Apple

6,155 'Apple News' stories November 2008 - June 2013

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Apple News and Brief History

Before you can properly understand Apple News, it’s important to know its history. Apple was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in 1976. In 1977, Apple’s sales were growing with the success of its early computers. Within a few years, Jobs and Wozniak hired designers and a production line crew. Apple went public in 1980 and was an instant success. Over the next few years, Apple shipped new computers featuring new graphical user interfaces, such as the original Macintosh in 1984. As the market for personal computers expanded through the 1990s, Apple lost market share to the cheaper Microsoft Windows on PC clones. Eventually, Wozniak and Jobs both left Apple. Jobs would go on to found NeXT and would return to Apple when NeXT was acquired in the late 90s. Apple then began a journey to the great second act in the history of the business world.

Since the release of the iPod in 2001, Apple has become a major player once again in the technology industry. After releasing the iPhone in 2007, the iPad in 2010, and the Apple Watch in 2015, Apple is now one of the largest companies in the world. Apple’s worldwide annual revenue totaled $274.5 billion for its 2020 fiscal year.

Today, Apple operates retail stores all across the world, has a growing services division, and an ever-expanding hardware lineup. The technology industry follows Apple news to see where the company is headed in the future.

Keep reading for the latest Apple news

Apple responds to accusations of sharing customer data with U.S. government

Mike Beasley Jun 16 2013 - 11:49 pm PT

Apple published an open letter late Sunday night responding to recent allegations that the company had given customers’ personal information, including phone call logs, to the U.S. government as part of the National Security Agency’s secret “PRISM” program.

In the letter, Apple notes that the government had in fact issued several thousand requests for such information, but that Apple’s legal department had carefully examined each request and turned over only the smallest amount of information necessary, sometimes rejecting requests outright.

From December 1, 2012 to May 31, 2013, Apple received between 4,000 and 5,000 requests from U.S. law enforcement for customer data. Between 9,000 and 10,000 accounts or devices were specified in those requests, which came from federal, state and local authorities and included both criminal investigations and national security matters. The most common form of request comes from police investigating robberies and other crimes, searching for missing children, trying to locate a patient with Alzheimer’s disease, or hoping to prevent a suicide.

Apple has placed a link to the full letter at the bottom of their home page, or you can read the entire thing after the break.
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A fresh look at iOS 7 on the iPad [Gallery]

Seth Weintraub Jun 16 2013 - 5:21 am PT

Control Center iPad iOS 7, Game Center and Notification Center below

It appears that some developers have been posting iOS 7 on iPad (emulator) usage shots on the web. Aside from Apple’s somewhat hidden official images, there aren’t any other official images of the iPad running iOS 7 that are public. We’d heard even before the keynote that Apple was behind in releasing iOS 7 for iPad and as such initial iOS 7 betas are only for iPhones and iPod touches.

You’ll note the flashlight option on the Control Center which is probably just a leftover since the iPad doesn’t yet have a Flash.

Reader Phillip describes how to get iOS 7 iPad emulator running in Xcode 5:
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Apple clamping down on cheaters & adding new features for gamers in iOS 7

Jordan Kahn Jun 14 2013 - 3:15 pm PT

Apple is making some big improvements for gamers in the coming releases of iOS and OS X, and not just the new standardized gaming controllers we told you about previously. Not only is Apple introducing enhanced leaderboards, improved challenge modes, and new turn-based gaming features, it is also providing developers with tools to combat and prevent cheating.

Head below for details on everything Apple is doing in iOS 7 to improve the gaming experience…
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Apple website mistake reveals alternative iOS 7 icons, with tweaks to Weather, Passbook, and more (Update: removed)

Michael Steeber Jun 14 2013 - 9:42 am PT

UPDATE: Apple’s site has reverted to the current icons present in iOS 7 beta.

