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.
Apple is testing a new iPad mini that includes a faster processor but not a Retina display, according to references in the iOS 7 SDK sent to us by a developer.
The references were located inside of a hidden file that lists all supported iOS 7 devices, and the information has been corroborated with details found within the iOS 7 beta operating system itself…
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On its website, Apple is promoting the upcoming no-tax period/holiday for ten states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Florida is a new addition for 2013. Apple is also emailing this information to applicable customers. Thanks, Daniel!
Small update for Final Cut Pro X this afternoon:
What’s New in Version 10.0.9
• Addresses issues resulting in green artifacts when using Sony XAVC media
• Fixes several issues related to interlaced media and retimed segments which could cause exports to fail
• Includes stability improvements
In March, version 10.0.8. brought a series of enhancements in a move to bring pros back to the professional Apple movie editing software.
Alongside the iOS 7 beta 4 and iTunes 11.1 action from earlier today, Apple has seeded developers with a flurry of Mac-centric software. Preview 4s of Xcode 5 and OS X Server are available, while Apple Remote Desktop 3.7 is also now available in beta form. Also now on the Developer Center is OS X 10.8.5 build 12F26, which was first seeded last week in Software Update.
Looks like the rumors are true: iOS 7 beta 4 has leaked a new folder called “BiometricKitUI.” Based on the description, sent to us by Hamza Sood,it seems pretty clear that Apple is preparing a new iPhone with a fingerprint sensor.The interface is described above, pointing to a user being able to swipe the sensor on the iPhone’s home button.
The text:
bplist00_”enroll.tutor.image.label.left.hand_fingerprint.image_#enroll.tutor.image.label.right.hand_fingerprint.status_
Photo of a person holding an iPhone with their left hand while touching the Home button with their thumb_;
A fingerprint that changes colour during the setup process._
iPhoto of a person holding an iPhone with their right hand while touching the Home button with their thumb_Recognition is
Sood tells us that the above strings are what an iPhone with VoiceOver on would read to a user. According to a source familiar with the development of the new iPhone, the user-interface for the fingerprint scanning system has been complete. This person also says that the technology is focused around unlocking the phone, so it is unclear if it is built for a payment system (as rumored) in the next iPhone. We previously reported that Apple’s iWatch will include some biometric related hardware/software features.
Also coming in the new iPhone, likely to look like the iPhone 5, is an improved camera system, A7 processor, and perhaps some new voice and camera features.
Update: This reference has been removed in the new iOS 7 beta 5 SDK, but smaller hints still remain in the system.
Alongside the iOS 7 beta 4 and iTunes 11.1 with iTunes Radio betas, Apple has provided developers with a new Apple TV OS 5.4 seed. Below are the release notes. Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
A tipster sent in the video below showing that iTunes music purchasing has returned in the latest beta, a feature that was only available on the first generation Apple TV:
Alongside iOS 7 beta 4, Apple has provided developers with iTunes 11.1 beta. The biggest new feature is built-in iTunes Radio. iTunes Radio is Apple’s upcoming streaming music service that is also integrated into iOS 7.
First screenshots below:
Three weeks following the previous seed, Apple has released iOS 7 beta 4 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch to registered developers. The release follows Apple’s Developer Portal going back online late last week following an 8 day outage. The new seed is available via the over-the-air Software Update function in the iOS Settings app.
The previous beta release brought several user-facing changes (video here), including a sharper system-wide font, interface enhancements to Safari, Calendar, App Store, and Music, as well as improvements to Home screen folder transparency, a functional built-in dictionary tool, and more improvements to Siri’s more realistic voices.
A download link and claims regarding this new beta emerged earlier this morning. As the public release of iOS 7 approaches this fall, it is likely that beta 4 will continue providing interface and stability enhancements.
If you find anything new in this beta, you can let us know at tips@9to5mac.com. We will keep updating this post with a running change log of findings (below):
Following its acquisition of Zagat in 2011, Google has launched a brand-new iPhone app for Zagat on the App Store. The app features in-depth guides and ratings for restaurants:
Zagat is your guide to discovering the best and most notable restaurants, bars, cafes and clubs. We’re starting with nine cities (Austin, Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington DC), and are expanding to more cities soon.
Read about the hottest openings, get useful lists of weekend ideas, intriguing how-to videos, chef interviews, and more. No need to wade through dozens of reviews–we’ll tell you in a nutshell what other people are saying.
