Apple

Gaming specialist Razer is joining MOGA and Logitech in launching a game controller for the iPhone after Apple created an MFI program to licence support for hardware controllers.

Leaked photos from @evleaks show it to be similar in appearance to the Logitech controller, though a hinge allows the iPhone to tilt up 45 degrees and, like the MOGA unit, it is said to be equipped with additional buttons on the shoulders of the device. The action buttons are apparently backlit.

Razer’s company motto is For Gamers, By Gamers and it claims that all its execs live and breathe gaming.

Just ask our CEO, who will happily lay the smack down on you in Quake Live or our President, who has over ten level 80’s on his local server. Hell, he will even take you on a raid in the middle of the work day.

Apple officially confirms three-quarters of iDevices now running iOS 7

Ben Lovejoy Dec 6 2013 - 4:05 am PT

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A few days after Fiksu showed how much better iOS is than Android when it comes to allowing older devices to upgrade to to the latest operating system, and most analytics companies were reporting iOS 7 penetration of around three-quarters of devices, Apple has updated its developer site to show that iOS 7 penetration is at 74 percent.

Apple’s data is likely the most reliable, based on visits to the App Store during a 7-day period ending on 1st December. iOS 7 adoption was incredibly fast, helped by record opening weekend sales of the new iPhones, and has grown a further 10 percent in the past two months.

The numbers are in sharp contrast to Android, where the latest KitKat version (Android 4.4) is at just 1.1 percent and the previous 4.3 version of Jelly Bean at just 4.2 percent.

Apple rolling out iBeacons into Apple Stores, silent app update enables In-Store Notifications

Benjamin Mayo Dec 6 2013 - 2:00 am PT

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Via the Associated Press, Apple will begin using iBeacon technology across its 254 US retail stores starting today. The integration, first reported by 9to5Mac last month, will offer notifications about products, event and other information tailored to your current store. For example, walking to a display table about iPhones may automatically notify you about your upgrade availability and trade in options.

Apple demoed the technology to the Associated Press earlier in the week in New York City. Apple has setup over 20 iBeacon transmitters in its flagship 5th Avenue store. However, starting today, everyone can benefit from the update, as the Apple Store app has been updated silently from the server side. Customers in the US can sign up inside the app today …

Institutional money and Icahn shenanigans have AAPL headed back to 52-week highs

Ben Lovejoy Dec 5 2013 - 7:54 am PT

Less than a week after AAPL stock reached a new high for 2013, and two analysts raised their target price in response to Black Friday sales, the stock has also hit a 52-week high, running at $570 at the point of writing.

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn doubtless played a role, yesterday tweeting that he would be calling for a (non-binding) shareholder vote on an increased buyback program – though for a smaller amount than he had originally urged.

But Fortune yesterday posted a rather interesting chart that may suggest the upward trend will continue …
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Apple dominated Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend sales, says analytics company

Ben Lovejoy Dec 5 2013 - 3:45 am PT

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Analytics company Localytics said that of all the gadgets purchased across the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend, the iPad Air enjoyed by far the largest boost in sales.

Comparing activations with those for the previous weekend, 51 percent more iPad Airs were sold, with Apple also taking second and third places with the original iPad Mini and iPhone 5c. In all, Apple products took six of the top nine places.

According to Localytics’ data, a whopping 51% more new iPad Air devices were seen than the previous week. This is due to a combination of factors, including Apple’s promotion of giving gift cards with purchases of the iPad Air and iPad Mini (but not iPad Mini 2nd gen) devices. This, combined with a smaller base of iPad Air devices and the novelty of the iPad Air (released on November 1st) resulted in the iPad Air dominating on Black Friday weekend. Apple’s older iPad Mini model finished second, and the iPhone 5c took third. As previously reported by Localytics, the iPhone 5c is gaining on its more sophisticated cousin, the 5s, during the past couple months.

Localytics analysed figures for over a million devices to reach its conclusions.

