Apple

Roku and Chromecast were the two most successful streaming devices sold in the U.S. in 2013, according to new data from Parks Associates, which puts Apple TV on third place. Google sold an estimated 3.8 million Chromecast streaming sticks after introducing the product in mid-2013, according to Parks, which also estimates that this about equals Continue Reading →

Apple’s iOS 8 Health app can track dozens of health stats through other apps and devices, providing a full picture of your well-being. Now, it can track two more things and one of them can be measured by the iPhone itself. AppleInsider installed the latest beta version of iOS 8, which was made available on Continue Reading →

Apple is working on a system that automatically unlocks iPhones when they are in safe locations like home or work, but locks them again when they leave the area. The system works by identifying where the iPhone is and allows users to set “safe” locations, where settings including security can be automatically changed removing the Continue Reading →

Three years after Facebook acquired Beluga and turned it into Messenger for smartphones, its dedicated chat app got a version specially designed for iPad rather than just running as an enlarged iPhone app. Messenger for iPad features a multi-window interface showing a list of threads and your current conversation at the same time. Messenger had Continue Reading →

Nine new automakers have committed to supporting Apple’s CarPlay in future models of their vehicles. Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Audi, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Mazda, and Ram are joining the existing 20 companies that have already announced their plans to integrate CarPlay, Apple’s iOS-powered dashboard for vehicles. Integrating smartphones with car dashboards has emerged as a Continue Reading →

Apple on Monday appears to have rolled out a new implementation of its two-factor Apple ID authentication system with iCloud.com, requiring users who have the additional layer of security enabled to enter a special code before accessing the Web apps. With the new implementation, Apple is expanding its two-step authentication security feature beyond Apple ID Continue Reading →

Los Angeles school district officials have allowed a group of high schools to choose from among six different laptop computers for their students — a marked contrast to last year’s decision to give every pupil an iPad. Contracts that will come under final review by the Board of Education on Tuesday would authorize the purchase Continue Reading →

It all started at a small academic get-together in Whistler, British Columbia. The topic was speech recognition, and whether a new and unproven approach to machine intelligence—something called deep learning—could help computers more effectively identify the spoken word. Microsoft funded the mini-conference, held just before Christmas 2009, and two of its researchers invited the world’s Continue Reading →

There’s surely little Apple loves more than seeing an iPad in the classroom. Being associated with education provides its own brand halo effect. Plus, the even bigger bonus is getting to expose young impressionable minds to your technology and platforms — when they are young and impressionable. As the Jesuits were fond of saying: “Give Continue Reading →

It’s always been a question of when — and not if — in assessing Apple’s plans for the connected home, although a better question is probably “how.” As in, how will Apple attempt to bring its brand of design and usability to the fragmented market for app-controlled home products, which ranges from speakers to thermostats? Continue Reading →