Apple

6,148 'Apple News' stories November 2008 - February 2015

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

Long-time Macworld editor Chris Breen joins Apple

Stephen Hall Feb 17 2015 - 2:35 pm PT

3 Comments

Chris Breen, a long-time writer and Senior Editor for Macworld, has decided to leave a long-time career of journalism covering the Cupertino company and take his talents straight to Apple itself.

According to a post on his personal blog:

Just a note to say that I’ve left Macworld to work for a Cupertino-based technology company you may be familiar with.

There are loads of reasons for the change, but blend them together and they add up to my desire to try something different before I don the large shorts and spend the bulk of my remaining days looking for my misplaced spectacles.

“Chris has been such an essential staff member that the word “essential” seems woefully inadequate to describe him,” wrote Macworld’s Susie Ochs.

This news comes several months after another long-time journalist, Anand Shimpi of AnandTech.com, also retired from writing to join Apple.

As with Anand, it’s not known what Breen will be doing at Apple. Being part of the post-Cotton PR team at the company is definitely a possibility, but the fact that another Macworld Editor Jon Seff was picked up for the secretive Apple University training program might shine some light on what Apple is doing with these journos.

IDC: Xiaomi’s growth tops Samsung in China, but Apple is making a dent too

Stephen Hall Feb 17 2015 - 12:56 pm PT

16 Comments

According to the latest numbers from IDC, Xiaomi—the rising star of the smartphone industry—has managed to pass up Samsung in China. In 2013, Xiaomi trailed Samsung’s almost 19% market share by a solid 13 percentage points (at just 5.3%), and was only the 5th largest maker of smartphones in China. Things changed in 2014. Last year, Xiaomi finished off with 12.5% of the market, almost a half-point more than Samsung at 12.1%, taking the top spot and passing not just Samsung, but Lenovo, Huawei, and Coolpad as well.

Interestingly, though, the latest numbers also show that Apple’s launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus contributed to a decent size dent in both Samsung and Xiaomi’s market footprint in Q4 of last year.
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Apple reportedly terminated contract w/ Alabama lobbyist over his same-sex marriage opposition

Zac Hall Feb 17 2015 - 11:46 am PT

89 Comments

Tim Cook’s Apple is no stranger to standing up for social issues including marriage equality.

Almost a year ago to date, the company—not just Tim Cook—voiced public opposition to anti-gay legislation in Arizona which was surprisingly vetoed after weeks of public attention. The company also embraced last year’s annual Pride parade in San Francisco with an official video highlighting participation by thousand of employees and family members. There’s also Tim Cook’s widely praised essay published last year in which he first publicly acknowledged being gay—a first for a Fortune 500 chief executive.

So when Apple realized it hired a former politician with a history of promoting anti-gay legislation to lobby on its behalf to the Alabama Congress, it’s no surprise that the company reportedly severed ties with the individual…
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Can you guess the price of the 18-karat gold Apple Watch?

Jordan Kahn Feb 17 2015 - 11:24 am PT

111 Comments

Can you guess the price of the gold Apple Watch? There has been a lot of speculation about how much the 42mm and 38mm versions of the 18-karat Apple Watch Edition will cost, but we wanted to poll the 9to5Mac community to see where everyone stands. Put your guess in the comments, vote using the polls below, and we’ll check back in April to point fingers, etc.

[tweet https://twitter.com/markgurman/status/567751716188487682]

We do have some clues about how much it might cost: We reported recently that Apple Stores are being prepped with jewelry store-style touches for the Apple Watch launch, including safes that will store the expensive 18-karat gold Watch Edition models. That could be a hint that we’re looking at a product pricier than anything Apple currently has in stock at its stores.
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Dropbox gets more powerful on iOS 8 with new sharing extension

Zac Hall Feb 17 2015 - 10:02 am PT

10 Comments

Dropbox for iPhone and iPad users is getting a lot more powerful today as the latest version includes a new action extension for iOS 8. This allows you to save information from various apps to Dropbox on iOS without having to open the cloud-syncing app.
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Apple granted patent for Google Cardboard/Samsung-Oculus style VR headset for iPhone

Jordan Kahn Feb 17 2015 - 7:02 am PT

0 Comments

Apple is about to go head-to-head with Google on smartwatches and also encroaching on Google’s territory with research into electric and possibly autonomous vehicles, but what about virtual reality? Today we get a look at yet another area in which Apple might compete with Google as the US Patent and Trademark office grants a patent to Apple for a Google Cardboard/Samsung-Oculus style VR headset for iPhone (via PatentlyApple).
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Apple invites developers to Cupertino to finish Apple Watch apps, test out device

Mark Gurman Feb 16 2015 - 1:57 pm PT

2 Comments

Apple has been working with several third-party App Store developers at its Cupertino, California offices to assist developers in finishing up applications for the upcoming Apple Watch. Development and design representatives from dozens of different development firms have visited Apple last week, or are coming to Cupertino this week, to work with Apple engineers to finish up WatchKit-based applications. One source claims that Apple is holding workshops for over 100 different developers across February. Apple also met with a smaller number of developers to assist with WatchKit development and discuss future plans in early January…

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Inside Apple’s new offices in Herzliya, Israel [Gallery]

Mark Gurman Feb 16 2015 - 10:12 am PT

19 Comments

Apple is opening up a new suite of offices inside Israel this week, with CEO Tim Cook reportedly visiting Israel in part to inaugurate the new workspace. Recent reports have indicated that the offices will hold approximately 800 employees across 180,000 square feet of space.

Today, Israel-based website GSM-Israel has published purported photos of the upcoming new Apple space in Herzliya. The construction, features, and tables are all in line with Apple’s offices in others parts of the world. A full gallery of the new offices can be viewed below.

Apple has a history of working in Israel from purchases of companies like Anobit and PrimeSense, to the construction of research and development offices. Cook has also previously met with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. During this upcoming visit, Cook will reportedly meet with former President Shimon Peres.

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Apple’s electric car plans

Seth Weintraub Feb 14 2015 - 2:22 pm PT

27 Comments

It looks like Apple is working on an electric, possibly autonomous automobile. Numerous publications have reported that Apple CEO Tim Cook started the project about a year ago, which followed a M&A meeting with Tesla’s Elon Musk in the Spring of 2013.

We must remember that Apple has many R&D projects and “says no a thousand times for every yes” and of course even if the car project does happen, any type of product is many years off (barring any acquisition). Then there is the current mess that is CarPlay…
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Watch: Apple CEO Tim Cook talk cybersecurity at White House Summit

Zac Hall Feb 13 2015 - 9:53 am PT

7 Comments

As we mentioned earlier this week, Apple CEO Tim Cook is in attendance at the White House Summit on cybersecurity today at Stanford University where he’s expected to discuss Apple, privacy, and security. Notably, Tim Cook is the only technology company chief executive participating in the event with the White House as CEOs at Facebook, Yahoo, and Google each declined deciding to send lower-level staff instead. Other CEOs in attendance include the heads of Apple Pay partners Bank of America and Visa as well as the chief executive officer of AIG. You can view a stream of the event below:
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Mattel plans to release its new Google Cardboard-based VR toy on iOS by end of the year

Jordan Kahn Feb 13 2015 - 6:45 am PT

5 Comments

Google and Mattel are holding a press event today to announce a new product that merges Google’s experimental Cardboard virtual reality platform with Mattel’s classic View-Master toy. Also announced at the event: Mattel plans to bring the new View-Master toy and with it Google’s Cardboard platform to the iPhone by the end of the year.
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Apple Park (Campus 2) Construction Progress Timeline: photos, drone videos + updates from Cupertino

Jordan Kahn Feb 12 2015 - 10:45 am PT

14 Comments

First announced by Steve Jobs in 2006, Apple kicked off construction on its new 176-acre “Campus 2” in late 2013/early 2014 and expects to move in around 12,000 of its employees when the project is complete. Apple currently plans to wrap up construction by late 2016, so it’s possible the company could move into the new 2.8 million sq ft location starting sometime in early 2017.
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Tim Cook reportedly headed to Israel for opening of new Apple offices

Jordan Kahn Feb 12 2015 - 7:19 am PT

9 Comments

Tim Cook is scheduled to attend the opening of Apple’s latest offices in Israel early next week, according to a report from Israeli daily business newspaper Calcalist.

The report says the new offices will be located in Herzliya, Israel, and hold around 800 employees in approximately 180,000 square feet.
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Happy Hour Podcast 001 | New iOS 9 details, Apple Watch launch, and Apple’s new Beats-based streaming service

Dom Esposito Feb 11 2015 - 12:53 pm PT

7 Comments

Happy Hour is back and better than ever. Join us as we kick off the first episode and discuss everything you need to know about Apple’s master plan for iOS 9, a new music streaming service in the works, Apple Watch launch details, and more. The Happy Hour podcast is available for download on iTunes and through our dedicated RSS feed.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/190639733″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”150″ iframe=”true” /]

Click here to subscribe on iTunes or listen to the first episode embedded above.

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Google brings smooth Safari-like zoom to Chrome Canary for Mac

Stephen Hall Feb 11 2015 - 9:28 am PT

19 Comments

The latest build of Chrome Canary for Mac packs a great new feature that’s likely familiar to those who use Safari on a daily basis. While current stable builds of Chrome have a jaggedy pinch-to-zoom functionality that only zooms in 10% increments, the latest build of Chrome Canary provides a smooth buttery zoom experience like Apple’s browser.

As of right now, it looks like the feature works a little bit less fluidly than Apple’s offering, but that’s to expected in the most experimental public release version of Chrome. Zooming works the same way that it does in Safari and current versions of Chrome, so all it takes is pinching two fingers on the Trackpad.

If you’re sticking with Safari on your Mac for this reason or others (battery life, anyone?), it looks like this feature—once it makes its way to the stable release—will give you one more reason to switch over to Google’s browser. If you want to give it a try, head over and download the latest build of Chrome Canary.

Apple becomes 1st company ever to close at market cap of over $700B (AAPL)

Seth Weintraub Feb 10 2015 - 1:11 pm PT

14 Comments

Update 2/11: After passing $700 billion in market capitalization yesterday, Apple has been trading up as high as $124.43 a share raising market cap over $720 billion.

Apple’s stock price closed up 2.3 points today to close at 122.02 giving the Cupertino company that was on the verge of bankruptcy less than 2 decades ago, the highest market cap of all time. The closing market cap of $710B reflects significant growth since it hit a recent low of a split-adjusted 56 in mid-2013.

To put it into perspective, Apple is now valued at $100 for every man, woman and child on the face of the earth.

Speaking of AAPL, Tim Cook is at Goldman Sachs today discussing Apple’s recent success and announcing a industry first Solar farm that will offset all of Apple’s California electricity use including its Campus 2, offices and 40 retail stores.

And on that note, First Solar, the company that is partnering with Apple on the Solar Farm is up almost 10% on the news.

Apple announces $850m, 1600-acre solar farm in Monterey to offset all its CA operations incl. Campus 2

Jordan Kahn Feb 10 2015 - 12:53 pm PT

16 Comments

During Tim Cook’s talk at the Goldman Sachs Tech Conference 2015 today, the Apple CEO announced a new initiative that will see the company build a solar farm in Monterey County, California that Cook called Apple’s “biggest, boldest and most ambitious” energy project yet.
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Live blog: Tim Cook at Goldman Sachs Tech Conference 2015

Zac Hall Feb 10 2015 - 12:23 pm PT

5 Comments

As mentioned earlier today, Tim Cook is speaking momentarily at the 2015 Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference where his remarks will be live streamed, and below we’ll update with the latest from the Apple CEO. In previous years, Cook has used the platform to share insight about product performance including the Apple TV and tease future roadmaps as the CEO often does. Today’s appearance follows Apple’s record quarter for any company with more than $74 billion reported in revenue and over 74 million iPhones sold. Apple is also positioned to release the Apple Watch in April, Cook recently mentioned, so today’s remarks should be interesting.
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Legacy Support! After 14 years, the first iPod still syncs to the latest version of iTunes

Jordan Kahn Feb 10 2015 - 11:07 am PT

12 Comments

What happens when you hook up the original 1st-generation iPod with the latest version of iTunes? YouTuber Matthew Pearce attempted exactly that, and surprisingly found that the current version of iTunes (12.1) works just fine with the old 2001 iPod, and even prompts to set it up as a new device.

It appears that Apple is supporting the first-gen iPod, rather than it just happening to work: iTunes shows an icon for the original iPod design after connecting the device. The setup required a Firewire 400 to 800 adapter, and for newer Macs you’d also need a Firewire 800 to Thunderbolt adapter.

Check out out the full experiment in the video below:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKJsl02f2BU]

Opinion: Could Apple’s integrated streaming music service decimate the competition?

