Technology

On August 24th, 2011 — ten years ago today — Apple co-founder Steve Jobs resigned as CEO, leaving the world’s newly minted most valuable brand in the hands of his successor Tim Cook. Just six weeks later, Jobs died. Needless to say, Cook had some big shoes to fill: Jobs is remembered as the visionary CEO and marketer behind the Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod, iTunes, and the App Store. A decade later, what has Tim Cook built? The most valuable and profitable company in the world Apple is bigger than oil. A company that turns a web of complex components into sophisticated computing devices now makes more money than those that effectively pump barrels of cash out of the ground. And it’s because Tim Cook meticulously crafted the overseas supply chains to make it so, contracting manufacturers like Fo...

Gamescom doesn’t officially start until Wednesday, but Xbox got a head start on the festivities with an announcement of all the new games coming to Xbox Game Pass. Xbox has been laser focused on its subscription platform. During E3 2021, Microsoft announced a ton of new games including all the forthcoming Microsoft Studios releases that will have day-one Game Pass availability. Here are the games from today’s showcase coming to Game Pass. Age of Empires IV (PC) Into The Pit (PC / Console) Crusader Kings III (PC / Console) Psychonauts 2 (PC / Console) The Gunk (PC / Console) A new crop of Humble Games are also coming day and date to Game Pass on PC, console, and cloud gaming. [embedded content] Archvale Next Space Rebels Midnight Fight Express Dodgeball Academia Bushiden Flynn: Son of Crims...

Building on its recent accessories collaboration with KFC, Hong Kong-based label CASETiFY links up with Coca-Cola for a celebratory capsule that pays homage to the latter’s 1971 Unity collection. Delivering a brand message of peace and harmony that derived from Coca-Cola’s famous 1971 TV commercial, the pair decorate a selection of tech accessories with retro-inspired graphics and sticker-style motifs. A selection of neo-sand and reflective mirror cases are up for grabs, alongside a range of ultra-protective Impact cases, each of which boasts 6.6 metres of drop protection and is made from 50% recycled materials. As an added bonus, Impact cases also arrive layered with an anti-bacterial coating known as DENSEiFY. Accompanied by a further offering of iPhone, iPad, AirPod and Apple Watch acce...

The 2021 League of Legends’ World Championship, the end-of-year tournament for arguably the biggest esport in the world, has been moved from China to a currently undisclosed location in Europe, Riot Games announced. The move happens just weeks before the competition is set to begin. In a video, John Needham, global head of esports at Riot, said that travel restrictions and COVID protocols made it a challenge to hold the event in China. The move was first reported Monday by Upcomer. “After considering all potential options, we concluded that moving Worlds to Europe provided the best opportunity for the most teams and their best players to compete,” Needham explained. “We’re not ready to announce where in Europe Worlds will be held this year, but accessibility for the highest number of teams...

The Frame, Samsung’s HDR-compatible QLED that pulls double duty as wall art, is one of the more unique TV designs that didn’t die in the concept phase or on the showroom floor of CES. Designed to look like a framed and matted photograph, the 120Hz screen hides in plain sight when switched to an Art Mode that displays still imagery instead of a black void when turned off. It’s a stunner of a TV in many ways and, for a limited time, Best Buy and Amazon are offering the 55-inch model for $200 off, the second-lowest price we’ve seen this year on the high-tech piece of home decor. It’s the perfect way to convince your friends you’re a person of culture and refinement while still being a techie nerd who loves large screens. Samsung The Frame 4K LED Tizen TV (55-inch) $1,300 $1,500 14% off The Fr...

OnlyFans founder and CEO Tim Stokely says banks were behind the online fundraising platform’s recent ban on sexually explicit content. “The change in policy, we had no choice — the short answer is banks,” Stokely told the Financial Times in an interview published today. Stokely named three major banks that refused service because of “reputational risk” associated with the UK-based OnlyFans’ sexual material: Bank of New York Mellon, Metro Bank, an JPMorgan Chase. He said BNY Mellon specifically had “flagged and rejected” every wire transaction involving OnlyFans, threatening its ability to pay creators. Last week, Bloomberg reported more generally that “banking partners and payment providers” had pressured OnlyFans — a platform previously known as a haven for sex workers — into banning the ...

