Mitchel Broussard

Following an afternoon of discussion on the recharge rate and battery life of the Apple Watch, third-party developers Lane Musgrave and John Arrow today revealed the "Reserve Strap", which will allow users to charge their Apple Watch while wearing it on their wrist. The device consists of a silicone band with embedded lithium polymer cells and an inductive charging cradle that will hold the...

A new report out of Japanese Apple blog Mac Otakara [Google Translate] suggests that a refresh of the iPad Mini line could be hitting mid-cycle, bringing a beefier processor and faster Wi-Fi to a fourth-generation iPad mini. Considering that the iPad Mini 3 was only a slight refresh on its predecessor, packing the same processing speed and power and essentially adding only Touch ID and a...

As rumors gear up surrounding the revamped Apple iTunes/Beats music service, a new report claims that the company will opt out of offering a free advertising-supported base tier for its upcoming streaming service (via Re/code). The company will allow customers an initial trial period of some kind, but following that users will have to pay to continue listening to music, the cost of which most r...

A total of 379 companies, including Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and Google, have joined together to urge the Supreme Court to rule in favor of blanketed nationwide support for marriage equality (via The Verge). The companies filed an amicus brief yesterday, represented by law firm Morgan Lewis, in the on-going Obergefell v. Hodges case, wherein two men are arguing that the state of Ohio...

Apple may give customers the ability to engrave personalized messages onto the upcoming Apple Watch, according to French Apple and tech site iPhonote [Google Translate]. According to the website's source, who remained anonymous due to their "involvement at Apple", the company would offer an engraving option similar to that of products like the iPhone, iPad, and iPod lines. The contact,...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today published a patent application created by Apple, detailing a method for the extensive waterproofing of various components within a device, possibly an iPhone, thus creating a completely waterproof smartphone without the need of a special case (via Patently Apple). Originally filed in September of 2013, the patent application describes a "hydrophobic...

Following several months of experimentation with how it curates the music portion of its iTunes Store, Apple has rolled back some of those changes to restore an emphasis on editorial rather than sales-based criteria, according to Billboard. The news comes after a few independent record labels voiced concern over their artists being lost under the better-performing singers and albums of bigger...

Branding website Brandchannel recently revealed the winners of the Brandcameo 2015 Product Placement Awards, which names the movies and brands with the most proliferation within Hollywood films over the past year. For the first time since 2011, Apple nabbed the 2014 Award for Overall Product Placement, appearing in 9 of the 35 films that topped the U.S. box office last year. Brandchannel...

Following its unveiling at CES earlier this year, AT&T today announced that its new Modio Case for iPad Mini, which enables Wi-Fi only iPads to connect to 4G, will be available for purchase March 20 for $49.99 with a two-year agreement. The March 20 release is set only for the iPad Mini, iPad Mini 2, and iPad Mini 3 compatible cases, with a launch for the iPad Air models planned for later in ...

Exactly a week after revealing the new generation of Pebble smartwatches, called the Pebble Time, Pebble today announced an additional tier to its Kickstarter fundraiser called the Pebble Time Steel. Touted as having every feature of the Pebble Time - including the new color display and Timeline features - but featuring more classy, decorative casings, so it's "dressed up and ready to go." The ...

At Mobile World Congress today Senior Vice President of Google Sundar Pichai revealed a handful of new projects the company is working on, including a new mobile payments solution called Android Pay (via The Verge). Though only spoken of briefly, Pichai mentioned that the new service would take a decidedly more developer-focused route, calling Android Pay a "developer tool" that would give...

Following several weeks of rumors about Apple's car-related projects, a recent move by the company to expand trademark coverage of the "Apple" name and iconic Apple logo in Switzerland to include vehicles is gaining attention, as noticed by ApfelBlog.ch [Google Translate] (via Cult of Mac). While the expansion, which also occurred in Mexico on the same date last month, is unsurprisingly...

This week at mobile-focused technology show Mobile World Congress, SanDisk plans to announce a several updates to its line of iXpand Flash Drives and companion app, mainly focused on expanding storage space and enabling quicker and more secure data decryption with the help of Touch ID. The iXpand flash drive includes both USB and Lightning connectors to allow users the ability to easily...

Following Apple's unveiling of a March 9 media event that will most likely focus on the pricing and launch date for the Apple Watch, Swiss watchmakers Swatch, Frédérique Constant and Alpina have recently released more details regarding products that will be residing in the same smart wearable space as the Apple Watch (via Watch Insider). Swatch yesterday announced the Swatch Touch Zero One, a...

Mobile printing app Printer Pro, by developer Readdle, has been named by Apple as this week's App of the Week. Known for their knack at developing productivity-based apps, Readdle says Printer Pro will allow users to "print just about anything" from an iPhone or iPad. Normally priced at $6.99, the app gives users the ability to print a wide array of documents - from pictures in the Photos...

Apple yesterday updated its 3D "Flyover" map of London, adding animated images onto popular London-based attractions that result in real-time moving pictures right inside of the Maps app (via The Daily Mail). The update causes the current time to be showcased on the face of Big Ben's clock tower, and the popular giant London Eye to constantly rotate when users find each structure in the...

While the Apple Watch is not expected to be released until April, luxury and couture product design company Brikk today announced a line of 30 luxury models for the upcoming smartwatch that they claim, "will afford unmatched opulence to an exclusive clientele worldwide." Similar to the Apple Watch in terms of sizes, the line of Lux Watches will be available in 38mm and 42mm, with color options ...

While on a trip in Germany to visit with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and meet with a few German-based Apple staff members, Apple CEO Tim Cook told Apple Store employees in Berlin that he wears his Apple Watch constantly, "even in the shower", according to iGen.fr [Google Translate]. The new piece of information from the Apple CEO could mean the company's been working on adding more water...

Pebble today revealed the Pebble Time, a new smartwatch in its line of smart wearable devices that includes the company's first color-based display and introduces a thinner, more ergonomic design than its predecessor. Launched on Kickstarter earlier this morning, Pebble promises that power consumption of the new device is greatly lowered thanks to the e-paper display, giving the Pebble Time a...

Samsung Electronics has inked a deal with both Apple and LG to supply advanced DRAM memory chips in next-generation iPhones and the LG G4 respectively, according to sources "familiar with the deal" for The Korea Times. The deal, rumored to be worth billions of dollars, would see Samsung produce at least half of the memory chips that Apple would need for its next-generation iPhone lineup. The...