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.
Marware, one of the leading accessory makers for Apple’s mobile devices, has sent us two of their latest iPad mini cases for review. Both cases are unique in their own right, but both are built with versatility and quality materials. Check our reviews of both the Marware Axis and Marware MicroShell Folio cases for the iPad mini below.
We’re fans of Logitech’s Ultrathin Keyboard cover for the full-sized iPad, so when we heard that Logitech was launching a version of the Ultrathin keyboard for the iPad mini for $79, we were naturally excited. As we noted in our review of the full-sized model, the product kickstarts a transition from iPad-based content consumption to creation. With our love for the full-sized version, the “mini” Ultrathin Keyboard has a lot to live up to. Even with the iPad mini’s smaller display and overall footprint, does the Ultrathin Keyboard mini match the performance of its larger counterpart, and how does it fare against Zagg’s well reviewed iPad Mini keyboards? Find out in our complete review below.
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ChinaFile has pieced together an interactive map (full-screen) of Apple’s world-wide product component suppliers (via PED/Fortune). The map, which is based on Apple’s publicly available suppliers list, features points for each individual supplier. It is interesting to see the number of suppliers per region with complete context.
Unsurprisingly, you will find the biggest numbers in Asia, the continent in which most of Apple’s mass production occurs. Apple CEO Tim Cook previously announced that Apple will begin producing one of its existing Mac lines in the United States. Apple currently sources some key iOS device components (like glass and processors) from the U.S.
In January we reported that Staples appeared set to begin selling Apple products via its U.S. distribution channels. However, Staples’ official comment on this (since 2011) was that Apple would not sell Staples its products for U.S. distribution. Today, we have learned, Staples has announced to corporate employees that it has finalized a deal with Apple to sell Apple products in the United States.
Confirming the deal is Staples’ Senior Vice President of Global Human Resources Regis Mulot on Twitter:
Apple has released a shorter version of its Lightning to USB cable. The 0.5 cable’s release comes a few weeks after Apple began offering a shorter version of its Thunderbolt cable. The new Lightning cable model is priced at the same $19 as its longer counterpart. Additionally, Apple has tweaked its in-ear headphones to offer the same remote and microphone design as the recently released Earpods.
Third parties have also stepped up the Lightning cable game as of late with Scosche, Griffin, Amazon(pictured below) and others offering a wide variety of Apple-certified cable sizes, colors and lower prices.
In his State of the Union address tonight, President Barack Obama mentioned Apple’s plan to bring back manufacturing to the U.S. starting with an existing Mac line this year. President Obama’s comments came in the larger context of bringing jobs back to the United States:
After shedding jobs for more than 10 years, our manufacturers have added about 500,000 jobs over the past three. Caterpillar is bringing jobs back from Japan. Ford is bringing jobs back from Mexico. After locating plants in other countries like China, Intel is opening its most advanced plant right here at home. And this year, Apple will start making Macs in America again.
As we previously noted, Apple CEO Tim Cook is in attendance at the State of the Union address. Cook announced Apple’s plans to bring Mac manufacturing to the U.S. at some point in 2013 in interviews in late 2012. Cook reiterted the plans in an employee “Town Hall” meeting earlier this year.
Recent speculation and reports have pointed to Apple’s 2013 U.S.-built Mac line as being the Mac mini. Apple already sources iPhone components like glass and its chipsets from U.S. based manufacturing plants.
[tweet https://twitter.com/iDannyOcean/status/301526314324725760]
Apple CEO Tim Cook will be sitting near Michelle Obama at President Barack Obama’s Tuesday State of the Union address. Those who sit in the “First Lady’s Box” typically are mentioned during the speech. It is likely that Apple will be mentioned, and we speculate that this mention may have to do with Tim Cook’s announcement that Apple will begin bringing Mac production back to the U.S. with a single, existing Mac line this year.
At the last State of the Union, Laurene Powell Jobs was a guest of Michelle Obama. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was mentioned as an American entrepreneur.
Tomorrow morning, Cook will be speaking at the Goldman Sachs Technology Conference. It seems likely that Cook’s speech is early in the morning so he has enough time to commute to the State of the Union Address in Washington D.C. (Image: Reuters)
Following several reports of iOS 6.1 bugs, Apple has released iOS 6.1.1 for the iPhone 4S. It is currently available over-the-air via the iOS settings application. iOS 6.1 bugs caused significant issues for AOL’s mobile meeting management software.
