Articles on MacRumors by Tim Hardwick
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Tim Hardwick

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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.

Tim Hardwick's Articles

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How to Group Video Chat With Up to Eight People in WhatsApp

Tuesday April 28, 2020 2:56 am PDT by
WhatsApp has upgraded its end-to-end encrypted video call feature, which now allows groups of up to eight participants to chat together, up from the previous limit of four. WhatsApp has been gradually developing its group video call capabilities through beta builds, as rival video call services like Zoom, FaceTime and Skype have exploded in popularity amid the ongoing stay-at-home measures....
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Westpac Becomes Last of Australia's Four Big Banks to Support Apple Pay

Tuesday April 28, 2020 1:54 am PDT by
Westpac has become the last of Australia's big four banks to announce Apple Pay support for its customers. The country's oldest bank revealed on Tuesday that it had enabled the new service, following similar moves by ANZ, the Commonwealth Bank, and National Australia Bank. "We are pleased to announce that Westpac customers can now use ‌Apple Pay‌ to make fast and secure payments. This comes at...
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DigiTimes: Global Smartphone Market Facing 15% Decline in 2020

Monday April 27, 2020 3:54 am PDT by
The global smartphone market is unlikely to recover from the impact of the global health crisis in the second quarter of 2020, according to DigiTimes. Global smartphone shipments are expected to contract by 15% on year to 1.15 billion units in 2020, as major brands including Samsung Electronics, Huawei and Apple all have slashed their shipment targets for the year in the wake of coronavirus...
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Report Revives Rumors of 5G iPhone With Under-Display Ultrasonic Fingerprint Scanner

Monday April 27, 2020 3:21 am PDT by
Economic Daily News on Monday revived rumors that this year's 5G iPhone will feature under-display fingerprint scanner technology. According to a machine translation of EDN's Chinese-language report, touch panel maker GIS, OLED display maker BOE and Qualcomm are collaborating on the ultrasonic technology, which could feature in at least one of the high-end models in Apple's ‌5G iPhone‌...
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Germany Now Favors Apple-Google Contact Tracing API Over Home-Grown Solution

Monday April 27, 2020 1:55 am PDT by
Germany said on Sunday it will use Apple and Google's decentralized contact tracing API, reversing course on its original intention to use its own solution to track the spread of coronavirus. Last week, the German government said it would use its own home-grown technology for smartphone-based tracing of infections, based on a design that would hold personal data on a central server....
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How to Control an iPad With an External Keyboard Using Accessibility Shortcuts

Friday April 24, 2020 9:59 am PDT by
If you have difficulty using the touchscreen on an iPad, you can control one via a connected keyboard using Apple's range of accessibility shortcuts. To learn how to connect a Bluetooth keyboard to ‌iPad‌, click here, or keep reading to learn how to enable full keyboard access. Before you follow the steps below for remapping keys, make sure your keyboard is connected to your iPad.Launch the Set...
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How to Remap Modifier Keys on iPad When Using a Keyboard

Friday April 24, 2020 9:57 am PDT by
With the release of iPadOS 13.4, Apple expanded its support for keyboards by allowing users to remap certain modifier keys so that they serve different functions. This ability is especially useful if you're using a third-party Bluetooth keyboard, because its keyboard layout may be different from Apple's own Smart Keyboard. But even if you own an Apple external keyboard or the Magic Keyboard...
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How to Adjust Backlight Key Brightness on a Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro

Friday April 24, 2020 9:54 am PDT by
Apple's Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro offers one of the best typing experiences available for Apple's most powerful tablets. It even includes a built-in trackpad that takes advantage of cursor support in iPadOS 13.4 and later. The only real drawback of the Magic Keyboard is that the layout lacks a row of function keys. That means users have no dedicated key for adjusting some system settings,...
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iPhone SE Now Available as First Pre-Orders Delivered to Customers

Friday April 24, 2020 3:57 am PDT by
The ‌second-generation iPhone‌ SE was announced last week, and with pre-orders taking place on April 17, the first deliveries of the new device have started arriving for customers around the world. Apple has also begun taking orders in several of its online regional stores. Photo by MacRumors forum member Aneres11 The original iPhone SE was a budget 4-inch iPhone before being discontinued in...
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Apple Highlights Four Causes Users Can Donate to Instantly With Apple Pay

Friday April 24, 2020 3:06 am PDT by
Apple has begun promoting Apple Pay as a way for people to donate to several causes amid the ongoing global health crisis. Apple has highlighted four causes in particular that users can donate too with ‌Apple Pay‌. All the fundraising appeals are on behalf of GoFundMe.org. America's Food Fund, launched by Leonardo DiCaprio, Laurene Powell Jobs, and Apple, is working to ensure that all people...
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Apple Says Recently Discovered iOS Mail Vulnerabilities Pose No Immediate Threat, But a Patch Is in the Works

