iPhone 5s

Photo: arstechnica.net

KGI’s Mingchi Kuo has suggested in a note to investors that the mystery of the apparent delay in the iPhone launching on the world’s largest carrier, China Mobile, may be due to last-minute renegotiations with Apple on volume discounts across the two new models.

We believe weak sales of iPhone 5C may trigger a re-negotiation of the Apple-China Mobile partnership. While previously we estimated that Apple originally planned the TD-LTE version would account for 30% of total iPhone 5C shipments, our latest survey indicates that demand for the TD-LTE iPhone 5C has declined dramatically due to 5S being far more popular than 5C among China Mobile subscribers […]

We believe this would necessitate a re-negotiation of the Apple-China Mobile deal and therefore defer its finalization …

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Tears everywhere: Apple features its new holiday commercial on its homepage

Ben Lovejoy Dec 18 2013 - 5:21 am PT

3 Comments

Apple clearly loves its new holiday ad: it has now featured it on the Apple.com homepage, with links to both the ad and the ‘full home movie.’

The ad has been generally well-received, with most describing it as endearing – replacing Apple’s usual product-focused approach with story-telling based on how the phone might be used. Apple used a similar approach with a recent iPad Air commercial, shown below.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8Le9wvoY00]

Two of Apple’s most active Twitter users, CEO Tim Cook and SVP Marketing Phil Schiller have also tweeted out the YouTube link.

Happy Holidays to all of our amazing customers! http://t.co/eonnck8cDF

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) December 18, 2013

https://twitter.com/pschiller/status/412798014835535872

It is clearly something Apple is proud of and maaaybe its ad of the year?

Qualcomm employee said Apple’s 64-bit A7 chip was Spinal Tap moment

Ben Lovejoy Dec 17 2013 - 4:54 am PT

18 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xgx4k83zzc]

If Qualcomm seemed rather taken by surprise by Apple’s use of a 64-bit chip in a smartphone, first dismissing it as a gimmick and then hastily backtracking and announcing it would be making 64-bit smartphone chips itself, that’s because it was, says Dan Lyons in a nicely-written piece on HubSpot. The piece includes what has to be a strong contender for tech quote of the year:

The 64-bit Apple chip hit us in the gut,” says the Qualcomm employee. “Not just us, but everyone, really. We were slack-jawed, and stunned, and unprepared. It’s not that big a performance difference right now, since most current software won’t benefit. But in Spinal Tap terms it’s like, 32 more, and now everyone wants it.”

The reference is to a scene in the 1984 mockumentary This is Spinal Tap where the band proudly shows an amp that goes all the way up to 11, explaining that “it’s one louder.” What Qualcomm missed was that while 64-bit smartphone chips may be of limited immediate value, the A7 made for a compelling marketing sell, leaving other companies scrabbling to catch up.

Qualcomm has just created a 64-bit version of its Snapdragon SOC and expects to see it appearing in Android phones sometime in the second half of next year.

Yahoo Weather goes universal, brings same award-winning design to the iPad

Benjamin Mayo Dec 16 2013 - 5:17 am PT

5 Comments

At WWDC, Yahoo received an Apple Design Award for Yahoo Weather. This coincided with the unveiling of iOS 7 and its Weather app, which displayed striking similarities to Yahoo’s effort.

With the latest update to the app, Yahoo has brought the same award-winning design to the iPad. The full-bleed imagery from Flickr really shines on a larger display. The layout for iPad is largely a port of the iPhone design with upgraded icons and assets but refinements have been made for the iPad where necessary. For example, forecast information can be much larger because of the additional real-estate.

iPhone 5s undisputed king at all four major U.S. carriers ever since launch

Ben Lovejoy Dec 13 2013 - 4:22 am PT

6 Comments

The iPhone 5s has retained its status as the best-selling smartphone at the four tier-1 U.S. carriers for the third month running, with the iPhone 5c taking third place after the Samsung Galaxy S4.

Data from Canaccord Genuity showed that the iPhone 5s has topped the sales charts at AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile every month since launch, reports AllThingsD.

“Our surveys indicated continued strong sales of the iPhone 5s, as it was by far the top selling smartphone at all four tier-1 U.S. carriers and at most channels where the smartphone launched globally,” analyst T. Michael Walkley explained in a note to clients. “Our surveys also indicated steady iPhone 5c sales with the smartphone’s color options and more affordable price point proving popular with its intended audience” …
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9to5Toys Last Call: iPhone 5s $75 off, iPad 3 refurb $300, Chromecast $25, free apps/games, iTunes 16% off, more

Dec 12 2013 - 10:00 am PT

Be sure to follow 9to5Toys to keep up with the best gear and deals on the web: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and subscribe to the new Safari push notifications feature. Also, check out our updated Daily Deals page (for iPad/iPhone) featuring the day’s best deals from across major US retailers.

