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 Invents Wearable Battery Charging Module for Apple Watch
Apple is weighing up the possibility of developing a wearable battery module to charge an Apple Watch while it's being worn, according to a patent published on Thursday (via AppleInsider).
Details of the invention were released by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, under the title "Charging apparatus for wearable electronic device". The module uses an inductive element to transmit power to...
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YouTube App Gets iPhone Lock Screen Controls for Chromecast Streaming
Chromecast users can now control YouTube streaming to their TV from the lock screen of their iPhone, thanks to the latest update to the YouTube app.
Like YouTube for Android devices, version 12.03 of the iOS app adds play, pause, previous, next, and volume controls to the iPhone's lock screen whenever YouTube is casting to Chromecast devices, smart TVs, game consoles, and other living room...
Apple Pay Coming to Taiwan 'Soon', Says Apple
The Apple Pay mobile payment system will be available in Taiwan soon, Apple announced on its regional website today.
A total of seven banks, including Cathay United Bank, CTBC Bank, E. Sun Commercial Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank, Taishin International Bank and Union Bank of Taiwan, will join Apple to launch the mobile payment service initially, Apple said....
Facebook Adds New 'Discover People' Section to Mobile App
Facebook is rolling out a new section to its mobile app called "Discover People", which is designed to encourage connections between people who aren't yet Facebook friends (via TechCrunch).
The new feature, which can be found at the bottom of the navigation section of the app, allows users to scroll through a list of upcoming events to see who else is going, as well as browse through lists of...
Apple Overtakes Samsung As World's Top Smartphone Vendor in Q4 2016
Apple overtook Samsung to become the world's largest smartphone vendor in the fourth quarter of 2016 as shipments reached 439 million units.
According to independent research firm Strategy Analytics, global smartphone shipments grew 3 percent annually to hit a record 1.5 billion units in 2016. Apple shipped 78.3 million handsets in the fourth quarter of the year – around 800,000 more units...
Nintendo Plans to Launch Two or Three Mobile Games A Year
Nintendo announced on Wednesday that it plans to launch two or three mobile games every year, a day after the Japanese company made a one-third cut to its full-year operating profit outlook (via Reuters).
Yesterday, Nintendo was able to report its first quarterly profit in a year as its mobile games division started to generate revenue, but it wasn't enough for disappointed investors who had...
Apple Patents Detail AR/VR System Suitable for Smartphones, Explore Object Recognition Challenges
Apple was granted a pair of patents on Tuesday that depict a mobile augmented reality system that can detect objects in the surrounding environment and overlay them with virtual information.
Picked up by AppleInsider, the first patent published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is titled "Wearable information system having at least one camera" and describes an AR device with intelligent...
Dropbox Launches Collaborative Office Suite 'Paper', Plus 'Smart Sync' for Business Users
Dropbox yesterday officially launched its collaborative editing software called Paper, following six months of public beta testing.
Similar to Google Docs, the service offers Dropbox account holders a minimalist document editor and conversational tools for collaborative projects. Paper lets users review and revise work in a single, shared space which includes an image gallery feature, advanced ...
Lyft App Gets Calendar Sync Feature to Select Event Locations As Ride Destinations
Lyft yesterday quietly announced a new calendar integration feature for its popular ride-hailing app, allowing users to sync their calendar to search and select upcoming event locations.
That's right: When requesting a ride, you no longer have to fumble through multiple apps to find the name or address of wherever it is you need to go. Just sync your calendar once and you're all set.To...
FC Bayern Munich Announces Apple Music Partnership, Exclusive Content Deal
German soccer club FC Bayern Munich announced a sponsorship deal with Apple Music on Monday, offering exclusive playlists and other content to fans of the team that currently tops the Bundesliga, which is regularly broadcast on TV in over 200 countries.
According to iPhone-Ticker.de, Apple Music is to be regarded as FC Bayern's official music service, with the first playlist already available...
