iOS Devices

Just a few hours after yet another report emerged claiming that Apple would be taking the wraps off of its new wearable at an event next month, both LG and Samsung have announced new wearable devices tonight.

LG has officially unveiled the G Watch R this evening, which features a 1.3-inch Plastic OLED display that is a full 360 degrees, unlike the Moto 360, which has an area of dead space at the bottom of the display. Motorola claims that the reason for the dead space on its watch is for the ambient light sensor and other display drivers. It’s unclear how LG managed to avoid having a dead area with its circular watch.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Just in time for the iPhone 6, an internal memo sent to employees at Costco stores indicates that the company will begin offerring AppleCare+ on iPhones and iPads sold through its wireless kiosks tomorrow. The notice details the process for selling the extended warranties and states that the offer only applies to “connected/embedded iPads” sold at the kiosk, not those sold on the sales floor.

The wholesaler only recently started carrying Apple’s mobile products again earlier this year after a multi-year spat that resulted in the decision to remove them from Costco shelves. The devices are available both through the company’s website and in-store through its specialized mobile sales kiosks.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Tim Cook hinted at significant developments to the iPad line in describing the recent 16 percent drop in year-on-year sales yesterday as “a speedbump” in an interview with Re/code.

“We couldn’t be happier with how we’ve done with the first four years of the iPad. I’d call what’s going on recently a speed bump, and I’ve seen that in every category” …

He made that same comment before during the last earnings call and obviously that’s not the whole story…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Digitimes is claiming Apple will launch a new model of MacBook soon, potentially by the end of 2014. According to the report, component production has already begun in small quantities. The current MacBook Air tapers from 0.3 cm to 1.7cm, so it is unclear in what form the new product will be thinner. Although the report is not specific, the report could be referencing the long-rumored 12 inch Retina MacBook Air.

Digitimes’ report lacks any specifics aside from the release window. KGI’s Ming-Chi Kuo first mentioned the idea of a brand new Retina Air in 2013, predicting a launch in Q3 2014. The Air is expected to feature a radical new design, high-resolution display and a buttonless trackpad.

Expand
Expanding
Close

New photos of what appear to be the True Tone flash components for both versions of the iPhone 6 have appeared on ElekWorld, providing even more evidence that Apple is planning to announce and release both models at around the same time. Interestingly, the website also carries a whole host of purported iPhone 6 parts, including front display panels, volume rockers, and home button assemblies.

Apple, of course, is expected to announce a redesigned 4.7″ iPhone 6 and a 5.5″ iPhone 6L on September 9th. We’ve seen part and design leaks for both of these models in recent months, and both variants recently entered mass production.

Check out the gallery below for even more images of the site’s claimed iPhone 6 and 6L parts:

Expand
Expanding
Close

As noted by the folks over at TmoNews, the magenta-branded un-carrier will be offering a discount of up to $50 on all iPhones starting tomorrow. An internal memo leaked from the company indicates that not every model will get the full $50 drop, but at least a few will. The cut comes off of the “device-only price,” or the full price of the phone. Subsidized models won’t be affected, it seems.

This discount is just the latest blow in the ongoing war between U.S. mobile carriers. Sprint recently announced all-new family and individual plans in an attempt to compete with more capable networks like AT&T and Verizon, while scrappy underdog T-Mobile continues its campaign against the norms established by its competition.

Expand
Expanding
Close

A plan by the LA Unified School District to provide an iPad for each of its 640,000 students by the end of this year has now been suspended, and appears likely to be abandoned altogether.

Apple proudly announced the plan in June of last year, but it wasn’t too long before the arrangement came into question. Rollout was temporarily halted last September, when it was found that students were able to bypass restrictions designed to ensure they were only used for school work when taken home. A month later, it was suggested  that the school district might have gotten its sums wrong, with the true cost significantly higher than budgeted. It was then suggested in June of this year that iPads might not be the right devices … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Shortly after adding 19 more acts to the line-up for the iTunes Festival running in London throughout September, Apple has now pushed the iTunes Festival channel to Apple TV, ready for live HD streaming once the show begins … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

As we’ve previously covered, the state of California has been in the process of passing a bill that would require all smartphones sold within the state to come with a remote killswitch option to deter thieves. The bill was passed by the state legislature earlier this year, and today it was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown, as noted by CNET.

The law goes into effect in July 2015, and will require all smartphones sold within the state to include an option for remotely disabling a stolen device. Apple has already met the requirements of this law with its Activation Lock and Find My iPhone services, but now such features will be required by law on Android, Windows Phone, and other handsets.

Expand
Expanding
Close

<a href="http://9to5mac.com/2014/07/03/latest-iphone-6-renders-compare-potential-gold-space-gray-and-silver-colors-gallery/" target="_blank">Latest iPhone 6 render</a>

We’re still just over two weeks away from the anticipated iPhone 6 event reportedly scheduled for September 9th where Apple is expected to debut the next generation of iPhone hardware including a more powerful, efficient A8 system-on-a-chip.

Worry not, though, about the next, next generation iPhone rumors, Apple watchers, as a report from Chinese publication Economic Daily News (via Digitimes) shares that TSMC, or Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, plans to “advance volume production on its 16nm process” during the beginning of 2015 “with monthly output of 50,000 wafers” to deliver Apple’s A9 system-on-a-chip.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Update: Rather than being the next-generation M7 chip, the ‘Phosphorus’ chip shown in the schematics is likely the barometer/air pressure sensor 9to5Mac reported in June. A MacRumors forum member noted the likeliness. Original story below:

Following on from their previous reports, GeekBar is today highlighting a new set of schematics for a chip codenamed ‘Phosphorus’. The site claims the chip will serve similar roles to the M7 in the current iPhone 5s, but with additional functionality. It is very unlikely that Phosphorus will be used in official Apple marketing as it seems to be an internal codename for the chip.

