Apple

6,140 'Apple News' stories November 2008 - October 2014

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’s market-leading tablet share falls to 22% against growing cheap media consumption options

Jordan Kahn Oct 30 2014 - 8:14 am PT

20 Comments

<em>Worldwide unit shipments for the top 5 tablet plus 2-in-1 device vendors over last five quarters</em>

New data from IDC tracking worldwide tablet shipments shows that Apple has maintained its lead during the third quarter despite “a decline in overall iPad shipment volume in 3Q14.” Specifically, Apple grabbed 22.8% of the market with 12.3 million shipments during the quarter compared to 14.1 million units and 29.2% share in the year ago quarter. That compares to Samsung at 18.3% of the market and 9.9 million units shipped up from 19.3% and 9.3 million units shipped in the third quarter last year:
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Apple reportedly in ‘preliminary contact’ with distributors to bring iPhone to Iran

Zac Hall Oct 29 2014 - 11:42 am PT

20 Comments

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple is in early talks with “Iranian distributors” to bring the iPhone to Iran:

Apple Inc. is in preliminary contact with Iranian distributors about a possible entry into the country should Western sanctions ease sufficiently, people familiar with the matter said.

The report notes that financial and banking sanctions as well as political tension has thus far prevented companies like Apple from conducting business in Iran, but points to a policy change in May that lifted the ban on sales of “consumer communications technologies” in the country. The report goes on the claim that “senior Apple executives” have already met with “potential Iranian distributors” at Apple’s regional headquarters in London.
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GT Advanced COO discusses Apple’s sapphire fallout, here are the interesting bits

Jordan Kahn Oct 29 2014 - 11:07 am PT

15 Comments

While lawyers for bankrupt sapphire supplier GT Advanced confirmed previously that it had reached an agreement to repay Apple approximately $439 million, many details regarding what exactly went wrong in the partnership had not been disclosed publicly. Today we get what might be the clearest explanation yet of what happened between the two companies leading up to GTAT filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month. In a declaration filed by COO of GT Advanced Daniel Squiller with the courts yesterday (via Fortune), the company outlines previously sealed info regarding its deal with Apple and terms of the deal that lead to GT’s bankruptcy filing.

When GTAT initially entered into negotiations to sell sapphire furnaces to Apple, it had no sense that, having borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars to pay for the components of more than 2,036 sapphire furnaces, it would end up being unable to meet its cost and production targets for reasons that it believes were beyond its control as well as unforeseen difficulties in scaling its technology to 262kg boules to meet evolving product specifications.

While noting that the deal was “an ambitious transaction for the production of sapphire in quantities, size and quality never before achieved,” the document reveals a number of strict terms Apple imposed in the deal that the company describes as limiting its ability to achieve Apple’s requirements for sapphire production. Here’s a few of the more interesting bits:
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T-Mobile kicks off sales of new iPads, but no 128GB iPad Air 2 yet

Jordan Kahn Oct 29 2014 - 8:58 am PT

0 Comments

Following opening up preorders for Apple’s new iPads last week, T-Mobile announced today that the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 are now available to purchase from both its online and brick and mortar retail stores. T-Mobile’s website, however, notes that the 128GB iPad Air 2 is not yet available and currently only offers the 16GB and 64GB variants.

Sales at T-Mobile follows preorders through Apple, AT&T, Sprint and others kicking off earlier this month with first shipments of the device arriving last week. Apple, Sprint, and other carriers started sales of the device in stores last week.

Why exactly T-Mobile doesn’t have the 128GB model is unclear, but availability of certain models through carrier and retail partners has varied greatly from company to company since the launch last week. Through Apple’s website in the US, most versions of the 128GB iPad Air 2, apart from the Space Gray color option, have the same 1-3 day shipping estimate as the 16GB and 64GB models.