Apple has also overtaken Dell as the desktop PC brand most shoppers intend to buy according to data from Park Associates (via CNET). Apple already topped the list for laptops, tablets and routers.

President Obama: ‘I’m not allowed for security reasons to have an iPhone, but my daughters love it’

Mark Gurman Dec 4 2013 - 7:09 pm PT

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<em>Image from the White House</em>

While he and many of his staff members use Apple’s iPads, United States President Barack Obama has revealed why he does not use an iPhone: “I’m not allowed for security reasons to have an iPhone,” the President said earlier today. Nonetheless, he says that his daughters both use iPhones. President Obama has stuck to his BlackBerry over the past few years because of its messaging and encryption capabilities. No word on if the iPhone will ever be suitable for a President, but Apple has been beefing up its smartphone’s security via hardware, software, and sensors in recent years.

Apple presents updated 3D model of upcoming Downtown San Francisco store to city’s Historical Preservation Commission

Mark Gurman Dec 4 2013 - 1:54 pm PT

Earlier this year, Apple announced that it would be relocating its flagship Downtown San Francisco to the Union Square District. The new store, with a fully glass front, would be larger, and it would be able to serve more customers and employee more workers. Since then, the new store design came under scrutiny from San Francisco officials because it would remove a famous fountain designed by Ruth Asawa.

In late August, Apple submitted redesigned renderings of the upcoming store that retain the historical fountain. The new renderings also showed a tweaked front glass panel that would relocate the iconic Apple logo to the brushed metal, street-facing side of the store. Now, we’ve learned that Apple has presented a 3D model of the upcoming store’s design to the City of San Francisco’s Historic Preservation Commission…

German retailer claims new Mac Pro availabile starting Dec.16, kicks off preorders

Jordan Kahn Dec 4 2013 - 10:52 am PT

While it’s certainly far from confirmation of a launch date from Apple, German retailer Conrad today posted an availability date of December 16 for the new Mac Pro (via Apefelpage.de).

The retailer is an authorized reseller, but we’re thinking this is more likely a placeholder date. The company is still advertising the Mac Pro listing on its homepage, so it’s not like the listing slipped out accidentally. It’s also taking preorders for two configurations of the device– not a bad way to get some press and capitalize on preorders before everyone else, even if they don’t really know the date. If the Mac Pro does go on sale on the 16th, Apple could have enough time to ship orders out for Christmas.

For now the only release window Apple has confirmed is “December”.

Apple will have several configurations and built to order options available for the next-gen Mac Pro including Quad 6, 8, or 12-core designs. The base model includes a 3.7GHz quad-core Xeon processor, 12GB of DRAM, Dual FirePro D300 graphics, 2GB VRAM each, and a 256GB SSD starting at $2999, and Apple will also sell a $3999 configuration with a 6-core 3.5GHz Intel Xeon E5 processor, 16GB DDR3 ECC memory (configurable up to 32GB), and Dual AMD FirePro D500 with 3GB GDDR5 VRAM each.

Apple seeds OS X 10.9.1 to support staff as public release approaches

Mark Gurman Dec 4 2013 - 9:45 am PT

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In early November, we reported that Apple had begun seeding versions of OS X Mavericks 10.9.1 and 10.9.2 to employees within the its Software Engineering division. Since then, Apple provided two OS X 10.9.1 seeds to registered developers. These builds focus on improvements to Mail, Voice Over, and general system stability. The update will serve as the first point-update to the recently released OS X Mavericks.

Now, we’ve learned that Apple has provided build 13B40 of 10.9.1 to AppleCare employees. This internal release indicates that the public release of OS X 10.9.1 is near as Apple’s support staff will become familiar with the software in order to seemingly assist customers in the near-future. That particular build is the same version provided to developers last night. OS X 10.9.2 will likely follow with additional fixes in the following weeks.

