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.
Apple has released a fifth beta of iOS 6.1 to registered developers. It is currently available via Apple’s iOS developer center. iOS 6.1 runs on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, and includes a number of enhancements for both users and developers. For example, developers are welcoming new iOS Maps APIs to better integrate Apple’s mapping database into App Store apps. End users will find new features such as movie ticket ordering via Siri, improved lock screen media controls, and various other tweaks. Apple hasn’t announced when iOS 6.1 will be released to the public. Thanks, Matthew!
Update: We’re now hearing some interesting things about this beta from the hacker community: Expand Expanding Close
Apple’s online store is now quoting 3-5 days shipping time in both the United States, China, Hong Kong, Australia, and Canada. Previously, iPad minis were quoted as shipping in one weeks. Just recently, during Apple’s earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook noted that the iPad mini remains constrained and high in demand. (Via iPhoneInCanada).
Following up on its earlier information regarding Apple’s 2013 iPhone and iPad hardware releases, iLounge has shared some additional details surrounding the next-generation iPhones and iPads. Notably, the report includes purported code names and release timeframes.
The iPad mini, as heavily claimed before, is said to be upgraded with a Retina display by October. This release timeframe would match that of the rumored fifth-generation iPad with iPad mini design elements. The Retina iPad mini is said to be codenamed J85, while the fifth-generation iPad is reportedly known as J72. The new iPad mini is also said to retain the first generation design.
The iPhone 5S is said to include a faster processor and possibly a new Sony 13 megapixel camera sensor. iLounge previously reported that the iPhone 5S would include an improved rear LED flash. The current iPhone 5S prototypes have N51 and N53 code names, according to the report. An iPhone 5S, as the name implies, would have an identical or similar design to the current iPhone 5.
Separate rumors have already pointed to Apple releasing a new iPhone this year with a design similar to that of the iPhone 5. These other reports have also said that this new iPhone may include a fingerprint scanner. That scanner would likely be based off of the Authentec technology that Apple agreed to acquire last summer. Apple is also rumored to be launching a cheaper, plastic iPhone this year to assist in breaking through to emerging markets.
Bloomberg reports that Apple plans to move its Tokyo, Japan-based headquarters from its current location, the Shinjuku region of Tokyo, to something more magnificant: the 54-story Robbongi Hills complex in central Tokyo.
The company plans to make its move as soon as April of this year, according to the report. Also, Apple reportedly told its current office landlord that it would not be renewing its lease after June 2013.
The report says that Apple plans to occupy one or two floors of this new building. The complex currently houses businesses, a hotel, a movie theater, apartments, and more, putting Apple in a more centralized environment inside of Tokyo.
The report pins rapidly decreasing office rental pricing in Tokyo high-rises as the reasoning behind Apple’s relocation.
Apple has seen tremendous growth in Asia, specifically in China. The company also plans to open up a new data center in Asia. It will be located in Hong Kong.
On the U.S.-front, Apple is also planning to make changes to its headquarters. The company is working to move into its breakthrough new, “spaceship-like” campus with curved glass edges by 2016.
As promised, Apple has announced its Q1 2013 results. This quarter is the most recent holiday quarter. The quarter followed the launches of the iPhone 5, new iPods, new Macs (like the new iMacs and MacBook Pro), and the new iPads (iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad). Apple will hold a conference call regarding today’s announcement. We will live blog it here. at 5 PM EST/ 2 PM PST.
In line with its several new high-profile product launches, Apple reported a record quarter for Q1 2013. Apple sold 47.8 million iPhones, 22.9 million iPads, 4.1 million Macs, and 12.7 million iPods in the quarter. As a comparison, Apple’s Q1 2012 numbers (the year ago quarter) include 37 million iPhone sales, 15.4 million iPads, 5.2 million Macs, and 15.4 million iPods sold. Apple’s Q1 2013 revenue beat its estimate of $52 billion with $54.5 billion in revenue. This comes out to $13.1 billion in net profit, or $13.81 per diluted share. “Gross margin was 38.6 percent compared to 44.7 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 61 percent of the quarter’s revenue”, according to Apple.
CEO Tim Cook on the results:
“We’re thrilled with record revenue of over $54 billion and sales of over 75 million iOS devices in a single quarter,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We’re very confident in our product pipeline as we continue to focus on innovation and making the best products in the world.”
