According to a report today out of TechCrunch, Apple has acquired Lattice Data, a company that specializes in artificial intelligence where it relates to so-called “dark data.” The report explains that the deal was closed a few weeks ago, with 20 or so engineers from Lattice Data joining Apple.

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In this week’s top stories: WWDC keynote invites go out, more reports about an upcoming Siri speaker and iPhone 8, we ask the pros what they want from a modular Mac Pro, and we get a tour of one of the first new HomeKit homes.

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This week, Apple announced that it would be investing $200 million in glass supplier Corning as part of its new Advanced Manufacturing Fund. While the investment may seem straightforward on the surface, invest in a glass company for screens, analysts believe that it actually goes much deeper than that…

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Apple is currently engaged in a high-profile legal battle with Qualcomm centered on patent royalties. Apple struck first back in January and has since expand its lawsuit to additional countries, while Qualcomm has officially hit back with a countersuit.

While the Federal Trade Commission had originally stated that Qualcomm had monopolistic like qualities, the trade group this week has yet again slammed the chip maker…

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Apple’s WWDC conference kicks off on June 5th and whilst it is predominantly a software conference, reliable Apple analyst KGI’s Ming-Chi Kuo is reporting that he expects Apple to launch two new hardware products next month.

Repeating previous claims, Kuo says there is a more than 50% chance of the Siri Speaker, an all-new category for the company. In addition, he says that there is more than 70% chance of an all-new design 10.5 inch iPad Pro to be announced at the keynote.

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We reported last week that developer and homebuilder Brookfield Residential announced that it will begin including HomeKit accessories in new homes it’s building as a standard feature, starting in Southern California.

Now we’ve taken a tour of Brookfield’s Apple based connected home at Delano at Eastwood Village in Irvine and were able to meet up with Brookfield’s COO, Adrian Foley. Keep reading after the break for a look inside and to learn more about this forward thinking homebuilder.

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In this week’s edition of Friday 5, we have a look at a few handy Mac utilities that I use on a regular basis. Apps include SuperDuper, a long-available tool that lets you create reliable disk clones, and Intel Power Gadget, a handy way to monitor CPU performance on macOS. But it doesn’t stop there, have a look at our full list and video for a brief look at all of this week’s app selections. more…

Sprint and T-Mobile could potentially become one carrier if preliminary discussions reported by Bloomberg lead to a deal. Current discusses are described as informal between SoftBank which is Sprint’s largest shareholder and Deutsche Telekom which owns T-Mobile USA.

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It’s been said several times that Apple’s latest iPhone 8 flagship will be its most expensive model to date, with reports claiming the device will come in at more than $1,000. Now, in the build up to the device’s announcement later this year, analysts are making predictions as to exactly how much the new flagship will cost…

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This week’s 9to5Rewards partner is Koogeek and its Wi-Fi Smart Plug with support for Apple’s HomeKit platform.

The company has three of its Koogeek Smart Plugs (pictured above) to give away to 9to5Mac readers this week. 

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