Articles on MacRumors by Mitchel Broussard
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Mitchel Broussard

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Mitchel is the Deals Editor at MacRumors and has been writing for the site since 2014. Starting as a contributing writer, and then editor, he now oversees the day-to-day deals coverage for MR, which includes writing dedicated articles, updating deals guides and roundups, managing affiliate partnerships, and more.

Mitchel Broussard's Articles

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Apple Promotes Educational Apps on App Store for World Autism Awareness Day

Thursday April 2, 2015 5:06 am PDT by
On the eighth annual celebration of World Autism Awareness Day, Apple has launched a new section of its App Store focused on apps designed specifically for autistic individuals (via 9to5Mac). The sixteen apps on display range in variety from helping users feel comfortable in their surroundings thanks to contextual environment mapping via an iPhone or iPad's camera to a science-based kids' show ...
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New Retina MacBook Appears in Early Unboxing Video

Wednesday April 1, 2015 8:31 am PDT by
With the official launch of the new ultra-slim 12-inch MacBook with Retina display still over a week away on April 10, Vietnamese site Tinhte.vn has managed to get its hands on the brand-new silver MacBook and has shared an unboxing video and photos. The entirety of the video is in Vietnamese, of course, but is still worth a watch to check out the design of the new MacBook, the USB-C...
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IBM Expands MobileFirst for iOS Lineup With Eight New Apps

Wednesday April 1, 2015 5:37 am PDT by
IBM on Tuesday continued the expansion of its MobileFirst for iOS enterprise portfolio with eight new workplace apps ranging in specialty from healthcare, insurance coverage, and retail sales (via AppleInsider). The majority of this week's expansion lies in the healthcare field, with four of the eight new apps focusing on apps aimed at assisting healthcare professionals with more easily...
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'Audio Books' App Updated With CarPlay Support and Refreshed Interface

Tuesday March 31, 2015 8:32 am PDT by
The iOS app for Audiobooks.com today received an update to overhaul the browsing experience, dedicated audio player, and even allow full integration with CarPlay "and select in-car infotainment systems", to allow its users to listen to audiobooks while driving. The company didn't release much information on the update outside of the release notes, so there isn't any word yet on how easy and...
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EA Launches 'Get To Work' Expansion for 'The Sims 4'

Tuesday March 31, 2015 7:22 am PDT by
EA today announced the first major expansion for The Sims 4, called "Get To Work", launching today. The expansion is aimed at introducing a handful of new interactive career options for Sims to explore alongside an update that allows users to create and run their own retail business. The three new careers included in the expansion are Doctor, Detective, and Scientist, with each providing...
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Apple Watch Recreated in 800-Brick Nanoblock Sculpture

Monday March 30, 2015 7:29 am PDT by
With just under a month until the April 24 launch date of the Apple Watch, internationally renowned Nanoblock artist Christopher Tan has re-created the Apple Watch in block form in anticipation of the wearable's release next month. As Tan notes, the sculpture is a 2.6x scale model of the 42mm Apple Watch created from over 800 pieces of Nanoblock, which is a popular building block product in...
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FDA Taking 'Almost Hands-Off Approach' to Regulating Apple Watch and Similar Wearables

Monday March 30, 2015 6:21 am PDT by
As Apple and other companies create products capable of providing more and more detailed health-related information, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has decided to give the companies creating these devices breathing room to manufacture the devices free, for the most part, from the scrutiny of the agency (via Bloomberg Business). The FDA's associate director for digital health, Bakul...
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'Citymapper' and 'Transit App' Offer In-Depth Looks at Transit Experiences on Apple Watch

Friday March 27, 2015 8:33 am PDT by
As a few popular iPhone apps begin rolling out updates for their built-in Apple Watch apps ahead of the April 24 launch, a pair of transit-focused services have posted on Medium to share detailed looks into exactly what kind of experience users can expect from Citymapper and Transit App on the Apple Watch next month. Sifting through the data gathered from its iPhone app, Citymapper learned...
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Apple Watch Learns Runners' Strides Over Time, Becoming More Independent From iPhone

Thursday March 26, 2015 7:21 am PDT by
After talking with Tim Cook onstage at the March 9 "Spring Forward" media event, model Christy Turlington Burns has kept a weekly blog on Apple's official website with updates on her preparations for the London Marathon next month. In this week's post, Burns mentions in passing that the Watch will not only learn a user's stride after a few exercises when paired with an iPhone, after a while...
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Twitter Launches Live-Streaming iOS App 'Periscope'

Thursday March 26, 2015 5:50 am PDT by
After acquiring live-streaming video service Periscope back in January, Twitter today officially launched the Periscope app, which aims to compete with newly popular apps like Meerkat in allowing users to instantly live-stream right from an iPhone (via The Verge). In development for over a year, once a user syncs their Twitter account with Periscope, they can view a list of curated live feeds...
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Third-Party Mac Developers Begin Embracing Force Touch, Led by 'Inklet'

