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's Office 2016 for Mac is set to reach its end of support date on October 13, 2020, and after that date, connecting to Office 365 services using the Office 2016 for Mac software will no longer be supported. Microsoft shared the detail in a support document from July highlighting which versions of Office will be supported for connecting to Office 365 services in the future.Connecting ...

After rumors of a potential deal arose last week, Microsoft has publicly confirmed its intention to purchase TikTok in the United States and several other territories. The company has outlined its intention to "move quickly to pursue discussions with TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, in a matter of weeks." The two companies have provided formal notice of their intent to explore a...

Microsoft today announced plans to "shift toward a transformational AI-powered assistant experience" in its Microsoft 365 apps, which will involve refocusing its "areas of innovation and development." As a result, Microsoft is ending all support for third-party Cortana skills and eliminating the Cortana apps for iOS and Android devices. Third-party Cortana skills will be deprecated on...

Apple CEO Tim Cook, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Alphabet/Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg are all set to participate in an antitrust hearing next Monday held by the United States House Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee as part of an ongoing antitrust investigation on competition in digital markets. Ahead of the hearing, the committee spoke with Microsoft president and...

Microsoft today announced that it is permanently closing its physical stores worldwide. The company's retail employees will continue to serve customers through Microsoft's corporate offices and remotely, providing sales, training, and support. Microsoft will continue to operate its online storefront, and it also has plans for reimagined "Experience Centers" for customers in New York City,...

Antitrust regulators are currently investigating competition in digital marketplaces, focusing on Facebook, Amazon, Google, and Apple. Microsoft is not involved in the investigation, but Microsoft joined the conversation today when president Brad Smith said at a Politico event (via Bloomberg) that it's time for regulators to take a look at app stores. Smith was careful not to name Apple or...

Apple should purchase a search engine to put pressure on Google, Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi said Monday in a research report that was shared by Barron's. Apple and Google don't share details on the amount of money that Google pays to be the default search engine for iOS and Siri, but Sacconaghi estimates that it's around $7 to $8 billion per year, or 30 percent of the estimated $25...

Back in October, Microsoft decided to get into the wire-free earbuds market with the debut of the Surface Earbuds, designed to compete with Apple's AirPods, Google's Pixel Buds, and Samsung's Galaxy Buds. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We picked up a pair of Microsoft's Surface Earbuds to check out the feature set and see how they measure up to Apple's AirPods. ...

Microsoft today announced that its Microsoft Family Safety app is available in a preview capacity to iOS users who sign up to use the feature. Microsoft Family Safety includes features like device usage tracking, logging of content viewed, and location sharing, all of which Microsoft says is designed to allow parents to have conversations with children about device usage habits.Find the...

Microsoft plans to add trackpad and mouse support to its Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps for iPad by the fall, according to TechCrunch and The Verge. iPadOS 13.4 introduced trackpad and mouse support on all iPad models released in the past four to five years. Keyboards with trackpads include Apple's Magic Keyboard and Brydge's Pro+ for the iPad Pro and Logitech's Combo for the 10.2-inch iPad...

Forza Street, designed by Microsoft's Xbox Game Studios, is now available for download, Microsoft announced today. Designed as a free-to-play mobile version of Microsoft's highly popular Forza franchise, the new Forza Street game can be played on both Android and iOS devices. Microsoft says Forza Street provides quick under-a-minute races aimed at mobile gameplay, with players able to unlock ...

Microsoft today reminded users that Wunderlist will be shut down on May 6, meaning that to-dos will no longer sync. Wunderlist users will still be able to transfer their tasks and lists over to the Microsoft To Do app until June 30. How to migrate from Wunderlist to Microsoft To Do: 1. Download the Microsoft To Do app. 2. Sign in with your Microsoft account. If you don't have one, you...

Developers Turn 10 Studios and Microsoft have announced that simulation racing game Forza Street is coming to iPhone and iPad on May 5. Forza Street is a simplified version of the original Forza racing game series for Xbox and PC that emulates the performance and handling characteristics of real-life production, modified, and racing cars. The mobile version will include a story-driven mode...

Rubén Caballero, a hardware engineering executive at Apple who worked with suppliers on modem hardware, has taken on a new role at Microsoft, reports Bloomberg. At Microsoft, Caballero is serving as corporate vice president of engineering and based on his Linkedin profile, he will work on mixed reality hardware such as Microsoft's HoloLens. He is listed as part of Microsoft's Mixed Reality...

Microsoft has announced that the 2020 Build developer conference will not go ahead as an in-person gathering and will take place online this year instead, owing to concerns over the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The tech giant had planned to hold the annual conference in Seattle from May 19 to May 21, but Microsoft has decided to make it an altogether "digital event." A Microsoft...

Microsoft today announced that it plans to bring a version of its Defender ATP security platform to iOS and Android. Defender ATP provides "preventive protection, post-breach detection, and automated investigation and response" for Windows and macOS, but it is unclear what the platform will offer on iOS given it is a sandboxed operating system. Existing "antivirus" apps for the iPhone...

Following beta testing, Microsoft today released its new Office app for iPhone, bringing together Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in a single app. The main benefit of the unified Office app is that it requires only a single download with a much smaller file size, but it does have a few unique features, including camera integration for easily converting photos of documents and tables into Word...

Microsoft in September introduced Project xCloud, a service designed to allow gamers to play games on any device, from PCs to consoles to mobile devices. Project xCloud for mobile devices has been available on Android for a few months now, but as of today, Microsoft is expanding it to the iPhone and iPad through a limited TestFlight beta test. The Project xCloud beta test is available in...

Microsoft today updated its Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps for the iPhone with a simplified three-tab layout. The three tabs include Home, New, and Open: Home: Sign in to your Microsoft account and view recent documents, spreadsheets, or presentations New: Create a new document, spreadsheet, or presentation with various templates to choose from Open: Open an existing document,...

Microsoft today updated its Outlook app with full support for Split View on compatible iPad models, allowing users to multitask in a variety of ways, such as having an email and calendar open side by side. Split View also enables users to drag and drop text, photos, and files from one app to another, such as dragging text from Safari into an Outlook email. To drag and drop text, select the...