Netflix is about to get some new competition in the streaming wars from the same company that owns one of its biggest rivals, HBO.
AT&T Time Warner revealed today that the company is planning to build and launch a new video streaming service that will offer TV shows, films, libraries, documentaries and animation.
Anyone who feels their MacBook’s screen is too cramped can now use their iPad as as second display just by plugging in a dongle. Luna Display is now available to all after a successful Kickstarter campaign.
Astro HQ promises that its hardware/software solution is better than purely software options for using an iPad as an external monitor.
A prominent critic of Saudi Arabia went into that country’s consulate in Istanbul last week and never came out again. Evidence of what happened to him might come from his Apple Watch.
The burning question the wearable potentially could answer: is Jamal Khashoggi still alive?
Apple’s not the only tech company hopping on the original content bandwagon in 2018. Snapchat company Snap is launching new shows in partnership with Hollywood production companies. And they’re coming as soon as today.
Called “Snap Originals,” they won’t be full-length shows like Apple is busy commissioning, though. In keeping with the short-term hook that made Snapchat popular, the company is cranking out five-minute episodes shot vertically for viewing on mobile devices.
Fortnite’s weekly update has finally dropped across all platforms, bringing a new Disco Domination limited-time game mode (LTM), the new Quadlauncher weapon, and more.
The update also improves performance on a number of platforms, and fixes bugs that were introduced with previous builds.
It’s not yet clear how much veracity there is to the recent Bloomberg report claiming that companies, including Apple and Amazon, were sold data servers compromised by Chinese spies. However, a bipartisan pair of U.S. senators want answers from the manufacturer in question.
In a letter addressed to motherboard supplier Supermicro, senators Marco Rubio and Richard Blumenthal request the answers to eight queries. Here’s what they want to know:
Popular indie farming simulator Stardew Valley is finally making the leap to iPhone and iPad.
The game has proven a smash hit on Mac and PC, selling over 400,000 copies during its first two weeks of availability, and has been well-received on console, with glowing review scores on Metacritic. You’ll be able to play it on iOS later this month.
Apple has acquired a Danish visual effects company which uses machine learning technology for image and video editing.
Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, the startup Spektral was acquired late in 2017, although news of the purchase has only come to light now. One of the company’s core technologies relates to real-time green screen processing that’s capable of separating people and objects from a background and dropping them into a scene with an alternate backdrop.
Apple is spending upwards of $1 billion making original TV shows, but little has been publicly said about the initiative just yet. According to Netflix’s chief content officer, not only are customers in the dark about how Apple will make its shows available — even the folks making the shows for Apple don’t know.
Speaking at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit in Los Angeles, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos said that, “I don’t have any idea what that Apple product is going to be. I don’t think anybody does. I don’t think people making shows for them have any idea.”
What’s more, Netflix isn’t worried!
Apple has been hit with a class action lawsuit for allegedly tricking iTunes customers into buying its TV season bundles by misleading them over how many episodes are contained.
iTunes sells shows by individual episodes, whole seasons, or season passes, which includes current and future episodes not yet available. The lawsuit takes aim at this last option, claiming that Apple sneakily counts promotional clips as episodes.
Apple seeded the third beta of iOS 12.1 to developers this afternoon. In what’s possibly a new speed record, that version is already available to the general public.
The major change coming in the final version is support for Group FaceTime, but there’re other enhancements too.
Almost everyone who wants a smartphone already has one, so device makers depend on upgrades among current customers to make money. Fortunately for Apple, an analyst reports there’s a surge of interest in buying a newer model.
The rising desire to upgrade isn’t limited to iPhone users, but the analyst says Apple will benefit the most.
Director Steven Soderbergh called the iPhone the future of cinematography. Filmmaker and photographer Ed Gregory isn’t quite ready to put down his cinema camera.
Still, Gregory came away pretty impressed with the video capabilities of the iPhone XS Max when he tested it recently against his Canon C200.
