Tim Hardwick
Tim is a Senior Editor at MacRumors and has been writing for the site since 2016. Formerly a magazine journalist, his work has appeared in over 30 newsstand print publications and online brands covering a range of topics, from the latest trends in technology to the mysteries of ancient history.
Based in the UK, Tim's current role at MacRumors involves editorial oversight and how tos, in addition to covering daily news and contributing occasional reviews. Tim can be reached at tim@macrumors.com, Telegram (@waxeditorial) or Twitter.
Based in the UK, Tim's current role at MacRumors involves editorial oversight and how tos, in addition to covering daily news and contributing occasional reviews. Tim can be reached at tim@macrumors.com, Telegram (@waxeditorial) or Twitter.
Tim Hardwick's Articles
Facebook Blocks All News Sharing on Its Platforms in Australia
Facebook has followed through on its threat to ban users from sharing news on its platform in Australia, in response to proposed media laws in the country that the company claims "fundamentally misunderstand" its relationship with publishers who share news content.
The move is a retaliation to Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) proposed Media Bargaining law, which seeks...
Read Full Article • 170 comments
Google Maps iOS App Will Soon Let You Pay for Parking and Transit Rides
Google has just rolled out a new pay for parking feature in the U.S. that lets Android users pay for street parking and mass transit fares right from within Google Maps, without having to come in contact with a parking meter or ticket machine.
These days, people are upping their hand sanitizing game and avoiding touching public surfaces as much as possible. Thanks to an integration with...
Disney+ Plans International Rollout of Adult-Friendly 'Star' Channel to Subscribers Starting Next Week
Disney+ is set to expand its streaming service offering next week with a rollout of its more adult-aimed Star brand to existing subscribers in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
According to CNET, the Star brand will include content from Disney Television Studios, FX, 20th Century Studios, and 20th Television that's more adult-friendly, as opposed to the all-ages content that's...
Apple Music Subscribers Can Share Lyrics and Song Clips in iOS 14.5 Beta 2
Apple on Tuesday released the second betas of iOS and iPadOS 14.5 to developers, and while there were some new additions worth highlighting, most of the more notable features were thought to be already available in the first set of betas.
However, developer Federico Viticci today discovered another neat new feature not seen in previous versions of iOS 14.5: Apple Music subscribers can now...
Apple Extends Lead Over Samsung As Biggest Buyer of Semiconductor Chips in 2020
Apple was easily the largest buyer of semiconductor chips in 2020, according to the latest data collected by Gartner. Apple spent $53.6 billion and took 11.9% of the global market share, representing 24% growth year-on-year, while Samsung was the second biggest buyer, spending $36.4 billion and taking 8.1% of the market, representing 20.4% growth year-on-year.
Together, the two companies...
Epic Games Takes Legal Battle With Apple to Europe With Antitrust Complaint
Epic Games has filed an antitrust complaint against Apple in the European Union, broadening its legal battle against the tech giant by attempting to appeal to the EU's differing interpretation of antitrust issues compared to those in the United States (via The Wall Street Journal).
Last September, Epic Games added a Fortnite update that allowed customers to purchase in-game currency directl...
Doppler Music Player to Gain Siri Support, Spotlight Integration, and CarPlay App [Update: Out Now]
Doppler is getting a significant update next week, bringing some notable track and album features to the increasingly popular third-party music playing app for iPhone.
For those unfamiliar, the Doppler app offers users an alternative way to experience their music library, sporting an adaptive minimalist interface with an emphasis on album artwork/metadata editing on iPhone and support for...
TikTok Faces Consumer Law and Child Safety Complaints Across EU
TikTok on Tuesday was targeted by EU consumer protection groups for allegedly violating the bloc's consumer laws and for failing to protect children from hidden advertising and inappropriate content (via Reuters).
The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) lodged a complaint against the short video-sharing app with the European Commission, citing several issues in its complaint, one of which...
Vivid Money Neobank Now Supports Apple Pay in France
Vivid Money now supports Apple Pay in France, the neobank has announced.
As spotted by iGeneration, the Russian-German mobile bank announced the development on its Twitter account, and users have already confirmed that they're able to add their Vivid Visa card to Apple's Wallet app this morning.
