Mitchel Broussard

With the court date for the iPhone unlocking case between Apple and the FBI just over a week away, United States Attorney General Loretta Lynch decided to speak on the issue during an episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert last night (via TechCrunch). After Colbert asked about her likely stance on the topic, Lynch said that she has "had a number of great conversations with Tim Cook on...

Electronic Arts today announced a new game in the popular Plants vs. Zombies series, called Plants vs. Zombies Heroes, that ditches the tower defense mechanisms of past mobile installments for a collectible card format in the vein of Hearthstone (via VentureBeat). EA and PopCap Games aimed to make the game "accessible, with a lot of depth" to satisfy those new at card battling games but keep...

Ten One Design today announced the "Blockhead," a side-facing plug for Apple chargers that will allow users to place the large wall adapters flush and parallel with a wall to save space, and open up more possibilities for charging behind large furniture. The accessory replaces the detachable prongs that ship with Apple products, and Ten One Design promises Blockhead will fit "every MacBook" and...

It's been a long-standing belief in some circles that using the multitasking feature of iOS to force quit apps can help save an iPhone's battery life, or improve the speediness of the software when the smartphone becomes slow. Earlier in the week, an iPhone user decided to email Apple CEO Tim Cook to put the issue to bed once and for all, and instead got a reply from Craig Federighi, Apple's...

Apple has rolled out a small but notable update to the Radio tab in Apple Music, removing the static Beats 1 logo at the top of the landing page and replacing it with a new UI that dynamically updates to the currently-airing live radio show (via 9to5Mac). In addition to the title, the tab will update with new artwork and the airing location of the show. The change also brings more direct UI...

Following the launch of a few ads focused around the advantages of Windows 10 PCs over Macs, this week Microsoft continued its campaign with new commercials showcasing the Microsoft Surface Book. The ads feature wildlife photographer Tim Flach describing the pros of the Surface Book, pointing out a few things that he "just can't do" on a Mac. The first video showcases Flach's "initial...

Apple is rumored to be further expanding the iPhone's screen size beyond the current 5.5-inch iPhone 6s Plus, moving to 5.8 inches in a future device that could launch "in 2018 or even earlier in 2017." The news comes from a pre-publication report by DigiTimes that has been obtained by The Motley Fool, and it states that the 5.8-inch iPhone will include an OLED display, in line with previous...

Following an announcement in January, ExxonMobil today officially launched Apple Pay support within its Speedpass+ iOS app, letting customers pay for gas or car washes directly from their iPhone (via CNET). Although most of ExxonMobil's stations come equipped with an RFID station for mobile payments, the company decided to focus on software within the app to further streamline the transaction...

Apple will have to pay a $450 million settlement in the protracted e-books antitrust case, which saw the company found guilty of conspiring with publishers to inflate the prices of e-books back in 2014 (via Bloomberg). In October, Apple submitted an appeal to overturn the guilty ruling, but today the United States Supreme Court declined to question the verdict, meaning Apple must now comply...

Following the recent January 1, 1970 iPhone bricking bug, a different long-standing issue related to Unix time and emails is gaining renewed attention, as highlighted by The Telegraph. The non-malicious glitch has been gaining new traction online recently, with some iOS users sharing screenshots of their devices receiving emails from December 31, 1969 or January 1, 1970. The glitch has been...

Apple is gearing up to launch a refurbished iPhone market in India, according to a new report from The Times of India. The company is seeking permission from the Indian government to import pre-owned iPhones into the country, and has submitted a formal request to the ministry of environment and forests to begin doing so. "An application from Apple regarding import of certified pre-owned...

A new musical centering around the founding of Apple Computers by Steve Jobs is debuting this month in New York. Developed at the New York Musical Festival, the Musical Theatre Factory, and the New York Theatre Barn, "The Crazy Ones" is billed as "a thrilling new original pop-rock musical" that aims to depict Jobs' genius as well as his "very powerful demons." In 1982, Steve Jobs was in control. ...

After launching the Echo over a year ago, today Amazon announced two new additions to the lineup of voice-controlled smart hubs that house the company's personal assistant Alexa. Users will now be able to purchase a more portable version of Echo with Amazon Tap, and even expand the device's power into other rooms with Echo Dot. The $130 Amazon Tap is a more rugged, pick-up-and-go alternative...

According to a new report from Economic Daily News (via DigiTimes), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has plans to double the output capacity of its 16nm chip production from 40,000 12-inch wafers in February to 80,000 in March. The news corroborates previous reports that suggested TSMC was ready to expand its 16nm FinFET production capacity in the second quarter of 2016, solely for the...

DxO today announced a new "dramatically enhanced stand-alone experience" for its DxO ONE camera, granting users the ability to take pictures with the miniaturized device without needing to tether it to their smartphone. The DxO ONE's OLED display helps its users line up a shot, which they can then capture easily thanks to the on-board two-stage shutter button. The connected app allows for...

With origins on Kickstarter, the Zuli Smartplug is a device that acts as a buffer between a wall outlet and any electronic device, letting users control the connected appliance through a smartphone app. Today the company announced that it will be integrating that app with the popular Philips Hue lighting system, letting users interact with Hue lights directly within the Zuli app. The...

Eight months after posting a detailed summary of the "clunky" behind-the-scenes process musicians have to go through when using Apple Music Connect, Dave Wiskus decided to revisit his stance on the platform to see if Apple had made any notable changes to its grasps at socially connecting artists and fans. Wiskus -- an app developer and lead singer for the band Airplane Mode -- admitted in the...

In a recent blog post, developer Keith Blount gave an update on the long-awaited iOS version of popular writing app Scrivener. Blount touched on the lengthy road to development the app has had over the years, mentioning that he took over its development and "rewrote it from the ground up" last year. A screenshot of Scrivener for Mac I know we’ve been quiet about the iOS version recently, and ...

Google today announced an incoming update to its Google Maps for iOS app that will let users add pit stops onto their trips without leaving navigation mode. First introduced on Android last fall, the company said that the pit stop feature will be available in any country where Google Maps navigation is offered, which is "more than 100 worldwide." From navigation mode, users will just need to...

Rumors surrounding the 4-inch "iPhone 5se" continue today with new information pointing to the possibility of Apple dropping the "5" from the name altogether and simply calling it the "iPhone SE." As reported by 9to5Mac, the new name would be a shift in focus on the 4-inch iPhone's "enhanced and special edition" status, making it stand out from the numerically named crowd of the iPhone family. ...