Through T-Mobile the iPads will be available through T-Mobile’s financing options for Simple Choice plan customers starting at $0 down for both tablets. $0 down with monthly payments (approx. $26 for iPad Air 2 and $22 for iPad mini 3) is for the 16GB entry level models, while the 64GB model will be available for $99 down and the 128GB models for $199 down.

The iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 are available from T-Mobile’s website and in-stores now.

The Apple Watch may not be here yet, but the 3rd-party stands keep coming

Ben Lovejoy Oct 29 2014 - 6:14 am PT

4 Comments

We may need to wait a while until we get our hands on the Apple Watch, the company still saying only “early 2015,” but that hasn’t stopped third-party companies getting their charging stands ready – and so far, they’re all looking good.

After last month’s ‘$60-80’ Dodocase stand, Rest has announced pre-orders for the $79 Composure Dock. Both products have taken the same approach of supplying a stand with a slot into which you insert the Apple MagSafe charger that will be supplied with the watch …
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Microsoft expected to announce Office for Mac timing “very soon,” release rumored for early 2015

Ben Lovejoy Oct 29 2014 - 3:51 am PT

6 Comments

Following yesterday’s leaked screenshots of a new version of Office for Mac, ZDNet is reporting that its contacts have told it that Microsoft will announce timings for the new edition of Office for Mac “very soon.”

The company also is expected to disclose timing and possibly a public preview of its next Office for Mac release very soon, as well […] The latest rumored release target for the next Office for Mac is early 2015.

Yesterday’s report suggested a flattened look, support for Retina screens and integration with Notification Center.

Apple faces class-action lawsuit over 2011 MacBook Pro GPU issues

9to5 Staff Oct 28 2014 - 1:54 pm PT

162 Comments

Following a petition with thousands of signatures related to GPU complaints, Apple has been named a defendant in a new class-action lawsuit filed against the Cupertino-based company in the United States District Court for Northern California over system failures and graphical issues affecting 2011 MacBook Pros.

The class-action lawsuit was filed by Kentucky-based law firm Whitfield Bryson & Mason on behalf of plaintiffs Zachary Book, Donald Cowart, and John Manners, a trio of individuals that accuse Apple of failing to rectify the graphical issues that have affected both 15-inch and 17-inch MacBook Pro models released in 2011.
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Favorite apps: How to Cook Everything, the (almost) perfect iOS cookbook

Ben Lovejoy Oct 28 2014 - 6:33 am PT

1 Comment

We write reviews when a great new app comes out, but there are also older ones that we think worthy of recommendation, and How to Cook Everything is one of those.

I’m a decent enough cook, but not an instinctive one: I follow recipes to the letter. If it says to put something in the oven at 170 degrees for 15 minutes, you’ll find me carefully setting the dial and starting a timer, not casually spinning the dial to roughly the right temperature and glancing in ten minutes later to decide that’s good enough.

But there are times when first I need to decipher exactly what the instructions mean. What’s the technical difference between dicing and chopping? Is sautéing the same thing as frying? And what exactly does it mean when it says ‘prepare the chiles’?

If you find yourself empathising with these types of questions, How to Cook Everything may just be the perfect iPad based cookbook for you too.

It attempts to be the only thing you’ll need in your kitchen when planning and cooking a meal. You can choose a recipe and, with one tap, add all the ingredients to a shopping list, sorted by aisle. If you’re not sure what a term means, you can click on an illustrated explanation. And whenever that recipe tells you to cook something for, say, 15 minutes, you can tap the instruction to automatically start a timer for the correct period.

It’s not the slickest-looking app by a long way – it has a distinctly old-fashioned appearance, especially in the b&w illustrations. But it has a great range of recipes with all the extra help you might need to cook them.

At $9.99 from iTunes, it seems expensive for an app – but it’s a cheap price for a decent cookbook. Recommended.

