Apple spent 2015 catapulting new toys and services at consumers. The year ahead will be all about refining its aim. The Cupertino, California, company wants to touch every aspect of your life, whether on the go with an iPhone 6S or Apple Watch, at your office with an iPad Pro or MacBook, or in your …

Spotify is getting into the DJ business. Starting Wednesday, the streaming music service is releasing a feature for its iOS and Android apps known as Spotify Party. Party is designed to serve up mixed playlists of music that can get your guests to wind up or wind down at your next soiree, reception or blowout. The feature is Spotify’s effort …

Not long after one court muzzled WhatsApp in Brazil, another one put it back in business. The hugely popular messaging and voice app had been ordered shut down throughout the country for 48 hours starting at midnight Thursday local time, according to Reuters. The shutdown stemmed from WhatsApp’s noncompliance in a criminal proceeding, according to a statement provided to Reuters …

Netflix has released a new edition of its Windows 10 app designed to work across an array of Windows 10 devices. Added to Microsoft’s Windows Store on Wednesday, the updated app supports both Windows 10 PCs and tablets from the get-go and will support Windows 10 smartphones in the “near future,” Netflix said in a blog post. The Netflix app …

The US Postal Service has a message for hoverboard makers: Keep those things off our airplanes. USPS is limiting shipping options for self-balancing scooters due to safety concerns after reports that some hoverboards have caught fire. “Effective immediately and until further notice, the Postal Service will ship the hoverboards only using Standard Post/Parcel Select, which travels on ground transportation, due …

If the race for the White House were decided by top Google searches, Donald Trump would already be picking his cabinet. The billionaire, who is the leading Republican in the US presidential race, was the top trending search term on Google this year when it came to politicians, according to a list of popular search terms Google released Wednesday. Trump …

Finally, Pebble watches can be regular fitness trackers. And older Pebbles can get some of the benefits of newer ones. Pebble’s smartwatches have always traded off having more advanced features in exchange for longer battery life and an always-on screen. One feature that never really made the cut was fitness tracking: Pebbles track activity in the background and work with …

The problem with finding love is that it’s easy to overthink it. So the True Love Tinder Robot helps your heart want what it wants by sensing your real feelings and pointing you to romance with its romantic robot hand. A matchmaking mechanoid, the True Love Tinder Robot is a box with handprint-shaped sensors and an artificial hand all ready …

Alphabet, the mama-bird parent company of Google, is hoping 2016 is the year Nest leaves the, well, you know what. Nest, which makes thermostats, smoke detectors and security cameras that connect to the Web, has operated pretty much independently since Google bought the company in 2013. And that was before the company formerly known as Google pulled apart its various …

My son and I are excited for “The Force Awakens,” but we will likely wait to see a matinee next week when he is on holiday break from school and the crowds have (hopefully) thinned out a bit. Until showtime, I would like to continue my life online while avoiding any and all Star Wars spoilers, which I expect to …

Microsoft wants to bridge the technology gap. The world’s largest software maker on Tuesday said it will expand its commitment to global philanthropy under a new organization called Microsoft Philanthropies. The organization will expand Microsoft’s existing charitable contributions like donating software to nonprofit organizations and supporting computer science education. “Great technology alone is not enough,” Brad Smith, Microsoft’s president and …

CNET’s Cheapskate scours the Web for great deals on PCs, phones, gadgets and much more. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page. And find more great buys on the CNET Deals page. Enlarge Image The LG Watch Urbane is a beauty. Sarah Tew / CNET First things first: Don’t forget to enter my last contest …

Android Pay, Google’s mobile payments system, isn’t just for your local grocer anymore. On Tuesday, the company announced that you can now use Android Pay to buy goods and services within participating Android applications and games. The race is on in the mobile payment space; smartphone-based purchases will cross the $100 billion mark by 2018, predicts eMarketer. Android Pay, which …

We’ve discussed in the past how blue light from your electronics can have bad effects on your bedtime. Google recognizes this as an issue as well, and has added a new color mode to their Play Books app. The new mode, called Night Light, will use hues of amber based on available natural sunlight to filter blue light, and therefore …

Apple and Samsung have both picked up new bank partners in their battle to be your go-to for mobile payments. Apple on Tuesday updated its Apple Pay page for participating banks and store cards to show an additional 66 banks, credit unions and other financial institutions in the US. That means the credit cards offered by those organizations can now …