Mitchel Broussard

India is preparing to raise its customs duty on imported mobile phones -- including Apple's iPhone models besides the iPhone SE -- from a previous standard of 15 percent to 20 percent (via Bloomberg). The latest tax hike for imported iPhones comes under two months after the last one, which saw the taxes on imported mobile phones increase from 10 percent to 15 percent. Like the previous...

A new MacRumors exclusive Sound Forge Pro Mac 3 offer is launching today, allowing our readers to get Magix's advanced audio waveform editing software for $229, a $328 discount on the traditional price of $557. The exclusive sale lasts from today, January 31 through February 28, 2018. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may...

In a new episode of IGN's "Unfiltered" interview series, thatgamecompany co-founder Jenova Chen discussed a variety of topics, including the developer's upcoming iOS- and tvOS-only game "Sky," the "malicious" intent of some mobile games, and how Sky's payment model is its "biggest innovation." Specifically, Chen talked about how the iOS App Store and other mobile gaming platforms have affected ...

Two former Apple executives have today launched a new game broadcasting service called Caffeine, which allows users to watch and broadcast games and other entertainment on Mac, PC, and iPhone. In a press release, the company likened Caffeine to Amazon's Twitch platform, "only easier, safer, and more social." Caffeine was founded by Ben Keighran and Sam Roberts, a former product design lead for ...

Nintendo recently reported earnings for its fiscal third quarter of 2017, including data related to the company's two-year-old smartphone game business. In the report, Nintendo confirmed that its smart device and intellectual property related earnings increased from 10.6 billion yen (about $98 million) in the nine months ended December 31, 2016 to 29.1 billion yen (about $267 million) in the same ...

Apple's senior vice president of internet software and services Eddy Cue has been announced as a Featured Speaker for 2018's South By Southwest Conference event. SXSW takes place from March 9-18 in Austin, Texas, and Cue will lead a talk focused on startup companies and the tech sector, accompanied by CNN senior reporter Dylan Byers. Other speakers include Steve Jobs biography writer Walter...

Apple's ongoing struggles in India have been highlighted this week in a report by CNBC, which interviewed locals to ask about their experiences with the cost of Apple devices and the company's services. Indian users were favorable of Apple Music over rival services -- thanks to an improved catalog and affordable subscription price -- but Apple Maps and Siri received much lower marks. Echoing...

Apple's iPhone X made it into the top three best-selling smartphones in December 2017 "across all key regions," according to new data tracked by Kantar Worldpanel. Specifically, Apple's new iPhone X climbed best-selling charts in Europe, Japan, Australia, the United States, and China, where it was the top selling model during the holiday season this year. Although iOS market share fell 0.5...

Facebook this week has detailed how it plans to give its users "more control" of their privacy on the mobile and desktop versions of the social network. One of the major new additions is described as a "privacy center" that will provide simple tools to manage privacy and combine all core privacy settings into one easy-to-find interface. In order to explain how to use these features to its...

A new card on the iOS App Store today confirms that Final Fantasy XV: Pocket Edition will launch on compatible iOS devices on February 9, a few months after being announced last September. Players interested in the game can use the App Store's new pre-order ability and tap "Get," and when the game releases it will download onto their device and notify them that the game is available. Final...

The Copyright Royalty Board this past weekend ruled on a long-running music streaming royalty case in the U.S., favoring songwriters and music publishers in a decision that increases the royalties paid out by streaming music services by more than 40 percent (via The Wall Street Journal). Now Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music Unlimited, Pandora, and other streaming music services will be...

The United States federal government is said to be looking to build a centralized 5G wireless network across the country within three years, according to a sensitive PowerPoint presentation and a memo obtained by Axios. The documents said that the Trump administration is considering a federal "takeover" of a portion of the country's mobile network to "guard against China" and hopes to...

Verizon this morning announced an offer coming for both existing customers and new customers who are switching to a Verizon line, which will go live on Monday, January 29. With the deal, if you trade in an eligible smartphone and then purchase an iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, or iPhone X, you'll get $699 off a second iPhone 8, 8 Plus, or X. The offer is available when purchasing any combination of...

Although longer and more in-depth reviews for Apple's smart speaker, the HomePod, have not yet been published, a few websites have gotten the chance to spend an hour or so with the speaker and have been sharing their experiences this week. At Digital Trends, Julian Chokkattu liked the unassuming design of the HomePod, noting that "it's easy to miss... because it makes no effort at standing...

Apple has expanded its California fleet of self-driving vehicles from three registered last April to 27 as of early 2018, according to a new report posted by Bloomberg today and sourced from emails with the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Following the first three vehicle registrations, from July 2017 to January 2018 Apple has registered 24 more Lexus RX450h sports utility vehicles...

Sonos has announced a limited time sale launching tomorrow, January 26 in the United States and United Kingdom, bundling two of the company's Sonos One speakers together for $349/£349. Individual Sonos One devices cost $199 in the U.S., so the company's new sale offers $50 in savings. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Sonos. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive...

Nintendo launched its first iOS mobile game, Miitomo, in March 2016, and this week the company has confirmed it will officially end support for the game on May 9, 2018 (via The Verge). The company posted a notice [Google Translate] on its Japanese website yesterday, warning Miitomo users of its decision to "terminate the service" on Wednesday, May 9 at 12:00 a.m. (PDT). Ahead of that closure,...

Twitter is "experimenting" with a new update to its mobile iOS and Android apps that is said to make it easier for users to share videos and photos on the social network. According to people familiar with the matter, speaking with Bloomberg, the update is still in an early testing phase and could "change significantly" over the next few months, but comes at a time when Twitter is looking to...

After changing the iBooks app to simply be called "Books" in the iOS 11.3 beta that released to developers yesterday, a new report out today by Mark Gurman at Bloomberg states that Apple is preparing to revamp the internals of the iPhone and iPad app as well. In an update coming in the next few months -- potentially with the public release of iOS 11.3 in the spring -- Apple will redesign...

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson shared an open letter today on the topic of Net Neutrality, pledging that the company is "committed to an open internet" following the Federal Communications Commission's vote last month to repeal Net Neutrality. In the letter, Stephenson said that AT&T does not block websites, censor online content, or throttle, discriminate, and degrade network performance based...