Joe Rossignol

Six weeks ago, Japanese website Mac Otakara reported that Apple is planning to remove the 3.5mm headphone jack on the iPhone 7 in favor of an all-in-one Lightning connector for both connectivity and audio output. Adding fuel to the rumor, Chinese websites Anzhuo.cn [Google Translate] and Wei Feng [Google Translate] cite supply chain news from unnamed sources that reportedly confirm the...

Parrot announced at CES 2016 today that its Bluetooth-enabled robotic plant pot will launch for $99 in the first quarter of 2016. The aptly-named "Parrot Pot" is equipped with sensors that help keep your plant alive by measuring soil moisture and temperature, fertilizer, room temperature and light intensity (via TechCrunch). Parrot Pot holds about half a gallon, or 2 liters, of water (Image: Te ...

Toyota announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Ford and Livio to deploy SmartDeviceLink, an open source infotainment platform for in-car smartphone connectivity. For now, this means the world's largest automaker, continues to pass over CarPlay, which has seen wider adoption in 2016, despite being listed as a committed CarPlay partner on Apple's website."Developing a safer...

Griffin Technology has announced a new BreakSafe Magnetic USB-C Power Cable for the Retina MacBook, which makes up for the lack of Apple's own MagSafe technology on the 12-inch notebook. The six-foot cable is also compatible with other USB-C notebooks like the Chromebook Pixel and will be available in April for $39.99. BreakSafe has a patented quick-release magnetic connector that plugs...

Acer has announced all-new H7 series monitors as the first to support USB Type-C, making them compatible with Apple's newer 12-inch MacBook. The monitors will be able to charge the MacBook, transfer data and display content over one USB-C cable, eliminating the need for multiple cables and adapters. Acer's new 25-inch and 27-inch H7 series USB-C monitors The monitors will be available in...

While Tim Cook has promised Apple will "figure out a way" for iPhone and iPad users to remove certain default apps, a new limited trick allows for stock icons to be temporarily hidden on devices running iOS 9.0 to iOS 9.2 without jailbreaking. YouTube channel videosdebarraquito shared a video of his trick over the weekend, and we have confirmed the method works as shown. Follow these...

Ford has announced it is adding CarPlay and Android Auto to all 2017 vehicles in North America equipped with BlackBerry's QNX-based SYNC 3 platform, starting with the new Ford Escape. CarPlay and Android Auto will also be available in 2016 vehicles with SYNC 3 as an upgrade later this year. Ford is also adding new SYNC AppLink apps for AAA/CAA member services, Concur expense report tracking, ...

Apple has announced that its 29th retail store in China opens in Shenyang, the capital city of Liaoning, on Saturday, January 9 at 10:00 a.m. local time. The store will be located in the MixC shopping mall at 288 Qingnian Street in Shenyang's Heping District. The new store will be open Monday to Sunday between 10 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. local time, and offer traditional Apple Store services,...

Apple's next-generation iPhone 7 Plus may feature a 256GB storage option and larger 3,100 mAh battery as two differentiating features over the smaller iPhone 7, according to Chinese website MyDrivers [Google Translate]. The report does not specify if the iPhone 7 Plus will still have 16GB base storage, or if Apple will opt for larger storage options such as 32GB, 128GB and 256GB, compared to...

Apple has slightly raised iPhone and iPad prices in Germany on January 1, likely to comply with new private copying levies agreed to by German trade association Bitkom and ZPÜ collecting societies such as GEMA in December 2015. iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus and iPhone 5s prices increased by around 5 euros for each model, while iPad Air 2, iPad Air, iPad mini 4, iPad mini 2 and iPad Pro models each ...

Last week, YouTube criticized T-Mobile's recently introduced Binge On program for throttling all streaming video to 480p quality rather than just the video of participating services. T-Mobile has now responded to the accusations, telling DSLReports that "mobile optimized" or "downgraded" are better phrases to describe how Binge On works."Using the term 'throttle' is misleading," a...

Apple has agreed to pay 318 million euros in Italy to settle an investigation that determined the iPhone and iPad maker failed to pay nearly triple that amount in corporate taxes in the country over a five year period, according to Italian newspaper La Repubblica. Italian regulators in Milan concluded a tax probe of Apple in March, accusing the company of booking profits generated in Italy...

Apple's so-called "iPhone 6c" will have a 1,642 mAh battery, slightly larger than the iPhone 5s battery's 1,570 mAh capacity, according to Chinese website MyDrivers [Google Translate] (via Gadgetz Arena). The report, citing "insider Foxconn employees," also corroborates multiple rumors claiming the 4-inch iPhone will feature an A9 processor, 2GB of RAM, 16GB base storage, Touch ID and the...

Apple has reintroduced its "Start Something New" campaign ahead of New Year's Day in the U.S., Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, U.K., Vietnam and several other countries worldwide. "Start Something New" features a gallery of nearly a dozen paintings, photos, drawings, short films ...

Apple's newly promoted Senior Vice President of Hardware Technologies Johny Srouji was awarded 90,270 restricted stock units on October 5, 2015, according to a recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The RSUs awarded vest 12.5% in semi-annual installments over a four year period ending October 2019. Srouji now has a total of 217,305 RSUs and 101,881 common stock units,...

January 1 is a popular day to begin New Year's resolutions, but many people fall back to bad habits by February because the goals they set are not realistic. If you are one of those people, consider focusing on making small improvements to your lifestyle this year by taking advantage of iOS apps that can help you succeed. Drink more water with Lifesum, a free healthy living app for easily...

Apple filed trademark applications for the word marks B2, B3, B4, and B5 with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in November, including the matching marks Beats Two, Beats Three, Beats Four, and Beats Five, as spotted by French website Consomac [Google Translate]. The applications are currently pending review. All four trademark applications are assigned to "Beats Electronics, LLC," have...

Hyundai has confirmed that CarPlay will launch in the 2016 Sonata in the first quarter of next year, per the Detroit Free Press. The carmaker will reportedly sell an SD card with new software to get the system for an undisclosed price. The report does not specify if CarPlay will be available in 2016 Sonata models sold outside of the United States, or if Apple's in-dash software will be...

OpenEmu, an open source retro and arcade game emulator for OS X, has been updated to version 2.0.1 with support for 16 additional gaming systems, including Nintendo 64, Sony PlayStation 1 and PSP, ColecoVision, Intellivision and others listed below. OpenEmu 2.0.1 also features a redesigned user interface, real-time gameplay rewinding, save states and screenshots organizers, automap support for ...

U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh has dismissed [PDF] a lawsuit against Apple over a long-standing issue that prevented some former iPhone owners who switched to Android smartphones from receiving text messages from other iOS users, as reported by Business Insider. Koh originally ruled against granting the lawsuit class-action status, because it was not clear enough that all Android smartphone...