Eric Slivka
Eric is the Editor-in-Chief of MacRumors and has been writing for the site since 2008.
An avid swimmer and former biophysicist, Eric has been using Apple products for over 35 years and has been interviewed for pieces by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters, BBC, CNBC, and other publications.
Eric's current primary role involves day-to-day oversight of the editorial operations at MacRumors, but he also contributes occasional news and review articles while handling various other duties related to the site's operation.
An avid swimmer and former biophysicist, Eric has been using Apple products for over 35 years and has been interviewed for pieces by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters, BBC, CNBC, and other publications.
Eric's current primary role involves day-to-day oversight of the editorial operations at MacRumors, but he also contributes occasional news and review articles while handling various other duties related to the site's operation.
Eric Slivka's Articles
Review: iDevices' Switches and Outlets Bring HomeKit to Your Existing Lights and Home Appliances
iDevices was one of the first companies to announce plans for producing HomeKit-compatible products, focusing primarily on switches and outlets but also branching out a bit with a thermostat. Earlier this year, iDevices was acquired by major electrical equipment manufacturer Hubbell, but the iDevices brand and product lineup lives on.
I've been using a number of iDevices products, including...
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Ring Debuts New Spotlight Cam With Wired, Battery, and Solar Models for Home Security
Ring, maker of the popular video doorbells and recently launched Floodlight Cam, is today announcing a new line of Spotlight Cams.
Similar in function to the Floodlight Cam but with a different lighting system, the new Spotlight Cam features LED light panels that automatically turn on when motion is detected, as well as a 1080p camera with night vision, two-way audio, and a 110 dB siren to...
iPhone 8 Infrared Face Detection and General Device Design Revealed in HomePod Firmware
Late last week, Apple released early firmware for its HomePod smart speaker, which won't be launching to the public until December. HomePod will run a version of iOS, and the firmware released by Apple corresponds to iOS 11.0.2.
One iOS developer has dug into the firmware and discovered that it also contains hints of what we can expect for other devices. Most importantly, the firmware includes ...
Apple Pressing LG to Add OLED Display Production for 2018 iPhone, Limiting Samsung's Leverage
Amid reports Apple is investing billions of dollars to help LG begin production of OLED displays for future iPhones, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has issued a new report sharing his take on the situation.
According to Kuo, the OLED display panel for this year's "iPhone 8" has been the "single most troublesome component for Apple in terms of bargaining power," as Samsung is currently...
Review: Elgato's $300 Thunderbolt 3 Dock Offers a Solid Set of Ports in a Slim Design
Over the past few months, I've taken a look at a number of Thunderbolt 3 docks that all hit the market around the same time, including models from OWC, CalDigit, Belkin, and Kensington. There's at least one more major player in the market, so today I'm sharing my thoughts on Elgato's $300 Thunderbolt 3 Dock. Elgato's dock has a lot in common with many of its competitors, including a slim...
Tim Cook Appears Onstage at Cisco Live to Debut New Enterprise Security Partnership
Apple CEO Tim Cook took the stage at Cisco Live in Las Vegas today, sitting down with Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins to discuss the ongoing partnership between the two companies that has leveraged Apple's expertise in devices and apps and Cisco's strength in networking and enterprise tools.
Wow! @tim_cook and @ChuckRobbins announcing our IOS security partnership at #CLUS! https://t.co/izPv9neWvZ pic.t ...
Apple Working With Hertz on Autonomous Car Testing [Updated]
Apple's effort to test autonomous vehicle technology in California involves a collaboration with Hertz, the second largest U.S. car rental company, reports Bloomberg.
The disclosure of the relationship between Apple and Hertz came in documents recently released by the California Department of Motor Vehicles. The documents note Apple is leasing its small fleet of Lexus RX450h SUVs for autonom...
Pearl Automation Shuts Down After Poor Sales of Its $500 Vehicle Backup Camera
Pearl Automation, the vehicle accessory company founded by ex-Apple engineers and which debuted its $500 "RearVision" wireless backup camera system just one year ago, has shut down following poor sales of the device, reports Axios.
What happened: Early product sales disappointed, which was exacerbated by a high burn rate.
What next? The Pearl Automation team received several "acqui-hire"...
Original iPhone's First Four Reviewers Reminisce About Getting Their Hands on It for the First Time
With the iPhone's tenth birthday coming up this week, CBS Sunday Morning aired a segment today taking a look back at the development and launch of the original iPhone.
The segment from David Pogue includes a roundtable session with Pogue, Walt Mossberg, Steven Levy, and Ed Baig, the four journalists who received review units of the iPhone in 2007 just prior to its launch."After three days,"...