Apple Store app giving away free Holiday Playlist this week

Zac Hall Dec 4 2013 - 6:53 am PT

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As we’ve previously reported, Apple began giving away select paid apps in its Apple Store app recently as an added incentive to download and check out the app.

This week in particular Apple has replaced the free app with free music from iTunes instead. The playlist is appropriately holiday themed and features songs such as Silent Night by Kelly Clarkson and The First Noel by Mary J Blige.
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Imaginative use of iBeacon gives bar patrons free access to Newsstand magazines

Ben Lovejoy Dec 4 2013 - 5:43 am PT

A London-based digital publishing company is trialling use of Apple’s iBeacon technology to provide bar patrons with free access to digital versions of two magazines in Newsstand, reports TechCrunch.

The way it works is that the bar buys a subscription, and one or more iBeacons (each little larger than a quarter) unlock the content for customers within range. On iOS devices, the whole process is completely automatic. Once the customer leaves the location, the content is locked again and becomes available for purchase as normal …
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Poll: Would you buy a 13-inch iPad?

Ben Lovejoy Dec 4 2013 - 4:24 am PT

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With further rumors of a larger iPad in the works – the latest one Chinese site Pad News claiming that Apple is testing several variants of a 12.9-inch iPad – we thought it would be interesting to gauge the level of interest.

The specifics of this claim fall well into sketchy territory. Pad News suggests a 4K display, which wouldn’t match iPad resolution ratios (though as the current iPad is close to 2K, something close to 4K wouldn’t be impossible). It also suggests a launch date of April – given that Apple switched iPad launch dates from the spring to the fall, switching back again doesn’t seem terribly likely.

The core rumor, however, has been around for quite some time. Several different sizes have been suggested, but 12.9 inches is the one most commonly cited. This idea first emerged back in May, attached to the world’s least likely name, and gained credibility (without the silly name) when reported by the WSJ in July …
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This is what the 5c ‘Crocs’ case would look like for the iPhone 5s

Mark Gurman Dec 3 2013 - 11:40 am PT

When Apple launched the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c earlier this fall, the company also debuted accompanying cases. To match the plastic colors of the 5c, Apple launched a “Crocs-like” case for the phone with holes on the back.

The iPhone 5s launched alongside a leather case in multiple colors. Now, technology writer Michael Andrew shares photos of what he claims to be a prototype version of the 5c case for the 5s.

There are, however, two crucial differences between the iPhone 5C version of the case that was meant for the iPhone 5/5S and the actual, official iPhone 5C case that was released to the public:

Instead of the seven-by-five grid of holes that is on the back of the released iPhone 5C case, the case for the iPhone 5/5S sports a subtly different six-by-five grid of holes.

Unlike on the iPhone 5C case, the top and bottom of the iPhone 5/5S is not protected by the silicon case.

We can’t verify that these photos represent an actual Apple prototype, but they, nonetheless, show what the 5c case would look like if designed for the 5s’s body. Another photo is below:

Apple updates Remote Desktop Client and Dashboard Widget with fixes

Mark Gurman Dec 3 2013 - 11:33 am PT

1 Comment

Apple has issued a pair of updates today to its Remote Desktop software. The first update is Apple Remote Desktop 3.7.1 Client:

The 3.7.1 update is recommended for all Apple Remote Desktop clients and addresses several issues related to overall reliability, usability and compatibility.

The Client works hand-in-hand with the main Apple Remote Desktop administrative software, which is available on the Mac App Store. The second update issued today is version 3.7 of Apple’s Remote Desktop Dashboard widget:

The Apple Remote Desktop Dashboard widget* gives you an instant, at-a-glance view of the remote computers in your network.

It’s fully integrated with the Apple Remote Desktop administrative application, so a click on a particular computer will allow you to select and start working with any computer in the system.

The widget requires a user to have the administrative app installed.

