Microsoft
By MacRumors Staff on October 7, 2026
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Microsoft How Tos
How to Play Fortnite on iPhone and iPad for Free
Thursday May 19, 2022 1:47 pm PDT by Tim Hardwick
Fortnite has been unavailable to play on the iPhone and iPad since Apple banned it from the App Store amid an ongoing legal battle with Epic Games, but the battle royale game has returned to iOS devices thanks to Microsoft's Xbox Cloud Gaming service. This article explains how to get Fortnite up and running on the service – keep reading to learn how it works.
Apple removed popular title...
How to Pair a PS5 DualSense and Xbox Series X Controller With iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV
Monday May 10, 2021 1:07 pm PDT by Tim Hardwick
With the release of iOS 14.5 and tvOS 14.5, Apple users can now connect their PS5 DualSense and Xbox Series X controllers to an iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. Keep reading to learn how it works.
Since iOS 13 and tvOS 13, users have been able to connect popular console controllers to an iPhone or Apple TV to play Apple Arcade games and other iOS games, instead of having to spend extra money on...
How to Pair a DualShock 4 or Xbox Wireless Controller With iPhone and Apple TV
Monday October 21, 2019 10:00 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
With iOS 13 and tvOS 13, Apple users are now able to connect their favorite console controllers to an iPhone or Apple TV. In this guide, we've provided a quick rundown of how to go about pairing the DualShock 4 Wireless Controller and Xbox Wireless Controller to both iOS and tvOS devices.
Previously, MFi controllers were the only solution to playing games on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. With...
Microsoft Articles
Microsoft Launches $2,599 Surface Laptop Ultra to Take on MacBook Pro
Wednesday October 7, 2026 5:45 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Microsoft today announced launch timing and pricing for the Surface Laptop Ultra that it unveiled earlier this year.
The 15-inch Surface Laptop Ultra is priced starting at $2,599, undercutting Apple's $2,999 16-inch MacBook Pro, and it targets the same creator and developer market. Microsoft says it is built for "demanding creative, software development, AI, engineering, and 3D workloads."
...
Apple Plans iPhone-to-Windows Copy and Paste in EU After Microsoft Request
Monday August 3, 2026 4:19 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple is working on a new feature that will support cross-device copy and paste between iOS devices and Windows PCs.
Microsoft asked for the feature using Apple's EU interoperability request system for developers, which Apple implemented to comply with the Digital Markets Act. Apple began evaluating the request in March, and on June 26, proposed a project plan.
Microsoft described how...
Nvidia Challenges Apple Silicon With New RTX Spark PC Chip
Monday June 1, 2026 3:41 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Nvidia is entering the consumer PC chip business for the first time and has thrown down the gauntlet to Apple, describing its new RTX Spark processor as "the most efficient PC chip ever built."
Nvidia says its RTX Spark Superchip is purpose-built to run AI agents that can work proactively across apps and run in the background as a personal "teammate."
With the chip, Nvidia says users...
New Study Highlights Advantages of $549 Windows Laptop Over MacBook Neo
Wednesday May 13, 2026 10:38 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Microsoft has responded to the MacBook Neo by commissioning a study that highlights advantages of some Windows laptops.
Market research firm Signal65 evaluated four Windows laptops:Lenovo's IdeaPad Slim 3x
Lenovo's Yoga 7i
HP's OmniBook 5
HP's OmniBook X FlipWith a starting price of $549.99 on Best Buy's online store in the U.S. at the time of this writing, the IdeaPad Slim 3x is the only ...
Microsoft Raises Prices for All Surface PCs, Making Them More Expensive Than Equivalent Macs
Tuesday April 14, 2026 4:21 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Microsoft increased prices for all of its Surface PCs this week, with most models priced hundreds of dollars higher than they were when launching. Windows Central highlighted the increases, which now see Microsoft's mid-range models priced above $1,000 and flagship models priced starting at $1,500.
A Microsoft spokesperson said the price increase was due to "recent increases in memory and...
Microsoft's Clippy Returns as Easter Egg in 'Humanist AI' Copilot Update
Friday October 24, 2025 6:06 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Microsoft's Clippy has been resurrected for a cameo appearance in the company's latest Copilot update, which broadly aims to make its AI assistant more friendly, warm, and human-centered in its interactions.
Microsoft's Copilot Fall Release introduces Mico – an animated orb that serves as the voice mode's visual companion. Mico (its name a nod to Microsoft Copilot) listens, reacts, and...
Microsoft Edge 'Copilot Mode' Brings More AI to Your Browser Tabs
Friday October 24, 2025 2:53 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Microsoft has launched new features for its AI "Copilot Mode" in Edge, following a raft of recent new offerings from competing browsers.
First announced in July, Copilot Mode brings a chat interface to each Edge tab where users can ask questions, search, or enter URLs directly. The mode can also analyze content across all open tabs simultaneously, meaning users are able to compare products...
Microsoft Says 'We're Faster Than a Mac' in Latest Windows PC Ad
Thursday May 15, 2025 12:29 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
Microsoft today shared a new ad on YouTube with the tagline "we're faster than a Mac."
In the video, Microsoft says the top-end Windows PCs with Copilot+ branding are up to 58% faster than the previous-generation MacBook Air with the M3 chip, based on Cinebench 2024 multi-core CPU benchmark results. The ad is citing old figures that were reported on all the way back in May 2024, so take that ...