Tim Cook to speak with Jack Ma about potential Apple-Alibaba partnership later this week

9to5 Staff Oct 27 2014 - 9:06 pm PT

5 Comments

Apple chief executive Tim Cook just moments ago in a live interview at The Wall Street Journal: Digital conference claimed that he will be entering talks with Jack Ma, executive chairman of Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba, about a potential partnership with the online enterprise “later this week.” Any potential partnership between Apple and Alibaba would likely involve the integration of Apple Pay and Alipay across Taobao, Tmall and Alibaba.
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Tim Cook: Apple Watch is profound, will need to be charged once a day

Seth Weintraub Oct 27 2014 - 8:44 pm PT

25 Comments

As previously reported, Tim Cook today on the WSJ stage said that the Apple Watch would likely need to be charged once a day.

[tweet https://twitter.com/joannastern/status/526939146971926529]

As Cook explained, the Apple Watch is profound and made to be used and clearly Apple is still working on the battery technology.

[tweet https://twitter.com/techledes/status/526937856346820609]

From the previous report,

Apple isn’t yet happy with the watch’s battery life, which isn’t going to break any industry standards. “It’s about a day right now,” said one, adding that Apple is working on various modifications ahead of the device’s 2015 launch to improve it. Reached for comment, Apple spokeswoman Nat Kerris declined to provide an estimate on expected battery life, but said the company expects users will charge their Apple Watches once daily. “There’s a lot of new technology packed into Apple Watch and we think people will love using it throughout the day,” Kerris said. “We anticipate that people will charge nightly which is why we designed an innovative charging solution that combines our MagSafe technology and inductive charging.”

I had also heard …some things… way back before the announcement.

[tweet https://twitter.com/llsethj/status/505830138140196864]

[tweet https://twitter.com/llsethj/status/510526905247084544]

Live blog: The latest news from Apple CEO Tim Cook’s WSJ interview

Mark Gurman Oct 27 2014 - 6:51 pm PT

0 Comments

Mark Gurman | 20:56 More:

Cook on Alibaba's Ma: 'We like to partner with people that are wicked smart, with flexible teams, that are product based that push us #apple

— Connie Guglielmo (@techledes) October 28, 2014

Mark Gurman | 20:56 Tim Cook says he is meeting with Alibaba executives later this week about a potential tie-up for AliPay and Apple Pay. Biggest news of the night from a financial perspective.

Tim Cook just said he'll be talking with Alibaba about a possible partnership "later this week." http://t.co/QP0Hh6v2Ac

— Christopher Mims (@mims) October 28, 2014

Cook says he and Jack Ma "are going to talk about getting married later this week" … for Apple Pay and Alipay. #WSJDLive

— Geoffrey Fowler (@geoffreyfowler) October 28, 2014

Mark Gurman | 20:53 More on Classic going away: it wasn’t worth updating it.

Tim Cook says there are alternatives to the 160- gbyte iPod Classic. Engineering to update it was huge, user demand small. #apple #WSJDLive

— Connie Guglielmo (@techledes) October 28, 2014

Mark Gurman | 20:52 Cook on cheaper iPhones:

Will Apple develop a low-cost IPhone? "We will go as low as we can while maintaining the customer experience," says Cook. #WSJDLive

— Geoffrey Fowler (@geoffreyfowler) October 28, 2014

Mark Gurman | 20:51 Tim Cook on why the iPod classic was discontinued:

Interesting – @tim_cook said classic 160gb iPod was discontinued, because it couldn't get the parts anymore. #WSJDLive

— Daisuke Wakabayashi (@daiwaka) October 28, 2014

Mark Gurman | 20:50 On to questions!

Mark Gurman | 20:48

#WSJDLive pic.twitter.com/GzPcfw1zSY

— Joanna Stern (@JoannaStern) October 28, 2014

Mark Gurman | 20:47 Cook explaining iOS security: Apple unable to give up FaceTime and iMessage records. The usuals.

Mark Gurman | 20:41 More at 11….

