Mitchel Broussard

In an in-depth new look at Apple's merger and acquisitions tactics published today by Bloomberg, Apple's "arrogant" culture of deal negotiations is put on display. According to sources who have worked with Apple in M&A, the company struggles repeatedly to pull off big deals "because of a series of quirks," including a refusal to work with investment bankers, inexperience with large takeovers, and ...

A few Apple executives have had meetings with South Korean financial authorities, spurring a rumor that the Cupertino company is beginning to make headway in its attempt to launch Apple Pay in the country. Sources speaking with The Korea Herald said that Apple's legal director and senior counselor met with the country's financial authorities back in November to discuss Apple Pay, but the company...

Carmaker Jaguar today announced that a collection of its vehicles will support a new in-car cashless payment app that allows drivers to use Apple Pay to pay for fuel at Shell stations without having to use a traditional card payment at a pump. Drivers of the enhanced Jaguar F-PACE performance SUV, F-TYPE, XF and XE sports saloon model ranges -- and the latest Land Rover models -- will be able to...

It's been five months since Apple launched a new line of band options for the Apple Watch alongside the Apple Watch Series 2 and iPhone 7 last September. Now, Apple.com has a few notable stock shortages of Series 2 bundles and -- to a lesser extent -- single band options for the Apple Watch, likely indicating an incoming spring collection of Apple Watch bands. New Apple Watch hardware is expected ...

On its Brazilian YouTube channel, Apple today posted a new video celebrating Carnival festivities in the country, which typically run throughout February and into March each year (via blogdoiphone). Apple is said to have made the video to highlight "the diversity, variety and freedom of expression of Carnival," as well as a way to continue its "Shot on iPhone" campaign, which has recently focused ...

An update to the Nest app is rolling out today, bringing with it a new feature that lets Nest Cam Indoor and Nest Cam Outdoor automatically detect doors within their field of view, further allowing users to set these thresholds as "Activity Zones" with warning-based notifications attached to them. The feature will be available only to those who have the company's $10/month subscription service Nes...

Google Maps today updated its iOS and Android apps with a listing feature that lets users save and add their favorite locations to customized lists, which they can subsequently share to friends and family. Once a list is created, users can also follow other people's lists for inspiration when visiting new cities. To add a location into a list, navigate to it in the Google Maps app and tap...

Apple has placed an order to Samsung Display for 60 million OLED panels for this year's iPhone 8, in addition to the 100 million units reportedly ordered by Apple last April. If the numbers are accurate, today's news confirms the display maker as Apple's main source of OLED screens for the next-generation iPhone (via The Korea Herald). iPhone 8 concept images According to those familiar with...

A group of Australia's biggest banks have again applied to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in a bid to negotiate with Apple over Apple Pay. The banks -- including Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, and Westpac -- today announced that they have "narrowed" their application with the ACCC to focus on gaining open access to...

Apple has been listed as a contributing sponsor for the non-profit information/security conference BSides that's currently taking place in San Francisco. Apple joins a long list of sponsors including Google, Dropbox, Netflix, Fitbit, and more. According to the conference's sponsor page, Apple is also listed as a food sponsor for BSides, and provided breakfast and lunch meals to everyone...

Apple has added a small but useful tweak to CarPlay in iOS 10.3, giving drivers a quicker and safer way to switch between apps without having to take their eyes off the road for long periods of time. Before the update, users had to tap twice to get to another app in CarPlay: one tap to go home, and another tap on the designated app icon. Image via The Verge Now, Apple has streamlined that...

Popular bookmarking service Instapaper faced an extended outage this week, beginning at 12:30PM PT on February 8th and remaining offline for 31 hours. Although the service is now back online, users only have access to the last six weeks of saved articles, running back through December 20, 2016. The company said it chose to restore just the last six weeks of articles right now "in the interest...

As Apple CEO Tim Cook continues to make his rounds in Europe, Good Morning Britain managed to catch him for a quick interview while he was visiting Woodberry Down Primary School yesterday. Regarding fake news, which has been an increasingly hot topic since the U.S. Presidential election got into full swing last year, Cook said that "this is one of today's chief problems." In the wake of...

Apple today officially launched its much-anticipated BeatsX Earphones on its online store for $149.95, after initially delaying the earphones from Fall 2016 and into February 2017. With the delay of BeatsX, Apple focused on the December launch of the AirPods, which have subsequently become hard to come by for those interested in Apple's own Bluetooth headphones. Apple's website states shipping ...

One day away from their official launch, new information is beginning to come out about the BeatsX Earphones thanks to a couple of hands-on videos and reviews that have been posted online. In Jonathan Morrison's newest video, titled BeatsX Wireless vs Apple AirPods, the YouTuber has discovered that all purchases of BeatsX come with a code for three free months of Apple Music, akin to users...

Facebook has come up with another way to convince users to stay within the social networking app, recently introducing a complete weather forecast section that uses GPS location to present a detailed 24-hour and 5-day forecast, powered by Weather.com (via TechCrunch). The feature is an expansion of the previous "weather greetings" that appeared on the Facebook mobile app beginning about a year...

Continuing on his lengthy European tour today, Apple CEO Tim Cook has now stopped in London and had a chat with UK Prime Minister Theresa May. According to a spokesperson for May speaking with Business Insider, the meeting focused on Apple's continued investment in the United Kingdom amid the recent turmoil surrounding Brexit. Overall, the meeting was said to have been "a very positive and useful ...

Google today announced the all-new Android Wear 2.0 operating system update for its line of Android-based smartwatches, alongside two new devices debuting this Friday, February 10: the LG Watch Sport and LG Watch Style. The LG Watch Sport includes a number of features that aligns it as a direct competitor to the Apple Watch, including a new "rotating power button" akin to the Digital Crown, NFC...

News-focused iOS app Flipboard today announced an update that introduces a new UI which creates custom, curated magazines based on various user "passions." The Version 4.0 update is said to be a direct response to the overabundance of news sources -- from magazines to online outlets and social media -- and serve as a way to "effortlessly get you to the things you love." The heart of the new...

Entertainment network Epix today launched an app for the fourth-generation Apple TV, allowing anyone who is subscribed to Epix through a cable provider access to the service's collection of premium film and television content (via Variety). For those who haven't signed up for Epix yet and download the Apple TV app, they can get a four week free trial to test out the service, but afterwards...