In May, after a series of accidents linked to multiple injuries and one death, Peloton announced recalls for its Tread Plus treadmill and a redesigned version of the Peloton Tread. The more serious incidents involved the Tread Plus, which remains on the shelf. However, the new Tread has since received tweaks to keep the screen from loosening and falling off. Now Peloton says the $2,495 Tread will go on sale across the US, Canada, and the UK starting on August 30th. Unlike the 32-inch screen on the treadmill we reviewed in 2019, this cheaper Tread has a 23.8-inch HD touchscreen with built-in speakers so you can interact with your trainer during a workout and track progress when you’re done. It also has a smaller footprint at 68 inches by 33 inches wide and a traditional belt instead of its ...

TikTok recently launched a private beta test for a new developer tool called TikTok Effect Studio, which will allow creators to build AR effects for the short-form video platform, according to a report from TechCrunch. Interested users are now able to sign up for early access to Effect Studio on a new website called “Effect House.” There, future developers can provide their name, email, TikTok account information, company and experience level with AR building, along with examples of previous work. The form also asks whether the developer would test Effect House for professional or personal purposes. Social media consultant Matt Navarra first shared images of TikTok’s Effect Studio to Twitter, after receiving a tip from Sam Schmir. TikTok is launching an Effects Studio in beta h/t @Sam...

Once again, Google is headed back to the drawing board to rethink its healthcare strategy. As first reported by Business Insider, the tech giant is dissolving its single, unified Google Health division, founded in 2018, in favor of a distributed approach to building health products. The head of the division, David Feinberg, is leaving the company, while an unknown proportion of Google Health employees will be sent to other teams at Google (like Search and Fitbit) to work on specific services, according to Google’s AI head Jeff Dean. It’s a messy change for what was already a messy initiative. Tech giants like Google and Apple have become increasingly interested in the healthcare industry in recent years, but have failed to make in-roads in such a fractured ecosystem. Google’s efforts in he...

Xiaomi is phasing out its “Mi” product branding, a spokesperson tells The Verge. Products including flagship smartphones like this year’s Mi 11 will instead simply carry the Xiaomi name. The news was first reported by XDA Developers. “Starting in 2021 Q3, Xiaomi’s product series ‘Mi’ will be renamed to ‘Xiaomi,’” says the spokesperson. “This change will unify our global brand presence and close the perception gap between the brand and its products. This change may take some time to take effect in all regions.” Xiaomi says that it’ll still keep the Redmi brand around, meaning that the higher-end Xiaomi products will form a distinct line alongside Redmi products. Xiaomi products “represent the pinnacle of technology and offer a premium experience,” according to the company, while Redmi produ...

TikTok is testing an experimental set of developer tools that might one day let creators build augmented reality effects for the popular app. The platform is called TikTok Effect Studio and is currently in private beta, according to a report from TechCrunch. TikTok told the publication that Effect Studio is simply an “experiment” at this stage and may not make it to a full launch. It would, though, be a sensible product for TikTok to build. Both Snap and Facebook have their own AR developer initiatives, which encourage people to build new camera effects for their respective platforms. It seems like a streamlined way to keep your audience engaged, outsourcing the development of new effects to users who know best what they want to see. The Effects Studio was first spotted by social media con...

Default permissions settings in an app-building tool from Microsoft have been blamed for exposing the data of 38 million people online. Information including names, email addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers, and COVID-19 vaccination appointments was inadvertently made publicly accessible by 47 different companies and government entities using Microsoft’s Power Apps platform. There’s no evidence of the data being exploited, though, and the underlying issue has now been fixed by Microsoft. The problem was originally discovered in May by security research team UpGuard. In a recent blog post from UpGuard and report from Wired, the company explains how organizations using Power Apps created apps with improper data permissions. “We found one of these [apps] that was misconfigured t...