Mark is an award-winning journalist who worked at 9to5Mac for over six years. He covers Apple and other topics related to the consumer technology industry.
Mark is regarded as one of the go-to reporters for all Apple-related matters, one of Wired‘s top 16 people to follow in technology, and one of TIME Magazine‘s top 25 bloggers of 2013. Mark has also been profiled by CNN Fortune multiple times, NPR, the Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, the Huffington Post, Business Insider, Columbia Journalism Review, Marketplace, Haaretz, and USA Today. Mark was also recently named to the 2015 Forbes 30 under 30 List.
In 2012, Mark published the first photos of the iPhone 5, broke the news about Apple’s switch to an in-house Maps application, revealed the first 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro, forecasted that Apple would update the iPad’s software with Siri support, and accurately revealed the iPad mini’s higher-than expected price point.
In 2013, Mark published the first photos of the original iPad Air, provided the first details about Jony Ive’s end-to-end iPhone and iPad software update called iOS 7, provided information about OS X Mavericks, and detailed Apple’s early work on the Apple Watch.
In 2014, Mark revealed Apple’s work on a new Health application for iOS 8 and the Apple Watch, Ive’s redesign of OS X called Yosemite, and details about the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.
Mark started out 2015 with a significant scoop detailing Apple’s yet-to-be-released 12-inch MacBook with a Retina display, thinner design, and more advanced trackpad and keyboard. He has continued the year by reporting on several details about iOS 9, including the new Proactive Assistant, redesigned Siri, upgraded Maps with transit functionality, new system font, split-screen iPad apps, Swift 2.0, as well as predicting a performance focus for both that software upgrade and OS X El Capitan. Mark finished the year by reporting the majority of the details about the new Apple TV, iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, Apple Watch updates, the iPad Pro, the iPad mini 4, and iMacs.
Mark started out 2016 with exclusive reports on Apple’s work on a pair of completely wireless Beats headphones for the iPhone 7, details on the iPhone SE, iPad Pro 9.7-inch, Apple Watch updates, Apple’s March product event, new Apple retail initiatives, and Tim Cook’s Town Hall meeting with Apple employees.
Mark has also written long-form features on “Apple Anonymous,” a group of retail employees who discuss work over Twitter and the fascination of watches by Apple executives. Most significantly, in fall 2014, Mark published an extensive profile of Apple’s PR and Communications department that was compiled over two months into nine chapters. Mark also provides analysis on relevant technology industry topics, such as Apple’s recent executive shakeup. Mark kicked off his writing career at the end of 2009, and he had his first significant break in 2011 with a story detailing Siri and the iPhone 4S.
You can follow him on Twitter.
Rock Your iPhone and Saurik’s Cydia have just announced a merger that also merges their app stores for jailbroken devices. All application licesneses will be kept for both the Rock and Cydia app stores so you should be all good when the transition completes in a few days.
Details of the acquisition have no been released, and this app store fusion will surely make jailbreaking even more convenient.
It looks like iOS 4.0 has successfully been cloned to another device, an HTC one in this case, and everything from iOS seems to be there. As iSpazio points out, the porting of iOS to another company’s device seems like a long-shot, so this is most likely the best, most realistic iOS clone ever. As you’ll see in the video below, everything works including folders, quick-app switching, spotlight, and all the keyboards.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY-uRRCARJw&w=480&h=385]
You will also notice that the device’s performance is just like an iPhone 3G running iOS 4.0; complete junk. Anyways, this video is still pretty cool as it gives an idea of what iOS would look like another piece of hardware. Hint: Crap.
Whoa! Incipio has just announced a full-on case/watch strap (Linq) for the Dick Tracy iPod nano iWatch thingamabob. I can already tell these watch straps will sell like hotcakes, and we should have a review up sometime soon.
Incipio’s PR people explain it the best, and we can’t seem to find a price on these but have reached out for comment:
Incipio is taking a whole new design path with this wrist-worn carrying solution for the iPod nano. Meet the most rugged carrying solution for iPod nano produced to date, the Linq™. This is for users who already have or aspire for a lifestyle of action. Linq™ provides the user with an all-day, everyday accessory that may be worn effortlessly but always boldly. The Linq™ design was born from the logical “link” between the idea of the iPod nano existing simultaneously as a timepiece and a media player. Linq™ is your ultimate watch, built to endure a rugged lifestyle. Your once fragile iPod nano is not so fragile anymore as it sits in Incipio’s award winning Next Generation Polymer material securing to the wrist with a nylon and Velcro interchangeable strap. This durable and rugged iPod nano carrying option is a perfect solution for users who want to keep all functions of the nano close at hand (literally) at all times. Now you can wear your 6th generation iPod nano all day, everyday without a hint of it ever being worn (or torn). “Our entire design team at Incipio is obsessed with watches both old and new. This product was fun and exciting to work on. We can’t wait to carry our iPod nano media players on our wrists” stated President, Andy Fathollahi.
Apple has begun to send out e-mails to iOS developers who are allegedly app-name squatting. This notion of name-squatting is a practice that also widely applies to domain names. For example, if Apple is rumored to launch a product with a certain name, people will rush to get domain names relating to the supposed product name. With app names, if a developer registers a name, it cannot be used by anyone else.
It seems that this practice has created issues such as people reserving app names relating to companies who may be working on an app. This e-mail states that you cannot register a name and not have an actual application binary to go with it for more than 90 days. Today’s warning to developers informs them that they have 30 days to submit an app for the reserved name or the app name will be set free for anyone else to use.
On the other hand, there are developers who actually need to work more than 90 days to make an app. What if a developer wants to register a name in fear of someone else taking it, and they actually have an app in the works? How will Apple know that? These new rules seem like a good idea, but need to be implemented in a way that fits all developers and all situations.
Thanks, Jesse for the tip.
Oh Gosh. Microsoft has held a parade in celebration of Windows Phone 7 hitting RTM status. This parade simultaneously became a funeral for the iPhone and Blackberry since Windows Phone 7 will surely kill both of Cupertino and Waterloo’s creations.
It looks like AT&T is ready to sell some refurbished iPhone 4’s at 150 bucks a pop. That’s for the 16 gigger while the 32 GB refurbished version sells at a penny under $250. If you haven’t realized, that’s a 50 dollar savings for both models.
Refurbished Apple products supposedly get new casings, screens, and batteries. So unless the previous user destroyed the A4 and the RAM, you’re all good. Thanks, Randall for the tip.
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Earlier today we reported on a rumor that Office for Mac 2011 will be launching on October 27th, but tonight we’ve discovered otherwise. When browsing for Office for Mac 2011 on Amazon there’s a noted date of October 26th, 2010 on the titles of both the Home/Business and Student editions. Amazon is notorious for revealing product release dates before announcements and with Microsoft stating the software would be launching in October, we are pretty confident the 26th is launch day.
Office for Mac 2011 will launch at $99 (academic license), $119, or $199 depending on whether the Business/Home or Student edition is purchased. The next-gen productivity suite offers new themes, a re-designed interface, better collaboration tools, and improved Windows compatibility.
Nokia has just announced that CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo is the old, and Microsoft’s Stephen Elop (left in picture) is the new; CEO that is. Kallasvou has been Nokia’s CEO since June 2006, but the company clearly took some hits with Apple’s entrance into the smart phone business in 2007 with the iPhone.
Starting September 21st, he will move to a board of directors position and Elop will make his trip from Redmond’s business chief to a brand new office. Nokia Chairman, Jorma Ollia offers the following statment about Nokia’s change in leadership:
“The time is right to accelerate the company’s renewal; to bring in new executive leadership with different skills and strengths in order to drive company success.”
Apple has clearly changed the game world wide with their iPhone, and it is clear that Nokia is amidst a downfall because of it. Their smartphone market share has dropped significantly over the years, and notably fell from 45% to 37.4% in Q2 2009.
Remember that movie trailer for “The Social Network?” That movie about Facebook and how it came to be? Well, here’s the inevitable parody and it’s about Apple’s Ping:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e74yGdCG9Hk&w=670&h=400]
The Social Network’s actual trailer is after the break, for comparison of course:
Sean Kovacs, the developer behind GV Mobile, has tweeted that after speaking with Apple Developer Relations, he has on good authority that his unofficial Google Voice client will be readmitted to the App Store. After his discovery that GV Mobile does not violate any of the rules in Apple’s new review guidelines, he was prompted to get in contact with Apple so his baby can get back into the hands of users.
GV Mobile initially made it to the App Store in July of 2009, but was quickly removed after it seemingly duplicated features already built into the iPhone. In a follow up tweet, Kovacs stated the app would be free on launch day. We’ll be sure to update as this story develops. Oh, and for those who remember; Apple’s own Philip Schiller verbally gave Kovacs an approval blessing. Let’s see how good the blessing is this time.
After going through Apple’s App Store Review Guidelines, we decided it would be a great idea to compile our personal favorites. Some even sound like the words of Jobs.
1: “Apps with metadata that mentions the name of any other mobile platform will be rejected” – No Android for you!
2: “Apps that artificially increase the number of impressions or click-throughs of ads will be rejected” – Don’t be greedy.
3: “App user interfaces that mimic any iPod interface will be rejected” – Who makes that Remote app that looks just like iPod.app?
4: “Apps that alter the functions of standard switches, such as the Volume Up/Down and Ring/Silent switches, will be rejected” – Camera+!
5: “Apps containing “rental” content or services that expire after a limited time will be rejected” – iTunes TV show and movie rentals FTW!
6: “Apps that encourage users to use an Apple Device in a way that may cause damage to the device will be rejected” – Don’t break me!
7: “Apps that include games of Russian roulette will be rejected” – No comment.
8: “Apps that contain user generated content that is frequently pornographic (ex “Chat Roulette” apps) will be rejected” – Until there’s an API to keep clothes on.
…And how can I forget my personal all-time favorite: “We have over 250,000 apps in the App Store. We don’t need any more Fart apps.” – Hi, Phillip!
Hope you enjoyed the commentary.
A neat little jailbreak-only tweak has been released today and that is the ability to have a home page in Safari for iOS. The tweak is incredibly simple to setup, and developer, Will Strafach, gets huge props for that. You simply hit the “+” on either an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch and click the “Set as Home” button. This is the same menu used to make home screen shortcuts and to email and bookmark sites.
If you like having a home page on your Mac or PC computer this is a great installion for you. Personally, it does not make much sense for my iPhone, but I find it incredibly handy on the iPad as it is more computer-like. The tweak, “Home Page in Safari,” is available now for $0.99 on the Cydia store for all iOS devices. If you are having installing troubles (server issues) just try back later.
Update: We’ve just discovered otherwise: It appears that Office for 2011 may actually be launching on the 26th, not the 27th.
In a report on Microsoft’s Office 2011’s impending launch, Mac Generation (English translation), noted that the software will supposedly launch on October 27th. Microsoft Office 2011 will be launching in over 100 countries in both Student and Business/Home editions. Microsoft’s next generation productivity suite offers an updated user interface, new collaboration tools, better Windows compatibility, new themes and many other features.
Just yesterday we reported on new Office 2011 details and a Microsoft-made video detailing new information. When the software launches it will be available in $99 (academic license), $119, and $199 configurations. These prices depend on whether you purchase the Business/Home or Student edition. In terms of Mac Generation’s track record, they successfully reported Safari 5’s features and its WWDC launch.
Apple has just completely revamped their daily app sales reporting tool for developers. This tool has several new features, a modernized user interface, and is very intuitive. The new main dashboard has large graphs and new charts. The graph shows your app sales figures either in a daily or weekly view for paid or free downloads. You can even even choose any day from the last two weeks for display on the graph (The last 14 weeks too).
The charts dictate your app sales statistics in the top 10 regions where your app is on sale and also displays unit sales per app per day. Percent and unit change is also shown so you can compare your daily figures. Other categories of statistics include in-app-purchases and app updates.
The sales view offers a comprehensive look at unit sale figures for each app for each day. This section will show the version number downloaded, the type of app, how many units on that day or week, the customers price (upgrade, paid etc.), your revenue take from the app, what store it was bought in (US, UK, FR etc.) and its App Store identification number:
According to a report by Asymco, Apple’s average iTunes operation costs nearly $75 million dollars per month. This is more than double 2009’s average monthly costs of $30 million. The rise is credited to the new features Apple has recently implemented into iTunes as well as the 18 million apps downloaded each day. In case you didn’t catch Apple’s September 1st keynote, that’s roughly 200 apps per second.
At this moment, the total yearly operational costs for Apple is somewhere in the $900 million range (75 million x 12 months), and since iTunes is only growing with more and more content, the one billion mark is sure to hit very soon. These costs cover purchasing abilities from 160 million credit-card carrying iTunes customers, and all the content that gets downloaded to Macs, PC’s and the 120 million iOS devices rocking today. Maybe that $1 billion data center will help out later this year.
iTunes to date has sold over 450 million TV shows, 100 million films, 12 billion tunes, and 35 million books. That’s on top of the 6.5 billion apps people have downloaded. That’s an app for every person on the planet!
The popular Grand Theft Auto video game series from major living room consoles made its way to the iPhone and iPod touch with Grand Theft Auto: China Town Wars a little while ago. Today an iPad HD version is available. The game has full HD graphics that look great on the iPad, and game play looks phenomenal.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFOPpxrgqR8&w=500&h=500]
The game is now available on the App Store for $9.99. Let us know in the comments what you think of it and that is all… I need to go play some GTA.
Well, it looks like Parallels 6 was officially announced, for realz this time. Parallels 6 is the fastest version of Parallels to date and you’ll be able to get your hands all over it on September 14th; that’s just 5 days! You’ll get 5.1 digital surround sound and a supposed 40% graphics performance boost. In terms of advanced Mac-PC integration, parental controls on the Mac side will carry over to the PC side.
Parallells 6 will be available for $79.99 but upgraders can save 30 bucks and get it for a penny under $50. Users who made their Parallels 5 purchase on or after the 15th of August can upgrade for… Free.
As a commenter points out… you can already upgrade to Parallels 6 for that 49.99 price point.
We got tired of constantly updating our Game Center games post, so Apple did us, 9to5mac, a favor and updated the App Store with a dedicated Game Center section.
You can access this new section on your iOS 4 enabled Apple-money-maker too.
A fairly unknown feature about the new iPod nano is its ability to connect to a TV via component cables for photo slideshow viewing on the big screen. As the diagram below displays, it’s quite simple.
Once you’re all connected, set your TV to the right source setting and start viewing your awesome pics. No flicks, unfortunately. Apple recommends you use their Apple-branded cables that are undoubtedly cheaper at Amazon.
The Game Center compatible-games are beginning to populate, starting with Ms. Pac-Man earlier, and now two awesome titles from Firemint. Both of Firemint’s popular iPhone titles, Flight Control and Real Racing, were updated today for Game Center. They should hit the App Store very soon.
Feel free to add me on Game Center. I’m Gurman.
Update: The updates from Firemint appear to now be live, and some games from Pangea including Cro-Mag Rally were updated for Game Center also. Firemint Game Center integration screenshots and app update logs after the break.
More Updates: Farmville and iMobster Don have been updated for Game Center. – Thank you loyal reader, Randall! The very popular World Series of Poker was also just updated for Game Center! – Thanks, Kevin.
We reported that Game Center’s first compatible title hit today, and users are already playing it. Here is our first look at “High Score” boards and achievements.
The main multi-player screen for Ms. Pac-Man allows access to the leaderboards, the achievements center, and recent games stats:
The leaderboard screen ranks all the gamers by score and you can choose to view this list for “all time,” “today,” or “this week.”:
Last week we discovered that Apple has included a vibrate mechanism on the new iPod touch as an accessibility tool for those unable to hear when a FaceTime call is incoming. Well, today Apple has amended their iPod touch accessibility page removing the line you see highlighted in the screenshot below.
It is not clear while Apple decided to remove the vibrate function from the iPod touch as it seemed like a pretty neat feature for consumers but even better for those really in need of it, like the deaf. The folks down at iFixit even tested this by simply receiving a FaceTime call on their iPod touch 4. They can confirm Apple’s change in plans. This does not even seem to be some Apple copy/paste or photoshop error as they were very clear to say “a vibrating alert – on your iPod touch.”
Well, it looks like Ms. Pacman is the first game to support Game Center. TUAW says it’s crap though.
It’s $4.99 so if any of you have it, feel free to send in your impressions and screenshots to tips@9to5mac.com. Also, let us know if you discover anymore Game Center-compatible titles, mK?
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In a tweet comparing the specs of the new iPod touch and the iPhone 4, DF’s John Gruber said the new touch has half the iPhone’s RAM.
That would be 256 MB as compared to the iPhone 4’s 512 MB. iFixit has just confirmed this!
