Joe Rossignol

Joe joined MacRumors in January 2015, and is now a Senior Reporter. Based out of Stoney Creek, Canada, he has been writing about Apple since 2008, with a focus on breaking news coverage.

Joe Rossignol's Articles

Alien blue free gold

Latest Alien Blue Update Gifts Pro Users With Four Years of Reddit Gold

Friday March 11, 2016 8:58 am PST by
Reddit has released a new version of Alien Blue this week that gifts pre-existing Pro users with a four-year Reddit Gold subscription for free. The one-time gift can be redeemed through a pop-up menu in Alien Blue version 2.9.10. Alien Blue is the most popular Reddit app for iPhone and iPad, developed by Jase Morrissey and acquired by Reddit in October 2014. The universal iOS app is free on...
Adobe Flash

Adobe Releases Flash Player Update for 'Critical' Security Vulnerability on Mac

Friday March 11, 2016 4:51 am PST by
Adobe has released security updates for Flash Player that address critical vulnerabilities that "could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system." Adobe is aware of "limited, targeted attacks" on OS X, Windows, and Linux. Adobe lists the affected Flash Player and AIR versions in a security bulletin on its website. Mac or PC users running an affected version should...
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New Case Supports Rumors of Imminent 9.7-Inch iPad Pro With Smart Connector

Thursday March 10, 2016 6:20 am PST by
Less than two weeks before Apple's rumored March 21 media event, where the company is expected to announce a new 9.7-inch iPad, more aftermarket cases for the iPad Air 2 successor have appeared on Chinese commerce website Alibaba. The case below, like others before it, has openings for a Smart Connector, four speakers, and a LED camera flash, lending credence to rumors claiming the tablet once ...
PDF Reader Handoff

PDF Expert Updated With Handoff Support

Thursday March 10, 2016 5:08 am PST by
Readdle has updated PDF Expert with Handoff support, allowing users to start working on iPhone or iPad and easily pick up on Mac where they left off. To transfer a PDF document from an iPhone or iPad to Mac, click on the Handoff button in PDF Expert for Mac and select the file. Handoff will automatically transfer the PDF document to the desktop, including all annotations and edits. The...
iPhone 7 Case OnLeaks 1

Early iPhone 7 Case Has No Headphone Jack and Stereo Speaker Cutouts

Wednesday March 9, 2016 4:17 am PST by
While the iPhone 7 is not expected to launch until September, French leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer has shared photos one of the first cases prepared for Apple's next-generation flagship smartphone. The case has a larger cutout for either a traditional camera and LED flash setup, or possibly dual cameras. There are also two openings for stereo speakers in lieu of a 3.5mm headphone jack on current...
liquidmetal

Apple Granted Patent for Liquidmetal Home Button on iOS Devices

Tuesday March 8, 2016 7:17 am PST by
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today granted Apple a series of 40 new patents, including one that describes various implementations and benefits of a Liquidmetal home button on iPhones and iPads. Liquidmetal alloys, otherwise known as "bulk solidifying amorphous alloys" in the patent filing (via Patently Apple), have a number of unique properties, including high strength, corrosion...
MBP Mid 2010 Crashed

Apple Obsoletes Mid 2010 15-Inch and 17-Inch MacBook Pros

Tuesday March 8, 2016 5:33 am PST by
Apple has updated its vintage and obsolete products list with three new products: MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2010), MacBook Pro (17-inch, Mid 2010), and Xserve (Early 2009). The older notebooks and server rack hardware are now classified as vintage in the United States and Turkey, and obsolete in the rest of the world, according to Apple. Macs and other products on the vintage and obsolete...
Mobile AL Flyover

Apple Maps Gains 23 New Flyover Locations Around the World

Tuesday March 8, 2016 4:22 am PST by
Apple today updated its iOS feature availability page with 23 new Flyover locations around the world, including cities in the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. Flyover is an Apple Maps feature that provides photo-realistic 3D views of primarily large cities and landmarks. In satellite view, users can zoom, pan, and rotate ...
Quicken Mac

Quicken to Double Mac Engineering Team to Finally Improve OS X Version

Monday March 7, 2016 6:02 am PST by
Intuit announced last week that it has sold Quicken to private equity firm H.I.G. Capital, which plans to double the personal finance tool's Mac engineering team in an effort to improve the 33-year-old software. The investment group aims to bring Quicken for Mac closer in line with the Windows version. "On the Mac team, we’re bringing in a new product manager starting this coming Monday,"...
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EU Competition Chief on Apple Tax Probe: 'Don't Hold Your Breath'

Monday March 7, 2016 4:46 am PST by
A decision in the European Commission's probe of Apple's tax affairs in Ireland may not be reached soon, according to EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager (via Bloomberg).“Don’t hold your breath,” she told reporters in Brussels on Monday about the timing of decisions targeting Apple and online shopping giant Amazon.com Inc, whose tax affairs in Luxembourg are also under intense scrutiny. ...
Apple support trimmed