Apple says that the iOS 6.1.1 update addresses the previously discussed cellular performance and reliability issues with the iPhone 4S.
The update was recently put into beta for developers to add several Japanese Maps enhancements for all iOS devices. Apple says that the beta with Maps fixes for Japan will be renamed to a different version number when it is publicly released.
iOS 6.1.1 beta will be renamed to a different version with the next developer release and will include the fixes included in the public release of iOS 6.1.1 in addition to the improvements to Maps for Japan.
A direct download link for the publicly released iPhone 4S update is available here.
Is it Jailbreakable?…
AOL has informed its corporate employees that it has temporarily disabled the ability to manage meetings via mobile devices due to a bug with Apple’s iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch iOS 6.1 operating system. We received an internal email from a source detailing the announcement from AOL CIO Michael Freker.
Below is a statement from Freker to 9to5Mac that details the situation:
AOL’s corporate Enterprise Messaging Operations team has been monitoring a rapidly increasing and unusually large volume of traffic across our enterprise mail environment originating from iOS devices running the new iOS 6.1 update. We have researched this problem and appears to be connected to a recently identified issue that seems to cause these iOS devices to continuously loop while synchronizing a recurring calendar meeting invitation. Similar problems have been reported by a number of sources to several media outlets across the Web in the past few days. While our team continues to work productively and rapidly with Apple and Microsoft to resolve the issue, it has been necessary to temporarily disable the ability to accept or manage calendar meetings using mobile devices to ensure that we maintain the integrity of our corporate enterprise messaging platform. Since this change is limited to managing calendar invitations, by disabling them temporarily we allow our employees to continue to experience the excellent productivity these devices bring to our enterprise until this issue is resolved.
The iOS 6.1 bug causes a “continuous loop” when meetings are attempted to be managed. This leads to a degraded iOS device performance and battery life experience. AOL is working with Microsoft and Apple to resolve the issue.
Issues with iOS 6.1’s Exchange support has also been highlighted on Microsoft’s forums. “I had a user upgrade to 6.1 and immediately after he finished, his [iPhone/iPad] started causing excessive logging on the exchange server,” one of the postings reads. ZDNet also notes the issue with iOS 6.1 and Exchange servers.
Earlier this week, Apple seeded iOS 6.1.1 to registered developers. The iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch software update adds enhancements to Maps for Japan. It is unclear if that update fixes the enterprise-related issues. Earlier today, Vodafone informed customers that an iOS 6.1 bug can cause performance issues for iPhone 4S users.
Apple has responded to Greenlight Capital’s proposal regarding the issuing of preferred stock, and the stock market has reacted extremely favorably (above):
CUPERTINO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–By early last year, Apple’s cash balance had built to a point beyond what we needed to run our business and maintain flexibility to take advantage of strategic opportunities, so we announced a plan to return $45 billion to shareholders over three years. As of next week we will have executed $10 billion of that plan.
We find ourselves in the fortunate position of continuing to generate large amounts of cash, including $23 billion in cash flow from operations in the last quarter alone.
Apple’s management team and Board of Directors have been in active discussions about returning additional cash to shareholders. As part of our review, we will thoroughly evaluate Greenlight Capital’s current proposal to issue some form of preferred stock. We welcome Greenlight’s views and the views of all of our shareholders.
As a part of our efforts to further enhance corporate governance and serve our shareholders’ best interests, Proposal #2 in our proxy includes some recommended changes to our articles of incorporation. These changes were recommended independently of Greenlight’s proposal and would not preclude Apple from adopting their concept. Contrary to Greenlight’s statements, adoption of Proposal #2 would not prevent the issuance of preferred stock. Currently, Apple’s articles of incorporation provide for the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock by the Board of Directors without shareholder approval. If Proposal #2 is adopted, our shareholders would have the right to approve the issuance of preferred stock. As such, Proposal #2 has the support of many of our shareholders.
We remain committed to having an ongoing dialogue with our shareholders to get perspectives around return of capital and driving shareholder value.
Greenlight Capital founder David Einhorn appeared on “Squawk Box” today to defend his decision to file suit in New York federal court against Apple over a proposal, dubbed “Proposal 2,” that would allegedly stamp out preferred stock in the company’s proxy, claiming the proposal does not adhere to regulatory rules…
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Apple has released AirPort Utility version 6.2. The new update adds the ability to extend guest networks if you have multiple AirPort routers. Additionally, Apple has added improved international support and the ability to add WPS printers to your AirPort WiFi networks.
