Apple

AT&T stops offering Beats Music subscriptions to customers

AT&T is no longer in the business of selling Beats Music subscriptions, reports MacRumors. The site spoke with an employee for the carrier who said he's been instructed to stop offering the service to customers as a monthly plan add-on.

Additionally, AT&T has pulled all references to Beats Music from its website, and no longer offers the option to sign up for the service when selecting a new phone plan. Beats Music has also removed "Subcribe with AT&T" from its website.

Apple to stop selling Fitbit products in stores

Apple may soon stop selling Fitbit device in its retail stores, according to Recode. The outlet says that its source gave no meaningful reason for why it's decided to pull the products, but it may have something to do with its upcoming Apple Watch.

Introduced at last month's media event, the Apple Watch is billed as a device capable of handling a number of smartphone tasks, as well as tracking and analyzing various health and fitness data. This would put it in direct competition with Fitbit.

Google roundup: Android Lollipop, Nexus 6 phone, Nexus 9 tablet and Nexus Play streamer

With less than 24 hours left until Apple's “It's been way too long” iPad and Mac media event, the Internet giant Google in a pre-emptive strike Wednesday officially unveiled the next major version of its mobile operating system, Android 5.0, along with the newest Nexus-branded hardware devices: a Motorola-made smartphone, a HTC-made tablet and an Asus-built game console and media streamer.

“A sweet new take on Android,” Android Lollipop is actually the Android L software the search giant teased at its Google I/O conference back in the summer. Containing over 5,000 new APIs for developers, Lollipop has been designed to be flexible to support all screen sizes and devices while taking Android's customization to the next level.

iOS 8 User Guide inadvertently confirms ‘iPad Air 2’ and ‘iPad mini 3’ with Touch ID and Burst mode

An inadvertent (or is it?) slip-up on Apple’s iBooks Store on Wednesday all but confirmed that tomorrow's media event will in fact serve as a launchpad for a pair of iPad refreshes: a second-generation iPad Air and third-generation iPad mini. Furthermore, the images suggest Touch ID fingerprint scanning for both new tablets, in addition to Burst camera mode for the regular-size iPad.

These revelations were made public via iTunes screenshots for the iOS 8 iPad User Guide that can be downloaded to iBooks, as first discovered by the prolific Apple blogger Mark Gurman of 9to5Mac.

HBO relents, says standalone HBO Go subscription streaming service launching in 2015

Cable cutters, rejoice! HBO has relented and will go forward with plans to enable a standalone streaming service in 2015, Re/code reported Wednesday.

Though details are scarce, the forthcoming service will allow people to watch HBO's original programming, TV shows, movies, documentaries and more, but without pay TV subscription.

According to HBO CEO Richard Plepler speaking at Time Warner Inc.’s investor day meeting on Wednesday, the company is indeed planning to launch a “standalone, over-the-top” subscription offering at some point next year. The disruptive move couldn't be overstated as it's going to be a major blow to the complacent American cable industry.

Rumor: Apple switching to laser-cut logo with “shine at the edges” across all 2015 products

In spite of both The Wall Street Journal and Re/code’s reliable John Paczkowski cautioning against a Retina refresh for Apple's MacBook Air at tomorrow's event, the hit-and-miss DigiTimes on Wednesday quoted Taiwanese suppliers as saying that small-volume shipments have already begun.

More interesting than that, sources asserted that the Cupertino firm is planning a major switch to using laser cutting and some advanced embedded technologies to make the Apple logo on products “3D-like and shine at the edges”.

This is allegedly a large-scale effort as all Apple products reportedly are going to feature the new logo in 2015, ”starting with the next-generation iMac”. As a reminder, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo thinks the next iMac with a 5K Retina screen will be unveiled at tomorrow's event, among other goodies.

Microsoft optimizes Skype for iPhone 6 screens

As promised, software maker Microsoft has just issued an update to Skype for the iPhone and iPod touch adding native display support for the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus screen sizes, the team announced in a blog post Wednesday morning.

As a result, you'll see more of your recent chats and messages in conversation view on Apple's new smartphones because iOS 8 doesn't have to compensate for the lack of iPhone 6 support by blowing up the interface to fill up the whole screen.

Skype for iPhone 5.6, available free in the App Store, also adds presence indicators to your Recent list and number of contacts and time zones information on contact profiles.

Jump past the fold for other features in this maintenance Skype update.

Rovio releases Angry Birds Transformers globally

Following its soft-launch in New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Finland on September 25, Rovio's Angry Birds Transformers is now available globally as a free-to-play download for the iPhone and iPad, the Finnish mobile games maker announced Wednesday morning.

Featuring cars, trucks, tanks and planes and a plethora of heroes and villains with unique attacks and abilities, the movie tie-in challenges your Autobirds (I chuckled) to save Piggy Island from the crazed robots on a mission to nuke it out of orbit.

TSMC reportedly lands contract to build A8X processor for iPad Pro

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's leading independent semiconductor foundry, has landed a contract to fabricate Apple's upcoming A8X mobile processor, Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes reported Wednesday.

The chip, which leaked on claimed photographs earlier this week, is said to feature faster graphics.

In addition to an improved GPU, it reportedly incorporates twice as much RAM as its A8 counterpart, which powers the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. As such, the A8X should power Apple's rumored 'iPad Pro' tablet with an ultra high-resolution 12.9-inch screen.

Design concept reimagines popular iOS apps for Apple Watch

When Apple launches the Apple Watch early next year, it will mark the beginning of a new platform for developers. Thanks to WatchKit, the device will support third party applications, including extensions for current iOS apps and new standalone software.

With this in mind, a couple of graphic artists have created a design concept that reimagines what popular iOS apps would look like with an Apple Watch-style interface. Posted to Behance, the images include concepts for Skype, Instagram, Twitter and more.

Apple to unveil 27-inch Retina iMac this week, initial iPad Air 2 supplies may be limited

Apple plans to unveil a new 27-inch iMac with Retina display at its event tomorrow, reports Ming-Chi Kuo. In a note to investors, the highly regarded analyst offers up last minute predictions of what Mac and iOS products we can expect to see announced during the keynote.

Kuo says that a 27-inch Retina iMac is on the docket, and should be available before the end of the year. Due to the difficulties involved in developing and mass producing different hi-res panels, however, he doesn't see a 21-inch version arriving before the second half of 2015.

Roundup + poll: what are you most excited about for Apple’s Thursday event?

In less than 48 hours, journalists blessed with Apple's “It's been way too long” invitation will gather on the Town Hall Campus grounds in Cupertino, California for another dose of technology news.

With new iPads and OS X Yosemite on everyone's mind, it's time to step back and asses exactly what other goodies Apple may or may not deliver at its media conference. And what better way to make such a roundup entertaining than a listicle augmented by a poll?

Here's a dozen predictions of our own so please kindly vote for your favorite one.