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.
According to a note from MF Global FXA Securities outlined by Reuters, Apple may invest $1 billion in Sharp to secure displays for future devices; namely iPads and iPhones.
We think it is highly possible that Apple will make an investment in Sharp’s Kameyama plant to the tune of around $1 billion in order to secure stable supply of screens for iPhones and iPads, analyst David Rubenstein said in the note.
Notably, current Apple-foe Samsung supplies display components for the company’s popular iPad 2. Samsung only recently became Apple’s iPad 2 screens supplier after a fallout with LG.
We’ve independently heard that Apple has plans to begin selling the next-generation iPhone on Friday, October 7th; the date first reported by TiPB. According to our sources, Apple has been weighing between launching the new iPhone on October 7th or October 14th, but with the product’s latest stages of pre-mass-production currently moving along nicely, Apple is presently shooting towards a launch on the 7th. On top of this, unlike with the iPad 2, Apple plans to offer pre-orders for the new iPhone.
Apple currently plans to begin pre-orders for their next-generation smartphone in the final days of September. The company has still not finalized the pre-order start date, but is debating between Thursday, September 29th and Friday, September 30th. The 30th seems more likely at this point according to one of our sources.
Pre-orders for the new iPhone starting in late September will also mean that Apple’s fall event will take place in September; which would seem to counter NewsCorp’s Kara Swisher’s combative insistence of an October iPhone 5 event. Additionally, the first week of October date for the new iPhone’s availability, fits nicely with our report about AT&T’s major early October changes: data throttling and a new insurance plan for $199 devices. This release date would also jive with John Paczkowski’s report about the iPhone 5 becoming available in October.
There has been mixed chatter about the device’s exterior design, with cases, which we first revealed, pointing to a thinner form factor. Others, though, have said the design will be largely similar to the current iPhone 4. As with any launch date report, we have to note that Apple is constantly shifting their launch plans. As we noted earlier, the launch date was already moved up a week in the company’s recent launch planning. We are reasonably confident, though, that as of today, Apple is planning to unleash their next iPhone on October 7th and offer pre-orders starting on September 29th or 30th. The date could and likely will change again, but we feel it is necessary to report the company’s current plan.
Mockup based on current Apple Store native application
Although Apple offers an Apple Store iOS application that provides full access in a simplified manner to iPhone and iPod touch users, Apple is looking to make the experience even simpler. Over the past months, we have observed Apple gradually shelving and re-touching a project to replace the native Apple Store application with a mobile web version of the Apple Online Store. Now it appears that Apple is working towards actually completing and launching the mobile version of the store.
This new online store, showcasing Apple’s belief in powerful and innovative web-based experiences, will largely mimic the Apple Store application of today, according to a proven source. The big difference is that it will be far more accessible, and the iOS App Store download process will not get in the way of people looking to quickly purchase products on the go.
We do have some concerns about some of the functionality from the native application being ported over to the mobile web version. Notably the feature that provides users with functionality (shown above) based on the physical Apple retail that they are currently visiting. Perhaps Apple will keep the App Store version around for that feature or will figure out a way to move it to the web browser. After all, iOS Safari can access a user’s current location.
Apple plans to debut the mobile version of the online store sometime in 2012. As aforementioned, the project has been shelved multiple times before, so it is possible that the project will once again be moved to the sideline in favor of other product development.
As expected, Apple has released OS X Lion on a USB thumb drive via their online store. The $69 thumb drive ships in 1-3 business days and requires 7GB of available storage space. One caveat for users that install OS X Lion via this thumb drive, rather than for $29.99 from the Mac App Store, is that re-installs will need to be conducted via the thumb drive; the internet-based Lion recovery system will not function.
When you install OS X Lion using the USB thumb drive, you will not be able to reinstall OS X Lion from Lion Recovery. You will need to use the USB thumb drive to reinstall OS X Lion.
