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
HomePod Now Sold Out on Apple's US Online Store
Apple's warehouse stock of the original discontinued HomePod appears to have been exhausted in the United States. As of Monday morning, the delivery option for the full-sized HomePod on Apple's online store is listed as "sold out" in both black and white.
Up until recently, the black model was sold out in the U.S. but the white color was available for delivery "while stocks last." That's...
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iOS 15: Check Out Safari's New Tab Bar, Tab Groups, and Tab Switcher
In iOS 15, Safari has been completely redesigned with easier-to-reach controls in mind. Foremost is a new, compact tab bar that floats at the bottom of the screen when you're not inputting a URL address. Safari on iOS has also inherited the Start Page from macOS Big Sur, and you can now create tab groups to allow you to easily access them across devices. Let's take a closer look at how it all...
Apple Registers iPhone 13 Models in Eurasia Ahead of September Launch
Nashville Chatter Class has discovered a new Russian-language regulatory filing in the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) database pointing towards several unreleased iPhone 13 models that Apple will be launching in the fall.
Versions of iPhone running iOS 14 are listed with the model numbers A2628, A2630, A2634, A2635, A2640, A2643, and A2645. None of the numbers correspond to Apple's...
iOS 15's Live Text Feature Lets You Digitize Written Notes, Call a Number on a Sign, Translate a Menu, and Much More
In iOS 15, Apple is introducing a new feature called Live Text that can recognize text when it appears in your camera's viewfinder or in a photo you've taken and let you perform several actions with it.
For example, Live Text allows you to capture a phone number from a storefront with the option to place a call, or look up a location name in Maps to get directions. It also incorporates...
Facebook Messenger Gains Quick Reply Bar, Payment Links, and New Themes
Facebook has announced new features for its Messenger app, including a quick reply bar, QR codes, and new chat themes.
The new quick reply bar can be found in the Messenger media viewer, and aims to make it easier to chat about media posted by friends without needing to go back to the main chat thread.
Users can tap on a photo or video and send a response via the quick reply bar, which...
President Biden Signs Executive Order Revoking Trump-Era Ban on TikTok and WeChat
U.S. President Joe Biden has withdrawn a series of executive orders from his predecessor Donald Trump banning Chinese apps TikTok and WeChat in the United States.
Trump signed several executive orders banning apps tied to China during his time in office. In the most high profile order, Trump sought a ban of the short-form video app TikTok, which is owned by Chinese firm Bytedance, in 2020.
...
Unreleased iPod Touch 5 With Chamfered Edges and 30-Pin Dock Connector Shared Online
Occasional leaker Mr White has today shared interesting images on Twitter of what appears to be an old-school fifth-generation iPod touch prototype with chamfered edges and a brushed aluminum finish.
The original iPod touch 5 that Apple released in October 2012 had a unibody anodized aluminum chassis with rounded edges, and was available in several colors, including slate.
Another...
'Spatialize Stereo' Feature in iOS 15 and macOS Monterey Simulates Spatial Audio for Non-Dolby Content
In iOS 15 and macOS Monterey betas, Apple has quietly included a new audio feature called "Spatialize Stereo" that takes any non-Dolby stereo mix and creates a virtual spatial audio environment out of it.
The addition was first discovered by a Reddit user, who had this to say about it:
I assumed that if they ever did this it would warrant at the very least a mention in a Keynote, but unless ...
iOS 15 Tidbits: Text Cursor Magnifier, New Dial Picker, Custom Text Size Per App, and More
Apple this week released the first iOS 15 beta to developers, and away from the brouhaha surrounding its many tentpole features, many notable tweaks and improvements are continuing to be uncovered. Here, we've pulled out a few that we think are worth highlighting.
Bear in mind that Apple hasn't mentioned all of these changes in its iOS 15 marketing, and there's no guarantee that they'll...
HBO Max App Update for Apple TV Brings Back Native Video Player
HBO Max has updated its Apple TV app to fix problems with its video playback interface that came to the fore last week following its introduction of a custom video player.
The new update reinstates the native tvOS video player UI, which means users should no longer face the issues with fast-forwarding and rewinding video that the custom player was seemingly responsible for.
