2026-03-26 01:00:48
Google today said that Android has set a new record for mobile web performance, making it the fastest mobile platform for web browsing.
The newest Android devices have set new records on web performance benchmarks like Speedometer and LoadLine, which Google attributes to "deep vertical integration across hardware, the Android OS, and the Chrome engine."
Speedometer simulates real-world user actions to measure interaction latency when using a web browser, and it's a metric that major browser engine developers use to determine responsiveness. According to Google, a high Speedometer score correlates to a "more fluid, snappy feeling when you tap, scroll, or type on a website."
In charts published by Google, three unnamed Android devices earned higher Speedometer 3.1 scores than an unnamed "competing mobile phone platform," which is likely iOS.
LoadLine is an emerging benchmark test developed by the Chrome and Android teams that simulates the complete process of loading a website to determine how fast a webpage appears after a link is clicked. Android phones score up to 47 percent higher on the LoadLine test than non-Android competitors, according to Google.
Google says that it collaborated with select SoC and OEM partners to optimize Chrome and kernel scheduler policies to get the faster web browsing speeds. With the improvements, some Android flagship phones have improved their Speedometer and LoadLine scores by 20 to 60 percent year-over-year. For users, the change translates to four to six percent faster page loads and six to nine percent faster high-percentile interactions.
2026-03-26 00:53:40
Apple has full access to Gemini to customize the model for Siri and other AI features, reports The Information. Google gave Apple "complete access" to the Gemini model in its own data centers, and Apple can use the access for distillation, or creating smaller models for specific tasks. Apple is able to design models that are built to run on Apple devices without the need to connect to the internet.
The Information explains that Apple can ask the main Gemini model to perform a series of tasks that provide high-quality results, with a rundown of the reasoning process. Apple can feed the answers and reasoning information that it gets from Gemini to train smaller, cheaper models. With this process, the smaller models are able to learn the internal computations used by Gemini, producing efficient models that have Gemini-like performance but require less computing power.
Apple is also able to edit Gemini as needed to make sure that it responds to queries in a way that Apple wants, but Apple has been running into some issues because Gemini has been tuned for chatbot and coding applications, which doesn't always meet Apple's needs.
Apple is relying on Google's Gemini models for the smarter, chatbot version of Siri that's planned for iOS 27, but the Apple Foundation Models team is still working on Apple AI models that are distinct from the Gemini models.
Siri will be able to do many of the same things that Gemini and other chatbots are able to do, such as answering questions, summarizing information, scanning and understanding uploaded documents, telling stories, providing emotional support, and completing tasks like booking travel.
2026-03-25 22:35:08
Poland's government has announced plans to begin drafting legislation to impose a tax of up to 3% on revenues from certain digital services, a move that could affect Apple and other major U.S. tech companies operating in the country.
Reuters reports that Deputy Prime Minister and Digitalization Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski announced the decision on Tuesday, describing it as an effort to ensure fair competition between domestic businesses and large foreign digital platforms.
Today, competition in the digital market in Poland is distorted. Companies that pay taxes on their activities in Poland are in a worse position than those that provide digital services within our country from abroad. This reduces the competitiveness of domestic entities, limits our digital sovereignty, and significantly reduces state budget revenues that could be reinvested in building our country's technological potential.
2026-03-25 21:53:27
Amazon today has the AirPods Pro 3 available for $199.00 during its Big Spring Sale, down from $249.00. This is a match of the all-time low price on the AirPods Pro 3, and one of the best all-around deals you can get during the Amazon's springtime Prime Day.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
This model of the AirPods Pro launched in September 2025 and has 2x better Active Noise Cancellation than the previous generation, better audio quality, a revised fit that's meant to improve comfort and stability, Live Translation for in-person conversations, and heart rate sensing for workouts.
2026-03-25 21:38:24
App Store Connect is a tool that allows app developers to view App Store metrics such as total downloads, and today it is receiving a major update.
"Analytics in App Store Connect receives its biggest update since its launch," said Apple, in a post on its developer news portal.
Apple says App Store Connect has a refreshed user experience that makes it easier to measure the performance of apps and games. There are more than 100 new metrics available, including new in-app purchase and subscription data.
Here is what is new, according to Apple:
• More than 100 new metrics. Now you can access monetization and subscription data in Analytics to better understand the performance of your In-App Purchases and offers.Apple has an App Store Connect app for the iPhone and iPad. App Store Connect is also available on the web at appstoreconnect.apple.com.
• New cohort capabilities. Analyze user behavior based on common attributes — such as download date, download source, offer start date, and more — to measure how a particular group of users performs over time. For example, if you’ve expanded your app to a new region, you can monitor how long it takes users in that region to make a purchase compared to other more established regions. Cohort data is aggregated to ensure user privacy.
• New peer group benchmarks. Discover how you stack up to peers with two new monetization benchmarks: download-to-paid conversion and proceeds per download. Benchmarks incorporate differential privacy techniques to protect individual developer performance while also providing meaningful and actionable insights.
• Two new subscription reports. Export these via the Analytics Reports API to perform offline analysis and integrate Analytics into your own data systems.
• Additional filters. Apply up to seven filters to your selected metrics at once allowing you to drill down further and uncover additional insights.
• App Store Analytics Guide. This new guide in App Store Connect Help enables you to develop a data-driven strategy and understand App Store tools and features you can use to grow your business.
2026-03-25 21:01:26
Apple is accepting pre-orders for the AirPods Max 2 headphones that were introduced on March 16, with a purchase option now available on the Apple.com website.
In the U.S., Apple's online store lists a delivery timeframe of April 1 to April 3.
Priced at $549, the AirPods Max 2 feature the same design as the original AirPods Max, but Apple updated the over-ear headphones with an H2 chip that adds new capabilities already offered by other AirPods models.
