The Information

Meta has stopped developing its scratch-built operating system for augmented-reality (AR) and virtual-reality (VR) devices, according to The Information. In a paywalled report published earlier today, The Information claims that Meta stopped the development of its operating system designed for Oculus virtual-reality devices and the company's upcoming augmented-reality glasses in November...

The Information's Wayne Ma today shared alleged details about future Apple silicon chips that will succeed the first-generation M1, M1 Pro, and M1 Max chips, which are manufactured based on Apple chipmaking partner TSMC's 5nm process. The report claims that Apple and TSMC plan to manufacture second-generation Apple silicon chips using an enhanced version of TSMC's 5nm process, and the chips...

Apple has abandoned its plans for a low-cost Apple TV dongle and is set to significantly accelerate and expand the output of new content on ‌Apple TV‌+ next year, according to The Information. Sources said to be familiar with Apple's plans speaking to The Information have apparently revealed many of the company's internal discussions and attitudes around ‌Apple TV‌+ in detail. The company...

Some Apple staff feel more confident to speak about their employer amongst themselves, to the press, and on social media due to the company's switch to remote working and increased use of Slack over the past year, The Information reports. Apple's Slack became a "virtual town square" at the company, providing a platform for employees to protest the return to in-person work, decisions to hire...

The surging popularity of AirPods has reportedly resulted in record numbers of counterfeit wireless headphones being seized at the U.S. border. According to The Information's Wayne Ma, roughly 360,000 counterfeit wireless headphones with a retail value of $62.2 million were confiscated in the first nine months of the U.S. government's fiscal year, based on data from U.S. Customs and Border...

Apple recently updated its security guidelines for its manufacturing partners, implementing tougher measures at factories to prevent leaks, according to an internal document obtained by The Information's Wayne Ma. Among the changes mentioned in the report: Apple's manufacturing partners can no longer collect biometric data such as fingerprints or facial scans of Apple employees who visit...

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating complaints from developers over Apple's "Sign in with Apple" option, reports The Information. Introduced in iOS 13, Sign in with Apple is a privacy-focused login option that lets users opt to sign in to an app with their Apple ID, without the need to create a username or share an email address with developers. Apple requires all App Store...

Apple is rumored to be working on a virtual reality headset for launch as early as next year, and The Information today reported on some potential features to expect, based on information shared by a source with direct knowledge of the device. The report claims that the headset will be equipped with more than a dozen cameras for tracking hand movements, along with two ultra-high-resolution...

Apple is considering launching a new subscription service that would be focused on podcasts, according to unnamed sources that spoke to The Information. The service would charge people to listen to podcasts. By creating a paid podcasting service, Apple could potentially lure podcast creators with the promise of more money, stealing them away from other platforms like Spotify, SiriusXM, and...

Apple employees in Silicon Valley and other parts of the world have been working from home since early March, and a new report from The Information outlines how one of the most secretive companies conducts business when its workforce is telecommuting, based on interviews with a dozen current and former employees. Apple normally requires all of its employees to work in-office and places a...

Apple is working on an iPad keyboard that includes a built-in trackpad, reports The Information, citing sources with knowledge of Apple's plans. Apple has reportedly been experimenting with trackpads for the ‌iPad‌ for a "number of years." Some of the prototypes have featured capacitive keys, though it is not known if this feature is in the finished product. The Information's source says...

Apple has shelved a "walkie-talkie" feature that would have allowed iPhone users to communicate with each other in areas without cellular coverage, such as while skiing or hiking, according to The Information. The report claims Apple was working with Intel on the project, which supposedly would have enabled ‌iPhone‌ users to send messages directly to other ‌iPhone‌ users over long-distance...

The Information's Wayne Ma has published an interesting story about the measures Apple takes to prevent leaks of unreleased products like iPhones from emerging out of factories within its Asian supply chain. After photos of the colorful iPhone 5c leaked in 2013, the report claims Apple created a "New Product Security" team to monitor security at its most sensitive suppliers in China. At one...

The Information has published a lengthy look into Apple's seemingly deteriorating relationship with Intel in terms of iPhone modems, leading to Apple's rekindled relationship with rival chipmaker Qualcomm last month. The report claims that Apple's frustrations with Intel's modem efforts began much earlier than some previous reports had indicated, and involved struggles with modems for the ‌iP...

Rubén Caballero, a hardware engineering executive at Apple who worked with suppliers on modem hardware, recently left the company, reports The Information. Caballero's departure comes just after Apple settled its lawsuit with Qualcomm and inked a deal that will see Qualcomm supplying chips for future Apple devices, including the 5G chips Apple will need for its 2020 iPhones. Caballero...

Apple is actively building its own cellular modem chip for future iPhones, according to a paywalled report by The Information today. The report, citing a person briefed on the plans, claims that Apple has engineers working on the project close to its headquarters in Northern California. For several months, Apple has also been actively hiring engineers in San Diego, where the company has an...

Within the past four years, Apple has managed to "dramatically reduce" the rate of iPhone-related repair fraud in its retail stores in China, according to The Information's Wayne Ma. The report is based on interviews with more than a dozen former Apple employees who spoke on condition of anonymity. Image: iFixit In 2013, Apple is said to have discovered a highly sophisticated fraud scheme in...

Amazon appears to have gained an edge over Apple in deals with smart home builders, according to The Information. The paywalled report claims that an increasing number of home builders have agreed to partnerships with Amazon to build homes with preinstalled Alexa-enabled accessories, rather than HomeKit-based products from Apple. Last year, for example, Amazon reportedly struck a...

The Information has published an in-depth look at how Siri has transitioned from one of Apple's most promising technologies into a "major problem" for the company. The article includes interviews with a dozen former Apple employees who worked on the various teams responsible for the virtual assistant. The report claims that many of the employees acknowledged for the first time that Apple...

Apple News can yield a flood of traffic for news publishers, with the app accounting for as much as 50 to 60 percent of readership for some stories, according to a paywalled report by Tom Dotan for The Information. Apple News has generated half of Vox.com's daily traffic at times, according to a person familiar with Vox's numbers. An executive at the website of a major TV network said Apple...