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...

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...

Starting today, Microsoft Office users who own one of Apple's new 2016 MacBook Pro models can update their Word, Excel, and PowerPoint software to gain new Touch Bar integrations. Touch Bar support for Microsoft Office was first announced at Apple's October keynote event where the updated MacBook Pro with Touch Bar debuted. At that time, Microsoft outlined the Touch Bar's capabilities,...

To celebrate the two-year anniversary of Outlook Mobile, Microsoft is today introducing a major feature for the iOS version of the Outlook email app -- add-ins. For the first time, add-ins are able to be used with the mobile version Outlook, mirroring functionality available on the desktop.Add-ins can help you get more done on the go, and save you valuable time spent switching between apps. This...

Microsoft on Thursday reported a 5% increase in revenue from licensing Windows to PC makers as part of its latest quarterly earnings results. In a subsequent conference call, Microsoft's chief financial officer Amy Hood said its "partner ecosystem continued to see growth and share gains in the Windows premium device category," according to Business Insider. The comment has been interpreted...

Microsoft has announced it is making its Cortana voice assistant AI available to third-party device makers, with third-party developers also set to get access to the platform for integrating into their services on Cortana-powered devices. The company's approach is based on two software kits currently available for preview: A Skills Kit that allows developers to build apps that can be called up ...

Microsoft has announced November was its best month ever for consumer Surface sales. In a blog post, the company said more people are switching from Macs to Surface devices than ever before following the "disappointment" of the new MacBook Pro, particularly among professional users. More people are switching from Macs to Surface than ever before. Our trade-in program for MacBooks was our best...

Microsoft has announced that Cortana for iOS is coming to the U.K. and that the company is readying a significant design overhaul based on user feedback. Cortana is to Windows what Siri is to macOS, but Microsoft's voice-activated virtual assistant has been available on iOS in the United States for precisely a year now, allowing PC users with Apple devices to sync their reminders,...

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has stoked speculation this week that Redmond is prepping a new line of smartphones under the Surface brand for launch in early 2017. In an interview with the Australian Financial Review published on Monday, Nadella said the company was conducting innovative research that would ensure it continued to have a presence in the smartphone market. However, rather than...

Microsoft today launched the "Microsoft Solitaire Collection" on iOS and Android, a package of classic Solitaire games that include Klondike, Spider, FreeCell, Pyramid, and Tripeaks. As noted by The Verge, Microsoft's version of Solitaire has been available on Windows for more than 25 years, but this marks the first time that the game has been extended to other platforms. The app will offer...

A few weeks after Microsoft unveiled the Surface Studio to the public at a media event in New York City, a few websites have begun publishing the first reviews for Microsoft's new desktop PC/tablet hybrid. During its announcement in October, the Surface Studio was revealed to have a 12.5mm thin touch screen, with a 28-inch PixelSense Display that packs in 13.5 million pixels. Microsoft said that...

Microsoft plans to launch its integrated developer environment Visual Studio for the Mac later this week, turning its cloud-first development program into a cross-platform experience that developers can use on both Mac and Windows. Although the official press release has since been deleted, TechCrunch spotted the news and noted that the launch of Visual Studio on the Mac is expected to happen...

In a new Bloomberg interview with Steve Ballmer, the former Microsoft CEO revisited his famously dismissive remarks about the iPhone when it launched back in 2007. Shortly after Steve Jobs revealed the first iPhone, then-Microsoft CEO Ballmer was asked what he thought of the device during a press conference. 500 dollars? Fully subsidized? With a plan? I said that is the most expensive...

Microsoft today debuted its latest product, Microsoft Teams, which is a chat-based workspace designed for Office 365 users. Designed to compete with chat platforms like Slack and HipChat, Microsoft Teams provides a chat interface that integrates with Office 365 apps and services and other third-party services like Zendesk, Asana, Hootsuite, and Intercom. According to Microsoft, Teams is...

Yesterday during its Hello Again event, Apple confirmed that the Microsoft Office suite of apps will be gaining support for Touch Bar on the new MacBook Pro, and now Microsoft has detailed what that will look like for each app. The company said that with Touch Bar support on Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook, it's "continually evolving Office to take advantage of the latest and greatest...

Shortly after Apple's October 2016 event, where the company debuted the new 2016 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, Microsoft launched a new promotion aiming to convert unsatisfied MacBook owners to either the Surface Book or Surface Pro 4. Today, we are announcing a limited-time “trade up” offer to invite more people to experience Surface. If you have a Mac but want to experience the ultimate...

At its media event today in New York City, Microsoft announced a new update coming to Windows 10 devices that's focused on creativity and productivity tools, as well as two major new pieces of hardware: the Surface Book i7 and Surface Studio. The Surface Book is the second generation of last year's original model, while the Surface Studio is the company's all new, all-in-one desktop PC that's...

Researchers at Microsoft claim to have created a new speech recognition technology that transcribes conversational speech as well as a human does (via The Verge). The system's word error rate is reportedly 5.9 percent, which is about equal to professional transcribers asked to work on the same recordings, according to Microsoft. Microsoft researchers from the Speech & Dialog research group ...

Following the release of macOS Sierra last month, the latest operating system has caused some compatibility and stability issues with Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Office 2016 for Mac that both companies are working to resolve. A growing number of users on Adobe's support community claim that Photoshop CC crashes when attempting to print projects after updating to macOS Sierra. Doug Thomson, ...

The Microsoft Band, the wearable device Microsoft first introduced in late 2014, is being quietly phased out of existence. As of today, Microsoft has removed all Microsoft Band models from the Microsoft Online Store and has eliminated the Band Software Development Kit. In a statement given to ZDNet, a Microsoft representative said that the company has sold through all of its Band 2 inventory...

Over the weekend, Microsoft launched a new ad for the Surface Pro 4, continuing its marketing strategy of comparing the tablet computer to Apple's products, this time the 13-inch MacBook Air. The ad is the newest in Microsoft's anti-Apple theme of commercials, previously comparing the iPad Pro with the Surface Pro 4, the MacBook Pro with the Surface Book, and OS X with Windows 10. Just a few...