Apple patents image technologies for security, artificial depth photography, more

Zac Hall Dec 3 2013 - 9:28 am PT

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Apple is steadily focused on enhancing and innovating the camera system on its hardware, the iPhone in particular, and the tea leaves unsurprisingly suggest we should expect further progress in iPhotography.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark office recently granted Apple a patent entitled ‘producing stereoscopic image,’ as noted by AppleInsider, which describes a process in which two similar images are intelligently combined to create an artificial sense of depth within the photo.

The camera system on the latest iPhone hardware already supports a number of algorithm-driven features such as HDR (high dynamic range) photography in which an over exposed and under exposed image are matched together to produce a greater dynamic range of lighting.

Just last month, the company was awarded a patent describing a Light Field camera with the ability to refocus images already captured hinting at which photography advancements we should anticipate in future hardware.
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PDF management iPad app PDF Expert redesigned, adds AirDrop, tags & file sorting improvements

Mark Gurman Dec 3 2013 - 9:11 am PT

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Readdle’s popular PDF and file management application for the iPad today received a significant update. Version 5 of the software gains a new design with the iOS 7 aesthetic in addition to several new features that will improve file management and sorting:

Review: PopCalc, the calculator that thinks it’s a spreadsheet (with Promo)

Ben Lovejoy Dec 3 2013 - 7:40 am PT

7 Comments

I love it when an app developer takes one of my minor grumbles and comes up with a simple solution. PopCalc is one of those.

There are times when I have a few sums to do, and the standard calculator app is a bit too dumb, while creating a spreadsheet in Numbers feels like overkill. What I really want is a cross between the two: the simplicity of a calculator, but some of the functionality of a spreadsheet. And that’s exactly what PopCalc aims to deliver …
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Filemaker releases new version for 2013 with HTML5 data entry, new iOS features and tightened security

Benjamin Mayo Dec 3 2013 - 6:00 am PT

Filemaker, a subsidiary of Apple, has just announced its 2013 version of its popular database application. The new version focuses on bringing desktop database solutions to the browser. New in Filemaker ’13, projects can now be managed through a centralized web dashboard, with options for partner portals and file hosting. More importantly, data entry can now be taken in a web interface — HTML5 powered forms enable businesses to manage their deployments on any PC or Mac, as there is no longer a reliance on having the native applications installed.

BlackBerry implosion generating even bigger enterprise gains for iPad, says analyst

Ben Lovejoy Dec 3 2013 - 5:42 am PT

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Concerns about the future viability of Blackberry – once the default choice of mobile device for the enterprise market – have further boosted iPad penetration in businesses, according to an analyst quoted by AllThingsD.

Wedge Partners analyst Brian Blair theorizes that BlackBerry’s ill-starred attempt to sell itself inflamed concerns about the future viability of the company’s platform and gave corporations good reason to migrate their employees to other devices. That opened up a significant opportunity for Apple — particularly since Android continues to struggle for gains in enterprise […]

Said Blair, “Our recent work points to tremendous momentum for iPad in the enterprise over the last few months and we believe that this may be one of the most important trends for Apple as we move into the New Year.”

Steve Jobs said shortly after the launch of the iPad that Apple didn’t need to market the device to businesses as “it’s being grabbed out of our hands, anyways” …
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China Mobile subsidiary briefly accepting pre-orders for iPhones in possible soft launch

Ben Lovejoy Dec 3 2013 - 4:20 am PT

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With the iPhone launch on the biggest carrier in the world’s most populated market confirmed for 18th December, Fortune spotted what appears to have been a soft launch in the city of Suzhou. The city is one of the richest in China, so would be a logical place for an early launch.

The attached screen grab comes from a website owned by a subsidiary of China Mobile Limited in Suzhou, a city of 5 million just west of Shanghai.

The site went live late Monday local time, when it began taking pre-orders for the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C …
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PayPal opens ‘digital gift’ store, debuts with iTunes gift cards

Benjamin Mayo Dec 3 2013 - 4:17 am PT