Nintendo Delays iOS Version of 'Animal Crossing' Until Next Financial Year
Nintendo on Tuesday announced it is delaying the release of the currently untitled mobile version of Animal Crossing, which was previously slated for release before the end of March (via The Verge).
Nintendo said the much-anticipated mobile game won't appear until the following financial year, which runs from April 2017 to March 2018. Nintendo had originally planned to launch mobile games...
Fitbit Expected to Announce Layoffs in Fourth Quarter Results
Fitbit is set to announce cuts of between 5 to 10 percent to its workforce later on Monday amid lower-than-expected fourth quarter results.
According to The Information, the job cuts are expected to affect between 80 and 160 people across multiple departments and save the company $200 million in costs. The Q4 results will be the second consecutive quarter in which Fitbit has missed its...
Apple Said to Be Removing Iranian iOS Apps From the App Store
Apple has allegedly begun removing iOS apps originating in Iran from the App Store, according to reports over the weekend. Tech news site Techrasa posted a story claiming that the biggest e-commerce service, Digikala, had its app removed from the store a few days ago (Via TechCrunch).
The removal appears to relate to international trade laws. No official App Store exists for Iran, so Iranian...
Google Arts & Culture iOS App Showcases Chinese New Year Exhibition 'Arts of the New Moon'
Today marks the beginning of the Chinese Lunar New Year, and to celebrate the Year of the Rooster, Google has teamed up with 12 museums from Beijing to Washington to create a new online exhibition that can be visited through the Google Arts & Culture iOS app.
Across Asia and around the world, families are coming together, houses and neighborhoods are being dressed up in red and traditional...
iPhone 7 Ousts Samsung Handset as 'Device of Choice' For U.K. Defense Officials [Updated]
The U.K.'s Ministry of Defense has chosen Apple's iPhone 7 over Samsung as the "device of choice" for its military personnel, according to a report by TechRepublic this week.
Telecoms company BT is said to be working with the country's MoD to harden the security of the phone so that military officers can discuss and store sensitive information on the device. Steve Bunn, technical business...
'Firefox Focus' Private Browser Update Brings Multi-Language Support, Custom Search Engine Option
Mozilla has added more than 20 new languages to Firefox Focus, its privacy-centric browser that automatically blocks all trackers as users navigate around the web.
The latest update to the stripped-down web browser – which features an "Erase" button at the top of the app to erase all browsing history, searches, cookies, and passwords instantly – means users can now browse privately in 27...
Chrome 56 Offers Faster Reloads, Better Security, Lower Power Usage, and More
Version 56 of Google Chrome browser started rolling out to Macs today, bringing with it several new security enhancements, lower power consumption, and a performance boost.
To begin with, Chrome now presents a clearer warning to users when a website requests password or credit card information over a non-HTTPS, unsecure connection. Chrome 56 is also the first version to make HTML5 the default...
Facebook Hires Xiaomi VP Hugo Barra to Lead its Virtual Reality Division
Facebook has hired Xiaomi executive Hugo Barra to lead its virtual reality business, following the vice president's announcement earlier this week that he would be leaving the Chinese smartphone maker.
On Monday, the former Android executive at Google said he would be returning to Silicon Valley next month to reunite with friends and family, and to take some time off before "embarking on a new ...
Google Maps iOS Update Adds Live Location Data to 'Popular Times' Feature
Google updated its Maps app for iOS today to include the live crowd-tracking feature that's been popular with users of its Maps web service for some time.
While the maps app has had day-by-day, hour-by-hour charts that display when a business or retail location tends to be at its busiest, version 4.27 of the app augments that information with live data to tell users how busy the location is...
Apple Set to Join Microsoft, Google, and Facebook in AI Research Group
Apple will take a significant step toward disclosing more of its artificial intelligence research this week by becoming a member of a non-profit AI research consortium founded by five of the tech industry's biggest players.
Last September, Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and IBM publicly announced The Partnership on AI, an organization established "to study and formulate best practices,...
