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
Apple Reportedly Reduced Face ID Accuracy to Speed Up iPhone X Production
Several reports in recent months have covered Apple's struggle to ensure significant components for the upcoming iPhone X can be produced in large enough quantities to meet demand, with the main culprit being the 3D sensing modules that power the phone's TrueDepth camera and Face ID technology. In a surprise development, a new Bloomberg report today claims that Apple overcame its production...
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Fitbit Pay Launches in U.K. for Starling Bank Customers
Fitbit Pay officially launched in the U.K. on Tuesday, but with only one bank currently supporting the mobile payment platform, access to it remains severely restricted for users of the company's latest wearables.
The Fitbit Pay payment system was introduced as an exclusive feature of the Fitbit Ionic, the activity tracker firm's first attempt at a smartwatch, released on October 1. The...
Google Follows Apple's Lead By Reducing Play Store Fee for App Subscriptions
Google revealed on Thursday that it would follow Apple's lead in lowering the amount of money app developers must pay for mobile subscriptions processed through the company's Play Store (via The Verge).
Adoption of the subscription model by iOS developers has increased over recent months, causing some controversy within the app-using community. Apple incentivized developers to sell their apps ...
U.S. Senators Ask Apple Why VPN Apps Were Removed From China App Store
Two U.S. senators have written to Apple CEO Tim Cook asking why the company removed third-party VPN apps from its App Store in China (via CNBC). Reports that Apple had pulled the VPN apps first arrived in July, following regulations passed earlier in the year that require such apps to be authorized by the Chinese government.
In the open letter dated October 17, Senators Patrick Leahy and Ted ...
'Ulysses' iOS Writing App Gains Drag and Drop, Image Previews, and More
Popular text editor Ulysses received a substantial update on Thursday, adopting features and UI design concepts that bring the universal app into greater alignment with iOS 11.
Foremost in the changes is support for Drag and Drop in iOS 11, enabling users to rearrange sheets by picking them up and moving them around. It's also now possible to drag images and text passages from other apps to...
YouTube Singer Follows Up 'iPhone Antenna Song' With Sticky MacBook Keyboard Tune
Popular YouTube singer-songwriter Jonathan Mann has uploaded a humorous Apple-related tune that is currently doing the rounds on social media and tech blogs.
Mann originally rose to prominence among Apple watchers for catching the eye of Steve Jobs, who opened his iPhone 4 press conference by playing to the audience Mann's 2010 "iPhone Antenna Song", which criticized parts of the media for its ...
Apple Pay in Spain Now Supported by CaixaBank and ImaginBank
Apple Pay support in Spain has been extended to CaixaBank and ImaginBank, according to reports out of the country this morning.
Spanish tech blog AppleSfera first reported that cards issued by the banks were working with Apple's mobile payment system as of Tuesday, and CaixaBank has now officially confirmed the support.
Apple Pay integration with Caixabank had been promised "before the...
iTunes U App Update Completes Migration of Course Collections to Apple Podcasts
Apple pushed an update to users of its iTunes U iOS app on Tuesday, bringing the education-focused service up to speed with recent changes introduced in iTunes 12.7 last month.
Apple launched iTunes U in 2007 as a free repository of educational content through the iTunes Store, allowing educators to create course collections comprising audio, media, handouts, ebooks, and other bundled content. ...
macOS High Sierra Users Report Significant Delays Receiving iMessages and SMS Texts
A bug in macOS High Sierra is causing users to receive iMessages and SMS texts on Macs and other iCloud-connected devices long after they were originally sent, according to reports that have been gradually building up over the last week or so.
First spotted by AppleInsider, a growing number of complaints on Apple's support forums detail the issue, which is affecting Mac owners with iPads,...
Microsoft Claims Upcoming ARM-Powered Laptops Offer Multi-Day Battery Life
Microsoft and Qualcomm have revealed they hope to release ARM-powered laptops by the end of the year, with the two companies promising multi-day battery life from the new machines (via Trusted Reviews).