Tuesday March 24, 2015 8:27 am PDT by
Following its March 9 media event where it introduced "Force Touch" trackpad technology for the new 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro and upcoming 12-inch MacBook, Apple opened up the feature to third-party developers by delivering developer APIs starting with the third beta of OS X 10.10.3. The APIs will allow developers to support the ability of Force Touch trackpads to sense multiple levels of...
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Route Tracking and Screen Mirroring Shown in New Apple Patent

Tuesday March 24, 2015 5:49 am PDT by
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today released a patent application filed by Apple back in January of 2013, describing a method by which an iPhone or iPad can provide specifically detailed GPS path information to another device after given proper authorization (via AppleInsider). In the vein of Find My Friends, which allows rudimentary static location-based tracking services and slightly...
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New Report Says Display Challenges Have Cut Apple Watch Shipments in Half

Monday March 23, 2015 9:30 am PDT by
A new report out of Taiwanese publication Economic Daily News [Google Translate] claims that Apple has cut the expected production and shipping targets of the Apple Watch by half due to manufacturing challenges leading up to the launch of the device. (via GforGames). The company initially planned to manufacture between 2.5 and 3 million units of the wearable per month, following its launch on...
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Fitbit Adds Multi-Device Support and Extensive Bike-Tracking Analytics

Monday March 23, 2015 7:30 am PDT by
Fitbit today announced a two-pronged update to its popular line of fitness trackers, adding support for in-depth bike-tracking on the Fitbit Surge and allowing users to easily switch between multiple Fitbit models with "Multi-Tracker Support." The company says the added support will grant customers more ease-of-use in switching amongst Fitbit devices throughout the day, or week, allowing them...
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'Good Morning America' Goes Inside Apple's Secret Apple Watch Fitness Testing Lab

Friday March 20, 2015 7:03 am PDT by
ABC News this morning revealed an exclusive behind-the-scenes video of Apple's testing facility for the upcoming Apple Watch, showing off dozens of Apple employees covered in various sensor-tracking technology used to gather data for the health and fitness areas of the wearable device. Apple executives Jeff Williams and Jay Blahnik accompanied ABC on a tour of the facility. Employees of the...
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Angry Birds Developer Rovio Reports First Major Profit Decline in 2014

Thursday March 19, 2015 5:30 am PDT by
Finnish developer Rovio, creator of the Angry Birds games and all of the subsequent spin-offs, yesterday reported the company's first big decline in profits since the original Angry Birds game launched in 2009 (via VentureBeat). Though the company's mobile gaming business did see a slight 16 percent rise in revenue, a huge drop in Rovio's licensing business, which includes the various toys,...
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Twelve South Launches Portable 'BaseLift' Support Stand for Mac Notebooks

Wednesday March 18, 2015 8:45 am PDT by
Twelve South today revealed the BaseLift for MacBook, a "super-thin, microfiber-layered pad" that attaches to the bottom of any MacBook and can instantly fold up, similar to an iPad Smart Cover, to provide an elevated screen and angled keyboard to users on either a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro. Once attached, BaseLift for MacBook stays connected to the MacBook, and is thin enough to fit into "most...
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Tim Cook Discusses Steve Jobs, Apple's Rivals, and Calls Apple Watch 'The First Modern Smartwatch'

Wednesday March 18, 2015 6:13 am PDT by
In an exclusive interview with Fast Company, Apple CEO Tim Cook discusses a wide range of topics with interviewer Rick Tetzeli, co-author of Becoming Steve Jobs, from Jobs' ongoing legacy within the company to the mixed reception of the Apple Watch over the last few weeks. Cook notes the different angles Apple took in developing ways to interact with the Apple Watch, thinking of it as its own...
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Nomad's 'Pod' Battery Provides Four Full Charges for Apple Watch

Tuesday March 17, 2015 8:56 am PDT by
Accessory manufacturer Nomad today revealed the Pod, a mobile battery and cable management device that promises to provide the upcoming Apple Watch with up to four full charges, no doubt aimed at users unsure of the Watch's confirmed 18-hour lifespan (via TechCrunch). The Pod houses a small but powerful 1,800 mAh battery as the source of the four full charges claim, but added USB and USB-C...
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'Pebble Time' Kickstarter Gained Momentum Following Apple Watch Event

Monday March 16, 2015 6:48 am PDT by
The record-breaking Kickstarter for the new Pebble Time smartwatch gained some momentum off of Apple's "Spring Forward" event last week, reported TechCrunch over the weekend. The crowd-funding campaign brought in on average $6,000 per hour the Sunday before the big Apple Watch event, a statistic which rose to $10,000 per hour as the event happened on Monday, March 9 and leveled off at $16,000...