Restaurant menus, articles, advanced searching tools, and reservations via OpenTable are also available from within the app. Zagat for iPhone is seemingly a replacement for the soon-to-be-discontinued Google+ Local app. Video about the new Zagat below:
This past weekend, an image claiming to show a bin of boxes for Apple’s upcoming lower-cost, plastic iPhone emerged with “iPhone 5C” as the purported product name. However, earlier today, the image was claimed to be debunked due to some minor inconsistencies and image distortion. The inconstancies do not seem to be prominent enough, though, to completely rule out legitimacy. Now, BusinessInsider is separately reporting that “iPhone 5C” will be the name of the upcoming plastic iPhone.
It’s unclear what the “C” in “5C” stands for, but we can discern from the 5 that the plastic iPhone could be a cheaper version of the IPhone 5, complete with plastic, colors, and perhaps slower processing speeds. Possibilities for “C” could include “Colors” (the plastic iPhone is rumored to be coming in a flurry of colored plastics), or “Cheap” for its lower-cost. For the previous “S” line of iPhones, Apple said that the “S” in iPhone 3GS stands for “Speed,” while the “S” in iPhone 4S” is for “Siri.”
Corroborating today’s claim is an April posting from iLounge, which happened to first report many of the now corroborated design details of the upcoming Apple smartphone:
Following last week’s shipping time slip for the Mac mini from 24 hours to 5-7 business days, Apple Online Store is now returning the normal 24 hour shipping quote for both standard Mac mini configurations. The slip from last week ignited rumors that Apple would soon update its smallest desktop computer with new Haswell processors to match the recently released MacBook Air and upcoming iMac/MacBook Pro refreshes. The Mac mini Server model, however, is still stuck at a 5-7 business day wait prior to shipping.
Ahead of iOS 7 beta 4’s rumored release (perhaps as soon as today if Apple were to follow its own pattern), some purported download links for the new release have hit the web. These download links, when clicked, pull up a “Your session has expired link,” while an incorrect link shows an “Access denied” message. The purported build number is 11a4435d, and here is a purported link for a GSM iPhone 5 (CDMA iPhone 5 link has the same message as well). (Thanks, Robert!)
In related news, BGR claims that two more betas will follow today’s beta 4 and that the Golden Master seed will be released to developers in September.
I heard last week that Apple is nearing an initial “GM1” candidate internally. This candidate is said to be at a zero-priority-1 bug status, which means that there are no critical bugs left in the operating system. Of course, Apple will likely discover more bugs in its testing and will likely have several internal GM candidates before releasing the final GM seed to developers later in the year.
According to an upcoming report from the China Labor Watch, outlined by the Wall Street Journal, Apple’s China-based manufacturing partner Pegatron has come under fire for worker conditions. The report outlines several claims which shed a negative light on Pegatron:
As for pay, the report claims that some workers are seeing their payment withheld. Within this issue, recruiting companies for Pegatron have come under fire for not paying the workers enough. These recruiting companies, in some situations, are even fining employees:
Product: I have been testing Duracell’s PowerMat system for my iPhone 5 along with the company’s PowerSnap kit. This set of accessories amounts to a wireless charging system that allows a user to drop a compatible device on a small mat and charge without the need to insert a cable into a device every time the user wants to charge. The PowerMat comes in versions that support either one, two, or three devices. I tested the 2 device model…
Update: Poornima Gupta from Reuters got a statement from Apple on Mansfield:
Apple says Bob Mansfield is no longer on Apple's exec team but will remain at Apple working on special projects reporting to Cook. $AAPL
— Nima Gupta (@PoornimaGupta) July 29, 2013
“Bob is no longer going to be on Apple’s executive team, but will remain at Apple working on special projects reporting to Tim [Cook],”
Apple Senior Vice President of Technologies Bob Mansfield has mysteriously disappeared from the executive organization chart on Apple’s website, as noted by MacRumors. Apple has not made any announcement regarding Mansfield, and it is unclear if this change is in error or if Mansfield has left the company. Last year, Mansfield announced his retirement, only to return to Apple in the new role of SVP of Technologies late last year. At that time, Tim Cook told employees that Mansfield would remain at Apple until late 2014.
No Technologies successor nor reasoning behind the decision announced. Perhaps Mansfield grew tired of the executive role and wanted to focus on the special projects which include the watch product.
We like to think something like this happened.
Product: For the past couple of weeks, I have been using Vaja’s premium leather Grip Hardshell Case and Executive Leather Flip Cover for the iPhone 5. These cases are built-to-order and handcrafted in Argentina. Vaja’s website allows customers to completely customize both the inside and outside designs of the cases. The process takes 20 days, according to the company. However, a series of in-stock, pre-chosen configurations are available.
