Apple

6,139 'Apple News' stories November 2008 - April 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

Alleged iPhone 6 cases reflect rumored design changes, repositioned power button

Dom Esposito Apr 16 2014 - 3:17 am PT

45 Comments

We’re still months away from Apple’s expected announcement of the iPhone 6, but ambitious manufactures are already designing accessories based on current rumors. Additional silicon cases rumored to fit the iPhone 6 were recently published on NoWhereElse and provide a closer look at some of the device’s possible design changes.

The case pictured above has slightly rounded edges, similar to the 5th generation iPod touch or iPhone 5c, and are consistent with previous rumors. As we’ve seen in recent accessory leaks, the case also features a repositioned power button and thin oblong volume buttons similar to an iPod touch. It has also been rumored that Apple’s iPhone 6 will feature a larger 4.7-inch display.

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Apple agrees to participate in “Smartphone Anti-Theft Voluntary Commitment” program

Mike Beasley Apr 15 2014 - 3:34 pm PT

22 Comments

Apple has agreed to back a new initiative along with a host of Android manufacturers and all of the major U.S. cellular carriers that would require all smartphones manufactured after July 2015 to come with specific anti-theft features. The program is the latest attempt to prevent theft of smartphones, which some have blamed for increasing crime rates.

To this end, Apple introduced a first-of-its-kind system in iOS 7 that blocks freshly-restored iPhones from being used until the original owner logs in with the Apple ID associated with the device. Today’s agreement between the carriers and handset manufacturers essentially states that all parties will ship this exact type of system on new phones.

Specifically, the required anti-theft measures are broken into four kinds:

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Physical iPhone 6 mockups & upcoming accessories shown off at Hong Kong Electronics Fair

Jordan Kahn Apr 15 2014 - 1:31 pm PT

10 Comments

Following a number of leaks claiming to show prototypes, cases, and manufacturing tools for the next-generation iPhone, today yet another leak of a physical iPhone 6 mockup has popped up via Japanese blog Macotakara.jp. The site posted images from the Hong Kong Electronics Fair taking place from April 13-16 that apparently show mockups of the iPhone 6 used by case makers to create cases and accessories they plan to launch alongside the new iPhone.
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Apple meeting with UK ad agencies in preparation for iTunes Radio rollout

Benjamin Mayo Apr 15 2014 - 9:57 am PT

1 Comment

Apple appears to be readying for an UK iTunes Radio launch in the near future. As indicated by this tweet, Apple’s director of iAd Paul Wright has recently been visiting media marketing agencies to discuss iAd in relation to iTunes Radio.

Bloomberg said that Apple was planning to launch in the UK in ‘early 2014’ last October, but so far this has not happened several months into 2014. Although many people have seen iTunes Radio sporadically appear on their devices in recent months, it is has only officially expanded to Australia beyond the US launch alongside iOS 7.

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Opinion: Should Apple settle its Android disputes and move on?

Ben Lovejoy Apr 15 2014 - 6:59 am PT

119 Comments

With Apple in the midst of its second major court battle with Samsung over alleged patent violations, and all but one of the five claims relating to Android rather than to anything Samsung-specific, it’s gotten me wondering whether further cases of this kind are truly beneficial to Apple.

I understand it emotionally, of course. It’s galling to work hard on a hugely popular hardware design or user-interface only to see someone else copy parts of it, and the desire to hit back at that is a natural one. But I’m not sure that it makes too much sense rationally …
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Condé Nast’s Epicurious teams up with inMarket for in-store iBeacon experience

Jordan Kahn Apr 15 2014 - 6:02 am PT

7 Comments

Today, Condé Nast’s Epicurious becomes the latest to take advantage of iBeacons in-store by teaming up with inMarket to beam location-based notifications and offers to shoppers in retail environments. I previously wrote about inMarket, an in-store marketing platform that recently started rolling out iBeacons to retailers (mostly grocery stores), when it announced Zatarain’s would become the first consumer packaged goods brand to use the platform. The company was using inMarket’s Mobile to Mortar (M2M) platform to beam notifications and offers directly to shopper’s smartphones when in proximity of one of inMarket’s in-store iBeacons. Today the company is announcing its biggest news yet after recently expanding into New York, Boston, and Miami with the addition of Condé Nast’s Epicurious as the first major app partner to take advantage of the M2M iBeacon platform.
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Samsung wanted Google to do its dirty work in attacking Apple

Ben Lovejoy Apr 15 2014 - 4:33 am PT

28 Comments

Image: amongtech.com

Another interesting revelation from the ongoing Apple vs Samsung patent trial: concerned about launching attack ads on a company that was a customer as well as a competitor, Samsung sought to persuade Google to “launch a campaign against Apple.”

