Mitchel Broussard

Comcast and Philips Lighting today announced a partnership that will introduce integration of Philips Hue directly into Comcast's home security system, Xfinity Home. With the update, Xfinity Home users will be able to control Hue bulbs directly within Comcast's Xfinity Home app [Direct Link], as well as create "rules" that synchronize Hue bulbs with the security system. For example, users will ...

In the ongoing feud between Apple and Qualcomm, the latter company today has brought four of Apple's main iPhone and iPad suppliers into the legal battle by filing a breach of contract complaint against Foxconn, Pegatron, Wistron, and Compal. Qualcomm has sued the four manufacturers for "breaching their license agreements" by failing to pay royalties on the use of Qualcomm's technology in the ...

After months of reports that suggested Apple was gearing up to begin iPhone production within India as a way to boost its presence in the country, a report by The Wall Street Journal today has confirmed the first ever iPhone assembly trial run completed in India earlier this month. As it was previously reported, assembler Wistron handled the iPhone production trial run, specifically focusing on...

At an event in New York City today, hearable company Bragi announced a trio of updates coming to its line of wireless Bluetooth headphones, including The Dash Pro, The Dash Pro tailored by Starkey, and Bragi OS 3. The updates follow the launch of The Headphone device that Bragi debuted earlier this year at a lower cost to The Dash, allowing The Headphone to enter the market as a more direct...

A new update to the popular GIF-finding service Giphy this week has introduced Apple's Live Photo support into the iOS app, letting users convert any GIF they want into a Live Photo (via Mac4Ever). This allows users to more easily see what is a GIF in their camera roll, since GIFs saved as images still don't move when looked at in Photos. Giphy said the main point of the new update is to allow...

In a new article by Wired today, Apple has shared the first in-depth look inside its new Apple Park campus, providing glimpses into the "Ring" building's original design, up-close images of the campus' construction and interiors, and even personal tidbits about former CEO Steve Jobs' connection to Apple Campus 2. As construction and updates on the site have stretched out over the years, current...

After opening up a self-driving car program to the public in Phoenix, Arizona last month, Alphabet-owned Waymo has now officially partnered with ride-hailing app Lyft (via The New York Times). The two will work together in order "to bring autonomous vehicle technology into the mainstream" by launching various pilot projects and helping one another to develop products for the mass market. Like...

Google is planning to launch its smart AI helper Google Assistant on iOS sometime "soon" as its own standalone app, according to sources speaking to Android Police. The rumor is swirling ahead of Google's annual I/O Conference, which will run this week from May 17 to May 19 in California. According to the sources, the specifics of Google's plans for Assistant on iOS remain unclear as of now,...

Philips today announced a new line of fixtures and table lamps for its Philips Hue White Ambience bulbs, which are specifically designed to provide users with various hues of white light that can be dimmed or brightened throughout the day. Like with all Philips Hue products, the new fixtures and lamps will be HomeKit-compatible, allowing users to control the lights with an iPhone, iPad, or Siri. ...

Licensing for MP3, the digital audio coding format that Apple used for music downloads on the original iPod, has officially ended. The announcement comes from The Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (via NPR). The Fraunhofer Institute owns the patent rights related to selling encoders and decoders of the format to developers, and recently announced that its "mp3 licensing program for ...

Following the release of mobile games Miitomo, Super Mario Run, Fire Emblem Heroes, and the upcoming Animal Crossing iPhone app, Nintendo's next big franchise coming to smartphones will be The Legend of Zelda, according to sources speaking with The Wall Street Journal. The sources said that Animal Crossing will hit mobile devices sometime "in the latter half of 2017," and a smartphone version of T...

Drone videographer Matthew Roberts today uploaded a new video about Apple Park, this time showcasing the construction progress that Apple has made on its new campus over the past year. The video starts in June 2016 and goes up through Roberts' most recent drone updates in April and May 2017, where last minute pieces of construction were being put into place as the first small batch of employees...

Accessory manufacturer Satechi today launched a new $99.99 Type-C Pro Hub for the 13-inch and 15-inch 2016 MacBook Pros, featuring a total of seven ports to make up for the inclusion of only Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports on the 2016 MacBook Pro. The new hub is similar in design to the Type-C Hub compatible with Apple's original 12-inch Macbook, but includes two Thunderbolt 3 dongles that take up ...

Google this week announced an update coming soon to its iOS Google Allo app, which will introduce neural network-generated stickers that are personalized to match your own distinct look. The company said that the new feature will combine neural networks and the work of artists to turn your selfies into unique sticker packs, which can then be used in Allo, the company's messaging app. The...

At its Build 2017 conference this morning Microsoft announced that its upcoming Windows 10 Fall Creators Update will include integration with iOS, allowing developers using Microsoft Graph to link desktop apps to mobile apps on both iPhone and Android devices (via The Verge). Users will be able to start apps on a Windows computer and, with the help of Microsoft's AI Cortana, pick up their iPhone...

A patent application published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office today details a new Apple service where users could make inquiries and talk with the company's AI assistant Siri through Messages (via AppleInsider). The new patent is similar to a filing the USPTO published late last year, but now includes deeper integration with audio, video, and image files. Similar to chatbots...

After spending months in preview, Microsoft today is officially launching its Visual Studio coding platform for the Mac (via VentureBeat). Visual Studio allows developers to code applications using Microsoft's integrated development environment (IDE) on Apple's macOS platform, which they can sync across both Windows and Mac devices. Thanks to integration with Xamarin, a cross-platform software ...

Sprint today announced plans to develop and deploy a wide-scale 2.5GHz 5G network in partnership with Qualcomm and SoftBank, with the intent to provide the service and products compatible with it to customers in "late 2019." Sprint's 5G network is said to use the New Radio standard developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project, a group of telecommunications organizations that oversee the ...

When Apple Music launched in 2015, one of the biggest complaints from users and critics centered on the somewhat confusing user interface of Apple's first foray into music streaming. Although the app was redesigned last year in iOS 10, concerns were then raised around the oversized nature of Apple Music's new typography and artwork. This week visual design student Jason Yuan, who studies at...

Spotify this week has launched a new discovery tool called "Spotify Codes," which gives users a way to easily share and find new music within the Spotify app on iOS and Android. The feature works by generating a unique code that users can take a picture of, guiding them directly to the piece of content that the code represents. Users can generate a Spotify Code for any song, artist, album, or...