Apple has quietly changed some of the icons on its official iOS 7 website, making notable changes to the Weather, Passbook, and Reminders apps. iOS 7’s icons, which have been subject to much scrutiny and disapproval from various designers, have been one of the largest complaints about iOS 7 so far.

The icons, which can currently only be viewed on Apple’s site using a mobile device, most notably show a completely redesigned weather app icon, ditching the clouds and sun found in the current iOS 7 beta, in favor of the live temperature, something users have been waiting for for years.

Phil Schiller previously noted on Twitter that showing live weather on the iOS home screen would “waste battery,” but this is an improvement Apple has been working on for some time.

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Here’s what iOS 7 looks like on iPad and iPad mini [Official]

9to5 Staff Jun 14 2013 - 7:47 am PT

No surprises or shockers here but we had missed this image which was hiding on the bottom of the Apple iOS 7 page but was spotted by iGen.

We’d heard even before the keynote that Apple was behind in releasing iOS 7 for iPad and as such initial iOS 7 betas are only for iPhones and iPod touches.

Notably, you may notice the red icon, which isn’t present on the iPhone or iPod touch, presumably for Photo Booth.

Review: 29-inch 21:9 Philips Brilliance 298P4QJEB LCD monitor creates new MacBook/Desktop opportunities

Seth Weintraub Jun 14 2013 - 6:41 am PT

I’ve been curious about the 21:9 display format since it started to creep into mainstream displays last year. Originally developed to display cinema grade movies natively, computer users are now snapping these up to give themselves a sort of wide ‘Bloomberg terminal’ without the break (and the swivel between displays).

I received the Philips 298P4 29-inch 21:9 display a few weeks ago and have set it up as my display at my desk. It has an unusual 2560×1080 pixel display which is the same amount of pixels across as traditional 30 inch 16:10 displays or 27-inch 16:9 displays (like Apple’s 27-inch iMac or Thunderbolt Display). The 1080 pixels high however matches up with a typical 1080P display. I didn’t use it like a traditional desktop computer or with a laptop off to the side.

For me, I saw an opportunity to add a display on top of my Retina MacBook Pro whose keyboard/trackpad layout I find more usable than anything else out there including Apple’s Wireless Keyboard/Trackpad combo. The Philips’ stand (and this is the key part) allows the display to grow over the top of even the 15’inch Retina MacBook Pro so that I can continue to use the MBP keyboard and display even while looking up (for much improved posture) at the Philips display. It is also great for watching movies while working :D, unless productivity is a priority.

For this it was great, but how was the quality of the display?

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Apple adds around a million new store accounts (most with credit cards) every two days

Jordan Kahn Jun 13 2013 - 9:25 am PT

Asymco’s Horace Dediu points out with the graph above that Apple has been adding about a million new store accounts every couple of days. The numbers seem to be based on Tim Cook’s announcement at WWDC that Apple now has 575,000,000 million store accounts (which we assume includes all App Store, iTunes, and Apple Online Store accounts). That means most of them have credit cards on file and as Cook noted, that’s “more accounts with credit cards than any other store on the internet.”

Apple posts new video: Making a difference, one app at a time

Michael Steeber Jun 12 2013 - 12:17 pm PT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGtP6ZQ6Lt8

Apple has just posted a new video to its YouTube channel titled “Making a difference. One app at a time.” The nine minute video highlights ways that developer’s apps change people’s lives.

Featured apps in the video include Skyscape Medical Resources, Galileo, Cherokee Language, and Proloquo2Go.

Coming hot off the heels of Apple’s WWDC keynote on Monday, the video is a collection of stories from individuals who’s lives have been touched thanks to some of the remarkable apps developers have created for the iOS App Store.

At Monday’s keynote, Tim Cook also addressed his appreciation for developers, citing that Apple has paid developers over 10 billion dollars.

Apple today also posted its full iOS 7 promotional video to its YouTube channel (below).
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Apple changes wording of warranty policy in EU to clarify two year guarantee

Jordan Kahn Jun 12 2013 - 9:40 am PT

Update 2: The changes appear to be EU wide as pictured above.

