Mitchel Broussard

Mitchel is a Contributing Editor at MacRumors. Southern Louisiana-born, he lives off of bad TV, good books, and great video games. Despite a few close calls, he has yet to forget the face of his father.



Deals Reminder: MacRumors Exclusive Twelve South and RAVPower Sales End Friday

Thursday June 14, 2018 10:39 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
A few weeks ago, MacRumors shared news of exclusive sale partnerships with Twelve South and RAVPower, both of which will be ending this Friday, June 15. Each sale offers savings on useful Apple accessories, including desk organization products from Twelve South and charging devices from RAVPower. As a friendly reminder we'll briefly recap the sales below, so be sure to check all of the items discounted with our exclusive promo codes and then place your orders before the end of June 15. Our collaboration with well-known accessory company Twelve South allows you to enter the promo code MacRumorsSetups to get 20 percent discounts on five items that are aimed at decluttering your Mac workspace. We launched the sale in conjunction with Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference last week so that developers can save a little money on upgrading their desk, but of course any of our readers can use the code if interested. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with RavPower. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. Head to our full post on the sale for more information on shipping and item descriptions, then check out the Twelve South products discounted below: BackPack - $27.99, down from $34.99 BookArc - $39.99, down from $49.99 Curve - $39.99, down from $49.99 BookBook Vol. 2 - $63.99, down from $79.99 HiRise 2 (Non-Deluxe and Deluxe) - Non-Deluxe for $31.99, down from $39.99; Deluxe for $47.99, down from $59.99 In our other exclusive sale, RAVPower offers a collection of exclusive promo codes
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Plex Announces Live TV Grid View Coming Soon to tvOS and iOS Apps

Wednesday June 13, 2018 8:36 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Media hub company Plex this week revealed a new way for its customers to navigate Plex's Live TV service, through a more traditional grid-based user interface. Launching first in Plex's web browser, the new grid view organizes live TV programs by channels and the time of day, much like classic cable TV guides. While the program guide is only available on the web for now, Plex confirmed in a support article that the guide will launch for Apple TV and iOS apps in the near future. The article also shows off other features of the guide, like the ability to record shows on the list, filter the schedule by day of the week, only view HD channels, and more. While we think that searching and our Discover view (see below) are often a faster way to access DVR-related content for users, many users are familiar with a traditional “TV grid” style schedule and may wish to use that. Displayed in a scrollable timeline format, the Channels view of the Guide gives you an overview of what’s on every channel you receive. From here, you can see program details, schedule a recording, filter the timeline view to only show a certain day, and also scroll forward and backward in time. To access the program guide users will need a Plex Pass, which includes live TV and DVR features. Other apps soon to get the guide include Plex for Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, and Xbox One. According to Plex, the update came after it received numerous requests from its users asking for a grid view. Hulu with Live TV also recently updated its apps with a traditional guide interface for users. Plex
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Apple Watch Series 3 LTE Now Supported by Regional Carriers C Spire and US Cellular

Wednesday June 13, 2018 8:05 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
When the Apple Watch Series 3 launched last fall, United States customers were able to add the cellular model onto a plan offered by AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Over the last few days, supported carriers have expanded to include regional companies C Spire and US Cellular. C Spire shared the news in a press release today, confirming it has begun selling the Apple Watch Series 3 in both GPS and LTE, available both online and through a call to customer telesales. Orders placed can be sent to the user's home or picked up at any C Spire retail store, and for a limited time the carrier is marking Series 3 models down by 50 percent when purchased with eligible iPhones on a device payment plan. Additionally, C Spire offers Apple Watch Series 3 customers a free three-month introductory cellular trial on the carrier's 4G LTE network, allowing them to use the Apple Watch without an extra cost on their monthly plan. After the three months end, the Apple Watch Series 3 plan will run for $10/month -- the average price of Apple Watch cellular plans at most carriers. On its device and support information page, US Cellular also offers three free months for Apple Watch Series 3 LTE coverage, and afterward the plan will cost $4.99/month if you are on one of the carrier's regular plans. If you are on a Total Plan, there is no ongoing charge for connecting an Apple Watch. Those offers make US Cellular one of the cheapest monthly plans for a Series 3 LTE model, and like C Spire it must be paired with an iPhone 6 or later running iOS 11 or later.- If you are on one of U.S.
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Third-Party macOS Security Tools Vulnerable to Malware Code-Signing Bypasses for Years

