Technology

New rumors have now surfaced suggesting that Apple is gearing up for a 15-inch MacBook Air. Reports first originated in a quarterly report from Display Supply Chain Consultants which indicated the tech giant’s plans to build a new 15-inch laptop to accompany its current 13-inch offering, which itself would also be getting a slight increase in screen size. Renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo later commented that the laptop currently being designed will use the same 30W adapter as the current MacBook Air and that mass production is expected to start in Q4 of 2023. However, he also noted that it “might not be called MacBook Air,” instead potentially releasing as a new series. News of a 15-inch MacBook Pro might now come as too much of a surprise. Back in early 2021, Bloomberg suggested t...

According to a new report from Bloomberg, Apple is planning on developing a new subscription service for its iPhone and potentially other hardware. The new business model would allow customers to pay a monthly fee rather than an up-front cost. It is reported that the new program is described to be Apple’s “biggest push yet into automatically recurring sales.” Currently, Apple allows all its customers in the U.S. to finance any of their hardware purchases through the Apple Card product. The company also launched its iPhone Upgrade Program with Citizens Bank which allows customers to get a new iPhone every 12 months. In terms of the new hardware subscription service, Apple is looking to launch it “by the end of 2022 or in 2023.” The tech giant claims it will allow users “to subscribe to hard...

A suspect has now been found for the recent hacks that hit some of the biggest tech giants, including Microsoft, Samsung, NVIDIA and Ubisoft, and investigators now believe it’s a 16-year-old teenager. According to a new report from Bloomberg, while the companies have been allegedly hacked by the group Lapsus$, researchers that are currently looking into the matter are now focusing mostly on one teenager based in England who’s only 16 years of age and lives at his mother’s house. Investigators believe that he’s the mastermind behind the attacks, though another teenager in Brazil is currently also being investigated. Overall, researchers think there are at least seven members involved in Lapsus$. The report also discusses how effective the hack was, stating that the main suspect was so ...

Apple’s upcoming MacBook Air redesign has been extensively reported on, but new information suggests it may come in two sizes. According to Display Supply Chain Consultants’ latest quarterly report (via 9to5Mac and AppleInsider), Apple is working on a 15-inch version of the laptop to sit alongside the 13-inch model, which may itself get a slightly larger screen as well. TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo followed up on the report, saying that mass production is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2023. Kuo also says that the laptop is being designed to use the same 30W adapter as the MacBook Air, which would put it well below the latest MacBook Pro machines in terms of power consumption. Finally, Kuo notes that this new laptop “might not be called MacBook Air,” which i...

To further its goal to create products that are more sustainably sourced, Apple has now elected to use low-carbon aluminum to build its new iPhone SE models. According to the company, the aluminum used will now be sourced from Canadian firm Elysis, which utilizes a carbon-free, hydropower-based smelting process that releases oxygen instead of harmful greenhouse gases. Given the way the iPhone SE is designed, the use of metal itself will also be minimal, mainly being used to create the device’s frame, which then carries a glass backing to enhance its wireless charging and data reception capabilities. The new iPhone SE isn’t the first time Apple has elected to use relatively greener materials either. Back in 2019, the company also bought its first batch of aluminum from a union formed by the...

Apple has officially rolled out its first digital driver’s license and state ID in Wallet. Those in the state of Arizona can now add these documents to their Apple Wallet, seamless integration for those with the iPhone and Apple Watch. This initiative is built into Apple’s iOS 15 software and follows the announcement made last summer. Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, Jennifer Baile said, “We’re thrilled to bring the first driver’s license and state ID in Wallet to Arizona today, and provide Arizonans with an easy, secure, and private way to present their ID when traveling, through just a tap of their iPhone or Apple Watch.” The company hopes to add this feature for other states including Colorado, Hawaii, Mississippi, Ohio and the territory of Puerto Rico after its deb...

For years, a loose coalition of companies, including Spotify and Epic Games, has been railing against the so-called app store tax — taking Apple and Google to court and spurring regulators to investigate their up-to-30 percent cut of developers’ app revenue. They argue they’re locked into grossly overpriced billing, hosting, and curation services that sometimes hurt more than they help. So it was a surprise when, on Wednesday, Google revealed a pilot program with Spotify that will let some developers bypass Google Play billing on Android — letting Spotify and potentially others use their own payment platforms instead. But if you think that means Google’s going to give up its piece of the action, think again. Reading between the lines, it’s clear that Google is still getting its cash. Here’...

Google announced Wednesday it’s making some improvements to how it decides which product reviews it shows in Search results. The idea behind these and other recent product reviews updates is to ensure that reviews you see are high quality and actually include helpful information about a product you might be considering buying. The improvements build on earlier updates “to make sure that product reviews in Search meet certain criteria,” Google’s Perry Liu said in a blog post. Here are some examples of the criteria Liu says the company is looking for: Include helpful in-depth details, like the benefits or drawbacks of a certain item, specifics on how a product performs or how the product differs from previous versions Come from people who have actually used the products, and show what the pr...

US government prosecutors have charged two men with fraud and money laundering over a cryptocurrency “rug pull” scheme. Ethan Nguyen and Andre Llacuna allegedly earned around $1.1 million by selling non-fungible tokens (or NFTs) based on cartoon-like characters called “Frosties.” After selling the NFTs, they shut down the project and transferred its funds to a series of separate crypto wallets, leaving Frosties owners bereft of promised rewards. According to the criminal complaint, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began investigating Frosties in January, shortly after receiving complaints about the scam. Frosties was a buzzy project whose 8,888 NFTs — priced at the Ethereum equivalent of roughly $130 — sold out within...

The EU’s newly agreed-upon Digital Markets Act could require messaging app developers to make their apps work together if it ends up being passed. In the EU’s press release, it says that lawmakers agreed that the companies behind WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or iMessage would have to make their apps “interoperable” with smaller messaging platforms at the developers’ request. Here’s the relevant part of the EU’s statement: During a close to 8-hour long trilogue (three-way talks between Parliament, Council and Commission), EU lawmakers agreed that the largest messaging services (such as Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger or iMessage) will have to open up and interoperate with smaller messaging platforms, if they so request. Users of small or big platforms would then be able to exchange messages, ...