Apple said in a statement the removal came after an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China. Apple said in a statement the removal came after an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China. Two of China's most popular gay dating apps have disappeared from app stores in the country, raising fears of a further crackdown on LGBT communities. As of Tuesday, Blued and Finka were unavailable on Apple's app store and several Android platforms. Users who had already downloaded the apps appeared to still be able to use them. Both apps were still available for download from their official websites.

After months of anticipation, Apple finally unveiled its latest smartphone to the world last night. The iPhone 16e is Apple's latest'budget' smartphone, with prices starting at just 599/ 599. The new device runs Apple Intelligence features, including a ChatGPT integration with smart assistant Siri. It also includes a 6.1-inch display, a two-in-one camera system, an'extraordinary' battery life, and the return of the'notch' at the top of the display. While the focus has been on the new device, several eagle-eyed Apple fans have noticed that three popular devices have been quietly discontinued.

I attended an Alicia Keys recording session, walked a tightrope and pet a dinosaur without leaving an Apple Store in New York City. The tech giant officially launched the new 3,500 Vision Pro in-store Friday and I was able to try out the headset this morning, along with dozens of others who waited patiently outside before the doors opened. But unlike the crowd, I was not expecting to enjoy the experience. I am somewhat of a Luddite and just could not imagine needing or wanting a mixed-reality headset - much less one that costs more than my month's rent in Brooklyn. However, each experience during the 20 minute demo felt shockingly intimate, vivid, and up close - I actually felt self-conscious about maybe having haphazardly stumbled my way into multiple dangerous or V.I.P. locations that I wasn't supposed to be in.

Apple stores across the US are seeing lines form on Friday with people waiting to purchase the new 3,499 Vision Pro that went on sale at 8am ET. Those waiting outside are set to receive one-on-one demonstrations with the device that features a single, thick band on the back of the head, connecting a large and sleek screen that sits over the eyes. Apple CEO Tim Cook arrived at the flagship Apple store in Manhattan for the launch and greeted early risers who were standing in line before the doors had opened. The Vision Pro is over five times as expensive as the rival Meta Quest 3, but Apple sold out pre-orders for the device on January 19 - 200,000 units were reserved. While the headset starts at nearly 3,500, customers can purchase upgrades like storage and 149 prescription inserts.

Ousmane Bah, an 18-year-old college student from New York, filed a lawsuit against Apple on Monday for allegedly relying on facial recognition systems that misidentified him as a serial shoplifter. The suit claims that Apple and its contractor, Security Industry Specialists, caused Bah to suffer emotional distress as a result. Apple has subsequently denied that it uses facial recognition in its stores. According to the lawsuit, Bah received a summons arraignment last summer from a Boston municipal court for the theft of $1,200 worth of products from an Apple Store in the city. The police report indicated that a Security Industry Specialists loss prevention associate saw the theft on a security video and recognized Bah from a similar incident at an Apple Store in Connecticut.

A recent survey by Deloitte of "aggressive adopters" of cognitive technologies found that 76% believe that they will "substantially transform" their companies within the next three years. There probably hasn't been this much excitement about a new technology since the dotcom boom years in the late 1990s. The possibilities would seem to justify the hype. In the future, we will see new computing architectures, like quantum computing and neuromorphic chips, propel capabilities even further. Still, there remains a large gap between aspiration and reality.

If you thought Sphero's original BB-8 app-enabled robot was a blast back in 2015, just wait'til you see their take on Star Wars' most beloved droid: R2-D2. MSRP; same price on Amazon and the Apple store) is here in advance of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which continues the sci-fi saga's main storyline, and it's just as immediately impressive as BB-8. It'll cruise around your home with ease using the iPhone/iPad companion app, the head rotates and reacts just like the real droid in the movie, and it even has movie-perfect sound effects and little animation routines. R2-D2 is not alone this time around, either, as the First Order BB-9E ($149.95 MSRP; same price on Amazon and the Apple store) droid from the new movie--essentially an evil version of BB-8, it seems--has joined the Sphero crew.

Apple is selling its first ever'gaming robot' that can carry out augmented reality warfare and is controlled by a smartphone. The fearsome-looking mechanical spider is called MekaMon and relies on four infrared sensors to measure distance, location and wage attacks on its opponent. This fighter, which launches today on the Apple store for £300 ($300), simultaneously has bot-on-bot brawls in real life and on the screen. The robot is used to play a game is set in 2076 following an alien invasion on Earth. Humans are using their MekaMon robots to fight back and recapture their territory.

Apple's iPhone X may have only been on sale for a few days, but Apple's plans for its successor are already being analysed. Experts say there are three new iPhones on the way - including Apple's biggest ever phone with a gigantic 6.5 inch screen. All three will abandon the home button in favor of Apple's FaceID system, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities believes. Is this Apple's 2018 lineup? Experts say there are three new iPhones on the way - including Apple's biggest ever handset with a gigantic 6.5 inch screen.

USA TODAY's Jefferson Graham asks people in line at a Los Angeles Apple Store the first thing they want to do with their new iPhone X's. LOS ANGELES -- You heard it hear first: Some of the folks waiting in line to pay $1,000 or more for the iPhone X bought it for the ... selfies. The iPhone X is the first re-designed iPhone since 2014, and Apple's Tim Cook and co. But the cheaper iPhone 8 and 8 Plus -- and last year's 7 and 7 Plus -- sported a lot of the technology that really matters, say the camera and sharp screen. We asked some of the 400 people on line at the swanky new Apple Store in the Westfield Century City Mall in Los Angeles to ask what they would do it when they got home.