Tuesday June 12, 2018 9:10 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Hackers have had an "easy way" to get certain malware past signature checks in third-party security tools since Apple's OS X Leopard operating system in 2007, according to a detailed new report today by Ars Technica. Researchers discovered that hackers could essentially trick the security tools -- designed to sniff out suspiciously signed software -- into thinking the malware was officially signed by Apple while they in fact hid malicious software. The researchers said that the signature bypassing method is so "easy" and "trivial" that pretty much any hacker who discovered it could pass off malicious code as an app that appeared to be signed by Apple. These digital signatures are core security functions that let users know the app in question was signed with the private key of a trusted party, like Apple does with its first-party apps. Joshua Pitts, senior penetration testing engineer for security firm Okta, said he discovered the technique in February and informed Apple and the third-party developers about it soon after. Okta today also published information about the bypass, including a detailed disclosure timeline that began on February 22 with a report submitted to Apple and continues to today's public disclosure. Ars Technica broke down how the method was used and which third-party tools are affected: The technique worked using a binary format, alternatively known as a Fat or Universal file, that contained several files that were written for different CPUs used in Macs over the years, such as i386, x86_64, or PPC. Only the first so-called Mach-O file in
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Wi-Fi Company Plume Introduces New 'SuperPod' Mesh Router Alongside $60/Year Subscription

Tuesday June 12, 2018 7:25 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Wi-Fi router startup Plume today announced an upgraded version of its mesh networking devices and a new subscription model for its customers. Plume first began selling its "Plume Pod" routers in late 2016, and today revealed a new tri-band router called the "SuperPod" (via The Verge). Plume's SuperPod works like any other mesh system, requiring users to connect the first Pod to their modem with an included ethernet cable. The rest serve as wall plugs that users permanently place in an outlet to enhance the Wi-Fi signal throughout their home. In comparison to the original dual band, four-channel model, SuperPod has a tri-band Wi-Fi radio with eight channels and two ethernet ports. When connected and running, the SuperPod system learns the user's home usage patterns "in a matter of days." This means that the SuperPods will learn when you use Wi-Fi the most (getting news from a smart speaker in the morning or watching 4K films at night) and implement "Adaptive Wi-Fi" to actively optimize the network for more consistent speed and performance. For users to take advantage of these features, they'll have to subscribe to Plume. The company previously sold the Plume Pod without a subscription, but today is changing that by requiring customers to subscribe to its Adaptive Wi-Fi service before they can purchase a SuperPod, The Verge notes. The service costs $60 per year and if users opt out of the subscription in a year's time "the routers may not fully work," although Plume CEO Fahri Diner said the company wouldn't outright "brick" the devices if users decide not to
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Facebook Leads Industry Design Lab Creating Simple Privacy Controls, Including Snapchat-Like 'Data Stories'

Tuesday June 12, 2018 6:30 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
In its ongoing efforts to recover from the Cambridge Analytica scandal this spring, Facebook has detailed its collaboration with a design lab focused entirely on privacy and located in Dublin, Ireland. News of the lab comes from Facebook's responses to questions from the United States Senate that were released this week by the Senate commerce committee, and follow CEO Mark Zuckerberg's congressional hearings in April (via Bloomberg). The lab is called TTC labs -- "Trust, Transparency, and Control" -- and is a cross-industry program that aims to improve privacy controls for services like Facebook and many others. Facebook said that the lab was started "in recognition of the need for improved approaches to data transparency across all digital services." According to the lab's website it's been around for a while, so Facebook likely chose to highlight its partnership with the initiative to earn some favor during the congressional hearings. TTC labs was "initiated and supported by Facebook," and has more than 60 other organizations involved, although names are not given. The ultimate goal is said to be the creation of "people-centric" privacy practices that are user friendly and "easy to understand and control." In the latest blog post on the lab's site the group discusses how design can educate users about how their data is used, using "clear illustrations" to "effectively educate people about data flow and data connections in a step-by-step way." Other articles talk about "Building people's trust over time" and "Making cookies transparent." In another article,
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Deals: Best Buy Discounts HomePod and Apple Watch Series 3 GPS by $50

