Apple

6,141 'Apple News' stories November 2008 - August 2014

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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 seeds OS X Mavericks 10.9.5 build 13F12 to developers

Mark Gurman Aug 7 2014 - 10:18 am PT

Apple today has provided developers with the second beta of the upcoming OS X Mavericks 10.9.5 release. The new build number is 13F12 and it is available on the Mac Developer Center and in Software Update in the Mac App Store for those running the earlier build. Apple asks developers to focus testing on USB, USB Smart Cards, Safari, Graphics, and Thunderbolt.

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NFL Now app launches on iPhone & iPad, coming soon to Apple TV with personalized video stream & more

Ben Lovejoy Aug 7 2014 - 5:35 am PT

The NFL Now app we revealed a few days ago has launched on iPhone and iPad, offering fans a personalized video stream of their favorite teams.

NFL Now delivers a personalized video stream of your favorite NFL teams, players and coaches right to your iPad or iPhone. Get exclusive interviews and stories about your team, breaking news on your fantasy players, and unlimited access to your favorites in the NFL Films Archives.

This official NFL product combines all of the intense football you love with a smart, easy-to-use interface. NFL Now for the iPhone and iPad learns what you like and delivers a non-stop stream of customized NFL content gathered just for you …

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9to5Toys Deal Alert: Current iPods up to $110 off: touch 32GB: $214, nano 16GB: $114, shuffle 2GB: $29, more

Jared Weintraub Aug 7 2014 - 5:28 am PT

A deal that probably won’t last until lunch time in the US from 9to5Toys.com:

Today Staples is offering deep discounts on current generation iPods.

~~16GB iPod nano (7th Gen) for only $114 (Reg. $149)~~
~~32GB iPod touch for only $214 (Reg. $299)~~
64GB iPod touch (5th Gen) $289 (Reg. $399)
~~2GB iPod shuffle for only $29 (Reg. $49)~~

Staples says these are live for a week but they typically start dying within a few hours.

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Paul Deneve brings YSL’s Europe President and Retail chief into the Apple fold

Mark Gurman Aug 6 2014 - 12:07 pm PT

Apple has just made another significant hire from the global fashion industry: Yves Saint Laurent’s Europe President and Retail Head Catherine Monier. Sources say that Monier left the Paris, France-based fashion icon earlier this summer and that she started at Apple within the last few weeks. The sources added that former Yves Saint Laurent CEO Paul Deneve, who joined Apple last year to work on “Special Projects” under Apple CEO Tim Cook, was behind the hire and that Monier will work on Deneve’s team…

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ABC News viewers are watching 50% more live video on Apple TV than on desktop & mobile combined

Jordan Kahn Aug 6 2014 - 9:09 am PT

Since launching its new ABC News channel on Apple TV a month ago, ABC today reached out with some stats on how people have been using the app and also announced the addition of new local stations.
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City of Cupertino shares official updated aerial shot of Apple’s Campus 2 and surrounding area

Jordan Kahn Aug 6 2014 - 6:00 am PT

Following an update late last month from the City of Cupertino on progress being made at Apple’s currently under construction Campus 2 project, now the City has shared an official updated aerial photo of the site from Apple.
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Chinese government’s war on Apple escalates as it bans govt purchases

Ben Lovejoy Aug 6 2014 - 5:08 am PT

After a Chinese state-run TV channel last month described the iPhone as a “national security concern” (a claim Apple denied), Bloomberg reports that the Chinese government has stepped up its war on Apple by removing the company’s products from its procurement lists.

Ten Apple products — including the iPad, iPad Mini, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro — were omitted from a final government procurement list distributed in July, according to officials who read it and asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. The models were on a June version of the list drafted by the National Development and Reform Commission and Ministry of Finance, the officials said …

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Apple says it has created or supported 629,000 jobs in Europe, including 500k from the ‘app economy’

Benjamin Mayo Aug 6 2014 - 4:49 am PT

Apple is today touting a lot of new stats regarding Apple’s contribution to European economies. The company has done similar things for the United States, in the past. For Europe, Apple claims to have created or supported 629,000 jobs across Europe, with over 500,000 of those representing the ‘app economy’. Apple says this number is made up of employees whose jobs can be directly attributed to the App Store. Out of $20 billion in worldwide developer earnings, $6.5 billion has gone to European developers.