Tim Cook: "yes we have some cash" #WSJDLive

— Scott Thurm (@ScottThurm) October 28, 2014

Mark Gurman | 20:41 On Buybacks:

Tim Cook on buybacks, dividends: 'We are doing the largest one in the history of the corporate world…This is a lot. Yes, we have some cash.'

— Connie Guglielmo (@techledes) October 28, 2014

Mark Gurman | 20:37

"Would you rather own the Mac business or any of the Windows OEMS?" @tim_cook asks. pic.twitter.com/opxJZY3qxg

— Joanna Stern (@JoannaStern) October 28, 2014

Mark Gurman | 20:37 Cook on Mac vs. Windows. OUCH!

“Would you rather own the Macintosh business or any of the Windows OEMs?” — Tim Cook

Mark Gurman | 20:37 Cook on iOS vs. Android:

"It's far better to put your wood behind an iOS arrow and then port to Android." –Tim Cook http://t.co/QP0Hh6v2Ac

— Christopher Mims (@mims) October 28, 2014

Mark Gurman | 20:34

The interfaces of TV are like stepping back in time, says Cook. "We are living in the 1970s." #WSJDLive pic.twitter.com/3Ftc89AtsR

— Geoffrey Fowler (@geoffreyfowler) October 28, 2014

Mark Gurman | 20:34 Cook repeating his comments from 2011, 2012, and 2013 about TV:

“What we’ll do I don’t want to be so clear on,” Cook says. “But it’s an area of a lot of interest. And I’m optimistic … that there can be something great done in the space.”

Mark Gurman | 20:31 Some more lack of clarity from Tim Cook on Apple Watch battery life

"We think people are going to use it so much you will end up charging it daily," says @tim_cook on Watch battery life pic.twitter.com/wyOZWNtqcJ

— Joanna Stern (@JoannaStern) October 28, 2014

Mark Gurman | 20:31

"The first design point of Apple Pay was that it must be EASIER to use than the credit card." Tim Cook at #WSJDLive

— Bill Gross (@Bill_Gross) October 28, 2014

Mark Gurman | 20:30 Wow!

Tim Cook just said Visa said there are already more credit cards activated in Apple Pay than in all other contactless payments combined.

— Christopher Mims (@mims) October 28, 2014

Mark Gurman | 20:30 Cook on his own personal life:

Cook says he had to change out his credit card twice last year–a problem Apple Pay could solve #WSJDLive

— Geoffrey Fowler (@geoffreyfowler) October 28, 2014

Mark Gurman | 20:29 Huge activation numbers for Apple Pay:

"In the first 72 hours after launch, Apple Pay already has had more than 1,000,000 activations." Tim Cook at #WSJDLive

— Bill Gross (@Bill_Gross) October 28, 2014

Mark Gurman | 20:29 More on Apple Pay:

Apple Tim Cook says uptick on Apple Pay has been 'fantastic. It's the first and only mobile payment system that's easy, private and secure.'

— Connie Guglielmo (@techledes) October 28, 2014

Mark Gurman | 20:28 Cook on Apple Pay situation:

Apple Pay is in "a skirmish" with retailers like CVS pulling out, says Cook. But the "early ramp looks fantastic." #WSJDLive

— Geoffrey Fowler (@geoffreyfowler) October 28, 2014

Mark Gurman | 20:28 More on Apple Watch:

Key to Apple Watch is that it can't be "geeky," needs to 'look really cool.' #AppleWatch #WSJDLive

— Connie Guglielmo (@techledes) October 28, 2014

Mark Gurman | 20:27 Another photo:

Mark Gurman | 20:26 Cook on the Watch:

Apple's Tim Cook says the "watch is profound." Excited about new constituencies looking at it — health, fashion. #Apple #WSJDLive

— Connie Guglielmo (@techledes) October 28, 2014

Mark Gurman | 20:25 Cook says Apple’s services division makes Apple ~18 billion dollars per year.

