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It’s widely known that Google pays Apple a certain amount of money on a semi-regular basis to make sure that it remains the default search engine option on iOS devices. It has been said in the past that iOS devices equal about 50 percent of Google’s search revenue on mobile devices, so it’s imperative to the company to keep that spot on Apple’s devices. Before the end of 2017 it was reported that Apple was getting upwards of $3 billion from Google to secure that spot. But now, more than a year later from that report, it sounds like the company may be paying a lot more to Apple. Business Insider is reporting information shared by analyst Rod Hall that states Google is now paying $9 billion this year to retain its default situation on iOS devices. What’s more, Hall actually thinks that number will increase by next year, and Google could be paying Apple for those default rights to the tune of $12 billion. Hall also echoes those earlier reports, saying ““Apple is one of the biggest chann

The iPhone XS and iPhone XR have a brand new feature. After you click a Portrait Mode photo, you can go into the Edit menu and change the intensity of the bokeh. Basically, you can change the background blur (make it softer or more pronounced) after you’ve already clicked the photo. Apple is touting this as one of the best new features in iPhone XS . But you can get it on iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus and even the iPhone 7 Plus using a third party app. The new depth effect sensor in iPhone XS blurs photos different parts of the background at a different rate. So the effect you get is similar to that on DSLR. This is not the same as what phones like Pixel 2 do. Since the app in question requires depth data to work, it will not work on iPhones with a single camera at the rear like the iPhone 6, iPhone 7, or the iPhone 8. How to Edit Background Blur in Photos on iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone 7 Plus The app in question is called Focos and we’re big fans of the app. The app made it to our b

Being stalked from one website to another by persistent advertising is a real issue, but some companies, like Apple, have made strides to try and reduce its impact . But targeted advertising isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, especially if Facebook has any say in the matter. The company has recently confirmed that it does indeed go to some pretty great lengths to provide information to advertisers, with this latest effort definitely one of the social networking giant’s worst. A couple of days ago, Gizmodo ran a piece that outlined how Facebook uses the phone number some users added to take advantage of two factor authentication as a way to target those same individuals with ads. This is an extension of how Facebook already handles phone numbers saved to the platform’s profiles. How it works normally is if you add your phone number to your Facebook profile, and then add your phone number to some online retailer’s online presence, those two sources can match and be used to target advert

Some of the cases Apple is involved with, especially related to patent infringement, take years to complete. And that’s the case with this particular one. Back in 2015, Apple was ordered to pay millions of dollars to the University of Wisconsin, as the university was able to plead its case that Apple’s A-series chips (the A7 and A8, specifically in this case) infringed on a method of boosting the efficiency of integrated circuits. Apple, of course, appealed, and things have been a bit topsy-turvy ever since. The bill Apple was facing was originally set at $862 million. After that, a subsequent judge considered the valuation of that determination and reduced the payout from Apple’s end, down to $234 million. The determination was that Apple’s infringement of the patents was ruled inadvertent. However, most recently , it was determined that Apple continued to infringe on the patents after taht ruling and therefore Apple was ruled to pay $506 million. Apple, still appealing, was determine

The iPhone XS and iPhone XS are all set to go on sale tomorrow. If you are looking to buy the devices or just have some questions surrounding them like whether they come with Gorilla Glass or not, feature an FM radio or not, in our FAQ. iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max Frequently Asked Questions Q) What are the full specifications of the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max? A) The full specs of the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max can be found below. iPhone XS: Dimensions: 143.6 x 70.9 x 7.7 mm Weight: 177g Display: 5.8-inch OLED Super Retina HD (2436 x 1125) Display, True Tone, 3D Touch, HDR10 and Dolby Vision support RAM: 4GB Chipset: A12 Bionic, 50 percent faster GPU, 8-core Neural engine Rear camera: 12MP wide-angle and telephoto cameras, Wide-angle: f/1.8 aperture with 1.4um pixel pitch, Telephoto: f/2.4 aperture, 2x optical zoom, Dual OIS, Smart HDR Front camera: 7MP TrueDepth camera Battery: 2,675mAh, 30 minutes more than the iPhone X IP68 certification Sensors: Face ID, 3-axis Gyro, Acceleromete

We have already seen the iPhone XS Max being torn down , drop tested , and compared to other flagship Android devices out there. Now, let’s see just how durable the phone is. Apple has come a long way since its #bendgate days of the iPhone 6 Plus , with the iPhone XS Max featuring a stainless steel chassis and the most durable smartphone glass ever. As a durability test done by YouTuber JerryRigEverything shows, the iPhone XS Max has the same hardness level on the Mohs scale as previous iPhones. This also means that it scratches at around the same hardness as older iPhones. Here’s hoping the durable glass shows its worth when one drops their $1,000 smartphone. As for the stainless chassis, it is extremely durable, though there should be no surprise in this regard. Despite Apple claiming that it uses a sapphire crystal lens on the iPhone XS rear camera setup, the camera lens scratches at a Mohs hardness level 7 similar to the iPhone 8 and iPhone X . This means that Apple is not using a