The then CEO of Samsung Telecommunications America, Dale Sohn, emailed his chief marketing officer to ask:

As you have shared previously, we are unable to battle [Apple] directly in our marketing. If it continues to be Samsung’s position to avoid attacking Apple given its status as as a large customer, can we go to Google to ask them to launch a campaign against Apple based on the many better Android products available in the market for Q4?

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Sketchy photo of an iPhone 6 front panel appears on Chinese forum (Update: additional photos)

Benjamin Mayo Apr 15 2014 - 2:17 am PT

43 Comments

A picture claiming to be of an “iPhone 6” front panel has surfaced on a Chinese forum after being posted without context on Weibo. Details surrounding the image are not clear, but the forum poster claims that it originates from within an iPhone ‘factory’. The image was first found by iphon.fr.

Compared to the iPhone 5s, as shown above, the screen size is noticeably larger. It appears to feature a screen approximately 4.7 inches diagonally, as previously rumored.

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New report corroborates rumors of LG iWatch display, multiple display sizes, late 2014 release

Dom Esposito Apr 15 2014 - 12:57 am PT

6 Comments

According to a recent report from Korean publication Naver, LG is once again rumored to be the sole supplier of flexible displays for Apple’s upcoming iWatch. First discovered by GforGames, the report seems to back up a rumor from January suggesting that LG would be supplying a 1.52-inch plastic OLED display for Apple.

Naver also indicates that Apple will launch its iWatch in both 1.3-inch and 1.5-inch sizes, which corroborates previous rumors that the device will ship in different sizes for men and women. Naver goes on to report that Apple intends to sell up to 9 million iWatch units and plans to launch the device later this year.

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Play Nintendo DS games on non-jailbroken devices with the nds4ios emulator

Benjamin Mayo Apr 14 2014 - 6:27 am PT

14 Comments

nds4ios has released a special version of the app that runs on non-jailbroken devices using a sneaky workaround. As the app is not available in the App Store, previously the app could only be installed on jailbroken devices, such as through the Cydia jailbreak app store. The app gets around Apple’s restrictions by using an enterprise provisioning profile reports TourchArcade. This is normally meant for businesses to distribute apps to company employees, but nds4ios is exploiting it as a way to enable widespread app distribution. Find install instructions after the break.

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Car electronics manufacturer Alpine to sell aftermarket CarPlay units in the fall

Benjamin Mayo Apr 14 2014 - 3:17 am PT

9 Comments

Alpine devices already integrate with the Siri Eyes Free feature of iOS devices.

In March, Mercedes-Benz said that it had plans to offer aftermarket CarPlay units by the end of 2014. As noticed by MacRumors, a Nikkei report from Saturday reveals that car electronics manufacturer Alpine has similar plans.

Alpine will begin selling a standalone car console that integrates CarPlay in the fall. Although many car manufacturers are going to offer CarPlay-equipped cars in their new ranges very soon, Alpine will be the first company to sell an independent CarPlay unit, that can be installed on current cars. The cost is reported to be between $500 to $700.

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Auburn University video with Jeff Williams, Bob Iger profiles Tim Cook in honor of Lifetime Achievement award

Zac Hall Apr 13 2014 - 12:50 pm PT

4 Comments

(Photo via Auburn University)

Following Apple CEO Tim Cook being honored with Auburn University’s College of Human Sciences Lifetime Achievement award last December, the university in Alabama from which Tim Cook graduated has shared a video profiling the Apple CEO and his impact at Auburn. While the video was first posted in March and surfaced today, it features commentary and interviews from other notable Apple figures including Jeff Williams, Senior VP of Operations, and Bob Iger, Disney CEO and Apple board member.
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Apple takes over hydroelectric plant project near its Oregon data center

Benjamin Mayo Apr 12 2014 - 10:13 am PT

7 Comments

OregonLive notes that government filings from last week show Apple has taken over a hydroelectric project near its Oregon data center. Apple has previously reported that it powers its data centers entirely on renewable energy. The hydroelectric plant in Oregon will help maintain its 100% renewable energy rating. In fact, on Apple’s environmental website, the company notes that the Prineville site will source power from hydroelectric energy in addition to wind and solar.