CFO Peter Oppenheimer as well:
“We’re pleased to have generated over $23 billion in cash flow from operations during the quarter,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “We established new all-time quarterly records for iPhone and iPad sales, significantly broadened our ecosystem, and generated Apple’s highest quarterly revenue ever.”
Apple’s guidance for next quarter is revenue between $41 billion and $43 billion.
ComScorehas taken a look at the most used mobile apps across the iOS and Android platforms. Though mapping is a crucial feature on smartphone and tablet devices, Facebook’s mobile application actually surpassed the usage of Google Maps on iOS and Android in 2012.
ComScore says that a drop in Google Maps usage occurred this past fall because of its removal from the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch with iOS 6. However, even though it still is behind Facebook on the list, Google’s Maps software once again picked up steam when it came back to iOS via the App Store…
Pebble has posted a note on its Kickstarter page to confirm that, as promised, shipments of the E-Paper watch have begun to first backers. While the Android Google Play application is scheduled to go live tomorrow (January 24th), Pebble says that it has been actively working with the Apple App Store review team on getting the iOS version of the Pebble app approved. Pebble says it submitted the application two weeks ago but it is yet to be approved.
Depending on shipping times for the actual Pebble hardware, it is plausible that watches may arrive before the app is approved for iOS. Pebble’s creators say that the only temporary downside to this is that Pebble iPhone users won’t be able to install new clock faces or software updates until the App Store app is released. Crucial functionality such as notification and music playback support will work day 1, with or without the app being approved…
The highly anticipated Mailbox alternative email application for the iPhone will be available in the “coming weeks,” according to its creators. Orchestra, the application development team behind Mailbox, calls Mailbox “the inbox reinvented for a world on the go.” We’ve been testing the application and feel that it truly is the reinvention of email for mobile devices.
Orchestra has also announced that the Mailbox application will be available for freevia the iTunes App Store when it launches. The company says that it plans to keep Mailbox free “forever.” The company hopes to monetize in the future via a premium set of features. However, the company is yet to share details on what these extra, paid features will provide.
Because of the high-demand for the server/cloud-focused email app, the company has now opened up a user reservation system. You can reserve your spot in line for using Mailboxright now at this link. Reservations will be filled on a first-come, first served basis. Orchestra explains the reservation process:
Apple has announced that it will hold a special one day shopping event in certain countries in Asia, dubbed “Red Friday,” on Friday, January 25th (via iPhoneHacks).
The sale, which Apple has also held in previous years, is similar in style to Apple’s Black Friday sales events held in other countries. Apple also notes that free shipping will be offered for this sale, presumably for all items.
The eligible countries include Singapore, Thailand, China, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. Apple recently posted its gift guide for this holiday. We previously covered Apple’s “Lucky Bag” promotion in Japan earlier this year.
However, Commercial Times‘ (likely inaccurate) report is calling for a ‘iPhone 5S’ (fine, already rumored), an “iPhone Math” (what?) with a 4.8-inch display, and a third device with a 12-megapixel rear camera. The paper says the first two devices will launch in June, while the higher-end 12-megapixel-camera-packed iPhone will come for the holiday season. The first two iPhones are said to carry 8 megapixel camera sensors (like the iPhone 4S and iPhone 5).
BrightWire has translated some of the more specific claims from the China Times portion of the report. Apparently, shipments will increase for crucial components (like the touchscreen displays and camera systems) in March ahead of a production launch in late April. The reports also offer specific claims regarding who will be producing the components for the next iPhones, as translated by BrightWire:
For the past few weeks, I have been using Mophie’s Powerstation Duo device charger, and it has been a tool that has already improved my technology-filled life. I’m constantly using my iOS devices, like an iPad and an iPhone, and I am hardly stationed in one place. I’m always on the move, and relying on the batteries of my mobile devices to last throughout the day is unrealistic. On my previous iPhone, I used to use a Mophie case with a built in battery pack, but since the iPhone 5 is yet to see a compatible Mophie case, a brand I trust for these types of accessories, I’ve been using the Duo. Read on for our full review:
Readdle, the developer of several popular productivity applications for iOS, has launched a new app: Documents for iPad. Documents is an intuitive application that allows users to easily manage document files and media such as video, audio, and photos.