Monday June 11, 2018 8:23 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Best Buy today has Apple's HomePod on sale for $299.99 in both White and Space Gray, representing $50 in savings for the smart home speaker. While it's been possible to get HomePod for even cheaper thanks to offers like eBay's occasional 20 percent off coupons, straight discounts on brand new models have been a bit more rare, making this a good opportunity to add HomePod to your home if you've been on the fence. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. Best Buy also has $50 off Apple Watch Series 3 today, with 38mm Aluminum down to $279.00 and 42mm Aluminum down to $309.00. A few other Best Buy deals on Apple products are listed below: Verizon iPhone - Buy a select iPhone and get one free with qualifying Verizon activation iPad mini - Save $100 / as low as $299.99 for 128GB MacBook Pro - Save up to $250 / as low as $1,499.99 with Student Deals 21.5-inch iMac - Latest model, 3.4 GHz, 8GB, 1TB for $1,299.99, down from $1,499.99 27-inch iMac - Latest model, 3.8 GHz, 8GB, 2TB for $2,099.99, down from $2,299.99 iTunes gift cards - Buy one, save 20 percent on another Although PayPal's Digital Gifts eBay store had a better deal on App Store and iTunes Cards this weekend, it's now expired, leaving Best Buy and Target's BOGO 20 percent offers as the best around for iTunes credit savings. With deals like this, the more you spend the more you can save, so buying two $100 cards will cost $180, two $50 cards will cost $90, and two $25 cards
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Snapchat Introduces Ability to Delete Messages Even After You've Sent Them

Monday June 11, 2018 8:00 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Snapchat today announced a new feature called "Clear Chats," which lets you delete any message you've sent to another person on Snapchat, whether in individual or group chat. This encompasses text chats, stickers, audio and voice notes, and any photo and video snaps sent from Memories. To delete a chat message you can press and hold on the message or media in question and select the new "Delete" option. Snapchat warns that after this the recipient will be alerted in the conversation that a message was deleted. Anyone can still screenshot message contents as well. Clear Chat will not be affected by direct snaps, however, so if you open Snapchat, take a picture with the camera, and send it to someone, the snap will not be deletable. Instead, any photo or video snap sent from Memories (swiping up on the camera screen) can now be deleted after it's been sent, in addition to basic text deleting options. Additionally, the social media company is today launching the second generation Spectacles on Amazon in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada, after first being available only on Snapchat.com. In the coming weeks, Amazon storefronts in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain will also gain Spectacles 2.0. On Amazon, Spectacles will be available in Onyx Moonlight, Sapphire Twilight, and Ruby Daybreak, and the glasses will run for $150 in the United States. Snapchat chose to launch the new Spectacles only on its own website at first in a bid to ensure that supply and demand was more balanced this time around, and now the company is prepared for a wider rollout.
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Net Neutrality Rules Officially End Today as Democrats 'Less Than 50 Votes' From Advancing Petition in the House

