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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Apple Reaches Deal With France to Pay Estimated $571M in Back-Taxes

Tuesday February 5, 2019 1:27 am PST by
Apple has reached a deal with French authorities to pay an undeclared amount of back-dated tax, according to multiple reports today. Apple's French division confirmed the tax payment agreement to Reuters, but didn't disclose how much it had agreed to pay, although French media suggest the sum is around 500 million euros ($571 million). "As a multinational company, Apple is regularly...
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Apple Supplier of iPhone 3D Optical Sensors Warns of Weak First Quarter Outlook, Skips Dividend

Tuesday February 5, 2019 12:57 am PST by
The Austrian firm that supplies Apple with optical sensors for 3D facial recognition features in iPhones expects revenue to fall in the first quarter of 2019 (via Reuters). Sensor specialist AMS said its adjusted operating profit fell more than half in the fourth quarter of 2018 and it would not pay out a dividend because of slow demand from a "major customer" and restructuring costs. AMS ...
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Anker Opens Pre-Orders for First MFi Lightning to USB-C cable, Shipping February 20

Monday February 4, 2019 3:02 am PST by
Mobile accessory maker Anker has opened pre-orders for the first Apple-certified USB-C to Lightning cable under the Made for iPhone (MFi) program, and will start shipping the cables later this month. Apple late last year began allowing third-party companies to produce MFi certified USB-C to Lightning cables, and as a result, multiple companies have announced the upcoming launch of new USB-C...
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Apple Exploring New Glass Panel MacBook Keyboards That Could End Sticky Key Problems

Monday February 4, 2019 2:19 am PST by
Apple is exploring a new keyboard design that could eventually replace its butterfly switch MacBook keyboards and finally solve the problem of "sticky" or inconsistently functioning keys. Issues that Apple has acknowledged can occur with some current MacBook keyboards are widely believed to be caused by dust or other particulates getting lodged in the butterfly mechanism underneath the...
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WhatsApp for iPhone Now Lets You Lock App With Face ID or Touch ID

Monday February 4, 2019 12:59 am PST by
WhatsApp has enabled a new Face ID authentication option for iPhones that support the feature, in the latest update to the messenger app (via WABetaInfo). The Facebook-owned platform has been testing the feature for iPhone X and newer devices in its TestFlight beta releases for some weeks now, but version 2.19.20 of WhatsApp, now on the App Store, makes ‌Face ID‌ available for all users with...
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'Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition' Now Available on Mac

Thursday January 31, 2019 9:50 am PST by
Highly anticipated role-playing title Divinity: Original Sin 2 - Definitive Edition got its official release on Mac today, exactly three months since Apple teased the game at its October 2018 Keynote event. Developed in partnership with Mac porting studio Elverils and Apple's Metal engineering team, the acclaimed RPG from Larian Studios includes all the content from the PC version, along...
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'Rome: Total War' iOS Update Brings New Playable Factions and Game Features

Thursday January 31, 2019 2:31 am PST by
Feral has pushed out an update to ROME: Total War that brings some welcome enhancements to the acclaimed strategy game on iOS. First up, v1.10 adds eight more playable factions to the war theater, significantly increasing the strategy options available in the game. Using the new Unlock All Factions option in the settings screen, players are now free to choose from up to 19 factions,...
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Nintendo Delays Launch of 'Mario Kart Tour' Mobile Game Until Summer

Thursday January 31, 2019 1:32 am PST by
Nintendo has announced that its upcoming Mario Kart Tour game for iOS devices won't be ready until the summer (via The Verge). The news came in Nintendo's quarterly earnings report released today, exactly a year since the company first revealed it was bringing the game to smartphones. Little is known about Mario Kart Tour, but the game was originally scheduled for launch before the...
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Samsung Begins Mass Production of 1TB Flash Storage Chip Suitable for iPhones

Wednesday January 30, 2019 4:00 am PST by
Samsung has started developing what ">it says is the first one terabyte embedded Universal Flash Storage (eUFS) storage chip, powered by the company's fifth-generation V-NAND. Most Android phones include a microSD slot that lets owners upgrade the internal capacity of their device, but the new 1TB chip will offer storage capacity levels comparable to notebooks without the need for additional...
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Facebook to Shut Down Controversial iOS Market Research App as Apple Revokes Certificate [Updated]

Wednesday January 30, 2019 2:47 am PST by
Facebook has said it will end a controversial market research program in which the company paid users to install a mobile app that tracked their activity and data. In a statement given to TechCrunch and other websites, the company said that its "Facebook Research" app, which paid volunteers between the ages of 13 and 35 up to $20 a month to access nearly all their data, would no longer be...
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Website Demos Safari Browser's Upcoming Support for Dark Mode CSS in macOS Mojave 10.14.4

