BlackBerry is finally shutting down the consumer version of BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) on 31 May. In a blog post, the company said that “users have moved on to other platforms” and that it was “sad to say goodbye.” So in a little over a month, refunds for stickers will be issued. BBMoji will disappear. The app will stop working. BBM as we know it will die. Read More >>

A supply chain report from Taiwan suggests that Apple is planning to release a new version of the iPhone 8 with upgraded guts in March 2020. These guts could include an updated A13 processor which would surely give the old phone some new kick. If true, this could be the new iPhone SE model that’s been generating buzz for months. Many Apple fans with small hands, however, are surely hoping that it’s not true. Read More >>

Creative individuals with access to an automobile beware. There’s a weird thing happening with Apple Pencils, iPad Pros, and car key fobs, and I swear it’s the weirdest Apple bug I’ve ever heard of. Basically, if they’re all in the same place at once, stuff might stop working. Read More >>

It’s been three weeks since Apple announced News+, an ambitious service that offers hundreds of magazines and a handful of newspaper subscriptions for $10 (£7.60) a month. This is the first of two major new paid services Apple plans to launch this year, as part of a major effort to revitalise its business in the face of flagging iPhone sales. Unfortunately, Apple News+ doesn’t work very well. Parts of it don’t work at all. Read More >>

People have been complaining about iTunes for ages. The bloated and confusingly arcane piece of software has been updated and repurposed and jury-rigged to handle new tasks for the past 18 years, and one developer says it won’t live to see its 19th birthday. It looks like Apple is finally about to kill iTunes and release separate apps for music, podcasts, and books. Rest in peace, iTunes, you digital dinosaur. Read More >>

It took four years to do it, but Sonos and Ikea have finally revealed their new wireless speakers. The so-called Symfonisk series includes a bookshelf-style speaker that doubles as an actual bookshelf and a lamp with a speaker in its base. Like a lot of Ikea furniture, the two new products are quirky and practical. They’re also full-fledged but low-priced Sonos speakers. Read More >>

Despite the fact that there are now somewhere around 120 million smart speakers lurking in kitchens, living rooms, and bedrooms around the United States, most people do not need Google’s Assistant or Amazon’s Alexa in their lives. In fact, I thought I’d never own one of these devices, out of principle. Why, after all, would anyone willingly install a corporate surveillance device with minimal features in their most intimate spaces? I don’t know, but somehow my house now has three of them. And I have to admit, I'm kind of into it—but not for the reasons I could have anticipated. Read More >>

If the second generation of AirPods seemed underwhelming, the new Powerbeats Pro by Beats might just get your blood moving. They’re truly wireless earbuds designed for sports and equipped with the new Apple-made H1 chip, superior sound quality, as well as an eye-popping nine hours of battery life. In other words, the Powerbeats Pro earbuds can do everything the new AirPods can—but better. Read More >>

The conversation is getting old. You know, the one about how Apple isn’t innovating with new hardware because the future of its business is in services and streaming video and this new Apple credit card that blah blah blah. But a lot of people point out one exception, one new Apple product that feels truly revolutionary and very good: AirPods. The second generation AirPods have arrived, and I can confidently say that they are very good. As an upgrade, I guess they’re fine. They’re not revolutionary, and that’s okay. Read More >>

It’s no mystery that Sonos speakers are popular. In fact, there’s a good chance if you know somebody with a wireless speaker system, you know somebody with a Sonos system. Getting started with a single Sonos One—complete with Alexa capabilities—will cost you just £200. This got us wondering. Sonos might be the most popular wireless speaker system out there, but is it the best? Read More >>

Apple’s highly anticipated, celebrity-studded services event didn’t disappoint in two specific regards. One, there were a lot of celebrities present. Two, there were also a lot of new services announced. It’s hard to say which was more exciting. Read More >>

My favourite thing about Spotify has always been music discovery. So when the company started building personalised playlists like Discovery Weekly and Release radar, I was hooked. The only problem was listening to all the new music takes forever. But an independent project from a couple of Spotify developers offers an amazing hack for exploring millions and millions of songs. They call it Discover Quickly. Read More >>

At Gizmodo, there are few things more rewarding than eating your own words. So here I am. It’s been six months since I reviewed the apparently boring new Google Chromecast, a gadget I said “falls short” and called “a bummer.” New Google has effectively turned the Chromecast into the video game console of the future. This is me eating my own words. Read More >>

The second generation of AirPods just appeared in the Apple Store, and they sure look a lot like the first generation, save for some key upgrades. Read More >>

There’s no perfect way to manage massive quantities of emails, but everybody has their preferences. Some people are Gmail purists, who might be sad to know that Google’s free supercharged email management app Inbox will stop working on 2 April. Others are Outlook devotees, who probably get the app free through work. Me, I’m a lifelong Apple Mail enthusiast. It’s not perfect. Actually, the app is pretty awful for a lot of reasons, which led me to wonder: can one pay money for a better email experience? Read More >>