Apple

Microsoft buying Minecraft maker Mojang for $2.5 billion, commits to keeping iOS game alive

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

Following weeks of speculation, software giant Microsoft on Monday officially confirmed it's spending a cool $2.5 billion to buy Mojang, a company behind the highly successful Minecraft video game which tasks players with building constructions out of textured cubes in a 3D procedurally generated world.

The Stockholm-based firm is to become part of Microsoft Studios, the Windows maker has confirmed.

The deal, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory review, will enable “richer and faster worlds, more powerful development tools and more opportunities to connect” across the Minecraft community as the game is set to take advantage of Microsoft’s cloud and mobile technologies.

Google announces first low-cost Android One handsets launching in India, starting at just $105

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 19, 2018

The Internet giant Google during a Monday media event in India announced the first wave of low-cost Android handsets running the company's optimized Android One software, with prices starting as low as $105.

“The world is filled with potential: people who are ready to leave their mark and need a phone as ambitious as they are,” said the firm during the event. The Android One project has been conceived to bring stock Android experience to inexpensive mid-to-low-range handsets sold in emerging markets such as Russia, India, Brazil and China.

Apple confirms taking four million iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus pre-orders in 24 hours

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 15, 2014

Apple on Monday put out a press release confirming it took four million pre-orders of the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in the first 24 hours, representing a twofold increase over the two million pre-order sales for the iPhone 5 in 2012.

“iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are better in every way, and we are thrilled customers love them as much as we do,” the media release quotes Apple CEO Tim Cook as saying. The four million pre-orders for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in 24 hours set a new record for Apple.

New Samsung ad calls iPhone 6 Plus a Galaxy Note imitation

Cody Lee ∙ September 14, 2014

Samsung began airing a new TV spot this weekend for the Galaxy Note 4—its new flagship handset that begins shipping next month. Like most of the company's recent ads, this one goes after Apple, with a specific focus on its just-announced iPhone 6 Plus.

Titled "Then and Now," the commercial points out that while Apple prepares to begin selling its first handset with a display over 5 inches, Samsung has been doing it for years with its Galaxy Note line. It essentially calls the iPhone 6 Plus a Note imitation.

Apple hires several tech executives to develop Apple Pay loyalty program

Timothy Reavis ∙ Updated June 11, 2018

Coming soon after the introduction of its mobile payment system, Apple is hiring several high-profile tech executives from companies including American Express, Google, and PayPal. These new recruits are not only to help expand Apple Pay, the newly-announced method of paying for transactions both online and in retail stores, but to develop a loyalty system for Apple Pay.

This rewards program is reported as offering a free music, TV show, or app download to users after a transaction or number of transactions have been completed using Apple Pay. In this way, the merchant doesn't have to be affected at all, and Apple can work to promote its mobile payment system with an enticing loyalty system.

Apple said to have held talks with Square regarding acquisition

Cody Lee ∙ September 12, 2014

Before raising its latest $100 million in funding, Square was in talks with Apple regarding a possible acquisition, reports TechCrunch this afternoon. The outlet says that the two companies held discussions briefly, but the conversation quickly ended when their final numbers didn't match up.

Apparently Apple was willing to pay around $3 billion for the mobile payments company, about 30% over its value. TechCrunch even claims that the Cupertino firm showed Square hardware it was working on that would compete directly with its point-of-sale tools, but the company declined.

Apple will reportedly get a 0.15% cut of all Apple Pay transactions

Cody Lee ∙ September 12, 2014

Apple has negotiated a never-before-seen deal for its new mobile payment system, according to a new report from the Financial Times. Citing sources familiar with the terms of the agreement, the outlet says that the Cupertino firm stands to make 15 cents of every $100 spent (or 0.15%) using Apple Pay.

We knew that Apple stood to make a lot of money from its new Pay service, but this is the first time we're hearing hard numbers. "It's unprecedented," says Dickson Chu, former engineer at PayPal and Google Wallet. "It’s somewhat surprising that Apple was able to negotiate something Google couldn’t.”

AT&T dragging its feet with Wi-Fi Calling

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 12, 2014

AT&T, the nation's second-biggest wireless provider, is allegedly planning on rolling out the Wi-Fi Calling feature to its subscribers, but in 2015 rather than this year, LightReading reported Friday.

Already supported on T-Mobile, but not coming anytime soon to Verizon (Sprint has yet to announce it), Wi-Fi Calling is supported by the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The feature will be coming to older iPhones from the iPhone 5 onward, courtesy of the free iOS 8 update scheduled to release next Wednesday.

iPhone 6 pre-orders set unprecedented records

Timothy Reavis ∙ Updated April 17, 2018

Coming soon after pre-orders for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus went live last night, both Apple and AT&T reported that the respective companies were seeing record pre-orders, with demand for the larger iPhone 6 surpassing that of both the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5.

Apple, despite its late start, saw record pre-orders last night alone, issuing a statement saying, "Response to iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has been incredible with a record number of preorders overnight." Although Apple didn't specify exactly how many units were sold, we can assume it surpassed iPhone 5 sales of 2 million in 24 hours when Apple last had pre-orders two years ago.

Apple: iOS 8’s SMS forwarding arriving in October

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated September 28, 2016

When iOS 8 launches for public consumption next Wednesday, text message relaying will not work immediately from day one because Apple plans to enable the feature in October, according to the just-refreshed iOS 8 webpage detailing the Continuity feature that was first spotted Friday morning by iLongue.

Now listed as ”coming in October”, the delayed launch coincides nicely with an upcoming October release of the free OS X Yosemite update. A discussion thread at MacRumors corroborates iLounge's findings, suggesting Apple has disabled SMS relaying on its servers in the past couple of days, likely until Yosemite is officially released.

This development isn't surprising to us given that iOS 8 and Yosemite are more dependent on each other by Continuity than previously.

Rumor claims ultra-slim 12″ Retina MacBook Air coming in 2015 in Silver, Space Gray and Gold

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 9, 2017

File this one under the 'We Shall See' drawer: Apple's long-rumored MacBook Air with a 12-inch Retina display is reportedly launching next year in Space Gray and Gold, in addition to the usual aluminum silver look, A Tech Website said Friday citing sources “familiar with Apple’s plans”.

This is the first time someone has mentioned iPhone-inspired colors with respect to Apple's ultra-thin notebook. We're not sure what to make of this report because in my personal view, a gold MacBook Air sounds preposterous, to say the least.

Apple rumored to launch Retina iMacs and ultra high-resolution 5K Thuderbolt Display by year-end

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 12, 2014

Apple is said to be releasing a 27-inch iMac with Retina display and a new high-resolution 27-inch Thunderbolt Display by the end of the fourth quarter of 2014, Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes reported Friday citing a report from Taiwan-based display researchers WitsView.

The upcoming Thunderbolt Display should feature a 5K resolution of a whopping 5,120-by-2,880 pixel versus the 2,560-by-1,440 pixel resolution on the current Thunderbolt Display.