• iOS Devices
• iPhone 6

Pegatron reportedly starting iPhone 6 mass production in Q2

Pegatron is gearing up to start mass-producing the next-generation iPhone, according to a report by The Commercial Times. Production of the next iPhone (or iPhones) is said to be starting in Q2, though there aren’t many more specifics available, and no indication of just how many devices will be produced at that time.

Currently not much is known about the so-called iPhone 6 aside from a few details about its display, which is said to be made of sapphire (possibly at Apple’s new Mesa, AZ plant) and will be bigger than the current iPhone display. Some reports even indicate that there could be two new models with differing screen sizes, both bigger than the iPhone 5s.

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• Apps & Updates
• Apps
• iPad
• iPhone
• update
• app

YouTube for iOS updated with changes to comments, improvements to playlists

Google updated YouTube for iOS today to version 2.5 with a few new changes and enhancements. The bigger changes include support for sharing entire playlists (where previously you could only share individual videos) and the option to quickly get to your own saved playlists from the sidebar.

Comments have also received some upgrades, giving users the ability to reply to other commenters and create conversation threads. Users can also now delete their own comments and see whether another user’s comment was posted publicly or not.

You can grab the free YouTube app on the App Store.

What’s New in Version 2.5.0

* Share and like playlists
* Quickly access your favorite playlists from the Guide
* Reply to comments and delete your own
* See if a comment was shared privately or publicly

• Apps & Updates
• AAPL Company
• Apps
• iOS
• iPad
• iPhone

Report: Office for iPad to be revealed on March 27th

Both The Verge and ZDNet are independently reporting that Microsoft will finally launch Office for iPad at the end of this month on March 27th, according to sources. According to The Verge, the suite will (unsurprisingly) be very similar to the Office app already on the iPhone App Store.

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• iOS
• iPad Pro
• Display
• concept
• images

iPad Pro concept imagines an edge-to-edge 12.9-inch display in new renders [Gallery]

(Click for full size)

Earlier this month we posted a concept from Curved.de that showed its take on what new Apple TV hardware might look like accompanied by a touchscreen iPod-like remote. Today the site is back with another concept, this time for the much rumored larger iPad sporting a 12.9-inch display.

The site didn’t just pull the idea out of thin air, as there have been a few rumors in recent months suggesting that Apple could truly be gearing up to launch such a device. Rumors of a 12.9-inch display on a new iPad model started to get serious when The Wall Street Journal reported back in July that Apple was indeed testing larger screens for both its iPhones and tablets. The rumors continued with other sources of varying credibility reporting that a 12.9-inch model will arrive sooner rather than later and possibly as early as the first half of this year.

Apple is also rumored to introduce larger screen iPhones this year somewhere in the range of 4.5 to 5.5-inches.

A description of the concept from the publication is below:

• The iPad Pro design is pretty close to its siblings, the iPad mini Retina and iPad Air. Curved corners and a flat back. Sound is provided from speakers that are placed left and right from the Lightning connector.
• Touch ID is integrated in the saphire glass protected home button, which was introduced for iPhone 5s.
• The screen is 12.9 inch wide and has a 4K-solution with 3,072×2,304 pixels (298 ppi), using LED-backlights and IPS-technology.
• Even though it’s wider, it’s still as thin as the iPad Air: 7.5 mm.
• The bigger screen with more pixels requires an A8 chipset with 64-bit-architecture.
• Apps for the iPad Air are shown optimized by the iPad Pro. Dedicated apps – labelled with “Pro” – use the higher resolution and performance of the all new iPad Pro.
• New pencils may fully employ all the features like pressure sensitivity. But don’t hold your breath for a multi button pen made by Apple.

• Apps
• Made for iPhone (MFi)
• 9to5Toys
• Tips and Tricks
• Daily Deals

9to5Toys Last Call: Dell/Monoprice IPS monitors from $229, Samsung 1TB 840 EVO Series SSD $469, Griffin Tech. 20% off, more

Be sure to follow 9to5Toys to keep up with the best gear and deals on the web: Twitter, RSS Feed,Facebook, Google+ and subscribe to the new Safari push notifications feature.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Last Call updates:

• Seagate 3.5-inch 2TB internal hybrid drive: $100 shipped (Reg. $170)
• Logitech K760 Wireless Bluetooth Solar Keyboard for Mac/iPhone/iPad $33 Shipped (Reg. $80)
• iOttie Easy View Universal Car Mount for iPhone 5/4S: $9 + $3 shipping (Reg. $23)

IPS Monitors: 24″ Dell UltraSharp 1080p $229 (Reg. $370), Monoprice 27″ 2560×1440 Slim $290 (Reg. $855)
Apple 13″ Macbook Pro with Retina Display $999 shipped (Reg. $1299) (Update 3/17 2:45pm: Sold out)

Samsung 840 EVO Series 1TB 2.5″ Solid State Drive $434 shipped (Reg. $850) (Update 3/17 2:30pm: Price bumped back up to the low price of $469)

Griffin Technology 20% off sitewide St. Patrick’s Day sale: Save on iPad/iPhone cases, Mac accessories, Lightning cables, more

Kensington PowerBolt Duo 2-port USB car charger w/ MFi Lightning cable $15 (Reg. $40)

Ends today:

Arby’s Buy One Get One FREE Reuben sandwich http://t.co/E6TDvprfPC #HappyStPatricksDay pic.twitter.com/UPMaoM9sXD

— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) March 17, 2014

Other great deals from today:

• New! Games/Apps: Watch Dogs preorder $50, Titanfall + 1 yr. Xbox Gold $90, up to 70% off 2K iOS titles, more
• New! IPS Monitors: 24″ Dell UltraSharp 1080p $229 (Reg. $370), Monoprice 27″ 2560×1440 Slim $290 (Reg. $855)
• New! Amazon celebrates its Appstore’s 3rd birthday with 2 weeks of deals
  
• New! Magazine deals: Car, AUX, Stylist, more FREE from Google Play, Macworld $8, Popular Science $5, more
• New! Home Deals: Frigidaire Stainless Blender/Mixer $50 (Reg. $150), Breville Quick Touch Microwave Oven $300 (Reg. $450), more
• New! Daily Deals: Apple Lightning Cable $9, urBeats Headphones $39, 1080P display $90, more
  
• New! Free download of Cyberlink PhotoDirector 4 for PC/Mac
• New! Nexus 7 Android tablet (2nd gen) 32GB WiFi + LTE $300 shipped (Reg. $349)
  

Seiki set to give its UHDTV owners a free 4K up-conversion HDMI adapter

More info: http://t.co/fTPplynPs9

Adapter: http://t.co/idwStqAG63

— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) March 17, 2014

More great deals still alive:

• Samsung 32″ 1080p 60Hz Smart LED HDTV $300 shipped (Reg. $500)
• Sony RDPM7IPN portable Lightning speaker dock for iPhone/iPod $60 shipped (Reg. $80), more
• Wireless Speakers: JBL Charge Bluetooth $84, JBL SoundFly AirPlay $140, Grace internet radio $125
• Apple 2TB Time Capsule (previous generation) $160 shipped (Reg. $290)
• Free year of ShopRunner ($79 value), while all Prime members can use a workaround to avoid price increase
• D-Link AV2 600Mbps Gigabit PowerLine Starter Kit: $70 shipped (Reg. $100)
• Seagate 2TB Backup Plus Slim USB 3.0 portable drive (black): $108 shipped (Reg. $150)
• Staples $50 off tablets priced $249 or more: iPad mini w/ Retina display from $349, iPad Air $449, more
• Staples In-Store: iPod Touch 5th gen 16GB $180 ($50 off), 32GB $230 ($75 off)
• Amazon Kindle Fire 7-inch 8GB: $99 shipped (cert. refurb: $79)
• Headphones: Beats by Dr. Dre Mixr (Refurb.) $180 (Reg. $250), MEElectronics Atlas On-Ears $55 (Reg. $100), more
• $25 off Your next Hotel Booking with iOS or Android FREE App Download
• iOttie Easy Flex 3 car mount/desk stand for iPhone & other smartphones $12.50 (Reg. $25)
• Lexar 32GB JumpDrive $15 (Reg. $33), PNY 128GB $49 shipped (Reg. $70)
• Western Digital My Passport Ultra 2 TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive Black + Photoshop Lightroom 5 $129 ($100 off)
• ColorStrokes: Selective photo coloring app for Mac – FREE (Reg. $3)

New products/info:

• Amazon announces rate increases for regular ($99/yr) and Student Prime ($49/yr) memberships
• Roku announces a new HDMI streaming stick for $50
• D-Link Releases the First Portable 11AC Router/Server/Charger for $99 shipped

• AAPL Company
• Apple TV
• Sports
• ACC
• Campus Insider

ACC Sports joins Apple TV channel lineup just in time for March Madness

Just in time for March Madness, Apple has added a new channel dedicated to ACC Sports to the Apple TV. The channel, called ACC Sports, features sections dedicated to many of the ACC colleges (Atlantic Coast Conference). It is unclear if the application will be able to live stream games from the major basketball tournament as March Madness is a CBS-branded event. Nonetheless, it’s likely that ACC Sports will at least offer highlights and updates after the games. News from other NCAA divisions will likely to be found in the already-existing Watch-ESPN app. (More images and details below).

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• Apps
• iOS
• Google Play
• SDK
• services

Google Play Game services brings multiplayer to iOS, lets devs offer cross-platform gaming

From 9to5Google:

At this week’s Game Developers Conference Google is announcing number of new features coming to developers through Google Play Game services. Notable for iOS users is the fact that Google has decided to expand its multiplayer features to iOS devs. That means all iOS devs that integrate Google Play Game services into their apps (which already offers sign-in, achievements, leaderboards, cloud saves, and more) will be able to let their players across Android and iOS challenge each other to multiplayer matches.

The new features should become available to developers later this month. Google is updating its Play Games Unity Plug-in to support the new cross-platform multiplayer features as well as “introducing an early Play Games C++ SDK to support achievements and leaderboards.” Google notes the cross-platform multiplayer feature will support both its turn-based and real-time multiplayer modes.

• AAPL Company
• iPad
• Apple News
• Apple Retail
• Tim Cook

Possible second Apple Store opening in Turkey, on Asian side of Istanbul

Turkish site ElmaDergisi is reporting that Apple is preparing to open a second store in Istanbul, this time in the Asian side of the city. The city of Istanbul uniquely straddles both the European and Asian continents. and the first store already known to be under construction, though apparently behind schedule, is on the European side.

Although the story isn’t confirmed, what looks very much like Apple’s usual black cladding during store preparation has appeared in a shopping mall called Akasya. The site claims that Apple plans to open a total of four retail stores in Turkey by the end of 2015. Apple launched the online store in Turkey last October.

Tim Cook met with Turkish President Abdullah Gül in February, discussing a rumored $4B plan to put iPads into schools among other issues.