The USB thumb drive is currently available on Apple’s online store across the globe and will shortly make its way to physical stores as well. OS X Lion brings over 250 new features to the Mac including system-wide multi-touch gestures, Launchpad, Mission Control, and iPad-like mail client, native full-screen application views, an improved Safari web browser with Reading List, automatic file saving, and AirDrop file transfers.
Backing up a TiPB report from last week, Digitimes reports that Apple’s plans for a Retina Display iPad launch this fall have been terminated; if they even existed in the first place. According to the report’s sources, Apple’s initial plan was to produce 1.5-2 million units in the third quarter and 5-6 million in the fourth quarter of a new iPad, but these orders have apparently been cancelled.
The report also believes that plans for the new product’s launch were cancelled due to yield rate issues in the production of the 2048 x 1536 Retina Display. Apple will likely stick to their annual release cycle and release a Retina Display iPad during spring 2012. As you can see in the image after the break, Apple is definitely experimenting with iPad software that meets the higher resolution.
According to Barnes and Noble’s website, the official Steve Jobs biography – titled Steve Jobs: A Biography – is becoming available on November 21, 2011. This is a big leap from the previously announced March 6, 2012 release date for the first Steve Jobs-approved biography. In addition, the book seller’s website has seemingly revealed the cover for the biography (shown above), and it is unsurprisingly simple. (via AllThingsD).
The book is also 448 pages long and is based on over 40 interviews with Steve Jobs in addition to interviews with his family and friends. Interestingly, although approved by Jobs, the Apple CEO had no control over the biography’s contents. The Apple CEO had this to say about the biography:
I’ve done a lot of things I’m not proud of, such as getting my girlfriend pregnant when I was 23 and the way I handled that, he said. But I don’t have any skeletons in my closet that can’t be allowed out.
Siri’s iPhone app promotional video: how iOS Assistant will likely function
While we were able to exclusively report on substantial evidence that Apple is planning a system-wide voice navigation system called “Assistant” in iOS 5, there has been some debate over what will actually be powering the system. We reported that this Assistant feature will be powered by Siri’s technology, but that was based on similarities to the Siri technology and based on Apple’s purchase of the company last year. However, there is also the Nuance factor.
While Nuance powers the voice-recognition aspect of Siri’s iPhone application, the company recently released an application very similar to Siri, allowing some to figure that Apple’s iOS 5 Assistant could be completely based on Nuance technology. After all, Apple and Nuance are confirmed to be working together in at least one product. According to confirmation from the iOS SDK (shown above), Apple and Nuance’s partnership for iOS 5 will likely be capped at speech-to-text and the voice recognition backend for Assistant. Siri’s artificial intelligence and technology will be the driving force behind the feature. We also think that we have an idea of what Assistant will actually do once it is fully integrated into iOS…
In early August we broke the news that Apple began selling OS X Lion USB sticks through AppleCare. Now, Apple will likely begin selling these USB sticks sometime this week to the general public for $69. According to Mr. X, the new product has shown up in the Apple internal system for a launch on August 15th (tonight/tomorrow) – but we can’t confirm that the launch will actually happen on the 15th. Because it has shown up in the system, we are confident that the product’s release is happening very soon.
According to Digitimes, Apple has increased their second-half of 2011 iPhone orders to 56 million units from a previous goal of 50 million units. These 56 million iPhones cover current and next-generation models: iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 (GSM + CDMA), and the upcoming “iPhone 5.” As previously reported, the iPhone 5 will make up almost half of Apple’s 2H11 iPhones with 25.5-26 million total units.
In addition, Apple reportedly originally planned to build 7 million iPhone 5 units for the third quarter, but adjusted their production plans to 5.5-6 million units. On the other hand, Apple is expecting major iPhone 5 demand in the fourth quarter and has increased Q4 iPhone 5 orders to 20 million units from 14 million units.
