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Apple accelerates hiring for its home robotics projects

Apple is posting more job listings for robotics specialists to “bring new experiences to Apple products,” with teams working on smart home devices imbued with a basic level of personality. An iPad on a robot arm could be the first product from the effort. The robotics team is led by VP of Technology Kevin Lynch, which last August reportedly brought… Continue Reading

Crime blotter: Car theft suspects caught thanks to AirPods

Two Texas men arrested over Volkswagen Beetle thefts were tracked by AirPods, iPhone insurance fraud, and a MacBook Air in a pool make up this week’s Apple Crime Blotter. Man in handcuffs (Source: Pixabay) The latest in an occasional AppleInsider series, looking at the world of Apple-related crime. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Apple’s original and delayed HomePod finally shipped seven years ago

Eight months after it was first announced, Apple’s first HomePods began shipping on February 9, 2018 — and started a peculiar journey of life, death, and resurrection. Apple always promotes the HomePod as a powerful music player There’s been a subtle but fundamental change about the HomePod since it was first launched, and especially since it was first rumored. But… Continue Reading

NYT Wordle today — answer and my hints for game #1331, Sunday, February 9

It’s time for your guide to today’s Wordle answer, featuring my commentary on the latest puzzle, plus a selection of hints designed to help you keep your streak going. Don’t think you need any clues for Wordle today? No problem, just skip to my daily column. But remember: failure in this game is only ever six guesses away. Want more… Continue Reading

Apple execs spotted in New Orleans ahead of Super Bowl

Apple CEO Tim Cook and several other senior Apple executives are hanging out in New Orleans probably to catch the Super Bowl in Caesars Superdome. Logo for the 2025 Super Bowl Super Bowl LIX will be played in New Orleans on Sunday, February 9, and several of Apple’s top brass have been spotted in the city ahead of the big… Continue Reading

Could this be the world’s smallest ultra short throw projector? Lilliputian Acer projector weighs only 740g and projects 100-inch pictures

Acer PD1520Us offers 30,000 hours of lifespan for business and entertainment needs Supports full HD 1080p resolution and 4K compatibility The LED light source eliminates warm-up times, offering instant on/off functionality Acer has unveiled PD1520Us, a compact ultra-short throw (UST) projector, tipping the scales at just 740 grams, making it potentially the smallest of its kind. Though compact, the PD1520Us… Continue Reading

How to use Starlink with iPhone & how to disable it if you don’t want it

Starlink satellites now work with iPhone, but the change has caused confusion and concern. Here’s what the feature means, how it works, and how you can disable it if you so choose. Starlink satellites are now supported on iPhone The recent iOS 18.3 update contained a number of new features for iPhone users. We saw new Unity wallpapers, improvements to… Continue Reading

Exponential growth but for how long: DeepSeek’s meteoric rise in AI-land continues unabated, fresh Similarweb data shows

DeepSeek skyrocketed to fame, dethroning ChatGPT, and causing stock jitters It quickly grew from 88,000 to 49M visits, but is slowing now, Similarweb data shows Despite 614% growth, curiosity in DeepSeek is fading and ChatGPT remains king Chinese AI upstart DeepSeek, which was trained for a fraction of the price of Western competitors, seemingly appeared out of nowhere when it… Continue Reading

PlayStation Network outage live updates – PSN is back after a massive disruption

A PlayStation Network outage is exactly what you don’t need on a weekend, but it’s unfortunately what we had for over 24 hours. Frustrated PS5 and PS4 gamers first reported problems accessing PSN at around 6pm ET on Friday (February 7), and it wasn’t until 6:58pm ET on Saturday (February 8) that service was restored. Below, you can see our… Continue Reading

Super Bowl 2025 LIVE: Eagles vs Chiefs stream, watch the NFL Championship game, halftime show and pre-game news

Super Bowl 2025 is almost here – which means it’s time to figure out the best (and possibly free) ways to watch the Chiefs vs Eagles game live online on Sunday, February 9. The hotly-anticipated NFL title clash between AFC champions Kansas City Chiefs and NFC champions Philadelphia Eagles is tipped to be the most-watched Super Bowl ever with a… Continue Reading

NYT Wordle today — answer and my hints for game #1330, Saturday, February 8

Google is bragging about Gemini 2.0 Flash, but how does it compare to ChatGPT for casual AI chatbot users?

Google really wants you to know that Gemini 2.0 Flash is a big deal. It’s the first generally released member of the Gemini 2.0 family, and the company is hyping it up as faster, smarter, and more powerful than ever, hinting without outright claiming it should replace OpenAI’s ChatGPT in people’s hearts and smartphones. Gemini 2.0 Flash is essentially a… Continue Reading

Google fumbles Gemini Super Bowl ad’s cheese statistic

Google’s Gemini AI mistakenly claimed Gouda makes up 50-60% of global cheese consumption in a Super Bowl ad After backlash, Google re-edited the ad, blaming inaccurate internet sources rather than AI hallucination The incident highlights ongoing concerns about AI-generated misinformation and the need for better fact-checking Google’s Gemini AI assistant fumbled an ad set to air during the Super Bowl… Continue Reading

‘Scrappier and more focused’: Sonos is changing its whole structure to make better products and avoid any more app disasters

Sonos has had a tumultuous few months, all of which date back to what was now clearly a rushed app design that led to a terrible experience for many customers and a long, messy process of repairing those relationships. It overshadowed the long-anticipated launch of the Ace over-ear headphones, though the more recently launched Arc Ultra soundbar’s impressive specs did… Continue Reading

iPhone SE 4 — All the rumors about Apple’s next budget-friendly device

The fourth-generation iPhone SE is set to bring about a multitude of visual and functional changes taken from earlier iPhone models. Here’s what to expect from Apple, as soon as next week. Apple’s iPhone SE 4 could debut in February 2025. For the past two iterations, Apple’s iPhone SE has maintained a dated look, with thick bezels and a Touch… Continue Reading

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