Update: Apple updated its warranty policy in France and Germany too. (Thanks @settebit)

Belgian consumer groups have been following the move of Italian regulators in recent months to push Apple for changes to its warranty programs in order to clarify rules regarding a statutory warranty enforced by EU law that requires companies to make sure products are free from defects for two years. It isn’t the only other nation pushing for changes to warranties, consumers groups in at least Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, and Portugal had also filed lawsuits against Apple over its AppleCare and warranty practices. Now, Dutch-language a-n-v.be reports Apple has tweaked its online warranty program in Belgium to meet EU law.

The change in the online warranties tweaks the wording of Apple’s 1-year warranty for free repair and replacements to clarify the 2 year statutory warranty, much the same as what happened in Italy.

Apple published a document on its website highlighting the changes.

Former Apple SVP and Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein responds to iOS 7: ‘the Mac has webOS stuff, too!’

Scott Buscemi Jun 12 2013 - 9:17 am PT

Yesterday, FierceWireless published an interview with former Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein. Palm released its webOS operating system in 2009 to much fanfare, however, the sales were abysmal and led to the eventual HP acquisition.

Rubinstein still remains very proud of the innovation behind webOS and believes the technology is slowly being “adopted” by other companies. With the introduction of iOS 7, many have said that features like multitasking cards resemble webOS, but Rubinstein believes the webOS influence extends even further into other operating systems like OS X and those of other companies:

FierceWireless: It seems like iOS 7 is taking lots of multitasking cues from webOS. How do you think that platform, webOS, influenced other mobile platforms?

Rubinstein: It’s not just mobile platforms. If you look at the notifications on Mac OS X, it looks just like webOS, too. We did a lot of things that were very, very innovative. Obviously, multitasking, notifications, Synergy, how we handled the multiple cards. There’s a long list of stuff we did that has been adopted by Microsoft, Apple and Android. Our over-the-air updates and mechanism has been updated by everybody. Our whole Synergy concept is now becoming much more common. I don’t think anyone has implemented it as well as we did yet, but clearly they’re all heading down that direction.

Read the entire interview here.

iOS 7’s new Inter-App Audio introduces universal audio routing between apps

Jordan Kahn Jun 12 2013 - 8:38 am PT

Following WWDC this week Apple’s redesign of iOS 7 and Mavericks have been getting the majority of attention, and rightfully so, but there are a few new big features coming in iOS 7 that haven’t been discussed. This morning we told you about the new MFi Game Controller framework that will make using hardware game controllers a lot smoother in iOS 7, but another important new feature in the update is inter-app audio.

The basic idea is simple: Inter-app audio will allow developers to make their app act as an output and or input for sending and receiving audio to and from other apps. In fact, we already somewhat have that functionality through third-party iOS app Audiobus. However, with Apple’s new inter-app audio feature available to devs, apps will no longer have to use a third-party app like Audiobus to send audio to one another. At first glance it seems to make Audiobus obsolete, an interesting move after Apple just recently implemented support for the third-party service in its own GarageBand app. Either way, it means a ton of new possibilities for creating music and sharing audio on your iPhone and iPad are on the way with the update to iOS 7 this fall.

We dug into Apple’s documentation on Inter-App Audio to find out how it works and also spoke with Audiobus about what this means for them:

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Apple releases iAd Workbench, shifting iAd’s focus towards app developers rather than large brands

Benjamin Mayo Jun 12 2013 - 6:31 am PT

With the latest changes to iTunes Connect, Apple has clearly changed its approach to mobile advertising. For the last three years, Apple has targeted large brands with minimum buy-ins ranging in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, uptake of iAd does not seem to have been at the level Apple expected, which has had a negative impact on developers, who have commonly observed low fill rates for their ads.