Monday June 11, 2018 7:00 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Net neutrality regulations officially expired in the United States earlier this morning, making today the first day of a post-net neutrality internet (via The New York Times). The expiration of the laws comes six months after the Federal Communications Commission voted 3-2 in favor of repealing net neutrality, a vote that has since faced intense backlash including multi-state lawsuits and a recent move by Democrats to block the repeal. Although supporters and opponents of net neutrality greatly disagree on how the internet will look following the repeal, without the rules internet service providers like Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T now have the legal ability to throttle any traffic on their networks, and block access to sites and services completely, as long as they inform their customers of their actions. In essence, many have theorized that this could lead to ISPs bundling "packages" of internet sites and selling them like cable companies, as well as putting high-paying customers in "fast lanes" and everyone else in "slow lanes." Of course, all of these changes won't happen at once, and some states won't see any affect from the disappearance of net neutrality today due to local legislation. Washington state governor Jay Inslee signed a law in March that effectively reinstated the federal net neutrality rules for its residents, and other state governors in Montana and New York are said to have used executive orders "to force net neutrality." A total of 29 state legislatures had introduced bills to ensure net neutrality as of May, but many failed or are still pending
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Feral Debuts Support for External GPUs With 'Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration'

Monday June 11, 2018 6:43 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Mac and Linux video game publisher Feral Interactive today announced that it will begin supporting external GPUs, beginning with the recently-launched Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration. Apple first launched support for external graphics processors in March with macOS High Sierra 10.13.4. The addition allows users to connect an eGPU to their Mac through Thunderbolt 3, powering additional performance for better gaming graphics, VR content creation, professional apps, and more. Feral notes that players can use an eGPU with "any Mac supported by Rise of the Tomb Raider," but there could still be limitations due to the power of the Mac's CPU, despite the boost from the eGPU. As of now, Rise of the Tomb Raider is the only Feral game confirmed with eGPU support, but the company says that it is working to introduce eGPU support to more of its games. Announcements for these titles will take place on Feral's social network and news feeds, which anyone interested can find on today's FAQ page. Feral first revealed Rise of the Tomb Raider would be coming to Mac back in February, and then it launched in April. The game is a port of the console game from 2016, and is the second part of the rebooted franchise that began with Tomb Raider in
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Bethesda Reveals Free-to-Play RPG 'The Elder Scrolls: Blades' Will Launch This Fall on iOS

Monday June 11, 2018 5:11 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
During its E3 conference last night, Bethesda Game Studios revealed that a new game in the Elder Scrolls series is coming to iOS and Android devices this fall, called The Elder Scrolls: Blades [Direct Link] (via TouchArcade). Bethesda describes Blades as a free-to-play title, but the developer didn't give any further details about potential in-app purchases. In terms of story, players will take on the role of a member of the ancient order of the Blades, tasked with rebuilding and restoring their ramshackle hometown to its former glory after being exiled from the order. Bethesda says the mobile game "contains the many hallmarks" of the series that fans know of: ...beautifully rendered, console-quality environments, powerful magic, tons of gear to collect, upgradeable skills and of course, real-time fantasy battles! Like other Elder Scrolls games, Blades is first person and fights are controlled by using the touchscreen to slash your sword, deflect, cast spells, and more. A fighting Arena features one-on-one combat with other players in real time, and an infinite, roguelike Abyss mode hides treasures in a never-ending dungeon. The single-player campaign takes players through the town rebuilding process, where they will be able to customize the city to their liking as it expands and even visit their friends' towns. In every mode, Blades supports both two-handed landscape and a one-handed portrait setup, and to switch between each all you have to do is rotate the iPhone or iPad. During the company's press conference, Bethesda Games Studios director Todd Howard
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PayPal on eBay Discounts $100 iTunes Gift Cards to $85 as iTunes Highlights $5 Modern Horror Movie Sale

