Mitchel Broussard

The United States Patent and Trademark Office today granted Apple another patent that could help the company create a bezel-free, edge-to-edge display for future generation iPhones. The new patent describes "electronic devices with display-integrated light sensors" and specifically refers to methods by which the company could stack the iPhone's ambient light sensor underneath the display, instead ...

In the midst of stories surrounding the hacking of at least 500 million Yahoo user accounts and the secretive scanning of private emails at the behest of the government, Yahoo Mail users are now finding it difficult to leave the service after the company "temporarily disabled" email forwarding earlier in the month. According to several users speaking to The Associated Press, the ability to more...

Apple today added a banner to its United States website, iTunes Store, and App Store asking customers to provide donations to individuals affected by the recent devastation from Hurricane Matthew. Like its usual relief efforts, all donations collected will go to the American Red Cross. Donation tiers available include $5, $10, $25, $50, $100 and $200, and will be processed as normal iTunes or...

Nearly six years after the legal battle over smartphone design similarities began between Apple and Samsung, the two companies are now about to take the case to the United States Supreme Court on Tuesday, October 11. At stake is the outcome of how much of a combined $548 million patent infringement ruling Samsung will be required to pay to Apple (via Bloomberg). That amount is taken from...

Google has announced that an update coming to its website browser, Chrome, will include an upgraded JavaScript engine to aid in reducing the memory usage on websites that were programmed using JavaScript (via CNET). Planned for launch on December 6, Chrome 55 will see performance improvements predominantly if a device doesn't have much memory to start with (such as low-cost smartphones), and...

A new case might lead the FBI and Apple into another fight over security and privacy on smartphones, following a confirmation yesterday by FBI special agent Rich Thorton that the FBI has the iPhone of Dahir Adan in its possession (via Wired). Adan was the culprit behind the stabbing of 10 people in a Minnesota mall in mid-September, and was eventually shot and killed by police. After the...

In the face of waning popularity, developer Niantic recently announced a few updates to Pokémon Go that aim to make the game easier for players, with a focus on training at friendly Gyms and capturing wild Pokémon (via Engadget). The updates are for "trainers of all levels," but they appear to mostly benefit newcomers who might have given up on the game prior to the changes. The first update ...

Following a report yesterday that cited three former Yahoo employees who claimed the company built a program to scan every customer's email for specific information at the order of the United States government, new pieces of information have surfaced in a separate article from The New York Times. Specifically, anonymous sources close to the matter said that Yahoo built the program by adapting a...

Apple supplier Foxconn Electronics is reportedly gearing up to launch its own line of smartphone devices in Japan, using its recent acquisition of Sharp to help manufacture and distribute the handsets (via DigiTimes). Over the past few years, Foxconn has been a major supplier for Apple device manufacturing, including for the iPhone SE and iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus. The company is said to be ...

Popular music-detecting app Shazam today rolled out an update that adds support for the service within Messages, so users can send new artist and song discoveries directly to friends and family members. To use Shazam in Messages, make sure the app is updated to version 10.1.0, then open Messages, navigate to the contact you want to send a song to, and tap the App icon to the left of the...

After reporting a few weeks ago that the Messages App Store has grown to 1,650 applications, 75 percent of them sticker packs, Sensor Tower recently published another report detailing the download growth statistics for pre-existing apps that introduced Messages support in iOS 10. According to the research firm, the advantages of being an original presence in the Messages App Store during launch...

A few reports coming in over the past day describe occurances where Spotify's free streaming service on desktop computers is pushing malware-filled advertisements to users without their input. According to a user posting on Spotify Community, the malware causes ads to launch "and keep on launching" the computer's default browser to different sites lined with viruses (via The Next Web)....

As he has done over the past four years, Apple CEO Tim Cook has shared a tribute to the late Steve Jobs, touching on the importance of remembering the Apple co-founder and former CEO today, which marks the fifth anniversary of his death on October 5, 2011. "Most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition." Remembering Steve and the many ways he changed our world. pic.twitt ...

One of the instrumental executives who oversaw the rise of Beats By Dre as a brand, chief marketing officer Omar Johnson, has announced that he is leaving the company on November 1 (via Fast Company). Johnson didn't give a specific reason as to why he is leaving the company, but his departure date will mark six years since he came onboard in 2010. Back then he was vice president of...

At its media event today in San Francisco, Google announced a few new pieces of hardware, mainly centering around the company's artificial intelligence initiatives and the confirmation of a new pair of smartphones called the Pixel and Pixel XL. Additionally, the company revealed the new Chromecast Ultra streaming dongle, a VR headset called Google Daydream, and gave more details about its...

Yahoo today announced the rebranding of its core mobile app to "Yahoo Newsroom," where users can engage in conversations and social interactions about news relevant to their interests. The app makes it easy to discover new and breaking stories through a range of topics the company is referring to as "Vibes." Yahoo describes each Vibe as a "forum where you read, react, and debate topics that you...

Ultimate Ears today updated its iOS and Android apps with a feature called "Party Up" that lets users connect "more than 50" of its Bluetooth speakers at once (via TechCrunch). When synced together, every speaker can be simultaneously controlled from a single mobile device, with the music selection and volume synced together across every speaker. Additionally, the company's UE Boom 2 speaker is...

The United States Patent and Trademark Office today granted Apple a patent that describes a Touch ID sensor which could effectively detect and read a user's fingerprints through other components of the smartphone, "such as display stacks and touch screens" (via AppleInsider). While going unspecified, the technology aligns with the current rumors for the iPhone 8, which is expected to eliminate...

Mophie today announced a modular accessory line of iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus cases that allow users to attach various peripherals via magnetic charge on the back of Apple's smartphone. Shawn Dougherty, co-founder and President of Mophie, said the new "Hold Force" line offers "stylish, protective cases" with the advantage of extra battery life and spots for credit cards. The first step in...

Earlier in the year, Apple announced that it would be spending $2 billion on two new data centers in Europe, with one located in Ireland and another in Denmark. New information has emerged today regarding the second data center in Denmark, which will be located in Foulum (via The Copenhagen Post). Foulum is a small town outside of Viborg -- a larger a city in central Jutland, Denmark -- where ...