Skip to content
Tech News
clear
Topics: Today This Week This Month This Year

Apple Maps now shows Lake Ontario as 'Lake America' for US users after Trump pressure

Apple has updated Apple Maps to display Lake Ontario as 'Lake America' for users in the United States, following Google's earlier change to its maps. The renaming stems from an executive order President Trump signed after US-Canada trade talks collapsed, with Canadian users still seeing 'Lake Ontario' and the rest of the world seeing both names. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Trump personally contacted Apple to push through the naming change.

Perplexity launches Hybrid Compute to mix local and cloud AI processing

Perplexity has introduced Hybrid Compute, a feature that divides AI tasks between cloud-based models and models running locally on a user's device. It flags files or data containing personal information and lets users choose to process those locally while sending the rest of the task to the cloud, or send everything to the cloud. The feature currently works only in the Perplexity app on Apple Silicon Macs, supporting local models like Gemma 4 E4B and Qwen 3.6 alongside cloud options such as Claude Opus 5 and GPT 5.6 Sol.

Acer unveils 1.76-pound Swift Blade 14 laptop to challenge MacBook Air

Acer has introduced the Swift Blade 14, a 799-gram, carbon-fiber-bodied laptop measuring as thin as 12.95mm, positioning it as a lighter alternative to Apple's 13-inch MacBook Air. The device will ship with Intel's Wildcat Lake processors ranging from a five-core Core 3 to a six-core Core 7, paired with 12GB of RAM, along with either a basic LCD or optional OLED display. Acer also announced the Swift Air 16, a larger companion to the budget-friendly Swift Air 14, though pricing for both new models won't be revealed until closer to their December launch.

Ford picks Apple Maps as native navigation for its Fathom EV platform

Ford VP Alan Clarke explained that after evaluating Apple, Google, and other mapping providers, the company chose Apple Maps for native integration in its upcoming Universal Electric Vehicle Platform, including the Fathom model. He cited Apple's flexibility, improved map quality, and close collaboration on EV-specific needs like range estimation and battery preconditioning as deciding factors.

Apple's iOS Messages now lets users set custom animated backgrounds per chat

Apple has added a feature to the Messages app that lets users personalize the background of individual conversations. Users can choose from built-in animated wallpapers like Color, Sky, Water, and Aurora, or upload their own photos, with the app also suggesting images from their library. An AI-powered Playground option can generate backgrounds too, though that requires an iPhone 15 Pro or newer.

Apple Maps renames Lake Ontario 'Lake America' for U.S. users after Trump order

Apple has updated Apple Maps to display Lake Ontario as 'Lake America' for users located in the United States, following an executive order Trump signed on August 27. Canadian users will still see 'Lake Ontario,' while people outside both countries will see both names listed. Google made the same change last week, citing its policy of following official U.S. government naming databases.

Apple discloses $58M pay package for new CEO John Ternus, $47M for Tim Cook

Apple's SEC filing reveals incoming CEO John Ternus will receive an annual compensation package worth $58 million, split between a $3 million base salary and $55 million in stock awards starting fiscal 2027. Tim Cook, moving into the newly created executive chairman role, will earn a $47 million package with a $2 million salary and $45 million in equity, split evenly between performance-based and time-based shares.

John Ternus Steps Up as Apple's New CEO After 25 Years at the Company

Apple has named John Ternus as its new chief executive, ending Tim Cook's 15-year tenure atop the company as Cook transitions to executive chairman. Ternus, 51, spent 25 years at Apple, rising from a product design engineer to senior vice president of hardware engineering, where he oversaw AirPods, Apple Watch, Vision Pro, Apple silicon, and the MacBook Neo.

Today's top topics: openai muse charm mark zuckerberg meta anthony albanese ai agent meta connect qualcomm services australia sam altman
Browse all topics →  ·  Today's trending topics →