Monday January 28, 2019 1:58 am PST by
In the next official update to macOS Mojave, Apple's Safari browser will enable automatic Dark Mode for websites that support it. Since the release of Safari Technology Preview 68 in October, Apple has been building support for the use of ‌Dark Mode‌ CSS, which can be enabled via its Develop -> Experimental Features menu. The experimental feature has now also made its way into the latest macOS ...
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Los Angeles Metro Transit System Plans to Support Apple Pay This Fall

Friday January 25, 2019 3:32 am PST by
The Los Angeles rail and bus transit system should allow iPhone-owning members of the public to use Apple Pay for fare payments before the year is out. MacRumors can confirm that LA Metro, the transit agency that manages integration of the TAP card system in the Los Angeles Area, said it is working with Apple to support mobile payments for iPhones, with rollout scheduled for this fall. The...
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TiVo Streaming Apple TV App Will Be Limited to 720p at 30 FPS

Thursday January 24, 2019 2:20 am PST by
TiVo's upcoming Apple TV app will limit streaming to 720p at 30 frames per second and won't support native MPEG-2 broadcasts or 5.1 surround sound, it has been revealed. TiVo's app is coming to Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and ‌Apple TV‌ later this year During CES, TiVo announced it would release an app for ‌Apple TV‌ in the third quarter of this year that would allow TiVo users to stream live and...
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Twitter Testing 'Original Tweeter' Tag to Identify Who Started a Thread

Thursday January 24, 2019 1:21 am PST by
Twitter is testing a new feature it hopes will make it easier for users to work out who started a thread. The new tag, which has begun appearing for some users of the platform, identifies the "original tweeter" in a thread. Twitter hopes the feature will make it easier to distinguish accounts that pretend to be the person who started a thread, which may also help prevent certain types of...
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Next-Gen AirPods With 'Health Monitoring' Features Said to be Coming in First Half of 2019

Wednesday January 23, 2019 2:58 am PST by
DigiTimes reports today that Apple will release next-generation AirPods that include "health monitoring features" in the first half of 2019. In terms of wireless headsets, Apple is set to release AirPods 2 sometime in the first half of 2019, and the new wireless earbuds with discrete designs to carry health monitoring functions are expected to receive enthusiastic market responses.The...
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Microsoft Adds NewsGuard to Edge Browser for iOS to Warn Users of Untrustworthy Sites

Wednesday January 23, 2019 2:35 am PST by
Going forward, regular users of Microsoft's Edge mobile browser for iOS can opt to receive warnings when they visit untrustworthy news sites. The company's browser is integrating NewsGuard, a green-red rating system founded by journalists Steven Brill and Gordon Crovitz that evaluates websites using a set of criteria, including the use of deceptive headlines, fake news history, and financial ...
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Amazon Pulls Echo Wall Clock Over Connectivity Issues

Wednesday January 23, 2019 1:44 am PST by
Amazon has pulled its Echo Wall Clock over concerns about connectivity issues, just a little over a month since it began shipping the product. The Wall Clock's lack of availability on the Amazon website was first spotted by The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern before being confirmed by Amazon in a statement given to The Verge. "We're aware that a small number of customers have had issues...
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Instagram Denies Limiting the Reach of User Posts

Wednesday January 23, 2019 12:59 am PST by
Instagram has moved to address rumors that it actively suppresses the reach of user posts on the social network. In a statement posted on its official Twitter account, Instagram said that it has not made any recent changes to the way its feed algorithms work and that "we never hide posts from people you're following - if you keep scrolling, you will see them all." Instagram explained that...
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Xiaomi Reveals Dual-Folding Flexible Phone in Teaser Video

Wednesday January 23, 2019 12:10 am PST by
Amidst increasing hype about foldable displays, Xiaomi has revealed that it is also working on its own flexible phone. The Chinese mobile maker broke the news with a teaser video posted on Weibo that shows Xiaomi president and co-founder Lin Bin using what at first looks like a normal tablet device, until he folds back both sides of the display so that it resembles a distinctly phone-like...
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iPhone Assembler Foxconn Looks to India to Diversify Supply Chain Away From China

Tuesday January 22, 2019 3:05 am PST by
A larger portion of the world's iPhones could one day be manufactured in India, if a new report by the Wall Street Journal proves accurate. According to Tuesday's report, Apple's main iPhone assembler Foxconn is considering building production plants in India as a way to diversify its supply chain away from China, where most of the Taiwan-based firm's facilities currently reside. Executives ...