At its annual 5G summit in Hong Kong, Qualcomm revealed new details about the PCs it is developing in partnership with Microsoft. Known as "Always Connected PCs", the laptops are powered by...
Apple CarPlay Support Comes to BBC iPlayer Radio App
The BBC today updated its Radio iPlayer app to support Apple CarPlay, allowing vehicle drivers with the feature to listen to BBC radio more safely when behind the wheel.
A simplified touch interface has been adopted for the new in-car version, designed to be easy to fast-forward in a show or skip through entire episodes.
Apart from CarPlay and Android Auto support, the update also brings...
Walking Route Calorie Estimator Removed From Google Maps After User Criticism
Google is removing an experimental calorie estimator from its Maps iOS app, following criticism from users that the feature amounted to unsolicited health advice and could do more harm than good (via TechCrunch).
The feature began rolling out to some users last week and shows an estimate of the calories that would be burned if a selected walking route was taken.
The calorie estimator not ...
iPhone X Parts Suppliers Reportedly on Schedule to Meet 2017 Production Demand
Yield rates for some iPhone X components have improved and become more stable, allowing for shipments of the upcoming smartphone to grow substantially after October, according to sources from Apple's supply chain.
Yesterday it was reported that Apple manufacturer Foxconn has started shipping its first iPhone X units from its main plant in Zhengzhou, China. The same sources are now reporting...
Face Detection in Google Photos App Now Recognizes Cats and Dogs by Name
Google updated its Photos app on Monday with a new facial recognition feature that lets users organize pictures of their family pets more easily.
Since it was launched, Google Photos has employed facial recognition to identify humans and help users sort their snaps by friend or family member, similar to how Faces works in Apple Photos.
The latest version of Google's own photos app builds...
Foxconn Ships First Batch of iPhone X Units
Apple manufacturer Foxconn has started shipping the first iPhone X units to countries in Europe and the Middle East, according to a Chinese report on Monday.
China-based Xinhuanet said the first batch of 46,500 units have already been shipped out from Zhengzhou and Shanghai to the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates, respectively. However, the initial shipments of iPhone X units were...
Activists Urge Apple to Remove App Store Games That Play Up Philippine Drugs War
A group of civil society organizations has demanded that Apple remove games from its App Store that promote violence and killings commonplace in the Philippines' war on drugs (via Reuters).
The games in question, which the group said violated Apple's own guidelines, include characters based on Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte and his national police chief, Ronaldo "Bato" dela Rosa, who...
Motion Stills 2.0 Adds In-App Live Photo Capture, Collage GIF Export, and More
Google released version 2.0 of Motion Stills this week, bringing some notable improvements for frequent users of the app. For those unfamiliar with it, Motion Stills is designed to create unique GIFs from Live Photo images captured with iPhones that support the Apple camera feature. Users can add motion-tracked text overlays and emoji to their custom-framed creations and share them as a looping...
Samsung CEO Resigns as Tech Giant Forecasts Record Profits
In a surprise move, Samsung announced on Friday that its CEO and vice chairman Kwon Oh-hyun is to step down. Kwon was expected to take a bigger role at the company after de facto leader J Y Lee was arrested and jailed for bribery, but his surprise resignation has deepened concerns of a power vacuum.
"It is something I had been thinking long and hard about for quite some time. It has not been...
Review: Logitech's $99 MX Sound 2.0 Speakers Offer Great Audio for the Money
Logitech's MX Sound 2.0 Bluetooth speakers are the audio offering in its latest desktop accessory range, which includes the MX ERGO mouse and CRAFT keyboard. Like most stereo speakers around the $99 price point, they're positioned as a decent upgrade over typically lifeless-sounding integrated monitor and laptop speakers.
The company says it focused on design quality and audio performance...
Apple Wins Approval for $1 Billion Data Center in Ireland
Apple has won approval to build a $1 billion data center in the west of Ireland, successfully fending off an environmental legal challenge brought by local residents (via Reuters).
Ireland's High Court on Thursday ruled that the proposed data center in Galway county, planned by Apple since February 2015, could proceed despite locals' various environmental concerns for the area if Apple...
