Apple’s latest report into governmental data requests is as transparent as its recent clear iPhone XR case. The document reveals information about the government demands for user data that it receives around the world.

As you might expect, the report shows that more and more requests are being made for data around the world. The requests made to Apple in the second half of the year rose by 9 percent versus the last reporting period. In all, Apple received 32,342 requests for data on 163,823 devices.

Apple will finally refresh the iPad mini next year, according to sources in the company’s supply chain.

A fifth-generation model is expected to make its debut during the first half of 2019, followed by a more affordable 10-inch iPad that will replace the existing 9.7-inch slate in Apple’s lineup.

According to Rosenblatt analyst Jun Zhang, Apple could further cut iPhone production by an additional 4 million units in the March quarter of 2019. Zhang claims that this will predominantly affect the iPhone XR.

iOS 12’s Memoji feature lets users create their own custom Animojis. These animated characters use the facial recognition tech from the newer iPhones’ iPhones’ TrueDepth cameras to copy your expressions.

Harnessing these capabilities, Twitter user Danny Kabouni recently recreated the 2001 Nickelback smash hit “How You Remind Me.” The results are, well, they’re pretty glorious.

Do you want to celebrate the end of another year by relaxing in front of a great informative documentary? Nobody would blame you! Fortunately, 2018 was a great year for tech- and science-focused factual filmmaking.

Here are our choices for the best science and technology documentaries 2018 had to offer.

The new Blackmagic eGPU Pro adds a Radeon RX Vega 56 graphics processor to any Mac with a Thunderbolt 3 port. It just debuted on the Apple Store, who promises it gives “workstation-class graphics performance.”

But you might want to be sitting down when you hear the price.

Christmas time means packing up your daily troubles, forgetting work for a week, and heading home to … troubleshoot your parents’ broken computers and gadgets? Oh man, is it that time of year again already?

That’s the problem with being the family’s only geek — you get handed all the geek jobs. However, you can turn this to your advantage, and make it a lot easier, by going in prepared. Check out our Holiday Troubleshooting Guide right here.

Corel Corp. has acquired Parallels Desktop, software that enables Macs to run Windows, as well as the company that produces it. This shouldn’t make fans of this app nervous, as Corel promises to make “significant investment” in the business. 

Corel is best known for its graphics applications for Windows, like CorelDRAW and PaintShop Pro. It also offers multimedia apps. And now it makes desktop virtualization software.

Apple may have been late to the smart speaker game but its HomePod is showing signs it could one day outperform them all.

But only if Apple gives Siri the power.

In Loup Ventures annual smart speaker comparisons, Google Assistant understood all 800 questions and answered nearly 88 percent of them correctly. In its first Loup Ventures test, the HomePod with Siri at the helm misunderstood just three questions and managed to answer correctly nearly 75 percent of its queries.

“Hey Siri, 30-minute timer!” you shout across the kitchen, elbows deep in turkey gizzards. Only Siri isn’t interested. It’s already running that one-hour timer for the roast potatoes. Why would anybody want to run multiple timers at the same time? Silly human.

Thankfully, Shortcuts is here to save your bacon (and your Brussel’s sprouts, sage-and-onion stuffing, and so on). If you’re feeling fancy, you could even set this up to use with Siri, but today we’ll keep it simple. So, no matter how complex your Christmas Day cooking arrangement, Shortcuts will let you know when your goose is cooked.

Apple has promoted John Giannandrea to its executive team as senior vice president of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Strategy.

Giannandrea, who joined Apple back in April of this year after eight years at Google, is responsible for Siri and the Core ML framework. Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company is “fortune to have John … driving our efforts in this critical area.”

The lovable Lemmings are back and better than ever. Help them navigate there way through challenging environments in a brand new game, exclusively for mobile, from Sony PlayStation.

With more levels than every previous Lemmings game combined (literally thousands!), carefully perfected touch controls, and plenty of variety throughout, it’s a must-have for mobile gamers.

Apple will be barred from selling certain iPhone models in Germany, after a court ruled that Apple was infringing on a Qualcomm patent. While the ban isn’t immediate, provided that Apple appeals it, Apple has said that it will stop selling the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 in Apple Stores until the matter is resolved.

The decision against Apple comes shortly after Qualcomm scored a similar victory in a court in China. It will not affect the iPhone XR, XS, or XS Max.

Apple has updated its App Store Review Guidelines to allow the gifting of in-app purchases.

Shoppers have long been able to gift apps and games, but Apple’s rules previously prohibited the purchase of in-app items for others. You probably won’t be able to gift in-app purchases in time for the holidays, however.

Apple will splash out (pun intended) $8.7 million to help build an underground water storage facility in Prineville, Oregon.

Apple has two data centers in the area. Cooling them requires massive amounts of water, which has made Apple Prineville’s biggest water user. The new water storage facility will service both Apple and the city.

Learning to build apps for iOS is a great way to expand your skills. That’s true whether you’re looking to get a new gig, or just want to work on personal projects. But coding is complicated, and iOS 12 is full of advanced features, so it helps to have a guide.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI is already pretty darn epic when it comes to the number of hours you’ll need to put in to get the most out of. But if you’re looking to make a big game even bigger, you’re in luck.

That’s because the iOS version of the game is offering all of its expansion packs for free through the rest of December. Happy holidays indeed!

An iPhone user reportedly had her life saved after using her iPhone to call the coast guard after her ship capsized in rough waters. The woman, named Rachel Neal, was visiting Japan at the time, when she and her friends chartered a boat off the coast of Okinawa.

When the group wound up in the water, concerned about their safety, Neal’s waterproof iPhone allowed her to call for help. They were rescued 90 minutes later.

Epic Games has launched an official Fortnite merchandise store just in time for Christmas.

Aptly named Retail Row, the store currently sells t-shirts featuring characters and items from Battle Royale. It also offers a sweet Durrr Burger onesie from the season seven Battle Pass.

China isn’t the only place where Apple is trying to ward off a possible legal challenge from Qualcomm. According to a new report, it has introduced a change to iOS that affects only users in Germany.

It comes before a hearing, scheduled for later today, in which a German court will hear that Apple allegedly violated Qualcomm’s patents.

Okay, so most people aren’t silly enough to throw down their hard-earned money on a new iPad Pro, only to snap it in half like that infamous YouTube video which did the rounds recently.

But some users have noticed that their new iPads are actually shipping with a slight bend in the aluminum chassis, which is therefore present before the device has even been used.

Don’t worry, Apple says. That’s totally normal, and nothing to worry about.

There’s now proof that Apple rushed iOS 12.1.2 out primarily to make changes to iPhones in China.  We also have confirmation of exactly what the modifications are.

These were designed to convince a Chinese court that iPhones don’t infringe on two Qualcomm patents.  The hope is that court will then reverse an iPhone sales ban that went into effect in that country last week.

Got a new Apple Pencil? Then you should change these two settings as soon as you’ve snapped it onto the side of your iPad Pro and experienced its satisfyingly solid magnetic click.

A goal of the latest “Shot on iPhone’ collection seems to be demonstrating how great holiday pictures could look.

The latest edition of this long-running campaign shows off the capabilities of the iPhone XS series taking bokeh and landscape images.

This post is presented by Dashlane.

Christmas season used to mean spending days dashing between stores to rack up presents for loved ones. Now it means buying online from people and companies all over the country, maybe even the planet.

Online shopping is the norm now, so protecting your credit card information involves more than covering the keypad as you enter your PIN at the cashier’s stand. To avoid losing your payment information this shopping season, the best line of defense is a good password manager.