The iPhone 5 will go on sale this fall and will almost certainly include the dual-core A5 processor found in the iPad 2 and an eight megapixel camera possibly made by Sony. There has been debate over the new iPhone’s design, with some reporting a design that is largely similar to the iPhone 4, and others calling for a major redesign. As the iPhone 5 moves into Apple’s product lineup (in addition to a possible cheaper iPhone), Apple will be eliminating the iPhone 3GS.
As Apple’s fall launch time frame for iCloud approaches, Apple has released new builds of iCloud for Mac and OS X 10.7.2 to developers. The new iCloud for Mac build is beta 7 while the new OS X build is version 11C37. iCloud for Mac allows users to easily make their Mac iCloud compatible, and it includes the updated Back to my Mac service, Documents and Data in the Cloud, and Find my Mac. Both downloads are available to developers through the iCloud developer portal. Expand Expanding Close
According to TiPb, the next version of the iPhone will go on sale in the United States on Friday, October 7th. The report is leaning towards this upgrade being a “4S” type of upgrade, with a faster chip and better cameras, but it’s very possible that this iPhone 4S is the cheaper phone. Apple is likely working on two new iPhones for a fall launch, so it’s very possible that we will see an iPhone 4S and an iPhone 5. TiPb also says that although a Retina Display iPad has been heavily rumored for a fall debut, consumers won’t see such product until Spring 2012.
We’re hearing reports that yesterday’s report from Kodawarisan that claimed Apple will be holding their annual fall event on Wednesday, September 7th aren’t true. The timing seemingly matched up with the past year’s Apple fall event dates, but apparently this year’s will likely be later than the 7th of September.
Denise Chase. The iFixYouri iPhone repair shop and 9to5Mac will be fixing your iPad for free! For those who didn’t win this time around, we will be picking another winner next Friday! Here are the rules:
In order to enter the contest, retweet this post on Twitter with hashtag #HelpiFixYouriand a picture of your broken iDevice for a chance to win. If the story about your broken device requires more than what a tweet can share, send an email off to support@iFixYouri.com or like and share it on their Facebook page.
A winning contestant will be randomly selected each week. You are only allowed to enter once and a winner can only win one time. If it is determined that your device is irreparable (and doesn’t start in Blend-Tec condition), iFixYouri iPhone repair and 9to5mac will replace the device with a good working equivalent! (also no iPod shuffles or nanos are eligible)
You will also need to follow both iFixYouri and 9to5Mac on Twitter so we can DM you in case you win. Just a hint, send in high-quality pictures of your device.
Kodawarisan claims that Apple’s annual fall event will be held on Wednesday, September 7th (8th in Japanese time zone -via MacRumors). Apple will likely use this event (whenever it falls) to detail the final versions of iCloud and iOS 5, in addition to announce the next-generation iPhone (or iPhones) and iPods.
As reported by TechCrunch, Amazon has released a new Kindle Cloud Reader service. The service allows users of both Macs and PCs running either Safari or Google Chrome to read their Kindle books online. Better yet, the service works on iPad’s Mobile Safari. A feature that owners of WiFi-only iPads will enjoy is page caching for offline reading.
Notably, this is a great solution for Amazon to work around Apple’s in-app-purchase requirements for applications that offer purchases. In fact, what better way to spur Web innovation than to force people out of the store? Good job Apple!
For those who are unable to use the web-based recovery tool for OS X Lion, Apple has released a new Mac application that allows users to create their own OS X Lion recovery/installation external drives. Specifically, this drive lets you reinstall Lion, repair the disk using Disk Utility, restore from a Time Machine backup, or browse the web with Safari. You need a recovery HD already setup to create this new drive. Here are the instruction straight from Apple:
The Lion Recovery Disk Assistant will erase all data on the external drive when creating the Recovery HD. You should either backup your data before running the Lion Recovery Disk Assistant, or create a new partition on the external drive.
Open Disk Utility, located in the Utilities folder in Launchpad.
Select the drive on which you would like to install the Recovery HD and add a partition. Note: Partition should be at least 1 GB in size.