Launched in France last November, the neobank offers 25% cashback on daily expenses as well as ...
iPhone 13 Mini Still Expected Despite Lackluster iPhone 12 Mini Sales
Apple is expected to retain its smallest 5.4-inch iPhone model size in its forthcoming iPhone 13 lineup, despite a barrage of recent reports suggesting lackluster iPhone 12 mini sales.
2021 began with a report suggesting Apple's iPhone 12 mini, which is the smallest iPhone that has been released since the 2016 iPhone SE, was not selling as well as Apple hoped, making up just 6% of iPhone 12...
Employment Questionnaire Filled in By Steve Jobs Going Up for Auction
An online auction to sell off a rare employment questionnaire filled out by former Apple CEO Steve Jobs opens later this month.
Jobs filled out the application in 1973, just after dropping out of Reed College, where he attended school for approximately six months and then audited classes for another year and a half.
On the document, Jobs lists "english lit" as his major, and Reed College...
CBS All Access Ad Awareness Campaign Reminds Apple TV Owners About Its Rebrand to Paramount+ Next Month
CBS has begun reminding subscribers to its CBS All Access streaming service on Apple TV that its rebranding to Paramount+ will launch on March 4.
CBS All Access, which is available as an individual Apple TV Channels subscription, appears to have rolled out its ad awareness campaign on the streaming service in the last day or two.
CBS All Access is becoming Paramount+ on March 4, but as a...
Sensor Tower: iOS Users Spent $10.3 billion on Top 100 Subscription Apps in 2020, Up 32% Year-on-Year
Consumer spending on the top 100 non-game subscription-based apps across mobile platforms grew 34% year-on-year from $9.7 billion in 2019 to $13 billion in 2020, according to a new report by analytics firm Sensor Tower.
According to the data, revenue from subscription apps purchased on the App Store and the Google Play Store represented around 11.7% of the $111 billion that consumers spent...
Report: Over 100 Million People Globally Now Wear an Apple Watch
More than 100 million people globally now own an Apple Watch, an adoption milestone Apple surpassed this December, according to estimated figures compiled by Avalon's Neil Cybart.
Apple launched its smartwatch in April 2015. Since that time, Cybart's analysis suggests the growth trajectory of the device's user base has been neither constant nor steady, with the 30 million new people that...
How to Use WhatsApp on Your Mac
Despite strong competition from the likes of Telegram and Signal, WhatsApp remains the most popular messaging platform by a mile. At the last count in 2020, the Facebook-owned service had more than 2 billion WhatsApp users around the globe and rising.
If you consider that it had 1.5 billion users in 2018 and 1 billion in 2016, then the number of active WhatsApp accounts has been increasing...
Apple Music Offering Six-Month Free Trial to Students Until End of April
Apple has announced that students who have yet to subscribe to Apple Music can now get a six-month free trial – double the standard three months offered to students – in the United States and select other countries.
Apple says the promotion is open to students in the United States studying for a bachelor degree, post-graduate degree, or an equivalent Higher Education course at a...
Waze App for iOS Gains Audible Streaming Integration
Google-owned mapping app Waze has been updated with support for Audible audiobook streaming, according to a press release on the Audible website.
The integration with Waze means drivers with an Audible membership can access its catalog of more than 600,000 Audible Originals, audiobooks, podcasts, and other audio programs.
"We are very excited to kick off 2021 by welcoming Audible into the...
Google Is Testing Dark Mode for Desktop Search Again
Google is testing a dark mode for its desktop search website that responds to a user's system display setting, a move that may have gained traction to alleviate eye strain issues for people working longer hours from home.
Images via The Verge
The test appears to have limited rollout at the moment, but as the images show, the very dark gray theme extends not only to the Google homepage but...
Man Undergoes Surgery After Swallowing AirPod in His Sleep
A man from Massachusetts has warned AirPods users not to wear them while sleeping, after he swallowed one overnight and woke up struggling to breathe.
Brad Gauthier, 38, from Worcester, had to go to hospital after the incident, which left him gagging as he tried to drink a glass of water the next morning.
The blockage caused his throat to fill up with water as he tried to drink, and made...
YouTube Website's Picture-in-Picture Works Again in iOS 14.5 Beta
YouTube's website appears to support picture-in-picture (PiP) again in the latest iOS 14.5 beta for iPhone, although how long it will continue to work for is anybody's guess.
Tests show it works in Safari as well as third-party browsers like Chrome and Firefox by expanding a video to play fullscreen, and then tapping the small picture-in-picture icon in the top-left of the interface.
Then ...