There’s bad news for Apple Watch Series 4 users: the third beta of watchOS 5.1 is out and it still lacks an ECG application. The hardware to take an electrocardiogram is built into Apple’s latest wearable but the software is still MIA.
There’s also a new beta of tvOS 12.1 today, along with iOS 12.1 beta 3. The latest macOS 10.14.1 pre-release version came out yesterday.
Fraudulent iPhone repair claims are big business in China. To the point where about 60 percent of the handsets being repaired under warranty in that country were part of scams.
Apple has had to make draconian efforts to even slow the rate at which Chinese criminal gangs are stealing from it.
Facebook’s new Portal smart speaker, an Echo Show rival that’s designed for video chat, sounds like a privacy nightmare straight out of Black Mirror.
But you know who could benefit from concerns about Mark Zuckerberg’s smart camera? Apple — and specifically the HomePod. Here’s why.
Google called its new Pixel 3 “the best end-to-end photography experience” Tuesday and has adopted features and marketing strategies that made the iPhone a global success and camera industry game-changer.
But marketing and megapixels will not be where these two smartphone cameras do battle. The competition shifts to artificial intelligence and how it makes each phone camera perform.
Last week, Halide developer Sebastiaan de With debunked Beautygate, and introduced something called Smart RAW, all in one blog post. Now, Smart RAW is available in Halide 1.10, and it takes the iPhone XS camera to a whole new level.
Apple’s Carpool Karaoke TV series is already back with a new season and based on the new preview Apple posted, the pairings are going to be even crazier than last season’s.
Matthew McConaughey and Snoop Dogg are spotted rolling down the street together in the teaser Apple posted this morning. That’s just the start of the wildness though. The Muppets, Weird Al and the Lonely Island crew also make an appearance.
Check out some of the funny new pairings:
Developers received a brand new beta for iOS 12.1 this morning, bringing a host of new tweaks and performance improvements to the iPhone and iPad.
iOS 12.1 beta 3 comes one week after Apple seeded the last beta build to developers. The company also released the third beta builds of watchOS 5.1 and tvOS 12.1 to developers today.
Google unleashed its latest wave of hardware designed to take on Apple and Amazon by combining its powerful software with custom-designed hardware. And it actually looks pretty good.
Three new products were unveiled at Google’s event in New York City this morning: the Pixel 3, Pixel Slate and Google Home Hub. All three pack some interesting new features that some of Apple’s own products can’t match. But there are also glaring weaknesses in the new Google products. Like the horrifically huge notch on the Pixel 3 to start with.
Take a closer look at all the new products:
Tim Cook is in China, visiting Shanghai to promote Apple Watch, pay a trip to one of one of the local Apple Stores, and meet with developers and Apple users.
Cook marked the trip by posting on his official Weibo account, the microblogging account that acts as China’s version of Twitter. While he is upbeat about meeting with Chinese fans, however, the visit comes at a tough time — with a burgeoning trade war with the U.S. and questionable claims about Chinese spy chips allegedly used by Apple.
Minecraft for Apple TV has been scrapped. Users can no longer download the game from the tvOS App Store, while existing players have been informed that the title will no longer receive updates or support.
The game’s removal is being blamed on a lack of players. Developer Mojang explains that it needs to “reallocate resources to the platforms that our players use the most.”
Actress Katherine LaNasa from the TV series Imposters and Satisfaction has joined the cast of Apple thriller series Are You Sleeping?, about a Serial-style crime podcast which reopens a murder case.
Interestingly, she will play a new character to replace the one originally played by actress Moon Bloodgood, who left the show after filming four out of the eight season one episodes. According to trade publication Deadline, the character’s role in the show is being completely rewritten.
Microsoft is bringing Sticky Notes to your iPhone and iPad. You will be able to use them inside OneNote to quickly jot down notes and reminders on the go, and you’ll be able to sync notes from Windows to iOS.