Click Options and make sure GUID Partition Table is selected.
Make sure the format for the partition is Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
Click Apply.
Open Lion Recovery Disk Assistant and follow the on screen instructions to create a Recovery HD on the external drive.
When the Lion Recovery Disk Assistant completes, the new partition will not be visible in the Finder or Disk Utility. To access the external Recovery HD, connect the drive, then restart the computer and hold the Option key. Select Recovery HD from the Startup Manager.
Orange UK and Apple have teamed up to deliver a free iTunes movie rental every Thursday to certain Orange UK subscribers. The offer is available to Orange Home Broadband customers in addition to users on the mobile network with pay monthly, pay as you go, mobile broadband, and business accounts. Every Thursday, supported subscribers can access their iTunes redemption code via the Orange Film To Go mobile application, via the promotion’s official website, or by sending a text message to 85060 with the phrase FILMTOGO. Although unclear, it seems that the movies will be selected by Orange, with films The Wrestler and The Ghost and Che: Part One being offered at launch. The full press release is after the break.
Update (Aug. 8th): Following our report, Apple has gone ahead and released it!. Interestingly, no Thunderbolt and RAM not upgradable?!
Apple is gearing up to launch a new addition to the iMac lineup later this month that appears to be geared towards education/volume customers. The new iMac has less power than the current line of all-in-one Apple desktop computers and also has less storage space. The computer packs a last generation 3.1 GHz dual-core processor (3.06 GHz rounded up), 2 GB of DDR3 RAM, 250 GB of hard drive storage space, and the AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics processor with 256 MB of dedicated memory.
This lower-end iMac obviously has much less horsepower than the current iMac line and should be priced as such. For comparison, the entry level 21.5-inch iMac features a 2.5 GHz quad-core processor, 4 GB of RAM, a 500 GB hard drive, and the same AMD Radeon HD 6750M graphics processor but with double the dedicated memory at 512 MB. This entry level 21.5-inch iMac is priced at $1,199, so don’t be surprised to see this less-powerful machine with a sub-$1000 price tag. For reference, Apple’s last education-geared iMac was priced at $899. A similar (more RAM, worse graphics) refurbished model is currently priced at $929 (pictured below).
Apple is expected to silently release this new machine later this month. As always, thanks Mr. X.
Since opening the tool for developers to migrate from MobileMe to iCloud, Apple has revealed to MobileMe users that they will retain their MobileMe storage when their account becomes an iCloud account. Standard $100 MobileMe accounts included 20GB of storage and free iCloud accounts include 5GB of storage, furthermore iCloud users who came over from MobileMe will begin their iCloud journey with 25GB of cloud storage space.
These 25 GB are for email storage, calendar storage, and documents – and, thankfully, media like music, video, and Photo Steam photos do not count against your 25 GB. This plan will go until June 30, 2012 – when MobileMe is completely discontinued – and will cost $40 to renew. These users can still upgrade their accounts to a full 50GB (when the current plan expires) or max out to 75GB right now for a $50 charge. Reader Arman tells us that this does not apply to family MobileMe accounts.
Alongside the opening of the web tool for developers to migrate their MobileMe account to iCloud, Apple has released a new seed of Mac OS 10.7.2 and a new beta of iCloud for Mac. Mac OS 10.7.2 build 11C35 and iCloud for Mac beta 6 are both required to complete the MobileMe to iCloud transition process.
10.7.2 release notes:
This pre-release version of OS X Lion 10.7.2 is being provided solely for testing iCloud and updates the public release of OS X Lion and any earlier seed of OS X Lion 10.7.2. If you installed a previous seed of OS X Lion 10.7.2, please run the included reversioner package followed by the OS X Lion 10.7.2 update without restarting your system. You should restart your system after installing the OS X Lion 10.7.2 Update. (Mac Developer Program membership is required).
iCloud for Mac beta 6:
iCloud Add-on installer for OS X Lion. (Mac Developer Program membership is required).