Performance/Features: Both cases are very structurally sound, and compared to other cases that I have tested in the past, putting the iPhone 5 in and out of the cases is a simple task. In terms of leather case quality in general, I have usually found myself with a mixed bag of results. However, my past experience with Vaja’s leather quality has been outstanding. The leather iPhone 4/4S Vaja case that I reviewed all the way back in 2010 is still in use, and it is in good condition with only minor nicks and a lack of tears.
Both cases offer easy access to the iPhone 5’s camera, audio controls, Lightning connector, speakers, and sleep/wake/power button. The Grip case offers a completely open face for the iPhone 5’s display, while the Executive Leather case has a front flip that will keep your display covered while the iPhone is in a bag, pocket, or elsewhere. The flip case uses a magnet system so the flap stays intact.
In terms of protection/performance, both cases will do a solid job of preventing dents into the aluminum band surrounding the iPhone. If you drop the iPhone 5 on its rear, the camera/LED is seemingly protected as the cases are a bit higher than the flat camera face. Because of the front flap, the Executive case offers more protection than the Grip case.
Why: Vaja’s latest iPhone 5 cases are perfect for those who want to protect their iPhone 5 with some of the best quality leather cases materials for a phone. The handcrafted process adds a touch of elegance to your already high-profile device. However, Vaja is a brand that focuses on style and materials, so if you’re looking for a case that is built specifically to protect your phone, check out the Otterbox Defender (my full review).
Price: The base-model Grip case costs $70 and the base-model Executive Flip Cover case costs $90. Certain leather and color options can yield an extra $20 on top of those prices.
Hands-on image gallery:
Announced at Apple Retail’s store quarterly meetings today, Apple will begin providing its employees free iBooks titles next week. The initiative is called “iBooks Discovery” internally.
The move comes ahead of the launch of both OS X Mavericks and iOS 7. Mavericks will be the first Mac operating system to feature the iBooks app and iBookstore, so Apple is providing their employees paid titles for free as a way for the employees to further familiarize themselves with iBooks. This, in turn, will allow the employees to be more experienced with iBooks as they introduce the Apple book reading service to Mac users for the first time.
As for iOS 7, the new operating system sports a completely redesigned look, and Apple, in the internal quarterly store meetings, foreshadowed an iBooks for iOS redesign by showing the app’s iOS 7 icon…
Last week, we noted that popular communications app Viber was hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army, which led to aspects of Viber’s website being defaced with the message “The Israeli-based “Viber” is spying and tracking you.”
Today, reader Peter Wells points out that Viber’s App Store description has been defaced as well. If this new app description was tainted by the Syrian Electronic Army, it is possible that the hackers have gained access to the other various developer-facing functions.
We have reached out to Viber for comment and will update this post once they are received.
Update: Viber has commented:
As part of its new “un-carrier” strategy, T-Mobile USA today announced that it will begin a new deal tomorrow: $0 down for all devices. Now, eligible customers can receive a phone with no money down and pay for the device over 24 months. For the iPhone 5, customers will be able to receive the device for free and now pay an additional $27 on top of their monthly service charges for 24 months. Previously, the iPhone 5 on T-Mobile costed $145.99 with $21 payments per month for 24 months.
“The number of reasons not to switch to T-Mobile this summer is ZERO,” said John Legere, president and chief executive officer, T-Mobile US. “This is a fantastic offer and we’re making it easier than ever for customers to get the latest amazing devices. Adding Zero Down in addition to JUMP!, and Simple Choice with no contract is all about making wireless work for consumers and shaking up this industry.”
Recently, T-Mobile initiated a new JUMP plan that allows customers to pay a $10 monthly fee for both insurance and the ability to upgrade their device twice a year (after a 6 month initiation period). The two new programs are combinable.
T-Mobile says that the $0 initiative is available for a limited time, but the company does not specify the end date for the special. Notably, AT&T’s JUMP competitor, which is called Next, goes live today. Verizon’s competing Edge plan starts next month. Full T-Mobile press release below:
Apple’s Mac mini shipping times have slipped from 24 hours to 5-7 days, MacRumors notes. The change occurred today as a Bing Search cache points to 24 hour shipping times as of yesterday.
The slip in shipping times currently appears exclusive to the Mac mini, in multiple Apple Online Stores, as Apple’s other Macs are still showing the typical 24 hour times to ship.
