Dark Mode on macOS Mojave and several other new features. The updates are available to both Office 365 subscribers and to users who purchased Office 2019 for Mac as a one-time purchase. The update also makes it easier to insert a photo from an iPhone or iPad into a...

It is now possible to use the My Verizon app to activate eSIM service on an iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, or iPhone XR in the United States. The app was updated today to allow Verizon customers to purchase a cellular plan for the eSIM line of an iPhone without needing to visit a Verizon store. The in-app process should be more straightforward and convenient. "My Verizon" changelog via Gabriel ...

Apple today seeded the first beta of iOS 12.1.2 to public beta testers, one day after seeding the same beta to developers and six days after the release of the iOS 12.1.1 update with expanded eSIM support and many other new features. iPhone and iPad users enrolled in the free Apple Beta Software Program will receive the iOS 12.1.2 beta over-the-air in Settings > General > Software Update...

Satechi today announced that its new USB-C hub for the 2018 iPad Pro is now available for purchase for $59.99 on the accessory maker's website and Amazon. Designed for the new iPad Pro with a USB-C port, the hub features a HDMI output, one USB-C port with Power Delivery, one USB-A port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack, enabling the tablet to be connected to a wide variety of peripherals, such as...

Apple Pay made its long-awaited debut in Germany this evening, allowing iPhone and Apple Watch users in the country to finally take advantage of the contactless mobile payments service if their card issuer supports it. At launch, Apple Pay partners in Germany include American Express, Deutsche Bank, Hanseatic Bank, HypoVereinsbank, Edenred, Comdirect, Fidor Bank, and mobile banks and payment ...

Samsung today introduced its latest smartphone, the Galaxy A8s. It is Samsung's first smartphone with an Infinity-O display, which has a nearly edge-to-edge, uninterrupted design beyond a small hole for the front-facing camera. It is also Samsung's first smartphone without a headphone jack, much to the amusement of iPhone users, as Samsung has mocked Apple for over two years over its...

Epic Games today announced that its Infinity Blade role-playing game trilogy has been removed from the App Store. In a blog post, the video game studio said "it has become increasingly difficult for our team to support the Infinity Blade series at a level that meets our standards," adding that the trilogy "will always hold a special place" in its history. Along with the three Infinity...

Apple Pay will make its long-awaited debut in Germany this week, according to German blog Macerkopf. The report, citing unnamed sources within German banking circles, says the launch will likely occur on Tuesday with mobile bank N26 and Comdirect expected to be among the initial participating issuers in the country. Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that Apple Pay would launch in Germany by...

Google today announced that its Google Maps app for iOS will be updated today with a new "For You" tab in over 40 countries. "For You" was first announced at Google I/O in May and was initially limited to Android. The feature is designed to "tell you what you need to know about the neighborhoods you care about," such as new restaurants opening nearby, trending spots, and more, based on...

CNBC and Reuters today report that the Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court has granted Qualcomm an import ban on the iPhone 6s through iPhone X in China after the court found those devices violated two Qualcomm patents. This could result in those iPhone models being unavailable to purchase in China. However, in a statement issued to those publications, Apple said all iPhone models remain...

Apple continues to mention its unreleased wireless charging mat AirPower in recent job listings in the United States and New Zealand. The openings range from student co-op positions to hardware engineers on Apple's Wireless Power Technology team in its hometown of Cupertino, California as well as Auckland, New Zealand, where wireless charging company PowerbyProxi remains based following its a...

Google released Chrome 71 earlier this week, but the latest version of the web browser still lacks support for Dark Mode on macOS Mojave. Fortunately, it appears that will change by early next year. Dark Mode in Canary, a developer build of Chrome As mentioned on Reddit, a Google developer recently submitted a code change that implements system-level Dark Mode in Chromium, the open source web ...

Apple celebrated the holiday season today with a live performance by award-winning singer Idina Menzel, who sang a handful of songs from the Disney animated film Frozen, including the soundtrack Let It Go. A big thank-you from our Apple family to the phenomenally talented @idinamenzel. Your voice is a gift — thank you for sharing it with us. What a wonderful way to celebrate the holidays! ☃️ pi ...

Apple appears to be readying the release of a new Smart Battery Case for the iPhone XS, and possibly versions for the iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR too, based on information uncovered by 9to5Mac's Guilherme Rambo. Rambo uncovered references to three model identifiers for the case in iOS code, including A2070, A2071 and A2171, suggesting that Apple could release the case in three different...

Apple today began selling a new Beddit sleep monitor on its online store after receiving FCC clearance for the product earlier this week. The new version has a model number of 3.5 and retails for the same $149.95 price as the previous model 3.0. The new version looks similar to the previous one, but it is ever so slightly smaller and lighter. It remains 2mm thin. This represents Apple's...

Bluesound today announced that its Generation 2i line of high-fidelity wireless speakers and home theater systems will each receive a software update on December 11 that will enable AirPlay 2, including the Pulse 2i, Pulse Mini 2i, Pulse Flex 2i, Pulse Soundbar 2i, Node 2i, Powernode 2i, and Vault 2i. With the AirPlay 2 update, multi-room audio playback will be possible between multiple...

Apple has acquired Platoon, a London-based A&R startup focused on discovering rising music artists, according to Music Business Worldwide. Platoon was founded in 2016 by Saul Klein, co-founder of defunct British video-on-demand service LoveFilm, and Denzyl Feigelson, who is a 40-year music industry veteran and has been advisor to Apple about matters related to iTunes and later Apple Music...

Apple today released watchOS 5.1.2, which enables the ECG app on Apple Watch Series 4 models. However, as Apple made clear, the ECG app is currently only available in the United States and its territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, preventing it from being used internationally at this time. Many software features on Apple devices are initially limited to the United...