Mark Gurman | 20:25 And more on Macs:

Tim Cook says the Mac has a "great future," Apple's $18 billion in services revenue is ignored. #apple #WSDLive

— Connie Guglielmo (@techledes) October 28, 2014

Mark Gurman | 20:25 Cook on PCs:

There's never been a product like the iPad that has moved into so many different businesses so quickly, says Cook #WSJDLive

— Geoffrey Fowler (@geoffreyfowler) October 28, 2014

Mark Gurman | 20:24 The Verge has a pic:

Mark Gurman | 20:23 Cook on iPhone:

Apple CEO Tim Cook says iPhone will continue to be majority of Apple's sales (50 percent) for the next 5 years. #Apple #WSJDLive

— Connie Guglielmo (@techledes) October 28, 2014

Mark Gurman | 20:11 Interesting:

Might Alipay and Apple Pay get together? "I hope we can do something," Jack Ma says. #WSJDLive

— Geoffrey Fowler (@geoffreyfowler) October 28, 2014

Mark Gurman | 19:25 ~ Half hour to go

At the #wsjdLive conference, awaiting #JackMa and #TimCook for @usatoday. pic.twitter.com/X9kaZFNsHY

— jeffersongraham (@jeffersongraham) October 28, 2014

Seth Weintraub | 18:55 More Hugo+Tim

@stevekovach @jyarow yup pic.twitter.com/Efd6g6EnI8

— Evelyn Rusli (@EvelynRusli) October 28, 2014

Seth Weintraub | 18:53

Rivals and friends. Jack Ma, Tim Cook, Rupert Murdoch and Hugo Barra get #wsjdlive off to a great start. pic.twitter.com/XQPl57DrPx

— Rebecca Blumenstein (@RBlumenstein) October 28, 2014

Tim Cook next to (TOUCHING!) Xiaomi’s Hugo Barra

Mark Gurman | 18:53 Is that an Android phone?

.@tim_cook doubling down on selfies at #wsjdlive http://t.co/X3hnJWrX64—
Joanna Stern (@JoannaStern) October 28, 2014

Cook’s previous wide-ranging interview

Following the announcement of a record earnings results, the debut of a pair of new iPhones, the launch of Apple, the introduction of new iPads, and the unveiling of the upcoming Apple Watch, Apple CEO Tim Cook is taking the stage in California at the Wall Street Journal’s inaugural WSJ.D Live conference. Cook could drop some juicy details behind Apple’s latest products and about Apple’s future, and we’ll be using this live blog post to share the latest details from the interview. You can find all tonight’s action below and follow us for more updates on Twitter:

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Apple responds to CVS & Rite Aid blocking Apple Pay for CurrentC

Zac Hall Oct 27 2014 - 1:10 pm PT

35 Comments

Apple has provided the following statement to Business Insider when asked about CVS and Rite Aid both blocking Apple Pay at their checkout terminals:

The feedback we are getting from customers and retailers about Apple Pay is overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic. We are working to get as many merchants as possible to support this convenient, secure and private payment option for consumers. Many retailers have already seen the benefits and are delighting their customers at over 220,000 locations.

Earlier today CVS confirmed in a statement to CNBC that it will not be accepting Apple Pay after users previously reported being able to the chain’s NFC terminals:
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Apple profiles its effort in Obama’s ConnectED education program: 114 schools receiving Macs, iPads, & Apple TVs

Zac Hall Oct 27 2014 - 10:56 am PT

6 Comments

The White House shared earlier this year that Apple is a participant in President Obama’s ConnectED education program focused on bringing Internet access and technology to schools in need, and today Apple has provided a micro site profiling its effort in the program.

While it was already known that Apple has pledged $100 million to provide iPads, MacBooks, and other products toward the program for schools across the United States, Apple has shared that Apple ConnectED grants are being received by a total of 114 different schools across the country with these schools spread out across 29 states. Apple added that “92% of students from our partner schools are of Hispanic, Black, Native American, Alaskan Native, or Asian heritage.”
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Fitbit moves from fitness band to true smartwatch territory with $250 Fitbit Surge

Ben Lovejoy Oct 27 2014 - 6:55 am PT

8 Comments

With Apple Watch official and expected early next year, it’s likely too little, too late for Fitbit, but the company is finally moving beyond simple fitness bands to a fully-featured smartwatch in the form of the $250 Fitbit Surge.