"We just...
Apple's Orders for Key iPhone 13 Camera Component Expected to Outstrip Entire Android Market
Major camera upgrades coming to the iPhone 13 series are putting increased pressure on suppliers to meet Apple's demand for key lens components, according to a new DigiTimes report.
Apple has reportedly put Taiwan-based makers of voice coil motor (VCM) components on notice to increase their capacity by 30-40% in order to meet the company's demand, which is expected to outstrip the entire...
Apple Music: How to Enable Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio
Apple has rolled out a new spatial audio feature for Apple Music subscribers that uses Dolby Atmos to create a richer, more immersive soundstage when listening to songs in the Apple Music catalog.
With Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos enabled, the subjective experience is that musical notes are coming from all around you. The steps below show you how to control the new audio feature on any iOS ...
Apple in 'Early-Stage' Talks With Chinese EV Battery Makers for Apple Car
Apple is in "early-stage talks" with two Chinese companies about the supply of batteries for a future Apple Car, according to a new Reuters report.
Apple is in early-stage talks with China's CATL and BYD about the supply of batteries for its planned electric vehicle, four people with knowledge of the matter said.
The discussions are subject to change and it is not clear if agreements with...
Fastly CDN Server Issue Brings Down Swathes of Websites [Update: Solved]
Vast swathes of the web are currently offline, including Reddit, Spotify, Twitch, gov.uk, Hulu, HBO Max, Quora, PayPal, Vimeo, Shopify, CNN, The Guardian, The New York Times, BBC News, Bloomberg, and Financial Times sites.
The outage is down to a glitch in content delivery network provider Fastly's servers. Fastly has confirmed it's investigating an outage on its status website. Having...
iCloud+ to Let iCloud Mail Users Personalize Their Email Domain Name
At its WWDC keynote on Monday, Apple announced that iCloud is getting a premium subscription tier called "iCloud+," which includes tentpole privacy features like Private Relay and Hide My Email. Another feature included in iCloud+ that wasn't discussed in the keynote is the ability to create a custom email domain name.
From Apple's iOS 15 features preview page, under the iCloud+ section:
Cus...
iOS 15: Redesigned Apple TV Siri Remote in Control Center
Apple alongside the second-generation Apple TV 4K debuted a redesigned version of the Siri Remote, which is now available to customers with new Apple TV orders and as a $60 standalone replacement for the original Siri Remote. In lockstep with the hardware change, iOS 15 also includes a redesigned Apple TV Siri Remote interface in the Control Center.
In iOS 14, the current Remote...
Apple Music Spatial Audio to Get Dynamic Head Tracking in the Fall
Apple is currently rolling out spatial audio and lossless audio for Apple Music, offering subscribers a more immersive and higher-quality audio experience. Later this year, however, Apple will also bring dynamic head tracking to songs in the Apple Music catalog.
From the FAQ section of a newly updated Apple support document:
Is spatial audio with dynamic head tracking available for music?
...
Safari Browser to Get UI Overhaul and New Features Including Tab Groups
For its new mobile and desktop OSes, Apple is redesigning the Safari browser user interface to be more compact and allow for better organization of multiple open tabs, specifically with a new feature called Tab Groups.
Tab Groups aim to offer a new way to easily save and manage related tabs, such as those used when planning trips or shopping, or groups can be used to store the tabs you visit ...
Apple Bringing New Portrait Mode Photo Watch Face to watchOS 8
In watchOS 8, Apple has redesigned the Photos watch face on Apple Watch, adding a special layout that generates a more depth-like, layered look when viewing Portrait Mode pictures.
When viewing photos shot in Portrait Mode on iPhone, the new Photos watch face can generate an animated three-dimensional effect, activated by turning the Digital Crown on Apple...
Apple Unveils New Health App Features Like Walking Steadiness, Trends, Lab Results, Health Sharing, and More
Apple is bringing new features to the Health app that aim to make it easier to identify, measure, and understanding health changes over time.
Mobility tracking will soon capture a new Walking Steadiness metric to assess your fall risk, by measuring speed and evenness of gait. Apple will leverage the data to generate a classification of your steadiness and how it changes over time.
Apple...