Ben Lovejoy Feb 9 2015 - 7:39 am PT

40 Comments

Image: Forbes

When Apple enters a new business, you know it’s not going to do so in a half-hearted, small way. When it launches its Apple-branded Beats Music service later this year, it’s a no-brainer to predict that it’s going to be a big deal for the music industry. With Apple’s deep integration of Beats into its existing iOS/iTunes ecosystem exclusively revealed by Mark Gurman added into the mix, I wonder whether the unique selling points being notched up by Apple could be enough to leave existing big-name players like Spotify, Google Play and Rdio dead in the water?

That’s rather a grand idea, of course. As of last month, Spotify reached 15 million paid subscribers–up 50% in the last six months alone. Beats Music had only a little over 100,000 subscribers at the time Apple bought the company, and is rumored to have only 2-3 times as many now. But an Apple-ified Beats Music service has four things going for it …
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From NWA to Apple exec, Dr. Dre introduces NSFW biopic ‘Straight Outta Compton’ trailer [video]

9to5 Staff Feb 9 2015 - 5:52 am PT

5 Comments

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrlLcb7zYmw]

Before there was his current Apple gig, there was Dr. Dre’s storied rise from the streets of Compton to global hiphop sensation and producer which eventually led to the headphone, speaker, and streaming music brand and Jimmy Iovine partnership with Beats.

This is the Hollywood version of that story which Dr. Dre co-produced.

Straight Outta Compton – Red Band Trailer with Introduction from Dr. Dre and Ice Cube (HD) (Official)
The Story of N.W.A. – In Theaters August 14th
http://www.straightouttacompton.com/

In the mid-1980s, the streets of Compton, California, were some of the most dangerous in the country. When five young men translated their experiences growing up into brutally honest music that rebelled against abusive authority, they gave an explosive voice to a silenced generation. Following the meteoric rise and fall of N.W.A., Straight Outta Compton tells the astonishing story of how these youngsters revolutionized music and pop culture forever the moment they told the world the truth about life in the hood and ignited a cultural war.

Starring O’Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins and Jason Mitchell as Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Eazy-E, Straight Outta Compton is directed by F. Gary Gray (Friday, Set It Off, The Italian Job). The drama is produced by original N.W.A. members Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, who are joined by fellow producers Matt Alvarez and Tomica Woods-Wright. Will Packer serves as executive producer of the film alongside Gray.

Apple highlights artists making music with iPad apps in new video ad

Mark Gurman Feb 8 2015 - 12:10 pm PT

9 Comments

Apple today posted a new advertisement for the iPad to highlight artist Elliphant’s recording and beat making via the tablet. The one minute long ad highlights different applications used to make music with the iPad, ranging from first-party apps like Garageband to third-party programs such as Manual Camera and Nano Studio. The “iPad Remix” of the song All or Nothing is linked to from Apple’s page for the advertisement, and it is worth a listen to see how music made an iPad sounds. The full video advertisement is embedded below. This ad is the latest in a string of iPad Air 2 “Change” ads, which began going live after the new device started shipping last fall.

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Typo ordered to pay BlackBerry $860k for selling its knockoff iPhone keyboard case

Jordan Kahn Feb 5 2015 - 6:12 am PT

4 Comments

Typo, the Ryan Seacrest-backed company selling an iPhone case with an integrated hardware keyboard, has been ordered to pay BlackBerry around $860,600 in the ongoing case between the two companies, Reuters reports.

If you’re unfamiliar, BlackBerry didn’t particularly like the Typo keyboard’s resemblance to its own iconic, albeit obsolete, keyboard included on its dwindling smartphone lineup and covered by its patents. After the court handed down an injunction following an original suit filed in January of 2014, a US District Judge in San Francisco ruled this week that Typo will have to pay the £567,303, or approximately $860,600, fine for violating the injunction and continuing to sell the product.

Despite little interest from anyone and generally poor reviews, Typo plans to keep making its keyboard cases and noted to Reuters that the fines do not relate to its latest generation of Typo 2 products unveiled at CES last month.

AAPL shares set new closing high record reaching $119.56

Zac Hall Feb 4 2015 - 1:32 pm PT

2 Comments

Update: 2/5 closed above at $119.94.

Apple stock closed at an all-time high today ending trading at $119.56 per share after climbing past its previous trading high of $120 per share to 120.51 per share during morning trading. The price also exceeds Apple’s previous opening record high of $119.27 per share setting that record up to be broken as well.
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