Mitchel Broussard

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 ...

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...