While, at its core, Documents is a great way to store, manage, and view files, it also has deeper, more powerful functionality.
For example, Documents also serves as an application that allows you to annotate and search documents and PDF files.
The application also allows you to download documents from the web, and you can save these downloads into the application.
The app integrates with cloud services like iCloud, Dropbox, and GoogleDocs for keeping the app’s contents in the cloud and up to date on all of your iPads.
Documents also includes easy ways to share files with others.
Apple’s iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS featured plastic backs
Digitimes claims that the budget iPhone will feature a plastic chassis, rather than the metal and glass exterior design of the iPhone 5. The plastic shell comes in a move to cut costs on the device’s hardware.
The report also claims that internal components may still be made from metal. It is also possible, according to the report, that these metal parts may be visible externally due to a “special design.”
However, other rumors are circulating that the entry-level iPhone will adopt a chassis mixed with plastic and metal, with the internal metal parts being able to be seen from outside through special design, the sources noted.
Digitimes also reports that the more cost-effective iPhone model will be released in the second half of this year. Both the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg recently reported that Apple is working on a cheaper iPhone for launch in late 2013. The WSJ, in particular, also reported that Apple has experimented with plastic casings for its less-expensive iPhone model. (Image: Engadget)
According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple has cut component orders for its iPhone 5 due to “weaker-than-expected-demand.” The report provides the notable example of iPhone 5 display components being cut “roughly” in half for the January through March quarter.
Apple’s orders for screens for the January-March quarter, for example, have dropped to roughly half of what it had previously planned to order, two of the people said. The U.S. company has also cut orders for components other than screens, according to one of the people.
Apple reportedly notified its iPhone 5 parts suppliers of the change last month.
Several analysts previously reported that Apple has cut orders for iPhone 5 components. Like the WSJ is reporting, many analysts and industry watchers naturally expected the order cuts to be due to weak iPhone 5 demand. However, recent rumors and thinking point to a mid-cycle iPhone hardware update, so that could be another factor for iPhone 5 components being cut.
A Lincoln Town Car has crashed straight into the Chicago Lincoln Park Apple Store. Luckily, according to a couple of readers on scene, no serious injuries have been reported. Apparently, the driver was an elderly man. The Chicago Tribune says one person in “good condition” was taken to the hospital.
According to reader who spoke to a couple of Apple store employees at the store, employees are currently thinking that the side of the store in which the incident occurred will be closed off at least for tomorrow.
Immediately following the release of the Microsoft Surface in November, Microsoft sent its Windows head Steven Sinofsky packing. Just a couple of months later, he is already trying out a new platform: iOS.
We were tipped to a tweet from Sinofsky (@stevesi) from January 11th that was sent from Twitter for iPhone. We soon discovered a second tweet from the same platform on January 4th. Sinofsky is still tweeting from his Microsoft Surface and the Web, but we don’t see as many Windows Phone-based tweets as we do earlier in his Twitter timeline.
Following the discovery of a security threat in the latest version of Oracle’s Java 7, Apple has blocked the affected Java plugin from OS X. The block comes by way of OS X’s plug-in blacklist feature, as highlighted by MacRumors. OS X’s plugin black-list feature currently requires a yet-to-be released or officially announced update to Java 7 in order for Java 7 to function.
Analyst Brian White of Topeka Capital claims that Apple is gearing up to launch revisions to both the iPad with 9.7-inch Retina display and the iPad mini this coming March. Business Insider obtained White’s note, and White says it is based on information given by sources at CES.
Our checks at CES indicate Apple will release the iPad 5 and the second-generation iPad mini this March. The iPad 5 is expected to be lighter and thinner than the iPad 4 that was released in October, while the form factor of the iPad mini should be similar to the first generation iPad mini that debuted in October.
Updates to both the iPad and iPad mini in March would demonstrate an aggressive product update cycle for Apple, a company which typically updates its iOS devices on a yearly schedule. Apple broke this pattern with a minor update to the full-sized iPad in early November, and that launch was approximately seven months after the third-generation iPad’s debut. However, this rumored March iPad refresh would only be around five months following the products’ last releases.
