Category: Latest News

Microsoft will hold a special event on September 21, 2023, with new Surface devices the likely outcome. Microsoft sent out invites to the event but did not elaborate on what products or services will be revealed or showcased at the event. As CNET points out, a similar event in October of last year was used to release the Surface Pro 9, Surface Laptop 5, and the Surface Studio 2 Plus. As a result, it seems likely the event in September will likely be used to release new Surface computers and tablets.

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Saudi Arabia has joined the EU and India in mandating USB-C chargers for smartphones in an effort to prevent e-waste and improve the customer experience. Much of the smartphone industry already uses USB-C chargers but Apple is the notable exception. The iPhone maker relies on its own Lightning port/cable for charging and data transfer. The EU and India recently passed rules mandating the use of USB-C for smartphone chargers, and now Saudi Arabia is following suit. According to Khaleej Times, Saudi Arabia’s decision was announced by the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization and the…

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Windows 11 appears to be suffering from a bug in which third-party UI customization software can break the Start menu. Version 22H2 introduces a feature that provides a preview of relevant information when hovering over a recommended file. If third-party UI customization software is installed, however, the Start menu may not open at all. Microsoft is aware of the issue but does not appear to have any plans to fix it. Instead, the company says users should uninstall third-party UI programs before installing 22H2: After installing KB5028254 or later updates, the Start…

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The UK should get ready for an explosion of green bubbles as Apple threatens to pull iMessage and FaceTime if a controversial surveillance bill passes. The UK’s Home Office has been waging a war on end-to-end encryption (E2EE) and is looking to update the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA) 2016. One of the revisions would force companies to notify the Home Office before including or changing any security features in their services. Other revisions would force companies to add the ability to scan content — including encrypted messages — for illegal…

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The EU has officially adopted new rules requiring manufacturers to use replaceable batteries in smartphones. While sealed smartphones are the norm today, it wasn’t that many years ago when virtually all smartphones had a panel on the back that could be easily opened. Most phones had easily replaceable batteries and often had a slot for an extra memory card. Manufacturers have since moved to sealed handsets and non-replaceable batteries in an effort to produce sleeker designs. The EU wants to wind back the clock to those more user-friendly designs. The…

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Apple has announced support for visionOS apps within TestFlight, its tool for developers to test their apps before release. Since the App Store is the only distribution method for iOS apps, Apple created TestFlight as a way for developers to beta test their apps and get feedback from users. With the upcoming Vision Pro, Apple has added support for visionOS in TestFlight. The company made the announcement via its developer program: In addition, TestFlight now supports visionOS apps for internal and external testing, as well as testing iOS and iPadOS apps…

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is warning that passengers may be in for flight delays as airlines are poised to miss their 5G deadline. Verizon and AT&T have been throttling 5G performance around airports after a hard-fought deal in which the carriers made the concession to give airlines time to refit their aircraft. After purchasing billions in mid-band spectrum licenses from the FCC, airlines and the FAA warned that many aircraft altimeters were vulnerable to interference from mid-band 5G. The two camps agreed to a deal whereby Verizon and AT&T would reduce…

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Semiconductor firm NXP is expanding its presence in San Jose, California, signing a lease for additional office space. NXP is based in the Netherlands, but already has two locations in San Jose. According to The Mercury News, the third location consists of 40,100 square feet at 110 Rose Orchard Way. The deal is a welcome boost to the local real estate market, which is still recovering from the pandemic.

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YouTube has released an update to YouTube TV that addresses a number of issues, including audio/video sync and Apple TV crashes. A Team YouTube member posted a notice on Reddit outlining the changes. Two of the biggest were audio/video sync fixes and a fix to address an issue that caused long content to crash a first-gen 4K Apple TV: 5.1 Audio/Video Sync: We’re rolling out some fixes over the next few weeks to address A/V sync issues across Live playback. We continue to welcome feedback! Feel free to leave a picture of your…

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WhatsApp’s biggest feature in recent years is now rolling out to iPhones after initially debuting on Android. WhatsApp announced its multi-phone feature in mid-April, allowing users to use multiple phones on the same account. The feature began rolling out to Android first, but WABetaInfo is reporting that the feature is now making its way to iPhones: Although WhatsApp did not specify it in their blog post, this feature was only available for WhatsApp for Android, so it was not possible to link your WhatsApp account to a second iOS device. However, thanks to the official…

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