Mitchel Broussard

Third-party accessory manufacturer ZENS today launched the two-in-one iPhone/Apple Watch Power Bank, letting users recharge their Apple devices while on the go. The rectangular case has an integrated induction charger for the Apple Watch -- which is Apple MFi Certified -- and a USB-A port on one side for charging any other device connected to the bank. The Power Bank has an included battery...

Facebook is launching a new user-to-user e-commerce service called "Marketplace" this week in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand (via The Verge). The new buying and selling service will replace the Messenger tab in the main Facebook mobile app for iOS and Android. According to Facebook Marketplace project manager Bowen Pan, almost 450 million people use the social...

Less than a month after the last update on the ongoing construction of Apple's new spaceship campus in Cupertino, California, a few new drone videos have been shared online showcasing the progress of the project. The biggest changes over the past few weeks center around the appearance of lights on the outside of the ring-shaped building, along with fewer construction cranes, suggesting the...

Apple is said to be in talks with Japanese electronics maker Sharp to create OLED displays for next-generation iPhones, with the ultimate outcome of the deal depending on Sharp's capacity to output a large amount of displays (via Bloomberg). The Osaka-based company would be one of a handful of OLED suppliers for Apple, and the deal is said to originate from the Cupertino company's "desire to...

Apple today launched an "Enhanced Edition" for A Game of Thrones [Direct Link], the first book in George R.R. Martin's fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire (via The Guardian). The new digital edition marks the 20th anniversary of the release of the novel, and its four subsequently published sequels are also coming soon in the new remade format: A Clash of Kings (October 27), A Storm of Swords (De...

A new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus case launched recently on Indiegogo, called "Fuze," with the explicit goal of providing an integrated 3.5mm headphone jack directly into the body of the protective case. With an integrated Lightning adapter that plugs into the iPhone 7, the Fuze case provides users with the ability to charge their new iPhone and listen to music simultaneously without the need of a ...

Samsung today issued a statement confirming that more than one million of its Galaxy Note 7 customers affected by reports of overheating, and sometimes explosions, are now using devices with batteries "that are not vulnerable to overheating and catching fire" (via Recode). Following the initial wave of reports, earlier in the month Samsung issued an "unprecedented" recall of 2.5 million Note 7...

Apple Music has been ranked the highest in overall customer satisfaction among seven streaming music brands that were compared in a new study by J.D. Power. Based on 4,482 individuals who have paid for a subscription music service in the last six months, J.D. Power's inaugural music study measured six key areas in each service: performance and reliability, ease of use, cost of service, content,...

Smartphone company BlackBerry confirmed today that it will cease internally developing its own handsets and rely on partnerships with other companies "for any future hardware efforts," lining up with company CEO John Chen's estimation that he would know by September 2016 whether or not BlackBerry would continue participating in the hardware manufacturing business (via Recode). Chen said the...

Apple is working on building an all-new campus location in London's Battersea Power Station, where 1,400 employees will be moved from eight locations around London to occupy the company's new UK offices (via Evening Standard). Battersea is currently under a "painstaking" restoration process after 33 years of being abandoned, with a predicted opening date for Apple's offices expected sometime in...

Apple is building hardware for next year's iPhone model at its offices in Herzliya, Israel, and referring to it internally as the "iPhone 8," according to an employee there who spoke anonymously to Business Insider. The employee works on soldering components for Apple and gave vague references to how "different" the 2017 iPhone will be from the iPhone 7, which falls in line with rumors about the...

Smart home platform Wink today announced the introduction of the Wink Hub 2, which the company says is "better, faster, more reliable, and more secure" than the original Wink Hub. In communication with a connected app, the device acts as a central location for users to connect a variety of smart home electronics in one place. The 25 percent slimmer Wink Hub 2 now supports both 2.4 and 5GHz...

Spotify has announced the launch of "Daily Mix," a new intelligent playlist system -- in the vein of Discover Weekly and Release Radar -- that puts together a "near endless" collection of songs for users every day (via The Verge). The songs include a mix of music and artists they have listened to previously, as well as new music based off their interests. When Daily Mix is updated each day,...

Vehicle accessory start-up Pearl, which was founded by three former Apple engineers, has begun shipping its "RearVision" car camera system to the first round of pre-order customers, while also making the $500 device available to purchase for everyone else on its website. The company announced RearVision back in June, focusing "on the existing install base" of people with older cars by introducing ...

Live radio station service "Dash Radio" recently announced the launch of a new filtering solution for toggling between clean and explicit lyrics in real time, a feature that's "the first of its kind" (via The Verge). DJ Skee, the founder and CEO of Dash Radio, said that "it's a complaint we've gotten since day one," from parents who might want to listen to certain songs without the potentially...

Musician Drake today debuted a 23-minute visual companion to his most recent album "Views," exclusively on Apple Music (via Billboard). Titled "Please Forgive Me," the short film follows Drake and his girlfriend in the video (Belgian model Fanny Neguesha) as they attempt to make off with a wealthy man's fortune. From Views, the songs "One Dance," "Controlla," "9," "Views," and more are featured. ...

Google will formally announced its Wi-Fi enabled smart home device, Google Home, at its upcoming October 4 press event, according to a new report by Android Police. The device is rumored to cost $129 and the company will sell different color plates so users can personalize the look of Home. At $129, Google Home would be $50 cheaper than Amazon Echo, which offers a selection of similar services ...

Roku today announced "the biggest streaming player launch in Roku history," with the company revealing a total of five new devices that let users stream media onto their TVs, with varying levels of picture quality and features. The new additions to Roku's lineup join the Roku Streaming Stick, which got an upgrade in April and retails for $49.99. With a price of $29.99, the company's new...

Apple recently updated the iOS and tvOS App Stores with a collection of apps that will be able to live stream tonight's first presidential debate, airing at 9PM eastern at Hofstra University. The debate between presidential nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump marks the beginning of the seven week final stretch between the first debate and election day on November 8. There will be three...

Following the European Commission's ruling that Apple must pay 13 billion euros ($14.5 billion) in back taxes because of its "undue tax benefits" in Ireland, The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that Apple is facing the EC "without the army of lobbyists and public relations campaigners typical in such fights." The company's lack of a lobbying presence in Europe isn't new, however, ...