Apple Support Has Responded to Nearly 100 Tweets Per Hour So Far

Friday March 4, 2016 8:52 am PST by
Apple's new support account on Twitter has quickly gained momentum after launching on Thursday morning, surpassing 125,000 followers in just over 24 hours. The account has over 2,750 tweets as of writing, meaning that Apple's support team has responded to nearly 100 customer tweets per hour so far. Keyhole, a real-time social media analytics website, provides a closer look at the Apple...
intel logo

Intel to Produce 'Significant Portion' of LTE Modem Chips for iPhone 7

Friday March 4, 2016 6:07 am PST by
CLSA Securities analyst Srini Pajjuri has corroborated multiple reports claiming that Intel will supply LTE modems for the iPhone 7, according to a research note obtained by NDTV. Pajjuri said that Intel has secured a "significant portion" of the LTE chips, likely in the range of 30 to 40 percent of production. Qualcomm will likely be tasked with the remaining orders.While Apple is looking to...
NFL Apple

Apple Won't Bid on Streaming Rights to NFL's 'Thursday Night Football'

Friday March 4, 2016 4:01 am PST by
Apple has decided it won't bid on the digital rights to stream the NFL's "Thursday Night Football" package next season, according to Re/code. The streaming rights to the NFL's Thursday evening games could have helped set the Apple TV apart from competing streaming boxes, but Apple reportedly felt the package "isn't enough to pull that off." Amazon, Facebook, Verizon, and Yahoo remain...
apple maps traffic singapore malaysia

Apple Maps Traffic Data Expands to Singapore and Malaysia

Thursday March 3, 2016 6:42 am PST by
Apple Maps has been updated with new traffic data in Singapore and Malaysia, providing users with real-time updates about vehicular traffic in the neighboring southeast Asia countries. As usual, highly congested areas will have orange or red dotted lines along the roads to indicate that drivers may face delays. Apple has yet to list Singapore or Malaysia under Apple Maps: Traffic on its iOS...
Apple Pay American Apparel

American Apparel Launching Apple Pay in U.S. Stores

Thursday March 3, 2016 5:59 am PST by
Index has announced that it is upgrading clothing retailer American Apparel's point-of-sale systems to enable Apple Pay, Android Pay, and other NFC-based mobile payment services at its U.S. stores. The new systems will also include point-to-point encryption (P2PE) and EMV for Chip-and-Signature or Chip-and-PIN cards. American Apparel, based in Los Angeles, California, is a popular wholesale...
somaappleoffice

Apple Slated to Move Into New San Francisco Office in Late Summer

Thursday March 3, 2016 5:20 am PST by
Apple could be ready to move into its new 76,000-square-foot leased office space in San Francisco by late summer 2016, according to Reuters. The new office, located at 235 2nd Street in the city's expensive South of Market neighborhood, will reportedly have enough space for about 500 workers upon completion. Apple currently has offices throughout the South Bay suburbs, including Cupertino,...
AppleSupport 2016 Mar 03

Apple Launches Support Account on Twitter With Tips, Tricks, and Customer Service

Thursday March 3, 2016 4:05 am PST by
Apple today created an official Twitter support account to provide customers with tips, tricks, and customer service regarding the company's product and services. One of the account's first tweets shares step-by-step instructions on how to turn lists into checklists in the stock Notes app on iPhone. Many large companies provide customer service on Twitter in 140 characters or less, and it...
iPhone 6 side view

iPhone 6 vs. iPhone 6s Buyer's Guide

Wednesday March 2, 2016 9:49 am PST by
Apple's smartphones have been released on a "tick-tock" cycle since 2008. The iPhone 6 lineup represented a "tick" year, which involved a complete design overhaul, while the iPhone 6s lineup was part of a "tock" year, which generally focused on camera and processor improvements, new features such as 3D Touch and Live Photos, and incremental refinements like faster Touch ID, LTE, and Wi-Fi....
night shift ios9

Night Shift Beta Tidbits: Disabled in Low Power Mode, Control Center Changes

Wednesday March 2, 2016 7:02 am PST by
Apple has made some changes to Night Shift in iOS 9.3 betas 4 and 5. The most notable change is the disabling of the feature when in Low Power Mode. The toggle switch in both the Night Shift settings and Control Center are now grayed out in Low Power Mode. The new change has generated some complaints since it seems that users will want to use both features in the evening hours. Night ...
LMcable

LMcable Aims to Be World's First USB Charging Cable With 2-in-1 Lightning and Micro USB Connector

Tuesday March 1, 2016 7:24 am PST by
LMcable is a new Kickstarter project aiming to be the world's first cable containing a 2-in-1 connector that can charge both Lightning and Micro USB devices. One side of the 2.4A charging cable has a Lightning connector for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and other Apple products, while the reverse side has a Micro USB connector for devices like select Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone...