Joe Rossignol

Apple has published its annual Best of 2015 charts for the App Store, iTunes and iBooks Store, naming live video platform Periscope its App of the Year and Tomb Raider puzzler spinoff Lara Croft GO its Game of the Year. Enlight and Robinhood were selected as runner-ups for App of the Year, while strategy game Fallout Shelter and one-touch platformer Mr Jump finished second and third place...

Apple senior executive Eddy Cue has confirmed to BuzzFeed News that the company is developing a new Apple TV Remote app with full Siri Remote functionality on iPhone to be released in the first half of 2016.“We’re working on a new Apple TV remote app that will give you the full functionality of the Siri Remote on your iPhone,” Cue said. “We’re hoping to ship that in the first half of next year.”Ap...

Kantar Worldpanel has released new smartphone operating system market share data for the third calendar quarter of 2015, providing a regional breakdown of Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and other mobile platform adoption in the U.S., Europe, China, Japan and elsewhere during the three-month period ending October. In the U.S. market, Android led the third quarter with 62.8% market...

Deezer Music has announced that its iOS app will be updated today with CarPlay support, making the streaming music service's full catalog of 35 million songs available through Apple's in-dash software platform. CarPlay support will be limited to Premium+ and Elite paid subscribers. Deezer on CarPlay allows subscribers to listen to their favorite songs, albums, artists and playlists, choose a ...

Apple has confirmed that updating to iOS 9.2 should prevent an issue that caused some iPad Pros to become unresponsive after charging from continuing in the future. Shortly after the launch of the iPad Pro, some early adopters began complaining about an issue that caused the 12.9-inch tablet to become unresponsive after charging, requiring a hard restart to restore functionality. Apple...

Apple has released a new Lightning to SD Card Camera Reader with support for up to USB 3.0 speeds on iPad Pro, and USB 2.0 speeds on all other iPad and iPhone models, as spotted by iDownloadBlog. The dongle retails for $29 on the Apple Online Store in the U.S. and is available to ship for delivery within approximately one week. Last month, it was discovered that the iPad Pro's Lightning port...

French audio company Devialet has reached a partnership with Apple that will see its high-end Phantom speaker sold at the top fourteen Apple Stores in the U.S. starting today, reports TechCrunch. The 750-watt Phantom will sell for $1,990, while the 3000-watt Phantom Silver will cost $2,390, the same prices as purchasing either speaker directly from Devialet.The Phantom and Phantom Silver,...

Apple has announced that its 28th retail store in China opens Saturday, December 12 at 2:00 p.m. local time. The store will be located in the MixC shopping mall at 136 Minzu Avenue in Nanning's Qingxiu District. MixC shopping mall in Nanning, China (Image: WeekendNotes) The new store will be open between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. local time on Monday-Thursday and Sunday, with extended hours on...

Dropbox has announced that it will be shutting down popular email and photo sharing apps Mailbox and Carousel on February 26, 2016 and March 31, 2016 respectively. Dropbox originally acquired Mailbox in March 2013, and launched Carousel in April 2014. The company says it will be communicating directly with users of both apps in the coming days. Mailbox users will no longer be able to sign...

Apple supplier Japan Display plans to begin mass production of OLED displays for future iPhones in spring 2018, according to Japanese website Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun [Google Translate] (via GforGames). Japan Display executives are reportedly in negotiations with Apple about securing OLED orders for future iPhones, in an effort to compete with existing OLED panel suppliers Samsung Electronics and...

Google today acknowledged an ongoing issue causing a number of iPhone, iPad and Mac apps to display incorrect one-star ratings in its search results on the web, and confirmed that a fix should be implemented by early next week. "I'm happy to share that we've been working hard on providing a solution, and a new fix has been scheduled for the next release, which should be rolling out early...

Apple will begin trial production of a fifth-generation Apple TV in December 2015, with supplier Quanta Computer ramping up volume production in the first quarter of 2016, according to Taiwanese website DigiTimes. The report, citing "sources from Taiwan-based supply chain makers," claims the next-generation Apple TV will feature a new CPU that will "dramatically improve the device's hardware...

The latest data from market research firm IDC estimates Apple Watch sales totaled 3.9 million worldwide in the third quarter of 2015, making it the second most popular wearable device behind Fitbit fitness trackers during the three-month period ending September 30. Apple posted a slight increase from the previous quarter, mostly the result of additional markets and channels coming on line....

Flickr has published a 2015 Year in Review that again crowns the iPhone as the most popular camera, used for 42% of photos uploaded, based on EXIF data analysis. iPhones finished ahead of the Canon EOS, used for 27% of uploaded photos, and the Nikon D, used for 16% of uploaded photos. The photo sharing website's cameras page lists the iPhone 6 as the most popular camera in the Flickr...

iPad Pro launched in the U.S. and 40 total countries in November, and this week the 12.9-inch tablet became available in the Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan through the Apple Online Store and select authorized resellers. Pricing for the 32GB Wi-Fi base model in the three Asian countries starts at ₱42,990.00 in the Philippines, ₩999,000 in South Korea and NT$27,900 in Taiwan. 128GB...

T-Mobile has announced a third "Un-carrier Unwrapped" holiday promotion that offers AT&T customers a 128GB iPhone 6s for the same price as a 16GB model, which is a $200 savings. The offer is valid for AT&T, GoPhone and Cricket postpaid and prepaid customers that switch a phone number to a T-Mobile Simple Choice postpaid plan between December 4 and December 13. AT&T customers can combine the ...

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has issued a research note corroborating rumors that Apple will release a new 4-inch iPhone next year, which he believes will resemble an upgraded iPhone 5s and launch in early 2016. While new model may not generate huge sales, Apple still has good reasons to launch. These are: (1) still-existing demand for 4-inch smartphones. We estimate 15-17mn 4-inch...

A recent Consumer Reports survey shows that MacBooks continue to lead all notebooks in reliability and customer satisfaction, based on 58,000 subscribers who purchased laptops between 2010 and 2015. ZDNet reports that almost 20% of the respondents experienced a breakdown in the first three years of using a notebook, but MacBooks had notably lower failure rates compared to various Windows-based ...

LifeProof has announced that its popular waterproof FRĒ case is now available for the iPhone 6s Plus and iPhone 6 Plus. The case retails for $89.99 and is available in six colors: Black, Avalanche, Bonzai Blue, Sunset Pink and Crushed Purple. LifeProof is accepting pre-orders now for the black version, with an estimated in-stock date of December 11. LifeProof's FRĒ is a rugged case that is...

Apple has updated its Apple Pay participating issuers list with 40 additional banks, credit unions and financial institutions supporting the contactless payment service in the United States. Apple Pay now has nearly 800 participating issuers nationwide, and several more plan to support the NFC-based mobile payment service in the future. The newly added Apple Pay participating issuers are...