In mid 2010, Apple allowed app developers to participate in the advertising side of iAd program, by showing banner ads that link directly to their apps. With newly announced changes to iAd, which have been discussed in-depth at WWDC, Apple has furthered this push.

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iOS 7 to include support for standardized, MFi hardware game controllers, new turn-based game modes, & more for gamers

Zach Kahn Jun 12 2013 - 6:04 am PT

In what seems to be an announcement lost within the buzz of iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks (amongst other WWDC news), Apple will finally open up the iOS SDK to fully support hardware game controllers, enabling handheld-esque gaming experiences akin to the Nintendo 3DS and Playstation Vita on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

As with background apps downloads and new Directions APIs, Apple announced hardware controller support during Monday’s keynote address in one of those ‘things we added but didn’t have time to talk about’ slides (pictured above). The slide indicates that the iOS 7 SDK will support ‘MFi game controllers,’ which is a reference to Apple’s licensing program for third-party hardware accessories. Additionally, Touch Arcade points us to images from Apple’s iOS 7 Developer Guide showing a graphic of two controllers, strikingly similar to the Nintendo 3DS and Wii Classic Controller (from left to right), showing new methods of interacting with iOS via hardware buttons and joysticks. Moreover, we can’t help but notice that this announcement comes right off the heals of Tim Cook’s pledge at D11 to be ‘more open’ than before.

There are also a few other enhancements for gamers coming in iOS 7….Here’s how Apple explains the new Game Controller framework:

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A look at the changes to Apple’s new Camera app in iOS 7 [Video]

Michael Steeber Jun 11 2013 - 11:57 am PT

Just like the rest of iOS 7, Apple completely redesigned the camera app that it ships on all devices. Moving away from metaphors that resemble a real camera, Apple has reworked the interface and added new features, such as camera filters and a new square photo option.

Also noteworthy is the removal of shutter animation, which has been replaced by a stark fade animation when you snap a photo. Rather then describe it any further, take a look at the video above to get an idea of what you’ll see this fall when iOS 7 is released to the public.

Even the head of Android is excited to try out iOS 7

9to5 Staff Jun 11 2013 - 4:05 am PT

Excited to try out iOS7 beta, guess I need to register as a developer first:)

— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) June 11, 2013

Sundar Pinchai, the relatively new head of Android since Andy Rubin’s departure, doesn’t mince words when it comes to his interest in iOS7. The more pessimistic among us would say that he wants to copy all of the new features but he’s probably just curious like everyone else.
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Hands-on with iTunes Radio, Apple’s streaming music service [Video]

Michael Steeber Jun 10 2013 - 7:22 pm PT

Apple has been long rumored to be launching a music streaming service, set up to compete with Pandora, and today, they delivered. iTunes Radio, as it’s been dubbed, lives inside of the iOS 7 Music app, as an extension of the app’s functionality.

The video above gives a full walkthrough of iTunes Radio running in iOS 7, and what you can expect when the operating system is released to the public later this year.

Hands-on with iOS 7 [Video]

Michael Steeber Jun 10 2013 - 4:50 pm PT

iOS 7, which was announced today at WWDC 2013, hit the developer portal not long ago, and we’ve all been busy installing it on our phones. Above you’ll find a quick hands-on with the new UI in iOS 7.

Most notably, iOS 7 ditches the classic iOS look for a flat a very white user interface. Users upgrading to iOS 7 in the fall will surely be in for a surprise when they install the new operating system on their devices.

Stay tuned for more iOS 7 video coverage coming later today.

First look at Apple’s US manufactured Mac Pro with 4K video and many new features

Michael Steeber Jun 10 2013 - 12:20 pm PT

Immediately following WWDC, Apple has setup Mac Pro demo machines in Moscone West, enclosed in glass cases. This first (blurry) look gives you a little idea what the machine might be like, and how much smaller it really is than the previous generation.

We’ll update this post with additional photos and video if we can grab them.