Friday April 24, 2020 2:22 am PDT by
Apple has responded to a recent report on vulnerabilities discovered in its iOS Mail app, claiming the issues do not pose an immediate risk to users. Earlier this week, San Francisco-based cybersecurity company ZecOps said it had uncovered two zero-day security vulnerabilities affecting Apple's stock Mail app for iPhones and iPads. One of the vulnerabilities was said to enable an...
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Apple CEO Tim Cook Says Contact Tracing API Available From April 28

Thursday April 23, 2020 3:59 am PDT by
Following a conference call with Apple CEO Tim Cook, EU industry leader Thierry Breton has said in a statement that Apple has a "responsibility" to make sure that contact tracing apps work on its iPhones, reports Reuters. Image via @ThierryBreton It is "the responsibility of companies such as Apple to do their utmost to develop suitable technical solutions to make the national apps work....
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How to Use Custom Virtual Backgrounds in Skype Video Calls

Thursday April 23, 2020 2:10 am PDT by
Skype has introduced support for custom backgrounds in video calls, following the recent popularity of an equivalent feature in Zoom. The option to use custom backgrounds is part of the version 8.59.0.77 update for Mac, Windows, Linux, and Web, which began rolling out on April 16. As Skype's release notes describe the feature: "Want to look like you're calling from the beach, or from space?...
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Facebook Launches Messenger Kids in Dozens More Countries, Makes it Easier for Parents to Connect Kids With Friends

Wednesday April 22, 2020 6:38 am PDT by
Facebook has announced the launch of Messenger Kids in over 70 more countries as well as several new features for parents to help their children connect with friends and family during the global health crisis. The new features include Supervised Friending, which gives parents the option to allow their kids to accept, reject, add or remove contacts. When a child takes a friending action,...
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Gurman: Redesigned iMac, Smaller HomePod, New Apple TV, and More Coming This Year

Wednesday April 22, 2020 5:43 am PDT by
Well-connected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman recently took questions from followers on Periscope about Apple's product roadmap. Gurman's sources are usually very reliable, and the journalist is known for breaking Apple stories, so we took it as an opportunity to summarize his current expectations of the company in the near term. Unsurprisingly, many viewers asked Gurman about the so-called...
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Screenshots Reveal Facebook iOS App Has Hidden Dark Mode

Wednesday April 22, 2020 1:53 am PDT by
Facebook appears to be working on a dark mode for its flagship iOS app. WABetaInfo managed to enable the hidden setting, which is still under development and not yet available to public or beta users. 9to5Mac followed suit, and their screenshots suggest Facebook is aiming for a theme that's closer to greyscale than the true blacks used in Apple's dark mode for iOS 13. Facebook offers a...
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How to Connect a Bluetooth Mouse or Trackpad to Your iPad

Tuesday April 21, 2020 6:04 am PDT by
With the release of iPadOS 13.4, Apple brought official Bluetooth mouse and trackpad support to its iPads. This article explains how to connect your chosen input device from your iPad. To learn more about how to use a connected mouse or trackpad with ‌iPad‌, click here. You can check that your device has been updated to iPadOS 13.4 by launching the Settings app and going to General -> Software ...
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How to Use a Bluetooth Mouse or Trackpad With Your iPad

Tuesday April 21, 2020 6:03 am PDT by
With the release of iPadOS 13.4, Apple brought official Bluetooth mouse and trackpad support to its iPads. This article explains how to use your chosen input device with your iPad. To learn how to connect a mouse or trackpad to ‌iPad‌, click here. Navigating and controlling your ‌iPad‌ with a Bluetooth mouse or trackpad is similar to using one on a desktop or notebook computer. However, there...
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Report: 12.9-Inch iPad Pro With 5G and Mini-LED Display Delayed Until 2021

Tuesday April 21, 2020 4:01 am PDT by
Apple's 12.9-inch iPad Pro with 5G and a Mini-LED display has been delayed until 2021 because of the impact the coronavirus outbreak has had on Apple's supply chain partners, according to a new Chinese-language report by United Daily News. Last week, analyst Jeff Pu told investors that the rumored high-end ‌iPad Pro‌ may be delayed until early next year due to the device's "complex panel...
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Twitter for Mac App Update Introduces Live Timeline Streaming

Tuesday April 21, 2020 3:37 am PDT by
Twitter has released an update to its Twitter for Mac app that lets users set timelines to automatically stream new tweets, effectively removing the need to manual refresh. After the v8.17 update has been installed, a new toggle in timeline settings lets users pin their "Latest Tweets" to the top of their timeline, enabling tweets to propagate into the feed in real-time. Timeline...