T-Mobile and Sprint, the third- and fourth-largest wireless carriers in the US, are talking once again about a possible merger. Discussions are preliminary, according to a Tuesday report in The Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the matter. The news comes five months after the two last broke off talks, and it’s the third …

Another half dozen tech companies are jumping into the legal battle over the FCC’s decision to undo net neutrality rules. Etsy, Foursquare, Kickstarter, Shutterstock, Automattic and Expa filed a petition Monday in a US Court of Appeals as part of a group called the Coalition for Internet Openness. The group is challenging the Federal Communications Commission’s move to repeal regulations …

Chinese handset maker Xiaomi has been talking about expanding to the US for years, but has never said exactly when. The company has now narrowed it down a little. Xiaomi’s phones could arrive as soon as late this year or early 2019, CEO Lei Jun told The Wall Street Journal on Monday. Xiaomi didn’t immediately respond to a request for …

Apple in December touted its deal to buy Shazam, the popular music recognition app, saying it had “exciting plans in store.” The tech giant may have to put those plans on hold for a bit. The European Commission said Tuesday it’s reviewing the proposed acquisition. “The Commission considers the transaction may threaten to adversely affect competition,” the EC said in …

Apple says it’s “exploring” offering rebates to customers who paid full price for a replacement battery to improve the performance of an older iPhone. The tech giant noted that possibility in a letter to Sen. John Thune, in response to questions about the company’s practice of slowing down older iPhones as their batteries age. In the letter, dated Feb. 2, Apple …

Maybe it’s too much effort to grab the remote and click over to HBO and scroll through what’s on.  So Amazon wants to help. Owners of Fire TV streaming devices can discover live programming on a new row called On Now that displays on their home page. The feature, however, is limited to a handful of subscription channels: HBO, Showtime, Starz and Cinemax.  And …

Apple wants to make it easier for you to use your phone instead of your wallet when it comes to treating your friends and family or paying them back when you owe them. The tech giant on Tuesday rolled out its peer-to-peer payments system, which enables iPhone owners in the US to exchange money within iMessage, or by asking Siri …

An Israeli startup has accused Apple of using its dual-camera technology without permission. In  a lawsuit, Corephotonics says Apple wasn’t authorized to use its patented tech in the iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 8 Plus. The suit, reported eaerlier by Reuters, was filed in federal court in San Jose on Monday. The Tel Aviv-based company alleges that it talked to …

Music-streaming service Pandora has chosen Roger Lynch, chief executive of Sling TV, to be its new CEO and president, after a leadership shakeup in June. Lynch is the founding CEO of Sling TV, Dish Network‘s online service for live TV that launched in 2015. He will also join Pandora’s board of directors when he starts his new job next month, …

Now playing: Watch this: VPN explained: A privacy primer — with robots and race… 1:39 China has been cracking down on virtual private networks, which enable people to get around the country’s infamous internet filter dubbed the Great Firewall. Now, Apple is removing VPN apps from its China App Store. ExpressVPN said Saturday it received a letter from Apple saying …