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Tim Cook calls on Congress to pass Employment Non-Discrimination Act

Zac Hall Apr 11 2014 - 10:25 am PT

66 Comments

Apple CEO Tim Cook took to Twitter on Friday to voice his position on a potential new law currently being considering by the United States Congress. “The House should mark the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act by passing ENDA,” Cook tweeted while mentioning members of Congress in leadership positions from both political parties. Cook also tweeted the quote “We shall overcome” and said “Much done but much left to do.”

The law to which Tim referred, known as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, would prohibit companies with 15 or more employees from discriminating based on sexual orientation or gender. The Apple CEO has previously expressed this position in a Wall Street Journal opinion editorial published last November. The bill has since been passed by the Senate, but has struggled to make it through the House of Representatives.

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Dubious iPhone 6 cases already rolling in

Ben Lovejoy Apr 11 2014 - 6:18 am PT

6 Comments

It may be five or so months before Apple launches the iPhone 6, with very little known for sure at this stage, but the case makers have already started firing-up their 3D printers.

French site NoWhereElse has posted photos of what claims to be transparent cases for the iPhone 6, with a cut-out for the rumored new position of the power button, on the side of the phone, opposite the volume buttons. Oddly, however, there is also a button-shaped cut-out on the top of the phone.

NWE acknowledges that the source of the photo has no track-record of leaks, and we can’t see any reason to believe this is anything more than the usual attempts by case companies to guess what Apple plans to launch – a move that can sometimes have expensive consequences.

However, it has been known for case makers to get it right, basing their designs and measurements on molds from Chinese manufacturers, so it can’t be entirely discounted.

Apple declines further investment in patent assertion entity Intellectual Ventures

Ben Lovejoy Apr 11 2014 - 4:56 am PT

2 Comments

Apple and Intel both declined an invitation to invest in a new round of funding for patent assertion entity Intellectual Ventures, reports Reuters. Both companies had invested in the enterprise in the past. Intellectual Ventures did, however, receive further investments from both Microsoft and Sony.

Apple and Intel’s decision is significant because the biggest tech companies have supported IV in the past. “This would be a dramatic departure,” said Kevin Jakel, chief executive of Unified Patents.

Intellectual Ventures declined to discuss investments. Microsoft, Sony, Intel and Apple also would not comment. It is unclear whether Intel and Apple could still opt to invest in IV’s vehicle at a later time.

As a frequent target of patent trolls, it seemed an odd investment for Apple in the first place, and was most likely a simple protective measure: we’ll help fund you if you leave us alone.

An FTC filing revealed that Apple had been the target of a record 92 patent lawsuits in a three year period. Earlier this month Apple joined Microsoft, Ford, General Electric, IBM and other companies in forming a ‘Partnership for American Innovation’ to lobby against patent trolls.

Apple says Heartbleed security flaw did not affect its software or services

Mike Beasley Apr 10 2014 - 2:11 pm PT

5 Comments

With an estimated half a million sites vulnerable to the “Heartbleed” vulnerability revealed earlier this week, which allows an attacker to access user details of websites previously believed to be secured by industry-standard SSL/TLS, your favorite social networks, stores, and other services around the web could potentially be handing out your password or other personal information to anyone who exploits the issue.

The bug exists in a library called OpenSSL, which is an open-source SSL implementation that many—but not all—web services use to secure sensitive traffic. If a website you use is affected by the bug, your personal data could be given to just about anyone. Unfortunately, changing your password on an unsecure site won’t even help unless the site’s owners have installed a fix (because the attackers can simply exploit the bug again to get your new password).

This serious issue affects a number of high-profile sites, but it seems your Apple ID is safe. Today, Apple gave the following statement to Re/code:

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Next-gen faster Haswells chips out as soon as next month, could find their way into upgraded MacBook and iMacs

Ben Lovejoy Apr 10 2014 - 7:15 am PT

12 Comments

Intel’s next generation of its Haswell CPUs could be out as soon as next month, according to sources cited by TechPowerUp (via TonyMacx86).

According to sources in the IT retail, Intel could launch these new chips, led by the Core i7-4790K, on May 10th in most markets […]

Intel Core “Haswell” Refresh processors offer marginally better performance over current Core “Haswell” chips, at existing price points (i.e., they will displace existing chips from their current price-points).The 9-series chipset offers features such as M.2 SSD support, making you ready for a tidal wave of 1000 MB/s SSDs that will launch around Computex.

Apple now uses PCIe SSD interface even in its base model MacBook Air so the mSATA improvement will only benefit PC users and Hackintoshers but the mildly improved performance might find its way into updated iMac or MacBooks due ’round WWDC.

More North American consumers than ever planning to buy the iPhone 6, says survey

Ben Lovejoy Apr 10 2014 - 4:25 am PT

15 Comments

A large-scale survey from 451 Research that tracks North American consumer purchase intentions shows that the percentage of those likely to buy the iPhone 6 is markedly higher than was the case for both the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s. In all three cases, the survey tracked intentions prior to any official announcement by Apple, providing a like-for-like comparison.

A total of 40 percent of the 4,109 consumers question said that they were likely to buy the iPhone 6, compared to 33 percent for the iPhone 5 and 26 percent for the iPhone 5s …
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Macs fall to 4th best-selling computer in USA (IDC) – or remain 3rd (Gartner)

Ben Lovejoy Apr 10 2014 - 3:57 am PT

8 Comments

PC shipment estimates for the first quarter of 2014 are out from both IDC and Gartner, and as usual the two companies disagree. IDC shows Apple falling to 4th place in the U.S., behind Lenovo, while Gartner has the company remaining in 3rd place just ahead of Lenovo.

Both agree, however, that Apple’s U.S. market share has fallen somewhat year-on-year, IDC showing a drop from 11 to 10.3 percent, while Gartner’s numbers show a decline from 11.5 to 10.8 percent. The differences are relatively small, however, with both sets of numbers show that around 1.5 million Macs were sold in the first quarter of the year.

Apple’s share of the global PC market has mostly climbed year-on-year over the past decade.

Jony Ive shakes up Apple’s software design group, iPhone interface creator Greg Christie departing

Mark Gurman Apr 9 2014 - 11:44 am PT

122 Comments

Following friction between top Apple Human Interface Vice President Greg Christie and Senior Vice President Jony Ive, Apple’s hardware and software design is being dramatically shaken up, according to sources familiar with the matter. After adding human interface design direction to his responsibilities in 2012, Ive will soon completely subsume Apple’s software design group, wresting control away from long-time human interface design chief Christie, according to sources briefed on the matter. Previous to this shakeup, all Apple software design has been led by Christie, who has reported to Craig Federighi, and Ive has been attending interface design meetings and providing instruction…

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Could Apple buy Square to accelerate its mobile payment plans?

Ben Lovejoy Apr 9 2014 - 5:55 am PT

21 Comments

Re/code is reporting that both Apple and Google have considered making acquisition offers for payments company Square, with CEO Jack Dorsey said to favor a sale to Apple.

In the last year, both Apple and Google have considered making acquisition offers for Square, according to industry sources familiar with the situation […]

[Dorsey] believes, sources said, that his company’s design aesthetic and values match up much more closely with Apple than Google …

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Rumor: Apple will launch 4.7-inch iPhone 6 in Sep, but 5.5-inch model later in the year

Ben Lovejoy Apr 9 2014 - 4:34 am PT

34 Comments

It seems to be the season for sketchy rumors, with Taiwan’s Industrial & Commercial Times (cited by EMSOne) claiming that the 4.7-inch version of the iPhone 6 will enter mass-production in July, suggesting the usual September/October launch date, while the 5.5-inch model will only do so in September, suggesting that it would go on sale close to the holidays.

It’s not the first rumor to this effect, with Reuters having suggested earlier this month that the 5.5-inch model would be released later in the year, saying that production difficulties with the larger screen were the reason, but with scant details from either report it’s difficult to ascribe too much credibility to the claim.

Consistent reports that Apple plans both a 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch version of the iPhone 6 each have been backed by internal slides from Apple. The phone is expected to be released running iOS 8 with a focus on health and fitness.

Via GforGames via MacRumors

Apple’s expert witnesses explain why Samsung owes Apple $2B for patent infringements

Ben Lovejoy Apr 9 2014 - 4:04 am PT

9 Comments

Image: CNET

With Samsung having argued in its opening statement that the $2B sum being claimed by Apple for five alleged patent violations was “a gross, gross exaggeration,” Apple called two expert witnesses to explain why it believes the sum is reasonable.

Re/code reports that first MIT professor John Hauser carried out a form of trade-off analysis to determine the value of individual features to customers.

Apple used a similar analysis from Hauser in the first Apple-Samsung trial in which he found customers might pay as much as $100 more for a Samsung phone that included patented features …

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