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 announced it is beginning to roll out iPhone support to the Phone Link app on Windows 11. In a blog post, the company said this functionality will be available to all Windows 11 users around the world by mid-May. With the Phone Link app for Windows 11 and the Link to Windows app for iOS, iPhone users can make and receive phone calls, send and receive text messages, and view...

The U.K.'s antitrust regulator has announced it will block Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard over concerns the deal would be anticompetitive in the cloud gaming market. In a press release announcing the block, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had prevented Microsoft's proposed purchase of Activision over concerns the deal would lead to "reduced innovation and...

Apple has released updates for its Apple Music, Apple TV, and Apple Devices apps for PC users running Windows 11, bringing what appear to be notable improvements and bug fixes to the preview apps. Last year, Microsoft said that Apple Music and Apple TV apps would be coming to the Microsoft Store in 2023 for installation on Windows devices, offering a better experience of ‌Apple Music and...

Microsoft last year said it would be ending support for SwiftKey on iPhone, then only weeks later it backtracked and asked users to "stay tuned" for the arrival of new features. The company has now lived up to its promise with a fresh update that, perhaps unsurprisingly, integrates its ubiquitous Bing AI chatbot into the predictive keyboard app. There are three components to SwiftKey's new...

Microsoft today announced that its AI-enhanced Bing browser now includes Bing Image Creator, image-generating technology powered by OpenAI's DALL-E deep learning model. DALL-E is designed to generate digital content through natural language descriptions, and it has been a popular image generation tool for some time now. Microsoft says that the Bing Image Creator will bring AI-powered visual...

Microsoft is reportedly preparing to launch an Xbox games store on the iPhone as early as next year, but the plans depend on multiple regulatory measures. In an interview with the Financial Times, Microsoft's gaming chief Phil Spencer said the app's launch hinges on regulators approving the company's acquisition of video game maker Activision Blizzard, as this would give Microsoft a wider...

Microsoft today announced that its Outlook app for Mac is now free to use, eliminating the need for a Microsoft 365 subscription or license. Outlook supports multiple email providers, including Outlook.com, Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo Mail, and others, with a unified inbox and universal search functionality available. As noted by The Verge, the app has been optimized for Macs with Apple silicon...

Microsoft today announced that it is adding iPhone support to its Phone Link app on Windows 11. The app allows iPhone users to make and receive phone calls, send and receive text messages, and view an iPhone's notifications directly on a PC. Notably, the app brings limited iMessage functionality to Windows. After pairing an iPhone with a PC via Bluetooth and granting some permissions on the...

Microsoft today announced the rollout of new Bing, Skype, and Edge apps for the iPhone and the iPad, all of which feature the chat-based AI-powered search capabilities that the company unveiled earlier in February. The redesigned Bing mobile app has an overhauled look and a new chat experience. Tapping on the Bing icon at the bottom of the app opens up a chat session, where users can ask the ...

The growing popularity of OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot has inspired Microsoft and Google to add conversational AI functionality into their search products, with both companies making AI-related announcements this week. Google yesterday introduced Bard, a chatbot AI project that has been in the works for some time. Powered by Google's Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA), Bard is an...

Microsoft Authenticator is no longer available on the Apple Watch following an update to the app released on the App Store today. "This update removes Microsoft Authenticator from Apple Watch," reads the release notes for the update. Microsoft notes that in the Apple Watch's notification settings, you can still choose to mirror iPhone alerts from the app to your Apple Watch. Primarily...

Last October, Microsoft announced that Apple Music and Apple TV apps would be coming to the Microsoft Store in 2023 for installation on Windows devices, providing significant improvements for users on those platforms who have had to access ‌Apple Music‌ via the web or Apple's outdated iTunes for Windows app and Apple TV+ via the web. Preview versions of the two apps, as well as an Apple...

Microsoft Authenticator for iOS will drop support for the Apple Watch companion app from January 2023, the company has revealed. Used principally for signing into Microsoft accounts with two-step verification enabled, the Microsoft Authenticator for iOS gained an Apple Watch companion app in 2018. The watch app supports Microsoft personal, work, and school accounts that are set up with...

Microsoft is looking to build a "super app" that incorporates a messaging platform, shopping, web search, and news into a single app, an apparent attempt to go after Apple and Google's app store platforms. According to a report today by The Information, Microsoft has been in the early stages of building a "super app" at the direction of the company's CEO Satya Nadella. Nadella has reportedly ...

Microsoft's popular third-party keyboard for iOS, SwiftKey, is back on the App Store just weeks after the company announced it would be shutting down the app and delisting it from the platform. In September, Microsoft said SwiftKey for iOS was being shut down and removed from the ‌App Store‌ for no clear reason. SwiftKey has been a popular alternative for iPhone users to Apple's default iOS...

Microsoft today announced that iCloud Photos integration in the Photos app on Windows 11 is beginning to roll out today with an update to the app on the Microsoft Store. Microsoft expects the update to be available to all Windows 11 customers by end of the month. iCloud Photos integration allows iPhone users to access all of their photos in the Photos app on Windows 11 devices. In a blog...

Microsoft today announced that dedicated Apple Music and Apple TV apps will be available on Windows devices next year. The company also announced that iCloud Photos integration is coming to the Photos app on Windows 11 devices later this year. The standalone Apple Music and Apple TV apps will provide a much improved experience for Windows users who use these services. Currently, Windows...

Microsoft is ending support for its SwiftKey predictive keyboard for iPhone and the app will be delisted from the App Store next week, the company confirmed on Wednesday. Responding to a request from ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley for more information after a lack of updates to the app for over a year, director of product management at SwiftKey, Chris Wolfe, gave the following statement: "As of...

Netflix today announced that it plans to partner up with Microsoft for its planned ad-supported streaming tier, with Microsoft set to handle ad sales. Netflix says that Microsoft will be able to support all of its advertising needs for the new, more affordable streaming option. In April we announced that we will introduce a new lower priced ad-supported subscription plan for consumers, in...

Apple is not among the founding members of a new "metaverse" standards body that includes Meta, Microsoft, Sony, Epic Games, Nvidia, Adobe, and others (via Reuters). Announced in a press release, "the Metaverse Standards Forum brings together companies and standards organizations to foster alignment on requirements and priorities for metaverse interoperability standards, and accelerate their ...