Track Santa's Journey From the North Pole Using Google's Santa Tracker

Google today announced the launch of new iOS Google Maps features aimed at helping holiday shoppers, including Area Busyness and Directories. With Area Busyness, Google combines the busyness trends of businesses and locations that are near each other to let you know when a neighborhood or a part of town is at its busiest. Google says that this feature can help you identify busy areas to...

"Loose" interpretations of Apple's privacy policies allow apps such as Facebook and Snapchat to continue tracking users for targeted advertising even when they have asked to not be tracked, The Financial Times reports. In May, Apple launched its App Tracking Transparency feature that allows users to opt-out of being tracked across apps and websites for advertising purposes. Seven months...

Google has added the ability to join one-on-one Google Chat voice and video calls from within the Gmail app, the company has announced. Before now, it was possible to make calls from within the Gmail app on iOS and Android, but users had to send an invite to a Google Meet video conferencing call, which was more convoluted and limiting. In future, however, users will be able to tap new...

According to a new survey, more users trust Amazon and Google to handle their personal user data and internet browsing activity than Apple, while users overwhelmingly distrust Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. The survey conducted by The Washington Post sampled over 1,000 internet users in the U.S. about how much they trust Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, Google, Microsoft,...

Apple today released a new "Tracker Detect" app on the Google Play Store, with the app designed to allow Android users to locate AirTags that might be nearby. According to the app's description, Tracker Detect looks for item trackers that are separated from their owner and that are compatible with the Find My Network, so it will locate AirTags and other Find My-enabled devices like the...

Google is planning to launch its first smartwatch next year, according to a new report from Business Insider, signaling Google's expansion into creating smartwatch hardware rather than just software. Google has so far only developed wearOS, an operating system that the company has partnered with Samsung and others to implement into smartwatch offerings. Next year, however, Google is planning ...

Google is winding down its Material Design custom UI for iOS apps to switch to pure UIKit, according to Google's design chief for Apple platforms Jeff Verkoeyen. Google's suite of apps for iOS and iPadOS, including Gmail, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Drive, and YouTube, have used custom user interfaces that mirror the experience on Android for almost a decade. The purpose of these...

Apple today shared a new video on YouTube demonstrating 10 helpful iPhone tips and tricks that some users may not have known about. An overview of each of the 10 tips and tricks:If you accidentally enter a wrong digit in the Calculator app, you can swipe left or right at the top of the screen to erase the digit. Starting with iOS 15, you can pin content like web links in a Messages...

Trial production of the third-generation iPhone SE is set to get underway in the near future as Apple's suppliers and supply chain increase preparation for mass production of the new handset ahead of a launch reportedly set for early next year. MyDrivers reports today that trial production, a stage in the supply chain ahead of when the device is mass produced, is set to start soon, according ...

Apple plans to add a 48-megapixel camera lens to the iPhone next year, followed by a periscope lens in 2023, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In a research note today with TF International Securities, obtained by MacRumors, Kuo said these iPhone camera upgrades over the next two years will help to boost Taiwanese manufacturer Largan Precision's market share, revenue, and profit. Kuo did ...

While Apple is rapidly transitioning its Mac lineup from Intel processors to its own Apple silicon, it's worth highlighting as 2021 wraps up that the relationship between Apple and Intel hasn't been entirely severed as reports indicate Apple still has one more Intel-based Mac in its pipeline that's yet to be released. With the Mac Pro, Apple is not expected to entirely transition its most...

Apple's suppliers have kicked off shipments for a new 27-inch iMac with a mini-LED display, according to a paywalled preview of a DigiTimes report. The shipments are said to be in limited quantities. No further details are available, but the report is likely referring to suppliers shipping individual components to larger manufacturers for final assembly as the new 27-inch iMac moves towards ...

Apple Maps Product Lead David Dorn and Design Lead Meg Frost recently did an interview with CNN to explain the Apple Maps features that were introduced with the iOS 15 update and to explain why iPhone users should choose Apple Maps over other mapping apps like Google and Waze. According to Dorn, there are three major reasons why Apple Maps is the best choice. Apple is making serious...

The upcoming 27-inch iMac redesign will not feature a display with mini-LED but will instead keep the LCD panel previously used, according to industry sources cited today in a report from DigiTimes. The report said that while "speculation about the next-generation 27-inch iMac coming with a miniLED display" has been circulating for some time, the new all-in-one desktop machine will, in fact, ...

Next year's iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max will feature hole-punched LTPO OLED display panels supplied by Samsung and LG, according to Korean site The Elec. Rumors that the 2022 iPhone models won't have a notch started in March of this year, when Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said they will instead adopt a hole-punch design, a design that Android devices have used for a few years now. The...