Update: It appears that Apple has also released firmware version 7.6.3 for some AirPort devices.
Update 2: And the Airport iOS app too.
Just a few days following the release of the evasi0n iOS 6.1 jailbreak, Apple released the first beta of iOS 6.1.1 to iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch developers. Alongside significant enhancements to the Maps application for Japan, many industry watchers speculated that the iOS 6.1.1 update was also designed to plug the exploit in the operating system that makes the latest jailbreak possible.
However, iOS security researcher Pod2G has discovered that this new iOS 6.1.1 beta does not block the evasi0n jailbreak tool from running. Yesterday’s iOS 6.1.1 release is the first beta, and it was only seeded a couple of days after the technical details of the latest jailbreak were made public. With that mind, it is possible that Apple will block the jailbreak by the time iOS 6.1.1 is released publicly.
Just one week after the last build, Apple has seeded a new release of OS X 10.8.3 to developers. This new build is numbered 12D65, which is four builds newer than the previous 12D61 release. Apple, once again, tells developers to focus on AirPlay, AirPort, Game Center, Graphics Drivers, and Safari. Earlier today, Apple seeded iOS 6.1.1 beta 1 to developers. Thanks, Anonymous.
According to developers using the new build, this new release appears to fix the “File:///” bug we wrote about recently (thanks, Chris).
Just days after releasing iOS 6.1 to the public, Apple has released iOS 6.1.1 beta 1 to developers for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The download is available via Apple’s developer center for registered developers. This beta, according to Apple, has major enhancements to Maps for Japan:
iOS 6.1.1 beta 1 includes the following improvements to Maps for Japan:
According to Bloomberg, Apple and HBO will team up to deliver HBO Go content on the Apple TV.
Cable and satellite subscribers who pay for HBO will be able to watch more than 600 hours of films and television shows on Apple TV, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. Apple TV is a set-top device that streams content purchased on iTunes and via other online services to consumers’ televisions.
According to the report, the HBO content will arrive on the set-top-box sometime during the first half of 2013. HBO currently offers an HBO iOS application for its subscribers.
Besides Apple’s own iTunes content, the Apple TV currently supports, Hulu Plus, YouTube, Wall Street Journal content, Netflix, and various professional sports networks. (Image via Engadget).
Apple will stop selling its current Mac Pro professional desktop computer in Europe on March 1st, according to our sources. 
While the Mac Pro has been seen as an Apple product nearing discontinuation because of its small user-base, lack of significant promotion by Apple, Apple’s strategy of moving into the “post-PC” era, and, perhaps, most controversially, the lack of a notable update in a few years, none of these are seemingly the reason for the imminent discontinuation. Apple sent the following letter to resellers:
As of March 1, 2013, Apple will no longer sell Mac Pro in EU, EU candidate and EFTA countries because these systems are not compliant with Amendment 1 of regulation IEC 60950-1, Second Edition which becomes effective on this date. Apple resellers can continue to sell any remaining inventory of Mac Pro after March 1. Apple will take final orders for Mac Pro from resellers up until February 18th for shipment before March 1 2013. Countries outside of the EU are not impacted and Mac Pro will continue to be available in those areas.
According to people familiar with the matter, the Mac Pro will be discontinued in Europe because the current generation of the product does not meet a new European product regulation standard. This regulation, Amendment 1 of regulation IEC 60950-1, Second Edition, goes into effect on March 1st of this year. It only affects Europe, EU Candidates, and select surrounding nations (like the EFTA: Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Iceland, and Norway.), and Mac Pro sales will continue in all other regions.
A checklist with the new standards is available online. The new product certification standards in Europe appear to be mainly connected to internal components such as power supply parts and wiring. It is currently unclear which aspects of the new standards are not met by the current Mac Pro line…
Less than a week since the last beta for developers, Apple has seeded build 12D61 of the upcoming OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.3 update to registered developers and AppleSeed software testers. Apple tells developers and testers to focus on AirPlay, AirPort, Game Center, Graphics Drivers, and Safari. In previous builds (and in this new one), Apple says that it has made significant enhancements to WiFi performance. Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
Image via AllThingsD
While the jury from the high-profile, California-based Apple versus Samsung trial ruled that Samsung willfully infringed, in five patent infringement claims, Apple’s patents, the judge presiding over the case has overturned this ruling (PDF of ruling). As noted by The Verge, Judge Lucy Koh, following a request from Samsung’s legal team, has decided that Samsung did not willfully infringe the patents. Tonight’s ruling likely means that Samsung will not face additional penalties to the over $1 billion already awarded to Apple.