While a slip in shipping times does not confirm an imminent update, Apple’s Mac mini was last updated in October of last year and lacks the current Intel Haswell chipset. The last major redesigned of the computer occurred in mid-2010.
The slip also comes at a time in which Apple is rumored to be preparing Haswell-based MacBook Pro and iMac models for release in the coming months. MacBook Airs with Haswell chips debuted in June.
Following the attempted breach into Apple’s iOS and Mac Developer Center and its subsequent closing, Apple has posted an iCloud-like Status Page so developers can track Apple’s work for re-implementing Developer Portal Features. Additionally, Apple has outlined its approach to restoring these features.
We apologize for the significant inconvenience caused by our developer website downtime. We’ve been working around the clock to overhaul our developer systems, update our server software, and rebuild our entire database. While we complete the work to bring our systems back online, we want to share the latest with you.
We plan to roll out our updated systems, starting with Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles, Apple Developer Forums, Bug Reporter, pre-release developer libraries, and videos first. Next, we will restore software downloads, so that the latest betas of iOS 7, Xcode 5, and OS X Mavericks will once again be available to program members. We’ll then bring the remaining systems online. To keep you up to date on our progress, we’ve created a status page to display the availability of our systems.
Apple will first restore Certificates and Provisioning, forums, bug reporting, documentation, and videos so that developers can continue developing apps at their old pace. Later, the iOS, Mac, and Xcode seeds will become available for download online.
Apple has also included this information in an email directed to developers (image of the email below – thanks, Doug). While the Developer Portal has been offline, it has been somewhat business as usual thus far for new OS X seeds. Apple seeded a new OS X Mavericks Developer Preview on Monday and a new 10.8.5 seed earlier today.
Notably absent have been new iOS seeds, though many developers have speculated that this is due to the current inability to download the corresponding Xcode files.
One week after the last build, Apple has seeded OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.5 build 12F26 to developers. For those running previous 10.8.5 beta builds, the new update is available via Software Update in the Mac App Store. Because the Apple Developer Portal is still unavailable, the downloads are not available for download online. The new seed is also available to AppleSeed members along with a new Safari build.
Thanks, D!
To coincide with Apple’s Q3 2013 earnings release, the company will hold a live conference call to discuss the results at 2 PM Pacific/ 5 PM Eastern Time. Below, we will have a full live blog of the proceedings. We’ll be nothing things of interest.
As planned, Apple today announced its earnings results for the Q3 2013 quarter.
CUPERTINO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Apple® today announced financial results for its fiscal 2013 third quarter ended June 29, 2013. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $35.3 billion and quarterly net profit of $6.9 billion, or $7.47 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $35 billion and net profit of $8.8 billion, or $9.32 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 36.9 percent compared to 42.8 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 57 percent of the quarter’s revenue.
The Company sold 31.2 million iPhones, a record for the June quarter, compared to 26 million in the year-ago quarter. Apple also sold 14.6 million iPads during the quarter, compared to 17 million in the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 3.8 million Macs, compared to 4 million in the year-ago quarter.
Apple’s Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $3.05 per share of the Company’s common stock. The dividend is payable on August 15, 2013, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on August 12, 2013.
Apple reported revenues for Q3 of $35.3 billion, which is within Apple’s estimates for the quarter of between $33.5 billion and $35.5 billion. This compares to $35 billion in revenues in the year-ago Q3.
Apple also reported net profit of $6.9 billion. This compares to $8.8 billion in profit during the year-ago Q3 quarter.
In terms of product sales, Apple reports that it sold 31.2 million iPhones, 14.6 million iPads, 3.8 million Macs, and 4.57 million iPods. This compares to the 2012 Q3 quarter in which Apple sold: 26 million iPhones, 17 million iPads, and 4 million Macs, and 6.8 million iPods.
Apple CEO Tim Cook on the results:
“We are especially proud of our record June quarter iPhone sales of over 31 million and the strong growth in revenue from iTunes, Software and Services,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We are really excited about the upcoming releases of iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks, and we are laser-focused and working hard on some amazing new products that we will introduce in the fall and across 2014.”
Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer on the results:
“We generated $7.8 billion in cash flow from operations during the quarter and are pleased to have returned $18.8 billion in cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO.
Apple’s guidance for next quarter (Q3 2013) is revenue between $34 billion and $37 billion.
At 2 PM Pacific time, Apple will hold a broadcasted earnings call. We will conduct a live blog of the call with interesting notes in a separate post. Full press release below: