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.
When Microsoft updated Office 2011 for Mac for Mountain Lion late last month, Retina display users quickly noticed Outlook was the only app to receive updated Retina graphics. One user described the remaining Office apps as “very blurry and tough on the eyes” on the new Retina MacBook Pro. Unfortunately, it does not look like Microsoft plans a fix anytime soon. A response from the Office for Mac Team explained Word, Excel, and PowerPoint would continue to run in the same resolution as on non-Retina Macs:
Outlook for Mac 2011 already supports Retina Display and the remaining apps will have the same viewing quality as on any non-Retina device. Unfortunately at this time, we cannot comment on any future updates regarding supporting Retina on Word, Excel or PowerPoint… Hope that helps!
While most are expecting Apple to include the rumored LTE connectivity in the upcoming next-gen iPhone, we get word from Korea Times today that Korean carriers SK Telecom and KT have revealed they are currently in talks with Apple to carry a new iPhone on their LTE networks:
SK Telecom and KT are in talks to offer long-term evolution (LTE) connectivity on Apple’s next handset, tentatively named the iPhone 5, officials from the companies said Wednesday…The two local telecom companies are authorized Korean partners to sell the American firm’s i-branded devices here. The smallest carrier LG Uplus is unable to sell Apple’s products as it doesn’t own a suitable frequency.
According to an official at KT, which is home to roughly 1.4 million users compared to SK Telecom’s 4 million LTE subscribers, the carrier is in talks “with Apple to persuade the latter to support KT’s 1.8-gigahertz frequency in Korea for the upcoming iPhone.” Although it’s unclear exactly what type of negotiations might be taking place, we know the current third-gen LTE iPad supports only AT&T, Verizon, and a few Canadian carriers on 700 MHz and 2100 MHz frequency bands. If the talks are indeed to discuss launching an LTE iPhone with support for the 800 MHz and 1800 MHz bands, it’s importnat to note that many other markets also operate over those bands including Australia and parts of Europe. Expand Expanding Close
Wearing work gloves, McFarlin set down lawn furniture cushions outside the perimeter of the home in order to safely toss his take including: two iMacs, three iPads, one Apple TV, a Sodastream soda maker and various Tiffany jewels before fleeing away in his car.
The jewelry McFarlin lifted was the bulk of the heist’s value, totaling nearly all of the $60,000 in value. Jobs’ wallet, including credit cards and $1 (his famous yearly salary), was also part of the heist. Laurene Powell Jobs was staying nearby while the renovations were being done.
The suspect, McFarlin, did not seem to realize he was in Jobs’ home. McFarlin said he was in dire straits with money and “he was desperate.”
McFarlin told cops that he had been living in his car and had chanced upon the abandoned Jobs home while sleeping on the street there. He decided it would be the target of his first burglary. Before the heat was on, the novice McFarlin quickly Googled how to fence the jewelry.
He was caught when trying to plug in the Apple equipment and the devices “called home” for software updates. Expand Expanding Close
We received a number of tips over the last few weeks from sources that we have reason to believe hold knowledge about Apple’s plans on the upcoming iPad mini. A recurring theme of late is that the iPad mini will “look like a big iPod touch” with smaller bezels along the sides in portrait mode and separate volume buttons and not a “rocker” and a mic on the back.
We were not confident enough to post the above information alone (but did make the atop mockup), but the very reliable John Gruber chimes in today with many of the same bits of information.
Here is a gallery of all the iPad mini images and mockups we have obtained to date: Expand Expanding Close
The majority of American teens prefer YouTube to iTunes, radio, online radio, and CDs when it comes to finding and listening to music.
Approximately two-thirds of 18-and-younger U.S. teenagers, according to a “Music 360” survey from research firm Nielsen (via The Wall Street Journal), claimed they sidestepped other music-listening mediums for Google’s video-sharing platform.
YouTube snagged 64 percent of 13-to-17 year olds, while radio came in second at 56 percent. iTunes held 54 percent, with CDs and Pandora rounding the top five at 50- and- 35 percent respectively.
The Wall Street Journal noted young folks regard YouTube as a “de facto free music service,” but adults do not take full advantage of the site’s complimentary content.
Go to 9to5Google for more information on adults’ favorite mediums.
The Loop pointed us to this iOS support matrix (Autumn 2012 edition) posted by app developer Empirical Magic. Definitely a useful resource for developers, the chart shows the number of devices running certain versions of iOS, and makes recommendations for dropping support in future updates.
Amazon offers the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K760 for Mac/iPad/iPhone (920-003884) for just $59.99 with free shipping (Amazon Store link). That’s the first time we’ve seen this keyboard marked down from its $80 retail price. The Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K760 keyboard charges by sunlight/lamplight and can run for 3 months in total darkness. Users can also immediately switch between iPhone, iPad and Mac (or any 3 devices) with dedicated function keys.
According to a report from MercuryNews, suspects are now in custody for the recent burglary of the Silicon Valley home of Steve Jobs that contained more than $60,000 worth of computers and personal items:
The deceased Apple co-founder’s home on the 2100 block of Waverley Street in Palo Alto was burglarized July 17, said Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Tom Flattery, a member of the high-technology crimes unit…More than $60,000 worth of “computers and personal items” were allegedly stolen, but Flattery declined to say whether they belonged to Jobs, who died last year at the age of 56, or another family member.
Weeks after the burglary on July 17, police arrested Kariem McFarlin, 35, who is currently in jail on $500,000 bail, but other specific details regarding the crime are not available. We know that Laurene Powell Jobs and family were likely not living in the home at the time of the robbery, as during July the property was undergoing renovations with construction barricades and scaffolding surrounding the house. Forbes snapped photos of the property under construction (below) on July 4:
Much like in the weeks leading up to the iPhone 4S launch in early October 2011, European carriers are preparing for the expected Sept. 12 introduction of the new iPhone with pre-order tickets now available through various carriers. As noted by reports from German website iPhone-ticker.de, Deutsche Telekom will offer pre-order tickets to interested customers through its distribution partners starting today. The tickets will offer a first-come, first-serve basis for the new iPhone with express delivery of the device to ticket holders on the first available day. Carriers are clearly preparing for the launch of Apple’s next-gen iPhone. Not that we need additional verification, as the most recent reports once again confirm a Sept. 12 unveiling and add the device could actually be available for pre-order on the same day. Last year, Vodafone and other carriers quickly followed Deutsche Telekom by offering iPhone pre-order tickets.
According to a new report from Rene Ritchie of iMore, who has been correct in the past, Apple is set to begin pre-orders of the next-generation iPhone on Sept. 12, which is the same day the device is expected to be announced. The device is then expected to be released Sept. 21, as several publications reported (and subsequently confirmed each other) a few weeks ago. At the same event, Apple is expected to introduce its new 7.85-inch iPad Mini. It is believed to compete directly with Google’s Nexus 7 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire. iMore further added in its report this morning that the international launch of the next iPhone will take place in early October, with Oct. 5 being the most likely day. Apple has been known to delay the launch of its devices internationally to ramp up sales. For example, the launch of the iPhone 4S internationally was two weeks after the U.S. launch. Read on for more details: Expand Expanding Close
The Wall Street Journal today shows that the value of Apple’s brand varies greatly depending on who is taking the survey. Apple’s brand may be worth as much as $183 billion, according to an earlier Millward Brown study. The study’s results greatly vary from a separate Interbrand study, which valued the company at less than a fifth of that value and half of the value of Microsoft’s brand.
The most valuable brand in the world, according to WPP PLC’s Millward Brown, is Apple Inc., worth $183 billion—nearly a third of the company’s market capitalization of $581 billion.
Omnicom Group Inc.’s Interbrand, however, judges Apple’s brand as worth only $33.5 billion, or eighth, behind such names as MicrosoftCorp. (ranked third at $59 billion), International Business MachinesCorp. and Coca-Cola Co. (first at $71.9 billion). Interbrand notes its estimate of Apple’s brand value has risen.
Why such a big difference?
“The value of brand is both art and science,” says Allen Adamson, a managing director of Landor Associates, a branding firm owned by WPP. “It’s simple in theory but hard to pin down in reality. It’s really about how much would a consumer pay for a caramel colored soda versus how much they would pay for a Coke.”
If you think about PCs, how much would someone pay for a similarly spec’d Microsoft PC Ultrabook vs. a MacBook Air? Usually much less. The same goes for tablets—even though Apple’s prices and margins are smaller than phones or PCs. Apple’s reputation is what allows it to grab such huge margins in its hardware.
Yet, Interbrand ranks Microsoft at double of Apple’s brand. I would re-run the numbers if I were Interbrand. Millward Brown’s numbers are below:
Update: The original source, Nowherelse, posted an update with new information regarding the leaked dock connector images claiming the connector has 16 pins, eight on each side, with eight likely being reserved for future uses:
We have obtained new information about this connector. We have indeed learned that it is not equipped with 8 to 16 pins but distinct functions or 8 on each side thereof to note that one of them would have no basis of record and would be for possible future use.
There has been a ton of alleged next-gen iPhone leaks in recent weeks including images of the device’s thinner, higher capacity 1440 mAh battery, SIM card tray, and other internal components. Today, we get a look at parts related to the smaller, redesigned dock connector, as well as what French site Nowherelse.fr claimed could possibly be the first images of the connector itself. In our own image above, we see an insert component for the new iPhone on the right showing the outline of the new iPhone’s dock connector. The unconfirmed images from Nowherelse below show what appears to be an 8-pin dock connector next to the USB end for context. We recently discovered possible references to a 9-pin dock connector in iOS 6, while previous reports claimed a 19-pin or 8-pin design was in the works. While our leak of the next-gen iPhone backs in May gave us a good look at the port for the redesigned dock connector, the pin layout for the connector itself is still unconfirmed.
Update: iFixit told MacRumors that the metal frame counts as its own pin even though there are eight gold pins. This adds up to nine pins, as we reported the other day based on iOS 6 source code, and this may mean these above photos are legitimate.
Also: We cannot help but notice that these connectors seem to have similar pins and size to MicroSD cards (image via).
Today, in a post on his Google+ page, Google software engineer and original Macintosh co-creator Andy Hertzfeld pointed us to a rare commercial created for the first Macintosh in the fall of 1983 by ad agency Chiat-Day. Hertzfeld noted Apple ultimately decided not to air the commercial that featured interviews with members of the Macintosh design team, because “Apple deemed it too self-congratulatory.” It did, however, make its way to dealers as a promotional video at the time. Featured in the video are snippets of interviews with Andy Hertzfeld, George Crow, Bill Atkinson, Mike Murray, and Burrell Smith.
More fun stuff surfaced today from the Apple vs. Samsung trial. Pictured above are Samsung’s sales numbers for its smartphones in the U.S. Perhaps most surprisingly is that Samsung’s best selling phone by unit number is Boost Mobile’s Samsung Prevail, which sold 2.255 million units. Finishing in second and third were the Samsung Epic 4G and the Galaxy S2 Epic Touch both on Sprint. That means Samsung’s top three devices were on Sprint’s network.
Meanwhile, Samsung’s U.S. tablet numbers were below expectations. They totaled just over 1.4 million since the fourth quarter of 2010 (what happened to the Galaxy Tab 8.9? And I do not see the Galaxy Note phablet either above or below).
Then there were Apple’s much bigger numbers, below:
Reporting for Gizmodo, Cord Jefferson has a great account of what it is like to be an extra in the upcoming Steve Jobs biopic, “jOBS“, featuring Ashton Kutcher. While Jefferson was able to meet Kutcher, he described the experience as being long and boring. One part of the gig included listening to Kutcher give Jobs’ speech against IBM in Honolulu. Jefferson said he heard the speech 26 times:
I’ll remember those lines for the rest of my life. Not because I find them particularly profound, but because I heard Kutcher say them, by my count, 26 times over the course of about three hours. If you have any assumptions that the work of making movies is glamorous or exciting, kill them now.
As for the biopic’s success, the writer was not able to give a firm answer. He said Kutcher sounds serious about the gig (Kutcher looks close to Jobs, just saying). He talked about Sorkin’s upcoming film, too:
We reported last week that the Federal Trade Commission voted to fine Google $22.5 million for violating browser security settings in Safari, but now Google has agreed to pay the record-setting amount and finally settle its dispute.
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Google Inc. GOOG +0.27% Thursday agreed to pay a $22.5 million penalty to settle a dispute with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. The FTC said the penalty stems from charges that Google misrepresented users of Apple Inc.’sAAPL +0.13% Safari Web browser after saying it wouldn’t place tracking “cookies” or serve targeted ads to Safari users. The FTC said Google’s actions violated and earlier privacy settlement between the FTC and Google. Google shares were up less than 1% at $643.63 in early trading Thursday.
The allegations against Google began in February, when the search engine and other ad companies were caught bypassing Safari security settings to install tracking cookies on devices and computers without consent.
“The record setting penalty in this matter sends a clear message to all companies under an FTC privacy order,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz in another presser. “No matter how big or small, all companies must abide by FTC orders against them and keep their privacy promises to consumers, or they will end up paying many times what it would have cost to comply in the first place.”
It is worth noting that the hefty fine roughly equals five hours of revenue for Google based on Q2 2012 sales.
Things 2.0: One of the leading iOS and Mac productivity apps was updated today to version 2.0 with a ton of new features. Included in the update is “Things Cloud”. It is a cloud service that syncs your to-dos across Macs and the iOS client. A new Daily Review feature makes important to-dos appear when you need them, and a “revolutionary scrolling Date Picker makes selecting dates more natural than ever.” The UI has also been updated along with a new engine that provides “blazingly fast Things Cloud performance.” These and other new features and improvements are included in the Things for iPad app.
Things 2.0 (Mac App Store): In addition to free updates to the iOS versions of Things, the Mac App Store client was updated today to version 2.0. The update includes the “Things Cloud” service mentioned above, allowing you to sync across platforms, while other new features include a “Daily Review” that presents important to-dos for the day, full Mountain Lion support, Retina graphics, full-screen mode, a number of other enhancements.
Pixelmator version 2.1: Popular image editor Pixelmator was updated on the Mac App Store today with a much needed Retina-ready UI and image-editing engine, iCloud support to keep projects up to date on multiple machines, as well as a new effects browser containing “new Vintage, Miniaturize, Black and White, Rain, and Snow effects.” Also included in the update is full OS X Mountain Lion support and alignment guides to “quickly position, align, and evenly distribute objects in your Pixelmator compositions with pinpoint accuracy.”
Tweetdeck version 1.5.3:Today’s massive update to the popular Mac Twitter client brings a slew of user-interface enhancements such as the ability to use the Columns button to quickly jump to any position. Users can also navigate the arrow buttons to scroll left and right several columns at a time, use swipe gestures on the trackpad to scroll, access key user and Tweet actions from the new actions menu, and fit more columns on screen by enabling Narrow Columns in Settings. The update also boasts improved animations for tweets and column management, performance improvements, and many bug fixes.
Pomodorable version 1.0: Released on the Mac App Store today, Pomodorable is a task management app that its developers said takes a “fresh approach to managing to do lists” by taking full advantage of Notification Center, Notes, Reminders, and other Mountain Lion features. While at first glance it might appear to compete with Things, the app actually includes support for Things and OmniFocus. It allows you to view tasks from those apps within the Pomodorable, and the app is 50 percent off for a limited time following today’s launch.
PDF Expert version 4.2:Readdle’s PDF Expert app was updated recently with a new “Presentation Mode” that allows you to connect an iPad to a projector ” and make interactive non-linear presentations” with content from PDFs, videos, and images. The update also includes live annotation tools, new annotation colours, and a number of other improvements. Expand Expanding Close
According to a new report from French publication Nowhereelse.fe and Chinese forum iColorOS,more sixth-generation iPhone parts have surfaced from China. As you can see above, we now have a look at the alleged glass front, home button, sensors, volume control buttons, and the protection element placed on the back of the phone screen that may appear in the next iPhone. The leak also adds a bit more validity to a report earlier this week that showed a new nano-SIM card and smaller home buttons for the device.
We’ve received word from AppleSeed testers that the first 10.8.1 Betas are on the way.
There has been some concern over excessive battery drain in recent days as well as Apple’s curious new “Save as” behavior which also overwrites the current version which will hopefully be addressed in upcoming releases.
A T-Mobile RF engineer, claiming to be “heavily involved” in the carrier’s LTE upgrades and network modernization plans, started an AMA on Reddit this morning. Not surprisingly, many of the questions were iPhone and Apple-related. The questions ranged from how much 2G/EDGE traffic the carrier’s network sees from iPhone customers as it begins to transition that spectrum to WCDMA to where T-Mobile plans to upgrade its network coverage next:
Q: Can you talk briefly about how much traffic on GERAN you see from iPhone customers? How much of a catch-22 is that situation for moving that PCS spectrum dedicated to it over to WCDMA? Expand Expanding Close
You might remember a couple months ago when our friends at iFixit tore down the new Retina MacBook Pro. Unfortunately, the device received its lowest repairability score with the company calling it “the least repairable laptop”. While the new MacBooks provide possibly Apple’s least accessible and upgradeable design out of the box, iFixit updated its website today with its official 2012 MacBook Pro Retina repair guide to make it as easy as possible. Fifteen separate installation guides for the AirPort Board, battery, fans, logic board, speakers, SSD, trackpad, etc., are included in the repair guide with one maintenance guide for reapplying thermal paste to the CPU and GPU.
Many components within the laptop can be removed without much fuss, provided folks use the correct tools. Pentalobe screws hold the lower case in place and Torx screws secure everything else. Spudgers and plastic opening tools are absolutely necessary, as many of the components are designed with such tight tolerances that using fingertips is simply not an option.
Fair warning: working on the laptop is no easy task. Some repairs are simply infeasible. For example, there is no way to replace the trackpad without removing the battery. And while it’s possible to remove the battery, chances are high that it will be punctured in the process. Puncturing Lithium-polymer batteries releases noxious fumes and can cause fires. Additionally, removing the LCD glass from the aluminum frame will almost certainly break the glass. So components residing under the LCD — such as the FaceTime camera — will have to be replaced with the entire assembly… Finding replacements for the machine’s proprietary components is currently difficult. We’re working to source parts, but it may take some time.
iFixit also estimated that third-party battery replacements —if done correctly— could cost over $500:
It appears that Apple is offering $50 off across the board yielding savings of 6-10% depending on the original price. This is the first time Apple has offered the 3rd generation iPad refurbished at the Apple Store.
Apple’s refurbished iPads get a new battery and encasement and come with the same 1 year warranty as new iPads. Expand Expanding Close
We told you a few weeks ago that Facebook was rolling out the beta of its SDK 3.0 for iOS that included iOS 6 integration for native Facebook login, modern Objective-C language features support, pre-built UI components, and a new iOS Dev Center. Version 3.0 of the Facebook iOS SDK is coming out of beta today, and it is ready for developers to download and use in their apps. However, Facebook will continue to maintain a beta version that includes iOS 6 FB integration features. It will ultimately merge the two versions when iOS is released to the public. We already went through much of what you can find in the Facebook SDK for iOS, but a blog post on the Facebook Developers blog announcing its release explained some of the new improvements and updates since the beta release:
This release enables several new features: ready-to-use native UI controls, better session management, improved support for calling Facebook APIs and support for modern Objective-C language features…The SDK also includes a variety of pre-built user interface (UI) components for common functions, such as Login, Friend Picker and Place Picker. Simply drop them into your apps for a fast, native and consistent way to build common features.