It has been 10 days since Apple released watchOS 5 to the public, and now the company is back at it with a minor update for the new software. Apple today officially released watchOS 5.0.1 to the public. As the version number suggests, this is a minor update overall. This is a free update. To upgrade, Apple Watch owners simply need to go into the dedicated Watch app on their iPhone, head into the Settings app and then into General. Once that’s done, you need to make sure that the Apple Watch is charged to at least 50%, that it’s connected to the charger, and within range of the connected iPhone. Apple’s release notes mention that a “small number of users” were seeing increased exercise minutes, and this new software is meant to address this. The watchOS 5.0.1 update will also fix any other bugs that have been discovered since the public launch of watchOS 5 earlier this month. The update is also meant to fix an issue that could prevent the smartwatch from charging. The update also resto

Apple is actively working on the iPhone XS applying a gracious amount of smoothing/beauty filter effect in selfie photos. The company reached out to Abdul Dremali who had posted his sample selfies from the iPhone XS and iPhone X for comparison purposes on Twitter. The issue has received a lot of attention this week, with thousands of new iPhone XS owners complaining about it on Reddit. Popular YouTuber Unbox Therapy has also posted a video about this issue on his channel. iPhone XS owners have termed this excessive smoothening effect as #beautygate. @Advil soo I was watching Unbox Therapy and… #beautygate 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/hj2NcZMicP — bryan™⭐️ (@ilive_onX) September 26, 2018 i emailed the CEO of Apple about being unhappy with the post-processing on my iPhone XS front camera and they FOUND MY NUMBER AND CALLED ME ABOUT IT LMAO. they’re working on fixing it now this is hilarious pic.twitter.com/xbRYe3wU1b — abdul (@Advil) September 27, 2018 Apple seems to have specifically made th

Once you upgrade to watchOS 5 on your Apple Watch, your life is going to get a lot more seamless. For example, Siri is actually really quick and surprisingly reliable on the Series 3 Apple Watch . And just for the Series 3 users, there’s a new feature called Raise to Speak for Siri. You can now talk to Siri without pressing and holding the Digital Crown. It seems like a small change but the real-life difference is staggering. And its way more reliable than using the Hey Siri phrase. Read more :  watchOS 5: All the New and Hidden watchOS 5 Features First, Let’s Check if Raise to Speak is Enabled Before we begin, let’s make sure that Raise to Speak feature for Siri is enabled on your Apple Watch. After updating to watchOS 5, you’ll see a notification about the feature. If you pressed Continue from the notification, the feature would be activated. Still, let’s make sure of it. On your Apple Watch, press the Digital Crown to go to the App Launcher. From here, select Settings -> Genera

A week after first going on sale , Apple’s new iPhones — the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max — have made their way to more markets across the world. Starting today, the iPhone XS series will be available in 25 more markets. This is on top of the 30 countries where the devices went on sale starting September 21. The list of countries where the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max go on sale today are as follows: Andorra, Armenia, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, India, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Monaco, Oman, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and South Africa. Pre-orders for the devices started in the above country from last week itself. Given the relative lack of demand, it should be pretty easy for customers living in any of the above countries to get their hands on the new iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max. Additionally, the Apple Watch Series 4 will go on sale in the following c

Apple has been subjected to a lawsuit over iMessage and FaceTime for infringing on eight patents of Finnish company MPH Technology. The always-on VPN feature of iOS, a feature primarily used for mobile device management (MDM) by enterprises and corporations, is also a part of the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that MPH tried to license the technology used in iMessage and FaceTime to Apple in 2016 and 2017 to no avail. The Finnish company informed Apple about the patent breach in 2016 first. MPH and Apple representatives discussed the matter further, going so far as to hold multiple teleconference sessions in May 2017 regarding a potential licensing agreement. During one of those calls, Apple counsel intimated the company was preparing an analysis of MPH’s patents demonstrating the IP was invalid based on prior art. That analysis was never delivered. Direct communications between the two companies seemingly ended in July 2017, with MPH sending notification of two patent grants and Apple a

A major theft ring connected to Apple’s physical retail stores has taken a hit, as more than a dozen people have been arrested. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has announced on Thursday that law enforcement has arrested 17 people in connection to the theft ring. According to the announcement, the thieves stole from physical retail stores in 19 different counties. The network of thieves apparently grabbed upwards of $1 million worth of goods from those retail stores. They were able to do this by wearing hooded sweatshirts and running into the Apple Stores in a mob of individuals. In the flurry of shock and awe they would grab the devices that were on display and then escape with them. Attorney General Becerra said, these large-scale networks of thieves “cost California business owners millions”, and that consumers end up paying for it. As it stands right now, the law enforcement agencies connected to the investigation have arrested seven people tied to the ring of thieves. On