The Surge is the company’s first device to display text messages on-screen, as well as the ability to control music on your iPhone. The move may explain rumored Apple plans to remove Fitbit from its stores (something which hasn’t yet happened), though these may also reflect the lack of Health app integration …
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CVS and Rite Aid Apple Pay blockade official as iOS and Android users unite in rare showing to fight NFC ban

Ben Lovejoy Oct 27 2014 - 5:54 am PT

124 Comments

The NYT reports that Rite Aid has joined CVS in disabling Apple Pay as a payment method in its stores. Like CVS, Rite Aid is a member of the Merchant Customer eXchange (MCX) consortium promoting a rival mobile payment service, CurrentC.

Consumers are responding by threatening to boycott stores which disable Apple Pay, with more than 2,000 comments across several Reddit threads on the topic. Android users are joining in, as disabling NFC also blocks alternative mobile payment services offered by higher-end Android handsets …
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Preorders for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus top 100,000 in South Korea, ‘outpacing’ Galaxy Note 4 on Samsung’s home turf

Benjamin Mayo Oct 27 2014 - 5:49 am PT

8 Comments

The WSJ is reporting that Apple’s iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus went on preorder in South Korea on Friday, following their official launch this Friday, October 31st, as part of the next wave of iPhone rollouts. Analyst estimates show that presales for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus topped 100,000 units. By comparison, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 recorded a third of that number (around 30,000) in preorders in a similar timeframe when it launched in September.

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Reminder: Tim Cook and Greg Joswiak to appear at WSJ and Re/code tech conferences this week

Ben Lovejoy Oct 27 2014 - 5:06 am PT

0 Comments

Apple CEO Tim Cook is being interviewed by WSJ Editor in Chief Gerard Baker at the WSJ.D conference in Laguna Beach, on the topic of ‘Apple’s next chapter.’ Cook’s slot is in the opening session on the evening of Monday 27th October …
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T-Mobile CEO John Legere Tweetstorms some clarity into the Apple SIM debate

Seth Weintraub Oct 25 2014 - 2:38 pm PT

13 Comments

[tweet https://twitter.com/JohnLegere/status/526089456898809856]

There’s been some confusion about the new Apple SIM that is included in many of the new iPad Air 2 and Mini 3s. On Friday it was revealed that AT&T would lock the Apple SIM effectively making the Apple SIM an AT&T SIM and rendering the whole excercise pointless. T-Mobile and Sprint, on the other hand, will let you trade back and forth between their networks at will and we found out this morning that makes buying roaming data less expensive when travelling.

But there is a lot of confusion to the “why’s and how’s” of the Apple that T-Mobile’s CEO breaks down below. Note that Legere just pulled off a coup becoming the only US wireless carrier to allow Apple’s iPhone to use Wifi calling and clearly Apple and T-Mobile like what each other are doing.

The whole “tweetstorm” is below.
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Apple shortens iBooks review times, allows more promo codes for authors

Mark Gurman Oct 24 2014 - 12:32 pm PT

0 Comments

Apple today emailed out registered authors for iBooks to announce some interesting changes and enhancements to the program. Some notable enhancements, via Apple’s email:

To help you get your book to readers quickly, we review 95 percent of all book submissions within one business day. Note that you do not need an ISBN to deliver a book to iBooks.
You can now request up to 250 promo codes per book. Promo codes allow you to provide free copies of your book to reviewers, bloggers, or others to build momentum for your book.
Screenshots can now be delivered or updated after a book is available for sale on iBooks.