White claims the fifth-generation iPad will be thinner and lighter than the current version. In addition to this March release date, previous reports have also pointed to the fifth-generation iPad being thinner and lighter than its predecessors. Previous rumors have also indicated that the new model would pick up design characteristics from the iPad mini…
Apple has reduced the price of its 2.0 m Thunderbolt cable from $49 to $39. The Thunderbolt cable, which can be used for data transfers and for display attachment purposes, was originally released in mid-2011.
With Thunderbolt, you get superfast data transfer speeds and huge expansion capabilities. It features two 10-Gbps data channels per port, which means data transfer is up to twice as fast as USB 3 and up to 12 times faster than FireWire 800. Use the Apple Thunderbolt Cable to connect your Thunderbolt-equipped peripherals to your iMac, Mac mini, MacBook Pro, or MacBook Air. The cable can also be used for target disk mode between two Mac computers that support Thunderbolt, or to use an iMac as a display for a MacBook Pro equipped with Thunderbolt.
To go along with the price cut, Apple has also released a shorter variant of the Thunderbolt cable. The new $29 version carries a length of 0.5 m. Both cables are in stock on the Apple online store.
Apple has updated its online store iMac page to note that new 27-inch iMac orders will ship in 3-4 weeks after ordering. This timeframe likely puts new deliveries into early-to-mid February depending on shipping options. Apple no longer says that 27-inch iMacs will ship in January, making it all the more likely that new orders will land in February at the earliest. The 21.5-inch models continue to ship in 7-10 business days.
Apple’s original lawsuit claimed that Amazon using the “App Store” term was false advertising and a step on Apple’s trademark.
However, when Amazon moved to have the case dismissed, the company noted that Apple’s Steve Jobs and Tim Cook used the term “App Store” generally as a way to even describe competitors’ mobile application stores.
The Verge has uploaded the court’s filing that provides detail on the ruling. According to the filing, Apple did not provide sufficient evidence to prove that Amazon is participating in false advertising by using the App Store name. However, the portion of the lawsuit in regards to Apple retaining its trademark on “App Store” is still occurring.
iOS App Store developers have reported to The Next Web that they have seen references to future iPhone hardware and software in their application usage logs.
TNW reports that these developers have seen references for Apple’s upcoming iOS 7 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch operating system running on unreleased iPhone 6,1 hardware. The IP addresses of the devices are reportedly from inside Apple’s Cupertino, California campus.
This iPhone 6,1 hardware is a step over Apple’s current iPhone 5,1 and iPhone 5,2 iPhone 5 models. A change in the first number of Apple hardware’s numbering sequence typically points to major internal changes for the device. Every iPhone upgrade, starting with the iPhone 3GS, featured major processor changes.
While Apple, starting with the iPhone 4S, kicked off a late summer/early fall iPhone release pattern, Apple has already been rumored to be working on a mid-2013 iPhone update referred to as the “iPhone 5S.” It is unclear if the early references to iPhone 6,1 hardware point to a mid-year release.
In 2012, developers first noticed iOS 6 references in their logs in May. Apple debuted both iOS 5 and iOS 6 at its June Worldwide Developers Conference, so we are likely six months out from getting our first official glimpse at iOS 7 if Apple holds to its software release pattern. iOS 5 was released in mid-October 2011, while iOS 6 was released in mid-September 2012.
We’re also seeing iOS 7 hits in our web analytics for 9to5mac.com. However, these could be faked easily. We’ve spotted some “7.0.1” hits and it seems unlikely that Apple would be testing a minor update to 7.0 already:
Digitimes expects Apple to unveil refreshed MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models in June 2013. The report claims that Apple has already issued requests to its supply chain partners to prepare to build the revised notebooks. Digitimes frames the news as concern for Ultrabook vendors.
Digitimes also says that the new MacBook Air models will include new processors, but the computers will likely retain the current industrial design. The current MacBook Air design was introduced with the late 2010 model. Apple last updated the MacBook Airs in June 2012 with faster processors, new RAM and storage options, USB 3.0, and a FaceTime HD camera.
Separately, the report also believes that current MacBook Air models could see price drops ahead of the product refresh, but this would be unlike Apple’s typical Mac upgrade strategy. Apple’s common Mac update strategy is to succeed a current Mac model with the refreshed version without providing official price drops ahead of these refreshes.
of the iPad mini should be similar to the first generation iPad mini that debuted in October.