Saturday June 9, 2018 9:16 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
PayPal on eBay this weekend is offering $100 App Store and iTunes gift cards for $85, marking the latest 15 percent discount on the cards and a good chance for those who have been waiting on a deal to get free iTunes credit. While the sale lasts, anyone with a PayPal account can take advantage of the deal, and you'll receive the code for the iTunes credit via email within a few hours after the purchase. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with eBay. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. The credit will only be valid on purchases made on the United States App and iTunes stores. PayPal's iTunes gift card sales are limited and typically tend to last for a day or two, so be sure to visit PayPal's Digital Gifts eBay store and place your order before the end of the weekend if you want to stock up on some iTunes credit, or send it as a gift to a friend or family member. These iTunes card sales are a great way to get iTunes credit at a cheaper price, which you can then use to rent and buy movies on iTunes, pay for your Apple Music and iCloud subscriptions, purchase a new app, expand your iBooks collection, and much more. Coinciding with the new gift card offer, iTunes has some notable discounts on its Movies storefront that might be of interest to horror movie fans getting iTunes credit today. The sale prices include a collection of Modern Horror films for just $4.99 each, including the ones listed below: The Cabin in the Woods (4K) Don't Breathe 10 Cloverfield Lane (4K) Tucker & Dale
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Last Call: Deal for 3 Months of DirecTV Now and Apple TV 4K at No Cost Expires Today

Friday June 8, 2018 11:34 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
As we've followed DirecTV Now's ongoing offer to get an Apple TV 4K at no extra cost when paying for three months of the live streaming TV service for $105, it's been somewhat unclear how long the deal would last. According to our affiliate, today's the last day to take advantage of the deal, as the three-month offer will expire later tonight. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with DirecTV Now. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running. Afterward, the deal will return back to prepaying for four months of DirecTV Now at $140 to get the Apple TV 4K at no cost, which will last only for a few days through Tuesday, June 12. After that date, the offer -- which kicked off seven months ago in November 2017 -- appears to be ending for good. The deal continues to provide the best savings for a 32GB Apple TV 4K online (regularly $179), so if you haven't used it yet -- or if you want another Apple TV 4K in your house -- check out the steps on how to redeem it below: Visit DirecTVNow.com's landing page for the deal Click "Redeem & Stream" Select the "Live a Little" package to get the Apple TV at the lowest possible price Choose if you want to add another stream and premium channels, or click "Skip for now" Click "Add to plan" under the Apple TV 4K box in the Special offer section Click "Continue" and go through the account creation and checkout processes Although some users keep their DirecTV Now subscription after the three month period ends, many also choose to cancel the service before
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Angela Ahrendts Announces New App Prototyping 'Today at Apple' Sessions Coming Later in June

Friday June 8, 2018 10:29 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Senior vice president of Apple Retail, Angela Ahrendts, today tweeted out an announcement for a new "Today at Apple" session focused on app prototyping for aspiring developers. News of the session arrives as Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference comes to an end today, after first kicking off with a keynote in San Jose, California on Monday. Ahrendts describes the new program as a way to help app makers get started with prototyping, which she describes as "one of the most important steps of the design process." The session itself is based on a popular talk from WWDC, and events for the prototyping lessons will begin at Apple retail locations later in June. We’re launching a new #TodayatApple session to help aspiring app makers get started with one of the most important steps of the design process — prototyping. The session is based on a popular #WWDC talk. Sessions start later this month https://t.co/NMAVfZrdT3— Angela Ahrendts (@AngelaAhrendts) June 8, 2018 Ahrendts has spearheaded Today at Apple sessions since the program expanded globally in May 2017, after originally beginning at Apple's flagship store in Union Square in San Francisco. Today at Apple offers free sessions to teach skills in photography, videography, music, coding, art, and design, all using Apple products like iPad and Mac. You can find Today at Apple sessions near you by visiting the company's website, although it appears to be too early for the new prototyping sessions to be listed.
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Apple Music Rolling Out Update With 'Coming Soon' Section, Album Launch Dates, and New Artist Profiles