Skype Shuts Down After 22 Years, Ending an Era of Internet Calling
Tuesday May 6, 2025 6:08 am PDT by Hartley Charlton
Microsoft's Skype has finally shut down, concluding its 22-year tenure as the once-dominant internet calling and messaging service.
Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion in what was then its largest-ever acquisition. At its peak, Skype had more than 300 million monthly active users and was synonymous with internet-based voice and video calling. For many, Skype was their first...
Apple Dethroned by Microsoft As Top-Valued Company Amid Tariff Fears
Wednesday April 9, 2025 4:30 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple has lost its position as the world's most valuable public company to Microsoft following a dramatic four-day slide in its stock price, driven largely by concerns over President Donald Trump's escalating tariff war with China, where most of its iPhones are assembled.
Apple's market capitalization fell to $2.59 trillion as of Tuesday's close, while Microsoft now sits at $2.64 trillion,...
Apple's Most Famous Rival Turns 50 Today
Friday April 4, 2025 8:46 am PDT by Hartley Charlton
Microsoft today marks its 50th anniversary, during which time it has been one of Apple's longest-standing and most prolific competitors.
Microsoft was founded on April 4, 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, starting out as a software company developing a BASIC interpreter for the Altair 8800. It quickly become central to the personal computing revolution, including through its early...
Skype Is Finally Shutting Down on May 5
Friday February 28, 2025 7:53 am PST by Hartley Charlton
Microsoft today announced that it will officially retire Skype on May 5, 2025, concluding its 14-year tenure as the owner of the once-dominant internet calling and messaging service (via Bloomberg).
Microsoft acquired Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion in what was then its largest-ever acquisition. At its peak, Skype had more than 300 million monthly active users and was synonymous with...
Microsoft Launches Copilot App for Mac
Thursday February 27, 2025 11:08 am PST by Juli Clover
Microsoft today introduced a new Copilot app designed for Macs, letting Copilot users access the AI companion with a native macOS app.
Copilot is Microsoft's generative AI product, built on OpenAI technology. Copilot is similar to ChatGPT, and users can have questions answered, get coding help, upload images for context, generate images and text, summarize content, conduct research, launch...
Windows 11 Now Lets You Access Your iPhone from the Start Menu
Thursday January 30, 2025 1:21 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Microsoft has announced an update to Windows 11 that allows iPhone users to access their devices directly from the Start menu, bringing feature parity with its existing Android phone integration.
The new functionality lets you view your device's battery status, cellular connectivity, and recent activities without leaving the Windows environment. You can also access messages, calls, and file...
Microsoft Discontinues iMac Rival Surface Studio 2+
Friday December 6, 2024 6:30 am PST by Hartley Charlton
Microsoft has discontinued its Surface Studio 2+, marking the end of the company's only direct competitor to Apple's iMac, leaving a gap in the Windows ecosystem for high-end all-in-one PCs.
Microsoft has confirmed to Windows Central that it has ended production of the Surface Studio 2+, a premium all-in-one desktop designed for creative professionals. With remaining stock now limited to...
iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia Introduce Support for Wired Xbox Controllers
Monday October 7, 2024 10:04 am PDT by Steve Moser
Apple's latest operating system updates iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15 Sequoia bring a notable enhancement for gamers: official support for wired Xbox controllers.
Previously, Apple devices supported wireless Xbox and PlayStation controllers via Bluetooth, but when it came to wired connections, only PlayStation controllers were compatible. This update marks a step forward in broadening...
Microsoft's New AI Computers Struggle With Hundreds of Popular PC Games
Tuesday September 3, 2024 3:31 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Microsoft's new Copilot+ PCs that offer super fast performance for AI tasks, all-day battery life, and other perks, struggle when it comes to gaming, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
The Copilot+ PCs are equipped with Arm-based Qualcomm Snapdragon chips that merge the CPU, GPU, and a Neural Processing Unit. Using an Arm chip means Microsoft's PCs now face the some of the...
Microsoft Says Apple's 30% Fee Makes Xbox Cloud Gaming iOS App 'Impossible'
Tuesday September 3, 2024 1:57 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple has allowed cloud gaming apps on the App Store since earlier this year, but cloud gaming services still haven't bothered making iOS apps. Microsoft recently explained why, telling UK regulators that it didn't bring Xbox Cloud Gaming to Apple's App Store because the rules are still too restrictive.
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority is investigating mobile browsers and cloud...
With the Google Antitrust Ruling, Will Apple Build a Search Engine?
Wednesday August 7, 2024 1:41 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Earlier this week, a federal court ruled that Google's lucrative default search engine deal with Apple violates antitrust law. Google plans to appeal the decision and the court hasn't provided insight into how it plans to address Google's monopoly, but there is a chance Google will no longer be able to pay to be the default search engine on Apple devices.
Google's Payments to Apple
For many ...
Microsoft Blames European Commission for Major Worldwide Outage
Monday July 22, 2024 11:55 am PDT by Juli Clover
Last Friday, a major CrowdStrike outage impacted PCs running Microsoft Windows, causing worldwide issues affecting airlines, retailers, banks, hospitals, rail networks, and more. Computers were stuck in continuous recovery loops, rendering them unusable.
The failure was caused by an update to the CrowdStrike Falcon antivirus software that auto-installed on Windows 10 PCs, but Mac and Linux...
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