HomePod is now on sale in Japan and Taiwan for the first time.

The smart speaker can be purchased from Apple Stores, the Apple Online Store, and from select cellphone retailers.

Traveling carries a lot of expenses and logistical challenges. One of the biggest is keeping our phones connected in places where our usual call and data plans don’t reach.

Apple is developing rooftop solar arrays with a company best known for making soy sauce, a new report claims.

The Cupertino company has supposedly teamed up with Taiwan’s Wan Ja Shan Brewery Co. as part of its continued push to use renewable energy.

The Fortnite B.R.U.T.E. almost every player hates finally saw massive nerfs this week.

The mech now fires fewer rockets, deals less damage, and takes longer to cool down after boosting. Epic Games has also made it so that materials are no longer granted to B.R.U.T.E. riders.

Tim Cook has tweeted his condolences following the death of EU data protection regulator Giovanni Buttarelli. Buttarelli passed away on August 20 at the age of 62.

In a recent tweet, Cook described himself as “heartbroken by the loss of my friend.” He credited Buttarelli with advancing “the cause of privacy in Europe and around the world.”

A photo of what might be Apple Watch Series 5 appeared on Instagram this week.

The device looks just like a current model at first glance. But the model number displayed on its screen suggests it is actually Apple’s next-generation wearable.

Apple has launched a new beta version of its iCloud web portal. It includes a new background, revamped Reminders app, and new launch screen.

The change ditches the bubble-filled blue backdrop the iCloud web portal had before. Instead, there’s now a simple minimalist white background.

The average iPhone has been active for 18 months, a new report from Strategy Analytics suggests. That compares to 16.5 months for Samsung handsets.

Overall, it seems that people are upgrading their phones at a slower rate. That’s reportedly as a result of “diminishing innovation,” which provides less of a reason to do so. It also likely has a whole lot to do with increased prices.

The Shield charging cable from Fuse Chicken is literally wearing stainless steel chainmail. It seems designed to survive battle with orcs, or at least the dangers it might run into on a job site. Amazingly enough, this company’s Titan cable is even more rugged, being wrapped in two layers of flexible steel.

There are Lighting and USB-C versions of both, and we took them into battle to test their mettle. Actually, we towed a car with one, and hit the other with a hammer. Read on to see how they survived.

The just-announced Bose Portable Home Speaker isn’t an everyday Bluetooth device. It also has Wi-Fi and, even better, supports AirPlay 2, making it cooperate much more closely with Apple devices.

This speaker offers 360 degree sound, and is designed for portability, with a built-in handle.

Using your phone during a break from work doesn’t give your brain a chance to rest and recoup, according to a new study. It’s like not taking a break at all.

The experiment’s results don’t indicate people should stay off computers when they want a quick rest. Just phones, as these are “more cognitively taxing than expected.”

We’re up to the eighth beta of iOS 13, but that’s not nearly the record for iOS betas. That honor goes to iOS 11. It might seem like we’ve had a lot of betas this time around, but two years ago, Apple seeded 13 betas before hitting the Gold Master stage.

With just a few weeks left until the expected iPhone 11 launch, it seems unlikely that record will fall. In terms of sheer number of betas, iOS 13 is not even close. But what about total time spent in beta? Or the fewest betas? Let’s look at the chart.

Satechi just introduced an adapter that enables a MacBook to connect to a pair of 4K monitors, both running at 60Hz.

There is a drawback, though: this dual HDMI adapter requires two of the laptop’s USB-C ports.

Stay calm and remix on.

Taylor Swift is partnering with Apple for a new Today at Apple session that will teach attendees how to remix her latest single “You Need To Calm Down.” Unlike some of the other Music Labs though, this special session will only be available in select stores.

The Apple Card isn’t just another credit card. Apple is a hardware company, after all, so its card is special, mkay? If Jony Ive hadn’t disappeared from the Apple lot, then we’d probably even have a Making Of video, with Whispering Joni¹ burning with quiet passion about how this is the thinnest, strongest card that Apple has ever made. How Apple’s designers needed to invent an entire new production process to recycle titanium plates reclaimed from broken legs. Etc.

So, if you have an Apple Card, Apple wants you to treat it with respect. And that’s why there is now an official support document telling you how to clean it.

The OtterSpot is a new twist on mobile wireless charging. It starts with a base station sending current to a portable battery that has built-in Qi inductive charging. This battery powers up an iPhone or Android, either at home or one the go. Multiple batteries can be stacked and charged at once.

The company behind this new system is OtterBox, well known for its rugged phone and tablet cases.

A more affordable version of the struggling HomePod smart speaker will debut next year, according to a generally reliable source. Apple is also reportedly going to introduce AirPods with noise cancellation in 2020.

Both are products that consumers have been asking for.

The first game from the incredibly popular Gears of War franchise has landed on iOS. Gears Pop! is very different to what fans of the series are used to, but it looks like a ton of fun nonetheless.

It’s also free-to-play!

Imagine buying a brand new iPhone just weeks before Apple introduces an upgrade. Now imagine buying 15,000. That’s exactly what British Airways has done for all its cabin crew members.

The handsets are being pre-loaded with apps that can be used to “offer a more personalized service,” BA says. It’s part of a £6.5 billion plan to step up customer support over the next five years.

Spotify is now matching Apple Music’s generous three-month free trial for new subscribers.

The offer is available to eligible individual and student users who sign up for any Spotify Premium plan, starting today. It will be extended to support Duo and Family Plans in the coming months.

Apple’s acclaimed Powerbeats Pro wireless headphones are now available to pre-order in ivory, moss, and navy color options. Previously, they were only available in black.

The wireless headphones retail for $249.95. They will start shipping August 30, and will arrive in Apple Stores on that same day as well.

President Donald Trump and Tim Apple, err, Tim Cook are BFFs. Well, according to Trump at least.

Describing Cook as a “great executive,” Trump says the Apple CEO isn’t afraid to pick up the phone and call whenever there’s something on his mind. “He calls me, and others don’t,” Trump said, comparing Cook to other execs.

Samsung seems pretty triggered (as the kids say) by people dissing its green Android text message bubbles, compared to the blue bubbles of Apple’s iMessages. So much so, in fact, that it’s created a whole bunch of animated GIFs to, err… do something?

The GIFs portray scenes like a green snake eating blue bubbles and a creepy green salamander being inappropriately touchy-feely with a distressed blue bubble. Hey, it probably sounded hilarious when it was described in the team meeting!

Technology is supposed to make us more productive, but it can also be a mighty distraction. That’s especially true when it comes to our cell phones. But with this multi-device productivity tool, you can make each of your devices a window onto your tasks and to-do lists.

The ex-Apple engineer who claims he helped invent “Find My iPhone” and other features has beaten Apple in a preliminary court hearing.

Apple lost its bid to dismiss the former employee’s lawsuit earlier this week. The suit claims Apple left him off a list of five patents on which he was a rightful co-inventor. Along with “Find My iPhone,” Darren Eastman also notably worked on Passbook, the electronic ticketing system.