In 2014, Apple estimates the ‘app economy’ will add $86 billion to worldwide GDP this year. Aside from the App Store, Apple employees 16,000 Europeans directly and indirectly supports a total of 132,000 jobs elsewhere. The company has also calculated that 116,000 European jobs have been created at other companies as a result of Apple’s growth.

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Latest sketchy iPhone 6 battery rumor claims capacity jump over earlier ‘test battery’

Ben Lovejoy Aug 6 2014 - 3:59 am PT

A claimed iPhone 6 battery with a capacity of 1810mAh was a ‘test unit,’ claims a Chinese news analyst cited by GforGames, while the real thing “might” have a capacity of 2100mAh.

According to her supply-chain sources, the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 might actually sport a larger 2,100 mAh battery as opposed to a 1,810 mAh unit. Reportedly, the 1,810 mAh battery we’ve seen in the aforementioned leaked picture is as real as it can be, but according to Sung Chang Xu’s sources, these units have been used solely for testing purposes.

It should be noted that GforGames specializes in quoting every Chinese source going, and even the source doesn’t appear too confident in this case, so we’re not putting much stock in it.

The battery-life of the iPhone 6 is an interesting question. Assuming the many leaked case parts are real, the phone will be significantly slimmer than existing models, and it’s likely that this will be achieved in large part by a thinner battery. The larger, higher-res screen will also use more power.

However, the larger form factor of the phone will allow the battery to be both longer and wider, and it’s also likely that Apple will further improve the power efficiency of the phone. If I were to guess, I’d say that Apple will aim to cancel out these effects in order to match the battery-life of the iPhone 5s in the 4.7-inch model, but there’s still room to hope for an improvement.

Sam Sung Apple Specialist raises a smile as he auctions last business card for charity

Ben Lovejoy Aug 6 2014 - 3:52 am PT

framed

The idea of a former Canadian Apple Specialist auctioning his last business card might sound rather bizarre until you see his name.

card

The amusing card is being auctioned on eBay, with all proceeds going to the Children’s Wish Foundation, a charity whose mission is to fulfill the wishes of children diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses. The charity fulfills the wishes of more than a thousand children a year.

At the time of writing, the high bid was $4,850 with eight days to go. If you’re feeling well-off and generous, you can bid here. The winner will get the framed shirt, lanyard and card.

This site contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated

Samsung and Apple agree to end all patent disputes outside of the United States

Chance Miller Aug 5 2014 - 7:19 pm PT

Samsung and Apple just announced that they have agreed to drop all patent suits against each other in countries outside the United States, Bloomberg reports. The two companies will drop suits against each other in Australia, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Netherlands, the U.K., France and Italy. This agreement does not include any licensing agreements, though. This has no effect on United States battles either.

In a joint statement, the two companies had the following to say:

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Apple reportedly schedules new iPhone event for Sept. 9

Jordan Kahn Aug 5 2014 - 10:17 am PT

Lining up with our earlier report, Apple has reportedly scheduled a media event for Tuesday, September 9, which we can only assume will be the unveiling of its new iPhone lineup expected this fall.
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Apple files for HealthKit trademarks w/ classifications for watches, fitness sensors, & medical devices

Jordan Kahn Aug 5 2014 - 9:33 am PT

Apple has just filed for HealthKit trademarks in both the US and Europe ahead of iOS 8’s launch this fall and in at least one filing includes watches in a list of goods that could take advantage of the health-tracking software.

