Tim Hardwick
Tim is a Contributing Editor at MacRumors. His writing has appeared in over 30 newsstand print and online publications covering a range of topics. Originally from Liverpool, England, Tim can sometimes be found accessing a personal wi-fi hotspot on the Yorkshire Moors.
Tim Hardwick's Articles
Facebook Launches 'Tuned' Messaging App for Couples
Facebook has quietly released Tuned, a new messaging app designed to provide a "private space" for couples to connect, reports The Information.
Designed by NPE, an experimental group within the company that was established last year, the app encourages couples to share messages, notes, cards, voice memos, photos and Spotify songs with each other, thereby creating a "digital scrapbook" of...
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'Forza Street' Simulation Racing Game Coming to iOS on May 5
Developers Turn 10 Studios and Microsoft have announced that simulation racing game Forza Street is coming to iPhone and iPad on May 5.
Forza Street is a simplified version of the original Forza racing game series for Xbox and PC that emulates the performance and handling characteristics of real-life production, modified, and racing cars. The mobile version will include a story-driven mode...
Apple TV 3 Owners Report Issues Viewing YouTube Content
Google appears to have handicapped its YouTube support for the third-generation Apple TV, based on hundreds of user complaints on Apple’s support forums and in YouTube’s Help Center.
Multiple users are reporting problems accessing certain YouTube content such as music videos. When attempting to watch the content, viewers are being met with the message "An error occurred loading this content. ...
'Leaked' Images Allegedly Show iPhone 12 With Smaller Notch, Rear Camera Redesign, and Home Screen Widgets
Two images shared on social media this morning are currently stoking speculation about possible hardware redesigns coming to the iPhone 12 and the potential introduction of Home screen widgets in iOS 14.
Shared by Twitter user Fudge (choco_bit), the images depict a front and rear graphical representation of a smartphone with interface elements on the screen, suggesting it came out of a...
Google Fit iOS App Update Switches Focus to Step Goals
Google's fitness tracking app Google Fit is getting a redesign this week that puts the user's step count front and center.
The app launched on iOS in April 2019 with an interface oriented around Move Minutes and Heart Points, based on American Heart Association and World Health Organization recommendations for weekly physical activity. These activity data points were visualized with two...
Roku's Free Ad-Supported Channel Launches in the UK
Streaming device maker Roku has launched its free ad-supported Roku Channel in the UK, offering access to over 10,000 movies, TV shows, and documentaries at a time when stay-at-home entertainment is in high demand.
The Roku Channel can be accessed on Roku devices and – thanks to exclusive UK partnerships – Now TV sticks and Sky Q set-top boxes via the dedicated Roku app.
If you're...
WhatsApp Imposes New Limit on Bulk Message Forwarding to Slow Spread of Misinformation
WhatsApp today implemented new restrictions on the mass forwarding of messages in an effort to slow the spread of misinformation on the chat platform.
The new limits on bulk forwarding mean if a user receives a message that has been forwarded more than five times, they will only be able to send it on to a single chat at a time. The previous limit was five chats at once, which WhatsApp...
More References to Apple's Upcoming Low-Cost iPhone Appear Online
Further references to Apple's upcoming low-cost iPhone have appeared online, one on a Chinese e-commerce website and another on Verizon's smartphone trade-in page.
Spotted by tech blog MySmartPrice, Chinese retailer JD.com has published a placeholder for Apple's so-called "iPhone 9" that includes a teaser image of a veiled smartphone, but other than that it lacks any particularly revealing...
Leaker Claims New 13-inch MacBook Pro Coming as Soon as Next Month
Apple will announce a new 13-inch MacBook Pro in May with the codename J223, according to a rumor shared by YouTuber and leaker Jon Prosser. Note: it’s a refresh to the current 13” So the bigger 14” display upgrade is a big possibility— Jon Prosser (@jon_prosser) April 4, 2020 Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said Apple plans to release new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models with scissor keyboards ...