The email to authors also tells developers about recent updates to both the iTunes Connect app on iOS and the iBooks Author application on the Mac. Like it usually does for App Store app developers, Apple tells authors how to prepare for the upcoming break for book reviewers. “To account for an anticipated increase in book deliveries during the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday week, books scheduled to go live between November 24, 2014 and December 1, 2014, should be delivered by Friday, November 14, 2014,” the notice reads.

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Amazon Rewards Visa card now ready to load in Apple Pay

Ben Lovejoy Oct 24 2014 - 6:42 am PT

4 Comments

Update: A spokesperson for Amazon confirmed Amazon Rewards Visa cards now support Apple Pay: “Amazon Rewards Visa Cardholders can now pay with Apple Pay. The website (https://www.chasedigitalpayments.com/) has been updated and cardholders can now start provisioning their cards.”

Just two days after Amazon said it was working to enable its Rewards Visa card in Apple Pay, the company has made good on its promise. Reddit users are reporting success in adding the card, and TechCrunch posted the above photo of a card loaded into the app …
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Tim Cook talks Apple Pay, Apple Watch and security on final day in China

Ben Lovejoy Oct 24 2014 - 5:36 am PT

4 Comments

On the final day of Tim Cook’s four-day visit to China, he told state news agency Xinhuanet that Apple Pay was top of the list of things the company wanted to take to China.

“China is a really key market for us,” said the CEO. “Everything we do, we are going to work it here. Apple Pay is on the top of the list.”

Cook said that Apple would be working to understand the steps needed to bring the new service to China before meeting with local carriers, banks and merchants …

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Former Apple retail head Ron Johnson raises $30M for intriguing online shopping startup

Ben Lovejoy Oct 24 2014 - 4:36 am PT

0 Comments

Ron Johnson, who headed up Apple’s retail operations for almost 12 years, has raised $30M in funding for an intriguing-sounding online shopping service due to launch next year, reports the WSJ.

The new company is called Enjoy, and Mr. Johnson says its goal is to change the way people buy and use the “things that matter” in a world in which consumers start their shopping online […]

Johnson is not giving much away about what Enjoy will offer, but said that it’s designed to help bridge the gap between offline and online shopping for more complex and expensive products.

Enjoy aims to help shoppers develop a connection with new products, in the way that Apple Stores let shoppers try its products. For example, Mr. Johnson said it is hard for customers to understand the capabilities of a new product like a GoPro camera from shopping online.

The Apple background doesn’t end with Johnson, who was SVP of Retail Operations from January 2000 to November 2011: he’s also brought on board Jerry McDougal, a former retail VP at Apple, and creative director Tom Suiter, who played a key role in the iMac campaigns and in-store graphics for Apple Stores.

Photo: Reuters

Developer says Apple sent them pornographic image when rejecting app

Ben Lovejoy Oct 24 2014 - 4:06 am PT

36 Comments

Apple’s developer guidelines on explicit content

An iOS developer said Apple demonstrated that their app could be used to surf for porn by sending them a screenshot containing a pornographic image. Carl Smith shared the story of the rejection of Wave, an app for browsing Instagram and public images, in a blog post.

It turns out Apple thought the best way to tell us our app could be used to surf porn was to surf for porn using our app. Then send us some pictures and say take a look at these! Except they said, “Please see the attached screenshot for more information.” So with no warning […]

They sent us a picture of a guy masturbating.

The explicit image was attached to an email rejecting the app on the basis that the process for flagging inappropriate content was inadequate …
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Apple will continue evaluating GTAT’s sapphire production progress, could repurpose Mesa facility

Jordan Kahn Oct 23 2014 - 11:20 am PT

5 Comments

Following news this week that Apple had reached at a settlement with bankrupt sapphire manufacturer GT Advanced, today the company has responded to the situation in a comment to Recode. While GT previously said it would wind down sapphire production operations at its Mesa, Arizona plant and sell furnaces to repay the $439M owed to Apple, today Apple hinted it might have its own plans for the facility.
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