Mitchel Broussard

Video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto wants the gaming industry to stop "nickel-and-diming" users, and launch games at fixed prices (via Bloomberg). As long as the upfront prices aren't too high, such "premium" games would create a more sustainable business model over the long term, Miyamoto says, seemingly referencing video games across mobile, console, and PC. The Super Mario creator made...

Anker this week has debuted a large new collection of promo codes on Amazon, offering up to 45 percent off wireless chargers, Lightning cables, portable battery packs, and more. Most of the codes last through the end of the week, but some extend into September. We've listed a few of the best deals below, but for the full collection be sure to visit our Deals Roundup and scroll down to the "Anker...

Walmart today announced that it has partnered with Rakuten Kobo to launch its own dedicated eBooks platform, simply called Walmart eBooks. The service will be available as an iOS and Android application, as well as on Kobo's eReaders, and function similarly to rival eBook services from Apple and Amazon. "More than six million" eBooks will be up for purchase on Walmart's site, and once you find ...

Ustwo Games' popular iOS and Android puzzle series "Monument Valley" is being turned into a movie, as reported this week by Deadline. Paramount Pictures and Weed Road Pictures have won the rights to the games, and Patrick Osborne has already been selected to develop and direct the first film. Osborne won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short for his short film "Feast" in 2014, which was...

The New York Public Library today launched a new initiative it's calling "Insta Novels," in which it will post classic novels and short stories as Instagram Stories. You won't need a NYPL card or have to live nearby to gain access to Insta Novels as the feature will be available to anyone who has an Instagram account (via The Wall Street Journal). To start off, the library is offering Lewis...

We're just under one month from Apple's annual September iPhone event, which should also see the debut of the Apple Watch Series 4. Alongside each new edition of the Apple Watch, Apple typically updates its array of band accessories with new colors and styles. Echoing shortages from previous years, it appears that numerous Apple Watch bands have either been removed or are currently unavailable to ...

Fortnite could launch on Apple TV at one point in the future, according to a new discovery by the @StormLeaks Twitter account late yesterday. As reported by esports and gaming website Dexerto, @StormLeaks found a single line within Fortnite's code that references "tvOS," suggesting that Epic Games may be planning to launch the popular game on Apple's fourth- and fifth-generation set-top boxes...

Google today updated its Wear OS iPhone app [Direct Link] and Google Fit Android app with a new redesign that emphasizes closing a set of rings, similar to Apple's Activity app. Every day, Google Fit will task users to close one ring based on "move minutes" and another ring based on "heart points" (via The Verge). "Move minutes" is a metric that is intended to be better than measuring daily...

In an ongoing effort to boost sales in India, Apple is reportedly planning to upgrade its authorized reseller locations in five to six "extremely prominent locations" in India's metropolitan cities. The stores are being referred to as "Flagship Apple Premium Reseller" outlets. While not official Apple stores, the locations will each be "at least three times larger" than the current reseller...

Popular iOS and Android weather app Dark Sky has updated with "one of the biggest overhauls" to date, according to a new blog post that the company shared online today. The update introduces a new visual look and the home screen now has a "unified timeline," which combines various aspects of your local forecast onto one page instead of separating them into multiple areas. Now, you can view the ...

Fitbit today announced the "Fitbit Charge 3," its latest fitness tracker that includes improvements to health and workout features, a 7-day battery life, and advanced sleep tracking with an upcoming "Sleep Score" beta. The Charge 3 is completely swimproof and includes a touchscreen display, but is considered a "tracker" and not a "smartwatch," like the Fitbit Versa or Apple Watch. The Charge 3 ...

Mojang's classroom-focused "Minecraft: Education Edition" will launch on the iPad in September, allowing teachers to incorporate the game into their lesson plans for the new school year (via GeekWire). Minecraft: Education Edition first launched in November 2016 on macOS and Windows platforms, and since then teachers have used the game as a tool to teach students science, engineering, math,...

Coming off the recent reveal of Philips Hue's latest fixtures, the lighting company today announced two new collections that will be available to purchase in October: "Hue Signe" and "Hue Play." While still providing all of the expected features of Hue lights -- including HomeKit support -- the new products have unique hardware builds and are aimed to enhance entertainment areas. Starting off, ...

In a new interview today with The Los Angeles Times, Beats 1 host Zane Lowe discussed a few topics related to Apple Music's daily streaming radio show, including the company's rivals. Without directly referencing Spotify, Lowe explained the need for competition among streaming music platforms. “This is a controversial statement: I don't ever want us to be the only streaming service on the...

Sony Legacy announced over the summer that it had obtained the rights to release the "bulk" of Prince's back catalog, namely the albums he debuted after he left Warner Bros. in the mid-nineties. Today, The Prince Estate digitally released 23 total Prince albums that first launched between 1995 and 2010 onto "all major streaming services," including Apple Music and Spotify. As Variety points...

Google entered the smart speaker market in 2016 with the introduction of Google Home, allowing users to speak to Google Assistant and control various smart home products, listen to music, get the news, and more. Eventually, Google added the Home Mini and Home Max to the lineup, introducing products that were direct competitors to the Amazon Echo Dot and Apple HomePod, respectively. Looking...

T-Mobile held a press conference today announcing a new "Team of Experts" service, which is the company's next "Un-carrier" move that's taking aim at the poor customer service performance of rivals like AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon. During the hour-long conference, T-Mobile CEO John Legere and EVP of Customer Care Callie Field explained that customer service is "the biggest pain point" in the...

Twitch, the platform known as a place to watch streamers play games like League of Legends, Fortnite, and Overwatch, is now looking into becoming a "broader video service" that would cater to lifestyle vloggers from rival company YouTube. According to a report today by Bloomberg, Amazon-owned Twitch has decided to "aggressively broaden" the programming on the platform to directly compete with...

Live TV streaming service DirecTV Now this week began expanding support for local stations on its platform, with numerous posts on r/DirecTVNow reporting that local network affiliates for ABC, NBC, and CBS have appeared in cities across the United States. As pointed out by CordCuttersNews, these affiliates are owned and operated by Nexstar Media Group, a television broadcasting company that...

MacRumors and Twelve South are partnering up for another discount event, this time centering on a collection of nine products that should help students, parents, and teachers gear up for the new school year. In the MacRumors exclusive sale, you'll find 15 percent discounts on Twelve South products like the BookBook Vol. 2, Fermata headphone stand, Curve for MacBook, and more. Note: MacRumors...