Friday June 8, 2018 8:46 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Apple appears to be rolling out a series of updates for Apple Music today, including a small but useful new section called "Coming Soon," which allows subscribers to check out new albums about to be released over the next few weeks. On iOS and macOS, the hub is located in the Browse tab > New Music > scroll down to find Coming Soon > tap "See All." Music Videos were previously the last thing to see here, but now Apple has introduced Coming Soon as well. The hub lists artists from a variety of different genres, with impending albums from Panic! At The Disco ("Pray For the Wicked", June 22), Florence + The Machine ("High As Hope", June 29), Interpol ("Marauder", August 24), and more. With only about 10 albums listed, Coming Soon isn't an entirely definitive source of every upcoming album on Apple Music, but albums have been added to the section throughout the morning so it appears Apple will be continuously expanding this area. On macOS, there is a drop down menu for sorting options, but it only has a "Recent Bestsellers" option at this point. Apple could update this to make it even easier to sort upcoming albums by release dates, genres, and more. On iOS, however, there is no sorting option at this time. Coming Soon on macOS In another addition, Apple is now making it possible to easily see album launch dates on their respective pages on iOS and macOS. In the Editors' Notes section, following the traditional encouragement to add the pre-release album to your library, there's a new line that begins "Album expected..." followed by the album's specific release
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Snapchat Expanding Bitmoji 'Friendmojis' to Apple's Messages App for First Time

Friday June 8, 2018 8:07 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Snapchat is expanding the use of its Bitmoji characters -- specifically "Friendmojis" -- for iOS users in the coming days. With the update, iPhone and iPad users will be able to send personalized Friendmojis, or Bitmoji stickers that include both you and your friend, directly in Apple's Messages app. Currently, Bitmoji is available as a keyboard extension and a Messages app so users can send Bitmoji in Messages, but the new update marks the first time combo Friendmojis can be sent outside of the main Snapchat app. Anyone who has their Bitmoji and Snapchat accounts linked together will be able to send Friendmojis in Messages. To send a Friendmoji, a new "Friend" icon will appear in the upper-right corner of the Bitmoji keyboard extension, which can be added to trusted keyboards in the iOS Settings app. From there users will see a list of Snapchat friends they can tap on to generate customized Friendmojis featuring their own Bitmoji and their friend's character. Friendmojis have numerous themes and celebratory messages, from simple "Good Morning" messages to more specific stickers for birthdays, holidays, major events, apologies, and more. Snapchat acquired Bitmoji in the summer of 2016, heavily integrating the sticker characters into its app over the years. In 2018, Snapchat now uses Bitmojis as the main form of identifying friends in the app. Since Bitmojis popularized the creation of personalized animated characters, many companies have now unveiled interest in the space, most recently Apple with its own "Memoji" coming in iOS 12 on iPhone X. With Memojis,
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Yahoo Messenger Will Be Discontinued on July 17, 2018 After 20 Years of Service

Friday June 8, 2018 6:29 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Yahoo today announced that its Yahoo Messenger service will no longer be supported after July 17, 2018, encompassing the closure of apps for iOS and Android and any web browser clients (via TechCrunch). The service will function normally until then, and after that date users will no longer be able to access their chats and the Messenger service as a whole will be shut down. The company promised that the discontinuation of Yahoo Messenger will not impact a user's Yahoo ID, so it will continue to work for products like Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Fantasy. As for a reason, Yahoo said that it is focusing on "building and introducing new, exciting communications tools" that will be a "better fit" for its customers. We know we have many loyal fans who have used Yahoo Messenger since its beginning as one of the first chat apps of its kind. As the communications landscape continues to change over, we're focusing on building and introducing new, exciting communications tools that better fit consumer needs. "There currently isn't a replacement" for Yahoo Messenger, however, so the company pointed users toward the invite-only group messaging app Yahoo Squirrel. Squirrel is still in the testing phase and allows groups to organize private chats with friends and family members in a style similar to Slack and Discord. Yahoo originally debuted its Yahoo Messenger app on the iOS App Store [Direct Link] in April 2009, giving users the ability to instant message their contacts when away from their computer. In the years since, messaging apps like Apple's iMessage, Facebook Messenger, and
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Apple Taking 'Cautious Approach' to iPhone Assembly This Year, Lowering Component Orders by 20%