While the filing in the US (filed July 31) only includes classifications for computer software and covers the HealthKit text, a filing in Europe (published yesterday) extends classifications to include health, fitness, and exercise sensors, medical devices, and watches:
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Apple Store iPhone 5s screen replacements coming to Europe next week

Mark Gurman Aug 5 2014 - 9:00 am PT

Earlier this week, Apple started replacing iPhone 5s glass screens in Apple Stores for the first time. But the catch is that the service is only available in the United States and Canada. That will change, though, next week. Sources say that the program will expand across Apple’s official retail locations in Europe as soon as Monday, August 11th. The pricing for the screen replacements will likely come in around the equivalent of $150. iPhone 5c screen replacements started across Apple’s locations earlier this year.

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Apple’s recent buybacks brought highest 4-month returns of any company since 1998

Jordan Kahn Aug 5 2014 - 8:44 am PT

Data from Bloomberg today shows just how profitable Apple’s recent buybacks have been with the company experiencing the highest returns of any company in over a decade. The buybacks, which were also the biggest ever since Bloomberg and S&P started tracking these numbers, came as Apple stock increased 77 percent over the last 15 months and 25 percent since its $18 billion buyback last year:

Those are the highest four-month returns among the 20 biggest quarterly repurchases by any company since 1998, according to data compiled by Bloomberg and Standard & Poor’s. S&P 500 constituents have spent $211 billion on their own stock this year amid concern the five-year bull market is prone to selloffs such as last week’s 2.7 percent retreat.

The report notes that other companies have been less successful with Microsoft experiencing a 16 percent increase in 2014 following its $3 billion buyback, while others including EBay and Boeing experienced shares falling. The average for the 100 largest buybacks being tracked by Bloomberg is a 5.5 percent increase this year.

Bloomberg adds that “the ratio of Apple’s per-share profit growth to its overall earnings has increased due to buybacks.” That includes an increase of 19.6 percent year-over-year as of last quarter compared to an increase in net income of 12.3 percent.

Samsung’s SoC profits down as Apple chooses TSMC for A8, although rumor says it will produce processors for iPhone 7

Benjamin Mayo Aug 5 2014 - 5:01 am PT

Samsung has been having some issues lately, reporting falling profits in the most recent quarter. Although most of this is due to shrinking growth in phone sales, where Apple continues to dominate in terms of profit share, Apple has also affected Samsung’s income from its microprocessor production business. With TSMC having exclusivity over Apple’s A8 production, to be used in the upcoming iPhone 6, Samsung’s outlook for ‘logic chips’ is also gloomy, as The Wall Street Journal highlights in a new report.

Samsung executives admitted on a recent conference call that the outlook isn’t so bright for this business.

“Sales and profitability from System LSI (logic chip business) worsened as demand from main customers continued to decline,” Robert Yi, Samsung’s head of investor relations said last week. His comments confirmed, albeit indirectly, how Apple’s gradual shift away from Samsung as a customer of microprocessors was eating into its profits.

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Architects hate Apple’s spaceship design, but Pixar president says they don’t understand

Ben Lovejoy Aug 5 2014 - 4:58 am PT

Fortune’s Philip Elmer-DeWitt says that even at an international conference of 6,000 architects, he couldn’t find a single one who liked the spaceship design of Apple’s new campus building. Though if the single quote given is representative of the quality of the critiques, this may not be saying much.

“Does it have to be a spaceship?” asked an official at the American Institute of Architects.

Pixar president Ed Catmull wrote in his book Creativity Inc that they are failing to understand a key feature of the building, derived from a lesson Steve Jobs learned when leading the design of Pixar’s headquarters …

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Apple’s third Dutch store opening in The Hague on Saturday

Ben Lovejoy Aug 5 2014 - 4:03 am PT

IfoAppleStore drew our attention to the fact that Apple is opening its third Dutch retail store on Saturday, in Den Haag (The Hague). Apple’s existing stores in the Netherlands are in Amsterdam and Haarlem.

While Amsterdam is the official capital of the Netherlands, Den Haag is where the country’s government is based, being home to its parliament and Supreme Court. The Hague is best known for the International Criminal Court, where war crimes and crimes against humanity are heard …
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Adobe developing Aperture to Lightroom migration tool, releases step-by-step transition guide

Mark Gurman Aug 4 2014 - 11:38 am PT

Approximately a month after Apple announced it is discontinuing Aperture and iPhoto in favor of the new Photos app on OS X Yosemite and iOS 8, Adobe is today taking advantage of the Apple shift with a couple of key announcements. First, Adobe has published a new website detailing the advantages of Lightroom over Aperture. More importantly, Adobe has released a comprehensive, step-by-step transition guide for moving from Aperture to Lightroom. The guide also includes some answers to frequently asked questions.

It can be accessed here. Adobe has also announced that it working on software to bring a more automated transition experience:

At Adobe, we’re working on a migration tool to help you bring your photos into Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® from Aperture, but if you’re eager to switch before the tool is ready, this guide can help ease your transition. We recognize that this migration may be a challenging process and offer the following resources and methodology to help get you up to speed with Lightroom and provide a road map for successfully migrating your photos.

The first challenge is that the terminology, layout, and controls of the two applications are different. It’s a good idea to start processing photos in Lightroom and become familiar with it before you migrate your photos from Aperture. You can do so by taking some new photos, importing them into Lightroom, and then using Lightroom.

The new Photos app for OS X launches in early 2015, but despite Apple’s claims of significant functionality, a look at what Apple has shown about the app reveals that the functionality mostly mirrors what iOS 8 will gain in September. Adobe has also previously detailed some future Lightroom plans in order to appease professional photo editors.

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New Apple TV beta brings refreshed look with iOS-like icons and thinner text (Gallery)

Mark Gurman Aug 4 2014 - 11:13 am PT

In addition to issuing updates to the iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite betas, Apple has released a new beta version of the Apple TV software. While earlier Apple TV betas did not bring more than new Family Sharing and iCloud Photos support, today’s update brings a refined look to the Apple TV Home screen. Taking cues from iOS and OS X, the new update brings completely redesigned icons to the Apple set-top-box and a new thinner font first introduced last year with iOS 7. A couple more images of the new interface are below:

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Apple releases OS X Yosemite Developer Preview 5 with Safari improvements, UI changes

Mark Gurman Aug 4 2014 - 10:05 am PT

Apple this morning has released OS X 10.10 Yosemite Developer Preview 5. The new update brings various performance improvements and bug fixes. The previous Developer Preview brought some minor user-interface enhancements and significant speed improvements. Apple also released iOS 8 beta 5. We’ll be updating this post live with new discoveries as they are made. You can send us what you find to tips@9to5mac.com. You can find what’s new in this developer preview, below:

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Apple releases iOS 8 beta 5 to developers with Health enhancements, UI tweaks

Mark Gurman Aug 4 2014 - 9:58 am PT

As expected, Apple has released iOS 8 beta 5 for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch to developers this morning. This update, like the past betas, includes various performance and bug fixes. The previous beta brought various minor user-interface touch-ups and a new Tips app to iOS 8. We’ll be updating this post as new discoveries are made in iOS 8 beta, and you can send us what you find to tips@9to5mac.com. You can find what’s new in beta 5, below:

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Apple hires Angela Ahrendts’ confidant & former Nike exec to lead social media efforts

Mark Gurman Aug 4 2014 - 9:49 am PT

Apple is giving its social media department a significant shot in the arm this week. The Cupertino-based company has hired Musa Tariq, the former social media chief for both Nike and Burberry. At Nike, Tariq ran general social media marketing as well as social media partnerships with athletes across all Nike product platforms, and at Burberry he led “strategy and innovation” for social media…

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Make OS X Yosemite’s dark mode turn on automatically with this neat utility

Benjamin Mayo Aug 4 2014 - 4:39 am PT

Although OS X Yosemite is still a few months out from public release, the public beta and developer seeds means the OS is already seeing wide adoption — hence, apps for Yosemite are already starting to surface. In fact, the unreleased OS already makes up 18% of Mac users on 9to5Mac, already the second most popular version of OS X.

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