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A legal feud between the co-founders of Lux Optics, the developer behind the Halide camera app, revealed that Apple was close to acquiring the company. As first reported by The Information, Apple held acquisition talks for Lux Optics, which also developed the Kino, Spectre and Orion apps, in the summer of 2025.
According to The Information, the deal eventually fell through in September of that year, but the potential acquisition could've provided Apple with the third-party software to improve its own built-in camera app. Apple is already rumored to be introducing variable aperture to its upcoming iPhone 18 Pro models, so it's not surprising that the iPhone maker was looking for software with advanced features to match its possibly upgraded camera hardware.
Despite Apple's interest, Lux Optics' co-founders, Ben Sandofsky and Sebastiaan de With concluded that future updates to Halide could increase the company's valuation and ended the acquisition talks. According to the lawsuit between the co-founders, Sandofsky started investigating de With for th
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The Realme P4 Power introduces a 10,001mAh battery to a mass market product without any noticeable flaws.
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Commentary: With some phone-makers willing to push boundaries, the days of dull-looking devices may soon be behind us.
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It's been more than 10 years since Amazon stopped selling the Fire Phone. A new report says the company is giving it a second try.
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 While the MacBook Neo is not "fast-charge capable," according to Apple's tech specs, the laptop can still charge faster with certain Apple chargers.
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 Just when you thought Apple was done with product announcements for a little while, this week saw one last drop with the AirPods Max 2 making their appearance.
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 Apple's CEO Tim Cook today said the Mac just had its "best launch week ever for first-time Mac customers," which suggests that the new MacBook Neo has been a hit with customers buying their first laptops or switching from Windows.
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Google has detailed how users will be able to sideload apps from unverified developers once it implements its more restrictive policy towards downloading software on Android. The company originally planned to require all developers to be "verified" to distribute on Android, but softened its stance in November 2025 to allow carveouts for Android power-users and hobbyist developers.
For the average Android users, the ability to sideload apps will now be locked behind a multi-step one-time process. Users will first have to enable developer mode in settings, confirm they're not being coached into disabling security, restart their phone (to cut off any phone calls), then wait a day and confirm their identity with biometric authentication or a pin before installing any apps. Google says you can enable the ability to install apps from unverified developers for seven days or indefinitely, but regardless of what you'll choose, you'll still have to dismiss a warning telling you the app you're installing is from an unverified developer.
For hobbyist developers or students who want people to try their app but don't want to create a verified developer account, Google also plans to offer free "limited distributions accounts" that let you share apps without being verified. These accounts will let you share apps with up to 20 devices without having "to provide a government-issued ID or pay a registration fee."
Google is implementing its new verification process in the name of security, and has likened the r
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 The iPhone 17e just joined the iPhone lineup. Apple continues to sell the iPhone 16 as an alternative low-cost option, and while the two devices share many core features, there are still more than 25 differences between them to be aware of.
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 Buying an updated iPhone is like getting a new Ferrari -- you'll find a faster engine, a new coat of paint, and a few new bells and whistles, but beneath all that it's still basically the same car you could have bought last year.
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