Friday June 8, 2018 5:26 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Apple recently asked its iPhone suppliers to build "around 20 percent fewer" components for the line of iPhones debuting in the second half of 2018, according to four sources speaking to Nikkei. The move is Apple's attempt to take a "cautious approach" to iPhone shipments in 2018 compared to 2017 orders. Specifically, last year Apple was said to have placed orders for the production of as many as 100 million iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X units. That number is now down to 80 million in 2018, according to the sources. In the wake of Nikkei's report, Apple shares have fallen in premarket trading this morning. "Apple is quite conservative in terms of placing new orders for upcoming iPhones this year," one of the four sources, who is in the supply chain, told the Nikkei Asian Review. "For the three new models specifically, the total planned capacity could be up to 20% fewer than last year's orders." Nikkei's report corroborates recent claims made by TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, stating that all three new iPhones will ship in September 2018 (two OLED models measuring in at 5.8 and 6.5 inches and a 6.1-inch lower-cost LCD model), despite some reports claiming that the LCD model could launch slightly later. "The production yield for the LCD model's 'touch' function is not satisfactory at the moment, but it is improving," one of the supply sources said. "The cost-effective model is viewed as the tool for Apple to boost its total shipment volume this year, and all the suppliers are doing everything they can to make sure the LCD one hits the shelves as soon as
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Apple Plans TV Adaptation of Gregory David Roberts' Novel 'Shantaram'

Thursday June 7, 2018 11:25 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Following yesterday's news that Apple is partnering with producer J.J. Abrams on a show called "Little Voices," Variety today reports that Apple has now landed the TV adaptation rights to Gregory David Roberts' 2003 novel "Shantaram." Multiple parties were said to be interested in purchasing the rights to adapt the novel as a dramatic series, leading to Apple's win in a "competitive situation." Shantaram is a fictional novel based somewhat on Roberts' real life, and focuses on a character named Lin, a convict who flees an Australian prison and disappears into the city of Bombay. Once in India, Lin's journey takes him through a hidden society of soldiers, gangsters, and criminals, all while figures from his life in prison hunt him down. Previous plans for Shantaram had Joel Edgerton in the starring role of a feature film, but plans have now shifted into a television series. The show will be produced by Paramount Television and Anonymous Content, which also own the rights to the sequel novel called "The Mountain Shadow." "American Hustle" screenwriter Eric Warren Singer will serve as the showrunner and executive producer of the new Apple series. Singer also worked on "The International", "Only the Brave", and wrote the script for the upcoming sequel "Top Gun:
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Shawn Mendes Breaks Apple Music Record to Become Most-Streamed Pop Album of 2018 in One Week

Thursday June 7, 2018 8:57 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Singer/songwriter Shawn Mendes has broken the latest Apple Music record, with his self-titled third album becoming the most-streamed pop album of 2018 in under one week (via Billboard). Released on May 25, the new Shawn Mendes album was accompanied by a collection of bonus material on Apple Music, including a Beats 1 interview with Zane Lowe, exclusive live concert and Q&A session, playlists, and more. The previous record holder for most-streamed pop album of 2018 was Justin Timberlake's "Man of the Woods," which launched in February. In the wake of the news, Apple Music confirmed that Mendes has also surpassed one billion global streams on the music service, encompassing his three studio albums, singles, and live recordings. There have been a few record breaking stories related to Apple Music this year, most recently with rapper J. Cole breaking the record for most album streams in the first 24 hours in the United States. Prior to that, Cardi B's "Invasion of Privacy" set a new record for first-week streams by a female artist on Apple Music, beating Taylor Swift's "Reputation." According to the last count, Apple Music has over 50 million users total, combining those paying for the service and anyone on a free trial. The last specific paid count sat at 40 million in April, compared to 71 million listeners paying for Spotify. Apple Music isn't tipped for a major revamp in iOS 12, but beta testers have discovered that artist profiles will be slightly upgraded in the new software with bigger portraits and a handy shuffle-all Play button. Subscribers will also be
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