Apple has also updated its Mac Pro page, adding additional images.

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Apple announces next generation Mac Pro

Michael Steeber Jun 10 2013 - 11:04 am PT

Apple has just unveiled a completely redesigned Mac Pro at WWDC. The new machine features a brand new thermal core, with state of the art Intel Xeon chips.

Unlike the previous generation Mac Pro, who’s design remained largely unchanged for years, the new Mac Pro is a cylinder, which is 1/8 the volume of the previous model. According to Phil Schiller, the entire top of the machine is a handle.

Also interesting to note is that the Mac Pro is now built in the USA.

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Apple officially announces OS X Mavericks at WWDC

Michael Steeber Jun 10 2013 - 10:23 am PT

Answering probably the biggest question regarding the Macintosh Operating System, Apple revealed today that the tenth iteration of its OS X system will be dubbed Mavericks.

OS X 10.9 delivers a collection of new features including:

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One prominent analyst expects new Haswell-based iMacs this month or next

Seth Weintraub Jun 10 2013 - 4:26 am PT

We’ve heard nothing of new Haswell iMacs in the pipeline but prominent Apple Analyst Mingchi Kuo from KGI securities thinks they are on the way:

What’s new
We forecast iMac shipments to be 650k units in 2Q13, down 63% from 1.75mn units in 1Q13. We expect shipments to pick up in 3Q13 as Apple (US) launches Haswell iMac and peak season arrives. Full-year shipments are set to reach 4.7mn units.
Analysis
We attribute the shipments decline to the fact that new product shipments have peaked and due to the arrival of the consumer slow season. But we believe iMac shipments troughed in 2Q13. Apple is expected to upgrade iMac processor to Intel’s (US) latest Haswell processor in June or July. Meanwhile, the consumer peak season has arrived. Thus we expect shipments to reach 1.1mn units in 3Q13, up 69% QoQ. Full-year shipments are forecast to be 4.7mn units, up 31% YoY.

Even a July launch, if the analyst is correct, could warrant a mention at today’s WWDC. Apple did announce the current iMacs months ahead of schedule but Tim Cook subsequently told analysts at an earnings call that he regretted the decision citing some variant of the Osborne effect hurting sales.

When Apple first launched the all new, slimmed down iMac lineup leading up to the holidays in October of last year, Tim Cook quickly confirmed that Apple would run into some significant component constraints and delays for the product. The months following launch saw major delays with customers ordering the product having to wait weeks to receive their shipments and some models pushed back as far as December.

Kuo has been accurate enough in the past to warrant mentioning but his weakness has been his timings of releases so let’s keep the expectations low.

We’ll be covering every aspect of today’s WWDC so stay tuned.

AT&T slips in some bad news ahead of WWDC: Upgrade eligibility moved from 20 to 24 months

9to5 Staff Jun 9 2013 - 5:27 pm PT

Not a bad PR move on AT&T’s part: While everyone is getting hyped for WWDC, Ma Bell throws the same curve ball that Verizon threw at us in April. You must now wait the full 24 months to be eligible for phone upgrades rather than getting in at 20 months as you could have previously.

Today, we’re announcing a 24-month upgrade policy across all of AT&T’s wireless products and services. This aligns device upgrade eligibility with our standard two-year wireless agreement and it applies to any customer whose agreement expires in March 2014 or later.

The move shouldn’t be a huge deal for iPhone customers who are used to two year cycles who can plan ahead to 2014.

iRadio is a go as Apple reportedly signs deal with Sony

Zac Hall Jun 7 2013 - 6:46 am PT

Earlier this year, we discovered buttons in iOS 6 that seem to imply that users will be able to purchase the songs that they listen to via Apple’s upcoming radio service.

AllThingsD reports that Apple has secured a deal with Sony to launch its long rumored iRadio service. You may recall Sony was the last major record label to secure as Apple had already signed deals with both Warner and Universal. We expect to see iRadio previewed at WWDC which kicks off Monday.

Sony Music has signed on to Apple’s forthcoming iRadio service, according to a person familiar with negotiations between the two companies.

WSJ previously reported that Apple will pay Warner 10% of ad revenue, which is about twice as much as Pandora contributes. Apple’s own iAd service is set to refocus its attention on supporting the music streaming service with audio ads for the first time since its launch.

Peter Kafka goes on to report that it’s possible that Sony/ATV, its publishing wing, may not have officially inked its deal with Apple:

It’s still possible that Apple may have hurdles to clear. As of earlier this week, the company had yet to sign up Sony/ATV, Sony’s music publishing arm.

But the gaps between Sony/ATV and Apple were supposedly smaller than the ones between Sony Music and Apple were looking at a few days ago.

While Apple’s iRadio service should be announced on Monday, it is possible it won’t be available for end users until later this year when iOS 7 completes development. Similarly, the iCloud-based iTunes Match service was announced with the preview of iOS 5 and made available to members of Apple’s iOS Developer Program in June 2011, but saw a delayed launch following iOS 5’s release in October later that year.

Tune in Monday at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST for our live coverage of Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference where we’ll be on location. In the mean time, you can check out our comprehensive preview of what we expect to see at WWDC.
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9to5Toys Last Call: $71 Kingston 64GB Wi-Drive for iPhone/iPad/iPod, $119 Western Digital 2TB USB 3.0 Portable HD

Jun 6 2013 - 2:56 pm PT

From 9to5Toys.com:

A large majority of the deals we cover each day come from a variety of ‘Daily Deal’ websites or are so popular that they don’t even last 24 hours. We know you can’t be at your computer every second, so we’re going to roundup the best deals each day to make sure you have a fair shot at the deals you want. Be sure to follow 9to5Toys.com so you never miss a deal... Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook

Today’s Featured deals:

Kingston Wi-Drive adds 64GB of available storage to your iPhone/iPad/iPod $71 Shipped (Reg. $130)

Western Digital My Passport 2 TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive $119 Shipped (Reg. $200)

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VIZIO 42″ LCD 1080p Smart TV w/ WiFi, Web Apps (Refurb.) $330 Shipped (Reg. $480 New)
Apple genuine Lightning to USB cable (Bulk packaging) $9 with free shipping (Reg. $19 New)
Amazon launches indie game store, up to 75% off titles such as: Super Meat Boy, Braid & Brutal Legend, more
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Roku 2 XS (Refurb) 1080p HD w/ Wi-Fi, Angry Birds, Motion Sensor Remote Control, and 6ft HDMI Cable $55 Shipped
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$50 iTunes Gift Card for $40: Save 20% on future purchases of Apps, Music, Movies, more
Gaming Central: Free $50 Amazon credit w/ PlayStation Vita
Hotspot Shield – Simple VPN/proxy solution for OS X, iOS, and Android devices. 50% off a 1 year subscription, now only $15
Staples $10 off $50 in tech accessories: $50 WD Dual-Band N900 Gigabit Wireless router w/ two USB ports, $50 All-in-one WiFi printer, Apple deals: Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, Keyboard, more
eBook Freebie: Weber’s Time to Grill: Get In. Get Out. Get Grilling (Reg. $20)
Last day: LG 24″ LED Backlight 1080p Widescreen LCD Monitor $135 Shipped
Amazon knocks $20 off of Kindle HDs for Father’s Day, now start at $179
Logitech Washable Keyboard $15 Shipped
Save 50% on 1Password Mac / iOS Apps, the gold standard in mobile password security
9to5Toys Exclusive: Cash in an extra $10 on Gazelle when you trade-in your used (or broken!) electronics

Adobe discounts Photoshop & Premiere Elements 11 $30 off for Father’s Day (+ Giveaway): Adobe… http://t.co/mp4UZJM1ph

— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) June 5, 2013

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