Expand
Expanding
Close

If you’re not familiar with Google Cardboard, it’s one of the most affordable and portable VR headsets to date. It’s a very simple creation in terms of design and functionality, but provides a solid look into the future of technology without breaking the bank. Why? Because it’s made almost entirely of cardboard.

Google unveiled Cardboard at I/O 2014, but unfortunately, it was designed with Android devices in mind. The official Cardboard app is nowhere to be found on the App Store, but that doesn’t mean all hope is lost. Google may not care much about iOS as a platform, but stereoscopic 3D is nothing new. In fact, there is a good handful of apps available for iOS that are also compatible with Google Cardboard…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Reuters is reporting that iPhone 6 production was disrupted for part of June and July after Apple was forced to abandon its plans to use a thinner display backlighting system in the new handset.

Suppliers to Apple are scrambling to get enough screens ready for the new iPhone 6 smartphone as the need to redesign a key component disrupted panel production ahead of next month’s expected launch, supply chain sources said …

Expand
Expanding
Close

If you thought things were messy with U.S. networks, Verizon and Sprint using CMDA and AT&T and T-Mobile using GSM, things are even worse in China – with WCDMA, CDMA2000, CDMA1X, GSM, TDD-LTE and FDD-LTE all in use by different carriers in different combinations.

The iPhone 6 may be about to make life a whole lot easier, though, with Sina (via ZDNet) reporting that the model sold by China Telecom at least will support all of the wireless networks in use in the country, based on a Weibo post by the carrier. Admittedly the image used in the Weibo above looks a little different than the general consensus we’ve seen before – they were created by Tomas Moyano and Nicolàs Aichino, and China Telecom likely downloaded them from Bēhance.

That aside, the message they are sending might be more interesting…

Expand
Expanding
Close

French site iGen has posted what it claims are screenshots from Foxconn, which – if genuine – confirm a number of details from earlier reports, and to reveal the dimensions of prototypes of both iPhone 6 models. The screenshots appear to be fuller versions of the raised camera schematic posted by Apple Club Taiwan a couple of days ago.

It should be noted that there is no way to know when these prototypes were created (though some photos appear to date back to February), and that dimensions of the production model could change. The 4.7-inch model (code-named N61) is shown as measuring 138.14x97x6.9mm, while two different 5.5-inch prototypes (code-named N56) are shown, the larger of them measuring 158.07×77.79×7.1mm. The codenames are consistent with ones we’ve seen before, but are well-known so this is not evidence that the screenshots are genuine … 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Bloomberg‘s Adam Satariano has an interesting profile out this morning regarding the usage of wearable fitness devices in work environments. The report says that some companies are offering devices, such as the FitBit, in order to track the fitness of its employees. With that information, companies are able to slice costs off of insurance plans if employees hit certain fitness data thresholds:

Expand
Expanding
Close

Apple and State of Arizona filings have come to light today that indicate Apple is rapidly expanding its Mesa, Arizona operations and GT-Advanced sapphire crystal production. PTT Research Senior Analyst and GTAT investor Matt Margolis shared the new documents from his latest research with 9to5Mac. The first interesting piece of the filings is a letter from Apple’s Director of Global Trade Compliance James J. Patton from early July to the U.S Department of Commerce:

Expand
Expanding
Close

New startup Q Designs seeks to help solve a problem that many people have: we sometimes need to power our mobile electronic devices, but we don’t want to carry external battery packs or bulky charging cases. Q Designs’ solution, the QBracelet, looks like an ordinary bracelet, but it is actually a high-tech charger that can juice up your electronic device discreetly.

The QBracelet will work with iOS and Android devices at launch. No cord is needed, since inside the bracelet’s clasp there is a lightning adapter for Apple products and a micro-USB port for Android devices.

Expand
Expanding
Close

The Apple TV is showing up as ‘Unavailable for pickup’ at Apple Stores across the U.S., with multiple NY Apple Stores we called saying that in-store stocks had been exhausted by demand created by the promotion offering $25 iTunes credit with every purchase, along with that generated by the upcoming London iTunes festival as well as the recent Lollapalooza livestream. Apple has been promoting the music festival as a good reason to buy the box now … 

Expand
Expanding
Close

Walmart has cut the prices of both of the current iPhone models substantially in what looks like some early prep for the iPhone 6, which is expected next month. As noted by Engadget, you’ll be able to get the 16 GB model of the iPhone 5c for only $.97. No, that’s not a typo. The phone is now selling for ninety-seven cents.

The 16 GB iPhone 5s also got yet another price cut, this time down from $99 to $79. Both of these prices are only temporary and will climb back to their usual points in 90 days—unless of course a newer model comes along and knocks the retail price of these handsets down a few bucks.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Earlier this month Samsung announced yet another Android handset dubbed the Galaxy Alpha that many observers noted borrows design cues from the iPhone 5 first introduced by Apple nearly 2 years ago. The Galaxy Alpha does feature a metal frame with chamfered edges, but does it really favor the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s or is it more Samsung than anything else?

Designer Martin Hajek has created a new collection of 3D renderings to help visualize that comparison and answer that question showing Samsung’s Galaxy Alpha handset side-by-side with Apple’s iPhone 5s.
Expand
Expanding
Close