Today’s can’t miss deals:

Last Call updates:

$50 iTunes Gift Card: $40+$2.49 shipping ($10 off)
RCA 55″ LED 1080p 120Hz HDTV $500 shipped (Reg. $800)

Take $75 off any iPhone 5s when you sign a new 2-year agreement (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint)

Refurb Apple 16GB iPad 3 w/ Retina Display in Black or White $300 shipped

Google Chromecast HDMI Streaming Media Player $25 when bought with PayPal account

Game/App Deals: Fallout FREE, Elder Scrolls sale: Skyrim $8 / Legendary Edition $20 / Oblivion GOTY $5, Xbox One savings, iOS freebies, more

Time to get your holiday cheer on, Amazon introduces $.01 shipping on select bottles of wine http://t.co/47dLKLzhD4

— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) December 12, 2013

Other great deals from today:

New! Logitech UE6000 Headphones $70 shipped (Reg. $200)
New! Philips Twin Play portable iDevice video viewer w/ two 9″ LCD displays $50 shipped (Reg. $220)
New! Jawbone Jambox portable Bluetooth speaker $100 shipped (Reg. $150), refurbs: $70
New! Nexus 7 (2013) 16GB: $180 shipped, 32GB $230 shipped + add free 16GB USB stick

$75 gift card at Amazon for signing up for Discover card https://t.co/M5ZAiUs4gQ

— 9to5Toys (@9to5toys) December 12, 2013

The best deals that are still alive:

Dell UltraSharp 32″ Ultra HD 4k Monitor $3,000 shipped (Reg. $3,500)
Logitech UE wireless AirPlay speaker $138 or $88 shipped after rebate (Reg. $200)
Google Chromecast streaming media player $30 for Amazon Students, Nexus 7 (2nd gen) $195
Logitech Ultimate Ears 350vm noise isolating earbuds: $17 shipped (Reg. $60)
Sennheiser Around Ear Headphone $50, Audio-Technica Noise-Canceling Headphones $44 shipped
IGN’s FREE iOS game of the month: Infinity Blade II ($7 savings)
Blue Microphones Snowball USB mic up to 50% off: $40-$50 (Reg. $60-$100)
Seiki 4K TVs drop again: 39-inch now $405, 50-inch now $625 shipped
Amazon Promo: Free $5 credit on purchases of $35 or more

iPhone market share in China more than doubled following 5s and 5c launch

Ben Lovejoy Dec 12 2013 - 5:11 am PT

3 Comments

Data from smartphone market intelligence specialist Counterpoint shows that iPhone market share in China more than doubled between September and October even before launching on the country’s biggest carrier, China Mobile.

Apple’s market share rose from just under 5 percent to 12 percent, taking it from 6th place to 3rd place, behind Samsung and Lenovo …
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Court rejects Samsung’s attempt to ban Apple devices in South Korea over patent infringement

Benjamin Mayo Dec 12 2013 - 2:53 am PT

Reuters is reporting that Samsung’s lawsuit against Apple in South Korea, aiming to ban Apple phones and tablets, has been lost. The case dates back to the patent wars of 2011 where Apple and Samsung sued each for patent infringement other around the world.

Samsung’s claims revolved around messaging and content display. The judge said Apple’s devices do not violate the claims. The court threw out the possibility of a sales ban as well as rejecting damages totalling just under $100,000.

Samsung is currently deciding whether to appeal. Unsurprisingly, Apple was pleased with the decision.

“We are glad the Korean court joined others around the world in standing up for real innovation and rejecting Samsung’s ridiculous claims,” Apple Korea spokesman Steve Park said.

GTA: San Andreas rolling out across the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

Benjamin Mayo Dec 11 2013 - 11:04 am PT

Update: The game is now available on the App Store worldwide.

After announcing that the iconic game would come to iOS last month, Rockstar is releasing GTA San Andreas today. The game is live in certain countries already, and will be available globally in the coming hours at this link. If the link does not work for you currently, it will do when the clock turns midnight in your region’s timezone. The game costs $7 and is compatible with iPhone 4s and later, iPad 2 and later and the fifth generation iPod touch.

Review: Castro for iPhone is a modern approach to an iOS 7 podcast client

Benjamin Mayo Dec 10 2013 - 8:00 am PT

10 Comments

Castro is a brand new podcasting app for the iPhone (available in the App Store for $2.99). It’s not an update to an existing podcast client. It’s a new app. It doesn’t have any legacy to anchor it down because it really is a fresh start.

Apple hires real-world radio executive for iTunes Radio, working on ad sales

Benjamin Mayo Dec 10 2013 - 6:25 am PT

Via AdAge, Apple has hired Michael Pallad for its iTunes Radio team. Pallad’s LinkedIn confirms the report, citing Apple iTunes as his current occupation.

AdAge says that Pallad joined Apple about a week ago and is in charge of international iTunes Radio sales. Pallad comes from Cumulus Media, a real-world radio organisation, as their Executive Vice President of Sales. As Apple’s initial round of iAd campaigns for iTunes Radios run out at the end of the year, it seems Apple needed someone versed in radio advertising sales to help setup its deals for 2014.

China Mobile iPhone preorders start from Thursday, ship from the 18th

Benjamin Mayo Dec 9 2013 - 2:44 am PT

A screenshot from China Mobile’s website, advertisng the 12th December preorder date.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that whilst China Mobile’s 4G services do not launch until the 18th, the carrier will open preorders for the iPhone from this Thursday, the 12th of December.

Some Apple Stores begin price-matching iPad Air & iPhone 5c

Mark Gurman Dec 3 2013 - 10:15 am PT

Weeks after launch, a number of Apple Stores in the United States have begun price-matching both the iPad Air and iPhone 5c. Sources say that the ability to price-match those new devices began earlier this week.

The price-matching will vary region-to-region, with some markets choosing to not conduct any price-matching at this time.

The stores that do support matching, however, will only match up to 10% off. So if your local carrier is offering the iPhone 5c free on-contract, don’t expect to get a free iPhone 5c at an Apple Store. Apple has not began price-matching the more expensive iPhone 5s nor the harder-to-find iPad mini with Retina display.

Apple briefly price-matched the iPad Air up to $479 at launch, but it then quickly stopped.

Updated report graphs Apple’s dedication to supporting older iPhones vs. Android

Jordan Kahn Dec 3 2013 - 7:29 am PT

22 Comments

We hear a lot about adoption of iOS updates vs the fragmentation that Android users are forced to deal with, but just how far behind are the top Android devices compared to iPhone when it comes to getting support? To answer that question, Fidlee.com has updated a chart that it first put together a couple years back in order to see if Android has become any better in recent years. It hasn’t.

In the chart above we see that many once flagship Android devices— the Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy S3, LG G2 etc— have still not received the latest Android 4.4 KitKat update. Most of the devices on the list have been an upgrade or two behind since launch or not long after. In comparison, only the iPhone 3GS fives years after its release doesn’t support iOS 7. We also get a look at how much longer Apple devices generally stay available for sale and continue receiving support– nearly twice as long as Android in most cases.

Not only did Apple claim iOS 7 was “the fastest software upgrade in history” with more than 200 million devices installing the OS less than a week after launch, but analytics firms also noticed adoption was much higher than previous releases. Currently iOS 7 sits at about 77% of users, according to the latest data from Fiksu’s iOS Usage Monitor. While the chart above is only for devices released last year, things aren’t much better for newer Android devices. In comparison to iOS 7 adoption, Google reports that its latest release, Android 4.4 KitKat, is at just 1.1% weeks into launch. The previous release, Android 4.3, is at just 4.2%, while the majority of users remain on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean first released in July 2012.

A couple more charts below from Fidlee showing just how bad things are on Android:
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Filemaker releases new version for 2013 with HTML5 data entry, new iOS features and tightened security

Benjamin Mayo Dec 3 2013 - 6:00 am PT

5 Comments

Filemaker, a subsidiary of Apple, has just announced its 2013 version of its popular database application. The new version focuses on bringing desktop database solutions to the browser. New in Filemaker ’13, projects can now be managed through a centralized web dashboard, with options for partner portals and file hosting. More importantly, data entry can now be taken in a web interface — HTML5 powered forms enable businesses to manage their deployments on any PC or Mac, as there is no longer a reliance on having the native applications installed.

Apple offering 0% financing on online hardware purchases in most European countries, ends 10th January

Benjamin Mayo Dec 2 2013 - 3:07 am PT

4 Comments

Today, Apple has launched a promotion for online purchases, offering 0% financing on any purchase above £449 (or €400). The deal is on offer across most of Apple’s European websites, including the UK, France, Italy and Spain.

In the UK, for instance, a customer can buy any product above that value and spread repayments across ten monthly instalments with 0% interest. In other countries, such as France or Spain, the repayment is window is slightly longer at twelve months.

LifeProof announces waterproof, Touch-ID compatible nüüd and frē case

Sarah Guarino Nov 28 2013 - 10:19 am PT

3 Comments

LifeProof has announced an updated version of it’s nüüd and frē cases. The cases both offer the same level of water, dirt, snow and shock protection as the previous nüüd and frē case for the iPhone 5, but now they support using the Touch ID sensor that is built into the home button on the newer iPhone 5s.
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Judge formally dismisses user privacy lawsuit regarding location services and App Store data collection policy

Benjamin Mayo Nov 28 2013 - 3:04 am PT

4 Comments

Reuters is reporting that Lucy Koh has today dismissed a data privacy lawsuit against Apple that dates back to 2011. The plaintiffs were suing on the basis that (in iOS 4.1) Apple collected WiFi hotspot and cell tower location data even though Location Services were disabled.

T-Mobile, regional carriers offering iPhone 5s and 5c for $0 down on Black Friday

Jordan Kahn Nov 27 2013 - 8:27 am PT

9 Comments

Update: It turns out this deal doesn’t provide much of a savings in the long run. T-Mobile is raising the monthly installment from $20 to around $27, so while you won’t have to put any money down up front, you’ll still be paying off the full cost of the device over the 24 month installment plan period.

According to a leaked internal memo posted by TmoNews, T-Mobile is going to be dropping the upfront price of both the iPhone 5s and 5c to $0 down on its usual instalment plans for Black Friday. That cuts the usual down payment for the iPhone 5s down from $149 and the iPhone 5c from $49. The deal will officially kick off on Friday and last through Sunday, but the report notes that “a select number of stores will be accepting orders from Thursday evening.” After getting your iPhone for $0 down, you’ll pay around $20 a month for 24 months on T-Mobile instalment plans.

Some regionals carriers are also gearing up for big discounts this Friday. Appalachian Wireless announced it will offer the 16GB iPhone 5, 5C or 5S for a penny on contract today only and nTelos will also have the iPhone 5c for $0 on Friday. Appalachian is also advertising the penny deal for Black Friday on its site, but no word if iPhones will be included after today. T-Mobile definitely beats Walmart’s best deal with the iPhone 5c for around $45 on contract, but we’re thinking other retailers and carriers might announce iPhone discounts for Black Friday too.

Tweetbot 3.2 brings night theme, account switching shortcuts

Benjamin Mayo Nov 27 2013 - 8:19 am PT

2 Comments

Today, Tapbots has released Tweetbot 3.2 to the App Store, the latest version of their highly-popular Twitter client. Tapbots have been pretty relentless in updating their flagship app with version 3.1 arriving only two weeks ago.

Tweetbot 3.2 brings a long-awaited night theme to the app, offering another theme choice to users who may not like the stark-white default look.

The theme can be set to adjust automatically based on time or manually set as the default look. The application theme can also be changed via a hidden gesture; simply swipe up and down with two fingers to toggle between the light and dark theme.

Mini review: Kerf Case wooden iPhone cases

Ben Lovejoy Nov 27 2013 - 7:27 am PT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sadH0I_0Ve0

As regular readers may have noted, I’m a great fan of wood as a material. The ifrogz case I reviewed earlier in the year was wonderful in terms of aesthetics and build quality, but was essentially designed as a semi-permanent enclosure, which isn’t always convenient.

Others, like the iWood cases reviewed in the same piece, are more convenient but don’t feel as special. The Kerf Case is designed to bridge the gap: a genuine, all-wood case with the convenience of slipping it on and off in a second or two. Cases are available for the iPhone 4/4S and iPhone 5/5s …
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iPhone 5s and 5c take lions share of Japan smartphone sales in October

Benjamin Mayo Nov 27 2013 - 7:26 am PT

Kantar World Panel is reporting that Apple took 76% of total smartphone sales in Japan during October. This means Apple outsold other manufacturers by about 3:1 in the country.

[tweet https://twitter.com/KWP_ComTech/status/405288467141115904]

The strong sales performance is likely due to the addition of DoCoMo to the iPhone carrier lineup in Japan. Until this year, DoCoMo has resisted accepting the iPhone. However, with the iPhone 5s and 5c, customers could buy Apple’s flagship devices from the carrier at launch. DoCoMo is Japan’s largest carrier, with over 60 million subscribers. According to Kantar, the iPhone accounted for 61% of DoCoMo’s total smartphone sales during October.