Mitchel Broussard

Compal, Hon Hai Precision/Foxconn, Pegatron, and Wistron have filed a countersuit against iPhone LTE modem supplier Qualcomm in an attempt to prevent Qualcomm from successfully forcing them to pay certain licensing fees related to the iPhone's assembly (via Bloomberg). The move is a response to a lawsuit from May when Qualcomm sued the four suppliers for "breaching their license agreements" by...

One year after launching its first Bluetooth-enabled smart toothbrush with the Sonicare Flexcare Platinum device, Philips this week announced the all-new Sonicare DiamondClean Smart Sonic toothbrush. The toothbrush packs in the usual array of features found in other smart toothbrushes, including brush coaching and smartphone connectivity, as well as including a revamped brush head system and...

A new iPhone-compatible augmented reality headset has been announced today, called the Mira Prism, and it allows users to plug their iPhone 6, 6s, or 7 into a headset and interact with holographic images overlaid onto real-world objects. The iPhone 7 sits facing away from the user when placed within the Mira Prism, and then a pair of mirrors reflects what's on the iPhone's screen and positions ...

Samsung Electronics will return to producing chips for Apple in next year's iPhone lineup, according to a new report today by The Korea Herald. Before, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company held the sole supplier responsibility of providing Apple's A10 chip in the iPhone 7, as well as the A11 chip in the upcoming iPhone 8, but now today's report references a "crucial deal" made between...

Smartphone accessory companies Olloclip and Incase today announced a new collaborative product called the "Filmer's Kit" for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The $199 kit includes "curated essentials" for users who regularly find themselves filming, taking photos, or live streaming on an iPhone 7. Specifically, the Filmer's Kit includes an Olloclip Core Lens Set with Fisheye, Super-wide, and...

Subway today unveiled an all-new "fresh forward" redesign coming to 12 pilot locations at its restaurants throughout the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, which includes self-order kiosks in select locations that support checking out via Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. Subway has long supported Apple Pay as a payments option during the traditional check-out process in its restaurants....

After first giving iTunes an emoji-themed makeover, Apple is continuing its celebration of World Emoji Day with a preview of all-new emoji characters coming to iOS, macOS, and watchOS later in 2017. The new emoji previewed today by Apple include Woman with Headscarf, Bearded Person, Breastfeeding, Sandwich, Coconut, T-Rex, Zebra, Zombie, Elf, Star-Struck, Exploding Head, and more. All of the ...

A recent report by The Wall Street Journal has taken a look into the smartphone design war happening between Apple and Samsung, suggesting that the latter company has begun edging out the former with the design of the Galaxy S8. According to Hugh Dubberly, formerly of both Apple and Samsung, Samsung isn't ahead of Apple because it has "gotten better" at designing smartphones, but because Apple ...

Today, July 17, is celebrated as World Emoji Day thanks to this day being marked on the iOS "calendar" emoji. In celebration, Apple has updated the iTunes Movies storefront with a new emoji-filled carousel that uses the popular smartphone characters to describe recent film releases, as well as older movies. Some of the films referenced include Kong: Skull Island, Beauty and the Beast, Get Out...

Last week, Jay-Z's new album "4:44" debuted exclusively on his own music streaming service Tidal, and then reports predicted that the album would expand to Apple Music and other services one week later. Now, 4:44 has begun streaming on Apple Music, and is available for $9.99 on iTunes [Direct Link]. Earlier in the week, Jay-Z debuted a video for one of 4:44's tracks, The Story of O.J., on...

Hulu today announced that subscribers will now be able to add HBO's programming into their Hulu subscription for $14.99 per month, as well as Cinemax for $9.99 per month (via TechCrunch). Hulu currently offers Showtime for $8.99 per month as an add-on package to the basic streaming service. HBO will be available as an add-on package for both Hulu's new live TV service (beginning at $39.99...

iFixit today launched six new battery repair kits for Apple's MacBook Pro with a Retina display, allowing users to replace the battery in an older-model MacBook Pro, restoring it to hold a full-day charge and extending its life for 2-3 years, according to iFixit. Each kit "offers all the tools needed" for users to perform the repair at home with a step-by-step guide taking them through the entire ...

One year ago this week, Pokémon Go began appearing on the App Store in the United States and around the world. Following the announcement of various in-game and real life events celebrating the anniversary, Niantic CEO John Hanke recently sat down with The Verge to talk about the game's first year, including for-profit cheaters, a six-month development delay due to the huge success of the game,...

Earlier this year, a supply chain report said that Apple plans to make all of its iPhones with an OLED screen by 2019. Apple was believed to be preparing to adopt OLED panels for 60 million units of the "iPhone 8" in 2017, and then the company would double the adoption of OLED panels in 2018 before wholly transitioning to OLED-only iPhones in 2019. In a report by Nikkei today, that timeline...

Smart wireless earphones company Bragi has been making waves in the "hearables" market since 2014, when it debuted a Kickstarter for The Dash, the company's original pair of truly wireless intelligent earphones that subsequently launched to the public in early 2016. After numerous Bragi OS updates to The Dash, and the lower-priced, lower-specced launch of The Headphone, this year Bragi revealed...

Construction progress surrounding Apple Park has been well documented over the past few years, with monthly drone videos providing anyone interested with clear glimpses into Apple's spacious new campus. Less discussed have been the neighborhoods surrounding Apple Park, including how they have been affected by Apple's construction on a campus that measures 2.8 million square feet, spans 176 acres, ...

Two years ago Apple Music officially launched, alongside the debut of the service's 24/7 streaming radio channel Beats 1. In celebration of that anniversary, Beats 1 DJs Zane Lowe, Ebro Darden and Julie Adenuga have given an interview to Highsnobiety to discuss their career high points working on Beats 1, the evolving landscape of digital radio, and more. Zane Lowe has spoken about his origins ...

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today made ten predictions related to the 2017 debut of the "iPhone 8," "iPhone 7s," and "iPhone 7s Plus," which are expected to be announced in September and launch sometime afterwards (via StreetInsider). Kuo's predictions today largely fall in line with all the rumors we've been hearing about the 2017 iPhones over the past few months, with a few new...

While Samsung remains the world's the dominant supplier of OLED panels and will supply Apple with up to 92 million OLED screens over the next two years, a new report today suggests that Apple is looking to diversify its supply chain by investing $1.75-2.62 billion into LG Display's OLED manufacturing. Specifically, Apple and LG Display are said to be considering a deal that would funnel Apple's...

Soon after Jay-Z's newest album, "4:44," launched as an exclusive on his own streaming service Tidal, sources speaking to Billboard this weekend have said that 4:44 will be coming to Apple Music and iTunes later this week. Tidal and Sprint are believed to have a one week exclusivity window on 4:44, so it's predicted that the album will launch on Apple Music next Friday, July 7. A rumor last...