As Koh writes in the ruling, for an ultimate finding of willfulness to hold, not only would the jury need to find that the infringement was willful, but Apple also needed to prove that there was an “objectively high likelihood that its [Samsung’s] actions constituted infringement of a valid patent.” Samsung had argued that they had reason to believe Apple’s patents were invalid — so that even if they had infringed, they couldn’t be found to have done so willfully.
As noted by AllThingsD, tonight’s ruling from Koh also says that a re-trial will not occur because the original trial was “fairly conducted:”
Judge Lucy Koh said that jury’s $1 billion verdict was supported by the evidence, adding that “the trial was fairly conducted, with uniform time limits and rules of evidence applied to both sides.” “A new trial,” Koh wrote in the ruling, “would be contrary to the interests of justice.”
While tonight’s ruling does bring closure on the two aforementioned issues, both sides of the case will surely continue their appeal processes with the judge.
Facebook has updated its official iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch application to include new in-app video recording and sharing capabilities. Additionally, the social network had added the new voice messages feature (which launched first in the standalone Messenger app for iPhone), to the main Facebook app. More details, images, and release notes below:
Alongside iOS updates for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and the Apple TV, Apple has updated its Xcode software development suite to version 4.6. The update includes a series of enhancements including improved Mountain Lion and iOS 6.1 SDK support, more accurate code completion, and various bug fixes. The update is available via the Mac App Store.
Apple has released iOS 6.1 to iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and Apple TV users. This public release follows five beta seeds to developers. The update is currently coming through over-the-air. To download the update directly from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, head to Settings, then General, then Software Update. Your device will include installation instructions and release information here.
The update includes the following improvements for iOS device users:
As we previously noted, Apple TV users will enjoy new Bluetooth keyboard compatibility. We found that using a Bluetooth keyboard greatly enhances the Apple TV experience. Additionally, Apple has included new iOS 6.1 APIs for developers to be able to better integrate Apple’s mapping database into their App Store apps.
In a press release announcing the release of 6.1 (below), Apple’s Phil Schiller noted with “nearly 300 million iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices on iOS 6 in just five months, it may be the most popular new version of an OS in history.”
We have posted more details on the Apple TV software update here. Direct iPhone, iPad, iPod touch links and Apple press release:
We’ve gotten word from sources that Apple is preparing to release (in some fashion) a single, additional iPad model. This would be a new SKU for the current fourth-generation iPad with Retina display line. At this point, we do not have pricing information, so it is definitely difficult to pinpoint exactly what this new iPad model is.
Here is what we do know:
With developers finding code in the soon-to-be-released iOS 6.1 that points to 128GB iOS devices, and with recent findings of 128GB references in Apple’s recent iTunes 11 release, speculation naturally points to Apple releasing a 128GB iPad in the very near future. While it is certainly plausible that this new iPad model is the 128GB iPad, we are currently not confident enough to outright claim that, but it seems likely based on the evidence.
Update: We’ve received pricing information for this new iPad model. The pricing is in line with a higher storage capacity, coming in at around $799 for the WiFi-only model and $929 for the Cellular-compatible model in the United States. So, new capacity sounds even more likely.
Here are the new SKUs via a source at a high-profile U.S. retailer:
Mockup by Falco
As the year progresses and as we get closer to the manufacturing and launches of Apple’s next-generation iOS devices (iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches), claimed pieces of evidence for these devices will appear. Today, two rumored pieces of evidence have surfaced.
Purported future-generation iPhone speaker components:
Last year, 2012, was Tim Cook’s first full year at the helm, and the first full year without Steve Jobs. It was a year filled with new products and advancements, but it was also a year of controversy, mounting competition from companies like Google and Samsung, and a year of a rising—and later falling—stock share price.
To address the last year and the year ahead, Apple CEO Tim Cook summoned corporate employees to his Cupertino Campus’s De Anza 3 auditorium. With the company’s top executives in the first row, followed by several rows of employees, Cook spoke in his signature black, buttoned, untucked dress shirt, jeans, and sneakers.
Cook was reportedly pumped up during this Town Hall meeting, rallying troops amid questioning from analysts regarding Apple’s future as a global technology titan. According to multiple people in attendance at the meeting, Cook rallied his staff by discussing Apple’s latest earnings, its competition, and its future.
Find all of the details after the break: