Microsoft

Fortnite has been unavailable to play on the iPhone and iPad since Apple banned it from the App Store amid an ongoing legal battle with Epic Games, but the battle royale game has returned to iOS devices thanks to Microsoft's Xbox Cloud Gaming service. This article explains how to get Fortnite up and running on the service – keep reading to learn how it works. Apple removed popular title...

With the release of iOS 14.5 and tvOS 14.5, Apple users can now connect their PS5 DualSense and Xbox Series X controllers to an iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. Keep reading to learn how it works. Since iOS 13 and tvOS 13, users have been able to connect popular console controllers to an iPhone or Apple TV to play Apple Arcade games and other iOS games, instead of having to spend extra money on...

With iOS 13 and tvOS 13, Apple users are now able to connect their favorite console controllers to an iPhone or Apple TV. In this guide, we've provided a quick rundown of how to go about pairing the DualShock 4 Wireless Controller and Xbox Wireless Controller to both iOS and tvOS devices. Previously, MFi controllers were the only solution to playing games on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. With...

In April of 2016, Microsoft opened up a beta test and then launched its Word Flow Windows Phone keyboard on the iOS App Store in the United States. Over a year later, some users have noticed that Microsoft has now closed down the app and removed it from Apple's App Store (via WindowsCentral). On Word Flow's Microsoft Garage page, the company notes that "the Word Flow experiment is now...

Microsoft and Johnson Controls today revealed a new product partnership in a smart thermostat called "GLAS." The thermostat has been built by Johnson Controls, the company that made the first electric thermostat, with Microsoft providing all of the internal software, including the ability for users to awake and control its functions with smart AI assistant Cortana (via The Verge). In the...

Microsoft today launched a new app called Seeing AI, which the company describes as a talking camera for people who are visually impaired. The app uses artificial intelligence and the camera of an iPhone or iPad to describe the world around it. It's able to recognize text, objects, and people. The app turns the visual world into an audible experience and using it is as simple as pointing the ...

Microsoft today announced some major changes to its Outlook app for the iPhone and the iPad, introducing a redesigned conversation experience, improved navigation, and smarter search features that are coming in the near future. The enhanced conversation design displays more of a conversation on a single screen, and there's clearer separation between each individual message. When opening a...

Today, Microsoft is ending support for Windows Phone 8.1, effectively marking the end of the "Windows Phone" era. Microsoft released Windows Phone in 2010 and, within three years, it became the world's third most popular mobile operating system. But the platform simply couldn't compete with the likes of Apple and Google and, as of earlier this year, iOS and Android accounted for a combined...

Nearly 21 percent of current Windows laptop owners and 25 percent of current Windows desktop owners intend to switch to a Mac within the next six months, according to a recent survey conducted by market research firm Verto Analytics. Verto Analytics told MacRumors the survey is based on 6,000 current Windows PC owners age 18 and older in the United States. Of the respondents, those with...

Microsoft today announced that it's implementing several new features in Outlook for Mac, all of which have been highly requested by its Office 365 subscribers. Timed emails, delivery notifications, email templates, and more are being added to the Mac software. With a new Send Later feature, Outlook for Mac users can draft an email and then schedule it to send at another time using the new...

Microsoft executive Ryan Gavin this week suggested Apple released the iPad Pro in response to its Surface devices, per Business Insider. "When Surface initially launched, everyone was skeptical, including them," said Gavin, general manager of Surface commercial devices at Microsoft. "And then they followed, and the iPad Pro is a clear example of that." Microsoft positions the latest...

Microsoft has quietly posted two new accessories onto its online storefront, called the "Modern Keyboard" and "Modern Mouse" (via Engadget). Both devices are built to visually match the company's line of Surface products and connect to Windows PCs, but the Modern Keyboard will also connect to any macOS and iOS device that supports Bluetooth 4.0. The Modern Keyboard has a low profile with an...

Microsoft is today updating its smart camera app for iOS devices, Microsoft Pix, with new features that overlay artistic filters on top of user photos. The company said that the Pix team used neural networks to browse massive datasets of classic paintings in order to "learn the essence of what makes a given style of painting recognizable," all in an effort to fuel Pix's new features. The first ...

Microsoft today announced a rebranding of its game streaming service "Beam," which will now be called "Mixer," along with the launch of a new iOS and Android app that will debut today in beta form. Called "Mixer Create," the app will include a handful of self-broadcasting features that let streamers keep in contact with their audience while on the go. Additionally, down the line Microsoft will ...

Microsoft today introduced the new Surface Pro, choosing that name over Surface Pro 5, at a media event in Shanghai, China. Microsoft said the new Surface Pro delivers up to 13.5 hours of battery life on a single charge, a 50 percent increase over the Surface Pro 4 and 35 percent more battery life than the iPad Pro's advertised 10 hours. The notebook-tablet hybrid features Intel's latest...

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...

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 ...

Microsoft today unveiled an all-new "Surface Laptop," a student- and teacher-focused Windows 10 S, new features for Minecraft: Education Edition, a new Surface Arc Mouse, and more at an education-focused event in New York. The hardware reveal of the Surface Laptop marks the first major computer launch for the company since last year's debut of the Surface Book and Surface Studio, the former of...

Microsoft today announced the preview launch of a new "intelligent task management app" that's designed to make it easier to plan and manage a day's activities. Called "Microsoft To-Do," the app was designed by the team behind Wunderlist, which Microsoft purchased in June of 2015. To-Do is designed to replace Wunderlist, which Microsoft plans to retire after all Wunderlist features have been...

The Microsoft Surface has been ranked the highest in overall consumer satisfaction, and six points above Apple's iPad in second place, according to J.D. Power's 2017 U.S. Tablet Satisfaction Study. This marks the first top spot win for Microsoft in all six years that J.D. Power has published the Tablet Satisfaction Study, with the company earning a total 855 satisfaction score out of a potential...

Microsoft recently debuted a new iOS app called "Sprinkles - Camera with Fun Ideas" [Direct Link], which launches alongside the recent explosion of camera-centric application updates that offer various filters, emojis, lenses, and captions for users to mess around with. The app officially launched on April 1, suggesting the company intended it as an April Fools' prank, but it's only recently...

Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Cisco have filed an amicus brief supporting Google in an ongoing case dealing with security and privacy, topics that Apple has been known to advocate in the past (via Business Insider). Most recently, Google's case has led to a court in Pennsylvania requesting the company to comply to an FBI warrant asking for emails residing on foreign servers. Although it's...

Microsoft today updated Cortana for iPhone with a significant redesign that has been available to Android users since December. As noted by Paul Thurrott, version 2.0 of the app is more responsive with redesigned calling, texting, and reminders and more immersive full-page answers with quicker page transitions. Cortana's mobile redesign launched on Android in December Cortana is Microsoft's...