As promised, Apple has opened up a new portal at me.com/move for developers that the MobileMe service to migrate their entire account over to iCloud. The process is quite simple as you can see in the screenshots above and below. Apple lets you take your Mail, Contacts, and Calendar information over to iCloud and also tells users that they can continue using iWeb, iDisk, and Photo Gallery up until June 30, 2012. Apple also tells users that the following will no longer be available: Dashboard widget sync, dock item sync, keychains, signatures, mail account rules, mail smart boxes, and mail preferences. Screenshots of the entire setup process are after the break.
iOS 5’s speech-to-text functionality appears like it will actually be happening, and we have the screenshot to prove it. A reliable source has sent us the above screenshot which details how the iOS 5 speech-to-text functionality will be activated. As you can see, it is quite simple. Just click the microphone icon next to the space key and start talking. Once the key is clicked, a new microphone overlay will appear as long as you are talking. After that, the text will appear in the text field as you can see in the screenshot above.
This is of course software in beta testing, so the final version may appear differently, at least we know it is actually in testing right now. Another tidbit, from our source, is that the functionality is only planned for Apple’s smaller devices – iPhone and iPod touch – but iPad support could technically make its way in to iOS 5. This would be similar to Apple keeping features like Notification Center widgets and Voice Control as exclusives to the iPhone and iPod touch. Thanks, Mars Volta.
According to a report from Karthikk (via AppleInsider) Apple is disabling “non-developer” devices that are running iOS 5. The move may seem unsurprising but we have our doubts, like TUAW. Apple, earlier this week, disabled all iOS 5 devices that were running betas 1 and 2. Our iPad running beta 2 was disabled as well – and it is registered to a developer account. Theoretically, there is no way that Apple could know if a device running iOS 5 is not being used by a developer. Apple provides 100 UDID slots to developers so they can beta test their upcoming software with many iOS device users. Apple does not ask developers to specify which UDID actually belongs to the developers.
Apple has no way of telling if people are using the devices just to test the new iOS or to beta test upcoming App Store applications. The thought of Apple doing this simply makes no sense to us. On the other hand, the report also claims that Apple is going after developers who are selling UDID slots to people who want to give the new operating system a spin. First of all, there is no way Apple could know who is selling developer slots unless they specifically advertise their business – like some people do. The people who choose to sell slots without advertising online are likely safe from Apple.
We did receive a tip from a person, though, who claims that their developer account was recently shut down due to their selling of UDID slots:
My iOS developer account was disabled by Apple recently, last month, as it had appeared that I was breaking the agreement (iOS PLA) by distributing Apple confidential data.
Granted, I was selling UDID slots.
In summary, we doubt that Apple is disabling “non-developer” devices running iOS 5. It does appear, though, that some sellers of UDID slots are being shut down.
…David Stitzinger. The iFixYouri iPhone repair shop and 9to5Mac will be fixing your phone for free! For those who are wondering what happened to David’s iPhone 4, here is his story:
I am going recommend that no one drives a forklift, then hits a rock that sends your AT&T iPhone 4 off the side of the forklift, only to be run over by the forklift.
For those who didn’t win this time around, we will be picking another winner next Friday! Here are the rules:
In order to enter the contest, retweet this post on Twitter with hashtag #HelpiFixYouriand a picture of your broken iDevice for a chance to win. If the story about your broken device requires more than what a tweet can share, send an email off to support@iFixYouri.com or like and share it on their Facebook page.
A winning contestant will be randomly selected each week. You are only allowed to enter once and a winner can only win one time. If it is determined that your device is irreparable (and doesn’t start in Blend-Tec condition), iFixYouri iPhone repair and 9to5mac will replace the device with a good working equivalent! (also no iPod shuffles or nanos are eligible)
You will also need to follow both iFixYouri and 9to5Mac on Twitter so we can DM you in case you win. Just a hint, send in high-quality pictures of your device.
