Mitchel Broussard

A patent application published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office today details a new Apple service where users could make inquiries and talk with the company's AI assistant Siri through Messages (via AppleInsider). The new patent is similar to a filing the USPTO published late last year, but now includes deeper integration with audio, video, and image files. Similar to chatbots...

After spending months in preview, Microsoft today is officially launching its Visual Studio coding platform for the Mac (via VentureBeat). Visual Studio allows developers to code applications using Microsoft's integrated development environment (IDE) on Apple's macOS platform, which they can sync across both Windows and Mac devices. Thanks to integration with Xamarin, a cross-platform software ...

Sprint today announced plans to develop and deploy a wide-scale 2.5GHz 5G network in partnership with Qualcomm and SoftBank, with the intent to provide the service and products compatible with it to customers in "late 2019." Sprint's 5G network is said to use the New Radio standard developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project, a group of telecommunications organizations that oversee the ...

When Apple Music launched in 2015, one of the biggest complaints from users and critics centered on the somewhat confusing user interface of Apple's first foray into music streaming. Although the app was redesigned last year in iOS 10, concerns were then raised around the oversized nature of Apple Music's new typography and artwork. This week visual design student Jason Yuan, who studies at...

Spotify this week has launched a new discovery tool called "Spotify Codes," which gives users a way to easily share and find new music within the Spotify app on iOS and Android. The feature works by generating a unique code that users can take a picture of, guiding them directly to the piece of content that the code represents. Users can generate a Spotify Code for any song, artist, album, or...

Visa has partnered with payments startup Current and today the companies are launching a new "smart debit card" and iOS app that aim to give kids and parents more autonomy and security when it comes to doling out spending money (via TechCrunch). The new Current card functions like any other Visa debit card, allowing teens and younger kids to spend money without needing cash, but comes connected...

Amazon today debuted an all-new touchscreen Echo device, which it's calling the "Echo Show," following a report from yesterday that said the company was gearing up to debut the new Echo as soon as today. As was expected, the Echo Show is a smart home speaker system that has all of the features of the basic Echo system with an additional 7-inch touchscreen. With the addition of a touchscreen,...

Uncertainty over which company will end up with Toshiba's much-sought-after NAND chip unit -- the second-biggest in the world -- has deepened today with a report by Reuters, which states that the Japan-based Toshiba is now facing legal actions from its business partner and chip unit bidder Western Digital. The U.S.-based data storage company is claiming that Toshiba has violated a contract by...

Mother's Day takes place in the United States this Sunday, May 14, and Apple is gearing up to launch an all-new challenge in the Activity app for Apple Watch owners in order to celebrate the national holiday. The challenge will begin showing up in the Activity app this Friday, May 12, but will only be open on Sunday. To accomplish the challenge, users will have to complete a walk, run, or...

Following a few reports from last year that centered upon Apple's intent to restore the historic Carnegie Library in Washington D.C. and outfit it as a prime destination for Apple retail, the company has now shared a few renderings and details about the location with The Washington Post. The location will be home to Apple's new "Today at Apple" events, which will include concerts, art...

A year after the public disagreement between Apple and the FBI, which centered on the passcode-locked iPhone 5c of the San Bernardino terrorist, one of the major questions remains how much the United States government and the FBI paid for the tool it used to crack open the iPhone. That question became so focused upon that a trio of news organizations filed a lawsuit to find out the exact amount...

It's been a few months since the last few rumors regarding Foxconn's potential manufacturing expansion into the United States, with company chairman Terry Gou placing uncertainty on the reports at the time. Now, sources in the Taiwan supply chain are once again claiming that Foxconn -- one of Apple's biggest suppliers -- is currently talking with both the U.S. federal government as well as...

An unreleased Prince concert film and a documentary about the making of the film could be heading exclusively to Apple Music, according to sources close to the Prince estate (via Billboard). The late singer's estate is said to be shopping around the rights to the concert film and doc to a variety of streaming services, namely including Apple Music and Spotify. The agreement for the two films...

After nearly two years of being absent from the fourth generation Apple TV's app lineup, Amazon Prime Video is reportedly on its way to Apple's set-top box and could arrive for Prime subscribers to download and watch videos as soon as this summer. The news comes from Recode, citing sources familiar with the plans of each company who said that Apple and Amazon are "close to an agreement" in...

ExxonMobil this week announced an update to its Speedpass+ iOS app, which gives users the ability to pay for fuel and car washes using their Apple Watch and Apple Pay at over 10,000 participating Exxon and Mobil refueling stations across the United States. For the Apple Watch payments process, users will have to navigate to the Speedpass+ watch app, select the pump they are at, authorize it...

Epix has updated its iOS app with a new feature called "Epix Cast," which allows users to beam videos from the service's mobile app to compatible smart TVs and streaming boxes, even if the receiving device doesn't have an Epix app. Notably, Epix Cast allows iOS and Android smartphones to be used normally during a casting, and videos will continue playing "even if the device turns off." To use...

Snapchat is gearing up to launch a slate of original television shows, using the social network's unique, short-lived media hook as a means to create content that lasts between 3-5 minutes long. Snapchat has signed original show deals with a collection of companies over the past few months, including NBCUniversal, Turner, A+E Networks, Discovery, BBC, ABC, ESPN, Vice Media, Vertical Networks,...

Construction barricades have recently begun disappearing around Apple's first retail location in Singapore, revealing a large mural and 12 smaller pieces of artwork that showcase the Apple logo, a heart, and a little red dot, referencing Apple's love for Singapore. Inside each of the little red dots Apple has personalized the barricades further, changing the artwork to represent illustrator...

SoundCloud today launched a new feature called "The Upload," which will act similarly to Apple Music's My New Music Mix and Spotify's Discover Weekly playlists by curating a list of new songs specifically personalized to each user's listening habits. The company said that The Upload will make it much easier to filter through SoundCloud's ever-expanding library of music, which sees new tracks...

Sprint today announced the "Sprint Magic Box," a small plug-and-play device that the carrier said will "dramatically improve" LTE data services and connections for any Sprint customers in its range. The indoor consumer device is built to be placed near a window, and is free for qualifying customers, with no installation, labor, or rental costs attached to its use. The Magic Box doesn't require ...