Review: Kensington's SD5000T Thunderbolt 3 Dock Packs Some Neat Security and Convenience Features
Earlier this week, Kensington launched its entry into the Thunderbolt 3 dock market with its SD5000T Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station, an enterprise-focused accessory that incorporates a couple of unique features in the form of a Kensington lock slot and the ability to mount the dock to the rear of VESA-compatible displays for "Zero Footprint Mounting" with a separate bracket accessory.
I've...
'The One Device' Explores the Creation of the iPhone, the Technology That Went Into It, and More
As we noted last week, today marks the release of The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone, a new book from Motherboard editor Brian Merchant chronicling the development of the original iPhone. I've had a chance to read through the book before its launch, and overall it's an entertaining read, although it comes up a bit short in its promise to unveil the secret history of the landmark...
Kensington's $350 Thunderbolt 3 Dock Features 'Zero Footprint' Mounting, Security Lock Slot
We've already taken a look at several of the Thunderbolt 3 docks all coming to the market right around the same time, and popular enterprise accessory company Kensington is getting into the mix today with the launch of the SD5000T Thunderbolt 3 Docking Station, the company's first foray into Thunderbolt peripherals. Priced at $349.99, Kensington's dock is similar to many of the other options on...
Hints of iPhone 8 Showing Up in Web Analytics
Back in February, noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo laid out his expectations for the display resolution on the so-called "iPhone 8," a brand-new iPhone scheduled for release later this year that forgoes the traditional Home button and LCD screen in favor of an OLED display that fills essentially the entire front of the device.
Working from his expectations, we believe we are seeing increasing...
Review: CalDigit's Tuff 1 TB SSD Brings Fast, Rugged, Portable Storage to the Latest Macs
CalDigit's Tuff line of rugged USB-C external drives have been a great option for those looking to take extra storage or backups on the go for a while now, but in addition to the existing 2 TB model using a 5400 rpm spinning hard drive, the company recently expanded the line to include a 1 TB solid-state drive option.
At a list price of $499, the solid-state drive version is not cheap, but...
Placeholder for iOS 11 'Files' App Goes Live on App Store
With just hours to go until Apple's WWDC keynote, a new placeholder app listing for a "Files" app has appeared on the iOS App Store for iPhone and iPad, as noticed by Steven Troughton-Smith.
Details on the app are scant, as the app description is merely "Files App for iOS" and there are no other details on the app other than an icon depicting a blue folder, although Troughton-Smith points...
Review: Belkin's $350 Thunderbolt 3 Express Dock HD Looks Great, but Could Use More Ports
With the flood of full-featured Thunderbolt 3 docks about to hit the market, it's time to take a look at Belkin's Thunderbolt 3 Express Dock HD, one of the major contenders users have been waiting for in addition to the OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock and CalDigit TS3 that we've also recently reviewed. As with the other docks we've looked at, Belkin's offering includes a variety of ports and even charging ...
WWDC 2017 Spoiler-Free Video Stream [Video Posted]
Apple's WWDC keynote will be kicking off at 10:00 am Pacific Time on Monday, and as is tradition, some MacRumors readers who can't follow the event live are interested in avoiding all of the announcements and waiting until Apple posts the recorded video of the event so as to experience it without already knowing the outcome.
For those individuals, we've posted this news story, which will be ...
Review: CalDigit's TS3 and TS3 Lite Thunderbolt 3 Docks Offer Solid MacBook Pro Expansion Options
While Apple's latest MacBook Pro with support for Thunderbolt 3 has been out for over six months, the first full-featured Thunderbolt 3 docks are only just now starting to hit the market. Last month we took a look at OWC's Thunderbolt 3 Dock that should begin shipping out very shortly, and today we're taking a look at a pair of similar docks from CalDigit that help expand the capabilities of the...
Apple Acquires 'Dark Data' Machine Learning Company Lattice Data
Apple recently paid around $200 million to acquire Lattice Data, a firm that aims to turn unstructured "dark data" such as text and images into structured data that can then be handled with traditional data analysis tools. News of the acquisition comes from TechCrunch, and Apple has essentially confirmed the acquisition by issuing its standard statement on the topic.
Lattice uses machine...
Ming-Chi Kuo Says Apple Likely to Unveil 10.5" iPad Pro and Touchscreen Siri Smart Speaker at WWDC
Prominent KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has released a "2017 WWDC highlights" report, outlining his expectations for next month's keynote event. While he expects the typical previews of the next versions of iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS, he also predicts we will see several hardware-related announcements.
One major debut Kuo expects to see is the long-rumored 10.5-inch iPad Pro, which...