Apple released its latest major update to the desktop operating system recently, and now it’s moving forward with new beta software for a subsequent minor update. Update : Apple has officially seeded the first public beta of macOS Mojave 10.14.1 to the public beta testers. If you are already signed up for the public beta, simply follow the upgrade instructions below to download and install the new software. If you haven’t already signed up but want to, jut click this link . The original article continues below . Today, Apple seeded the first beta of macOS Mojave 10.14.1 to developers. This is more than likely a minor update across the board, meant to address any issues that have cropped up since the public launch of macOS Mojave 10.14 earlier this week. It more than likely also includes performance updates and other bug fixes. To update, registered developers can download and install the new software from the System Preferences and selecting the “Software Update” option therein. This

While the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR were all unveiled at the same time, the 2018 iPhone lineup had a bit of a staggered launch. The iPhone XS and XS Max officially went up for preorder earlier this month and went on sale last week, but the iPhone XR is still waiting in the wings. The handset just received FCC approval on its path to preorders going live on October 19, so the wait for all the potential future owners out there is shrinking, but it’s certainly still there with just over four weeks to go before the phone actually launches to the public. A new report from The Wall Street Journal has an interesting theory as to why things are this way, and why Apple actually chose to stagger the launch, rather than being forced to by outside issues. According to the report, Apple decided to give the iPhone XS and XS Max (the most expensive iPhone options this year) some room to breathe before it launched the less expensive iPhone option. Apple, essentially, didn’t want to ca

Apple announced the Apple Watch Series 4 and grabbed the public’s attention with its new design and features, which includes a brand new Electrocardiogram (ECG) testing feature built into the smartwatch. But while Apple was more than willing to talk about the feature and its impending launch in the United States following approval by the FDA, there was some pause when it came to announcements for international markets . Specifically, there will be a potentially significant waiting period before the ECG testing feature arrives outside of the United States. We know that Apple is working with entities in other countries, like Health Canada , to speed up the process, but there is no telling when the feature will arrive in those other markets. Now, 9to5Mac has a report out on Thursday that outlines why the wait for the ECG testing feature in the United Kingdom might be even longer than some might expect. It could take years, in fact, according to a regulator. When the Medicines and Health

Unlike the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, Apple’s other new smartphone , the iPhone XR, has an arrival date in October, which means it had a few more weeks available to get the necessary regulatory approval. One of those required stops is the Federal Communications Commission, which will approve, or deny, a handset based on their own parameters. A new smartphone needs the FCC’s approval before it can arrive on the market, and it appears that the iPhone XR has achieved just that. At the time of publication, though, Apple has yet to remove the disclaimer saying that it’s still waiting for authorization. The iPhone XR is a slightly less expensive new iPhone, with a few tweaks to the available features compared to the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max to help keep costs down. We have the Liquid Retina 6.1-inch display with the minimized bezels and the notch at the top. And the other primary difference is the single 12-megapixel camera on the back. However, the iPhone XR does boast the same featu

If you have upgraded to the new iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max then Home screen not working in landscape mode is not the only issue you’re going to encounter. Apple seems to have made it more difficult to get iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max UDID (an acronym for Unique Device ID). UDID is used to register iOS devices in the Apple Developer portal for testing iPhone apps or to install iOS beta software updates. Unfortunately, you can no longer use the iTunes method to get iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max UDID. For older iPhone models, you could get the UDID using the following steps: Connect your iPhone to your Mac or Windows PC and launch iTunes. In iTunes, click on the iPhone icon at the top and navigate to the Summary tab. Click on the  Serial Number  label until it changes to UDID, this will show the Identifier field and the 40 hex character UDID. Press Command+C (Windows users – Ctrl + C) to copy the UDID to your clipboard. But we have found a way to find iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max UDID, and

Apple tries to make iOS secure with every new release. With iOS 12, the company improved the USB Restricted mode to ensure third-party grey boxes were not able to brute force into a locked iPhone or iPad. However, once in a while, we will see a hack make its way to the internet that will allow one to bypass the iOS passcode and access certain functions of the device. Two new videos have been posted on YouTube where a person through a series of steps using Assistive Touch and Shortcuts app is able to bypass a locked iPhone and access the phonebook and send messages to them. The video is not in English so the steps shown are not exactly clear. However, it is understandable that the bypass relies on Assistive Touch and Siri Shortcuts app to work properly. While the videos above do show one how to bypass the iOS 12 passcode protection, they do not allow one full fledged access to the OS and data stored on the device. The bypass process is not relatively simple, though if you are determine