Apple Paid Hacker $75,000 for Uncovering Zero-Day Camera Exploits in Safari
Apple paid out $75,000 to a hacker for identifying multiple zero-day vulnerabilities in its software, some of which could be used to hijack the camera on a MacBook or an iPhone, according to Forbes.
A zero-day vulnerability refers to a security hole in software that is unknown to the software developer and the public, although it may already be known by attackers who are quietly exploiting...
Apple News Currently Down for Some Users [Updated]
Apple News appears to be running into problems this morning, with social media chatter indicating the service is down for many users.
Apple's System Status page isn't reporting issues with its News service, but launching the iOS app and tapping the Today tab is throwing up a "Feed Unavailable" message for many users. However, other sections of the app do appear to be functioning.
MacRumors...
2020 iPad Pro Includes Microphone Hardware Disconnect Security Feature
Apple has added an anti-eavesdropping feature to the 2020 iPad Pro that ensures the microphone hardware is disabled when a case is attached to the iPad and closed.
The security feature was first introduced in 2018 in MacBook models using Apple's T2 security chip, which includes a hardware microphone disconnect feature that disables the mics when the notebook's lid is closed. As spotted...
Fantastical 3.0.9 Adds Cursor Support for iPad and More
Flexibits today updated its popular Fantastical calendar app with some notable changes and improvements, including cursor support for iPads.
With the release of iPadOS 13.4, Apple introduced mouse and trackpad support for its tablets, and Fantastical has been updated to take full advantage, enabling users to navigate the interface and edit calendar entries using a cursor.
Version 3.0.9 of ...
How to Use iCloud Email Address Aliases
Apple enables iCloud account holders to use email aliases, which allow you to send and receive emails without disclosing your true email address.
Using an email alias to log in to websites and online services can help protect your genuine email address by hiding it from spammers and other sources of unsoliticted messages. In addition, email aliases make it easy to filter messages, because...
How to Customize the Apps in Your iOS Share Sheet
In iOS, the ubiquitous Share Sheet is a powerful feature that lets you share the content you're viewing in an app with people in your contacts or with other apps on your iPhone or iPad. The first row of icons in the Share Sheet shows suggestions for conversations that you might want to share something to, while the second row offers a quick way to export what you're viewing to other apps,...
Spotify Kids Launches in Canada, France, and the US
Spotify has launched its standalone app for children in Canada, France, and the United States. Called Spotify Kids, the family-friendly version of the music streaming service is exclusively for Premium Family subscribers and comes tailored for children aged three and up. The service was originally launched as a beta in Ireland last year and has since rolled out to Argentina, Australia,...
Zoom Accused of Misleading Users With 'End-to-End Encryption' Claims Amid Other Security Issues [Updated]
Zoom is facing fresh scrutiny today following a report that the videoconferencing app's encryption claims are misleading.
Zoom states on its website and in its security white paper that the app supports end-to-end encryption, a term that refers to a way of protecting user content so that the company has no access to it whatsoever.
However, an investigation by The Intercept reveals that...
U.S. Government Using Mobile Ad Location Data to Track Compliance With Curbs on Movement
The U.S. government is using smartphone location data from the mobile ad industry to track people's movements amid the coronavirus outbreak, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Local governments and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have received the anonymized data about people in areas of "geographic interest," with the aim being to create a portal of geolocation...
UK Telecoms Providers Remove All Data Caps on Home Broadband Services
Britain's big telecoms providers have agreed to lift the data caps on all fixed-line broadband services to help people isolated at home following the coronavirus epidemic, reports Reuters.
The companies, which include BT, Virgin Media, Sky, O2, Vodafone, Three, and TalkTalk, committed to support and protect vulnerable customers during the pandemic following talks with the government and...
Bloomberg: Apple's 5G iPhone Still on Schedule for Fall Launch, But Future Products Could Be Delayed
Apple's 5G iPhone is still on track to launch within the company's typical annual fall release schedule, according to a new Bloomberg report on filed on Monday.
Signs are that Apple's Chinese-centric manufacturing -- of which Hon Hai is the linchpin -- is slowly getting back on track. The next iPhones with 5G wireless capabilities remain on schedule to launch in the fall, partly because mass...
