Mitchel Broussard

Foxconn Technology Group, Apple's main assembly partner for iPhones, today announced (via Reuters) major plans to reduce its workforce due to "declining revenue growth and rising wages in China." The announcement comes mere hours before Apple's financial earnings announcement for the first fiscal quarter of 2015, in which the company is expected to announce record iPhone sales. The company...

A new report by The Wall Street Journal looks at the early performance of Apple's new electronic payments service, Apple Pay, finding strong signs of momentum behind the service. One of the key signs of interest in mobile payments comes from point-of-sales system suppliers seeing drastic increases in retailer interest following the launch of Apple Pay last October. Harbortouch has offered...

Following an influx of rumors surrounding the "iPad Pro" and a possible stylus accessory launching around the same time, well-known 3D modeler and designer Martin Hajek has created a series of concept renderings for each device on his blog. Hajek's models include several details rumored for the iPad Pro, which has been claimed to carry a 12.2 - 12.9 inch display and fall in line with the...

The dimple on the back of Motorola's Nexus 6 would have featured a Touch ID-like fingerprint sensor if Apple had not acquired sensor firm AuthenTec in 2012, according to former Motorola Mobility CEO Dennis Woodside. In an interview with The Telegraph, Woodside states the company had plans to include the finger-sensing feature in the Nexus 6, which was launched late last year, but due to...

A day before the company is set to announce earnings for its first fiscal quarter of 2015, Financial Times highlights a recent report suggesting Apple may report it sold more iPhones in China than in the U.S. for the first time ever. According to analysts from financial firm UBS, China accounted for 36 percent of iPhone shipments in the most recent quarter, compared to 24 percent for the U.S....

Google's security team, Project Zero, this week disclosed to the public several security vulnerabilities in OS X, some three months after the issue were shared with Apple (via Ars Technica). While Apple has not commented officially on the issues, it appears one has already been patched and iMore reports the remaining two are fixed in OS X 10.10.2, which is currently in developer testing. Proj...

Following a lengthy lawsuit that pitted Sirius XM Radio against members of classic rock band The Turtles in a fight over royalties for music recordings made before 1972, new class action lawsuits have been filed against Apple, Sony, Google, and Rdio over their streaming music services (via The Recorder). As noted by Law360, Beats Music has also been hit with a suit. According to the suits,...

The "super simple, surprisingly challenging" puzzle game Shades, by developer UOVO, has been named by Apple as this week's App of the Week. Launched last year, and also featured in the App Store's "Best New Games" section, the game usually costs $1.99 to download. The game takes inspiration from Tetris, with falling blocks of varying color hues - instead of shapes - needing to be slotted into...

Developer Matt Wiechec today released a major update to his Marco Polo iOS app that helps users recover misplaced iPhones and iPads with the sound of their voice. The new update brings custom responses and a new Notification Center widget that allows users to find other iOS devices also running the app. Addressing a different use case than Apple's Find My iPhone service, Marco Polo is intended ...

Spotify today announced an update to its iOS app that will bring more streamlined controls into its music browsing software, most notably allowing users to get a sneak preview of a song, album, or artist with a simple tap and hold on the screen. The new feature, dubbed "Touch Preview", is aiming to get Spotify users to find their preferred music faster and with less hassle. The update also...

Amazon today ended the beta for its Amazon Wallet app, approximately six months after the company launched it last summer. The company began sending emails last night to those signed up for the beta, announcing the company would be shutting it down and removing the Wallet app from Google Play and Amazon's own Appstore (via CNET). Unlike Apple's new Apple Pay payments service that ties directly ...

CloudOn has announced it has been acquired by popular document storage and syncing service Dropbox, with the two companies joining forces to advance document editing, storage, and more through the cloud. As part of the deal, CloudOn's existing services will shut down on March 15. Today, we’re taking the next step toward our vision of reimagining docs – by joining the Dropbox team. Our...

Google today announced an update for its Chrome iOS app with several new features, perhaps most notably the ability to transfer from Chrome on your mobile device to a browser on OS X thanks to integration with Handoff. The Handoff support works seamlessly, allowing users to continue browsing a mobile webpage on their desktop of choice, but the update also brings a couple of other updates to...

On a trip to Washington, D.C. last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook met with various senators to discuss a variety of topics, and Bloomberg points to the trip as a sign of the company's increased lobbying in recent years. Though Apple was previously known to have a very small presence in Washington under Steve Jobs, Cook has quietly stepped up those efforts since taking the reins as CEO in 2011.“The...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today granted an Apple patent, originally filed in April of 2012, that deals with eye-tracking technology used to control a user interface on a computer or smartphone (via AppleInsider). The specific invention involves a method for ensuring users do not lose track of a cursor while controlling their devices through eye-tracking movements. The patent, with...

Facebook today began testing a new feature on its Messenger service, automatically transcribing voice messages sent through the service directly into text. Announced by the Facebook's VP of Messaging David Marcus on his Facebook page, the update is meant to be more helpful for people who enjoy sending and receiving voice messages but find themselves in situations such as a meeting where audio...

Google late last year launched its all-new Google Calendar app for Android with a smarter, more automated version of the platform, with a promise that the app would someday hit Apple's iOS-enabled devices. Thanks to a few leaked screenshots sent in to The Next Web, it appears the revamped Google Calendar app is ready for an imminent launch on iPhone and iPad. The images show off an app that...

Digital agency Huge yesterday released a set of renderings showing off their concepts for how existing popular apps like Fandango, Foursquare, Chase Bank, and others could take advantage of the Apple Watch when the smartwatch launches in the coming months. Breaking down the major new features of the Watch, including the Taptic Engine, Voice command, and the Digital Crown, Huge reminds readers...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today published an Apple patent application revealing the company's interest in an iPhone or iPad home button that transitions form its normal functionality into a small joystick for gaming (via Patently Apple). The "multi-function input device" would serve its normal home button functions, ostensibily with Touch ID and all other current features, but with...

Facebook today plans to launch a new app for iOS and Android, simply titled "Work", that will allow businesses to build their own Facebook-like social networks to facilitate interaction amongst employees. The service, which will also available on the main Facebook website, has been beta tested in "a very small set" of businesses around the world, Lars Rasmussen, the engineering director at...