In honor of the Bank holiday in the United Kingdom, Apple is offering five Newsstand magazine issues per day at no charge. The deal started today (August 18th) and lasts through August 22nd…
Apple has been developing some revamped Mac laptops for several months and years, such as an ultra-slim 12-inch Retina MacBook, and the key to shipping these products is the availability of Intel’s upcoming Broadwell chip. Why? Because the new 14nm Broadwell Core M chip is fanless, small, and according to Intel, the most energy-efficient Intel processor yet. These facts about the processor lineup directly with the rumors of a fanless and light MacBook. Today, Intel has disclosed some new key points about the Core M Broadwell processor:
Notably, as Intel executives hinted earlier this year, Intel is still on track to ship out chips in time for new products to hit this holiday season, and it seems likely that the new 12-inch MacBook will be one of the first major computer launches with the new processor. Intel says that increased availability for the Broadwell processor will occur in the first half of 2015, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to expect various other new Macs (perhaps MacBook Pros or Airs) with more powerful Broadwell chips to hit the market during that timeframe next year.
In what will only continue the endless stream of iPhone 6 leaks, MacRumors brings attention to a couple of new photos and videos of the supposed iPhone 6 back. Interestingly, a new dark black piece has been seen for the first time, featuring a shade much darker than the current Space Gray iPhone 5s. Until today, only gray pieces have been spotted, which does make the legitimacy of the part somewhat questionable.
The post also highlights some new images and videos from Fed & Volk, who ostensibly possess mid-production units of the iPhone 6 rear. This case is the standard light gray variant, however, and matches the component leaks we have been seeing from other sources for many months now. See a video of the part after the break …
As Apple previously announced in April, today marks the end of support for AIM in iChat using a me.com or mac.com ID for Macs running OS X Lion 10.7.1 or earlier. While some reports are claiming the change also appears to be affecting users on newer versions of OS X, we’ve confirmed with sources with knowledge of the situation that users running 10.7.2 or higher, including Yosemite, will continue to have support for AIM.
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Barron’s reports that institutional investors have returned Apple to its number one slot in its annual ranking of the world’s most respected companies, after it was beaten last year by Berkshire Hathaway.
Apple topped this year’s ranking by scoring 3.94, giving it a wide margin of victory. Berkshire scored 3.58, and the mean was 2.37. Apple received the highest number of Highly Respect votes …
Apple today will be rolling out a couple of significant changes to its AppleCare support offerings. As we detailed in a report last month regarding Apple’s future plans for AppleCare, Apple will making a significant push for its premium AppleCare+ service. AppleCare+ is the iPhone and iPad protection plan offering that provides support for an additional two years (on top of the free 90 days of support) and support for up to two incidents of accidental damage.
Previously, customers were required to buy the plan within 30 days of purchase of an iPhone or iPad, but today’s change brings that purchase window to 60 days. This gives customers more time to decide if they will need enhanced support for their mobile Apple devices. The AppleCare+ plan costs $99 for both recent iPhone and iPad models. The plan can be purchased both via Apple’s Online Store or inside of official Apple retail stores. The AppleCare+ change is supported in all AppleCare+ regions except Japan, where the timeframe remains 30 days…
IFO Apple Store reports that Apple is revamping its back-lit in-store photo panels, replacing its signature white-background product shots with visuals inspired by its recent advertising. Out are clean, sterile close-ups of the products, and in are colorful visuals showing what people are doing with the products.
The new graphics were photographed like magazine ads, showing the iPad/iPhone being used in actual situations, complete with their surrounding people and places. Their colors, tone and brightness is much richer and darker than the previous graphics …
<a href="http://www.aredesignawards.com/award_winner_detail.cfm?key=2009129">Retro Apple Store Back to School display</a>
As we reported two weeks ago, Apple’s annual Back to School promotion will begin tomorrow, according to sources. The program will be similar to last year’s offering, which provided $100 Mac App Store gift cards alongside Mac purchases and $50 cards with iPhone and iPad purchases. Apple will be re-decorating its stores overnight with a new education theme to go along with the new promotion. Earlier today, Apple unveiled upcoming iTunes U updates for the iPad, and the timing seems like anything but a coincidence.
In addition to releasing iOS 7.1.2 today for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, Apple has just released OS X Mavericks 10.9.4 for Macs (direct combo update download link). The update brings various bug fixes, improvements, and security enhancements to the Mac:
We noted yesterday that Apple released OS X Mavericks 10.9.4 build 13E19 to developers, and now users of Apple’s customer AppleSeed software testing program are reporting that the seed has also gone out to those non-developers. 10.9.4 is a bug fix release without major feature enhancements, and it is unclear when it will ship publicly to all Mac users. This fall, Apple will ship OS X 10.10 Yosemite with a refreshed user interface, new Continuity features, and improved applications.
As rumored last week, Apple has today released a new model of iMac. These machines are considerably cheaper than their predecessors, priced at $1099. Previously, the cheapest iMac SKU was priced at $1299 (which is now the mid-range model).
The cheaper iMac features a 1.4 GHz dual-core i5 CPU, which represents a significant worsening in performance over the previous base model of iMac, which featured a processor clocked at 2.7 GHz. The CPU does Turbo Boost up to 2.7 GHz however, which does make up some of the difference.
Aside from the CPU, the hard drive has also been cut to 500 GB. The new model also features a lower-end integrated graphics chip. All other iMac models continue to use either Iris Pro integrated graphics or dedicated Nvidia cards. Otherwise, the internals of the new machine are unchanged.
Apple’s Press release below…
Alongside the second beta of iOS 8, Apple has provided an update to the OS X Yosemite Developer Preview. Yosemite brings many new features to the Mac, including a new design, Continuity features, and enhanced applications. We’ll update this post with new discoveries in the new preview as they are found. You can let us know what you find at tips@9to5mac.com.
Apple has issued SMC update 2.0 for all mid-2013 MacBook Airs, citing a fix for battery problems while the computer’s screen is closed.
This update addresses an issue which may cause the battery to drain faster than expected when the lid is closed.
You can download the update here or in the Mac App Store.
Apple has posted the video about OS X Yosemite’s new design from the WWDC keynote. The video gives a look at the system’s new inherent translucency, cleaner layout, redesigned icons, and new buttons. You can watch it below:
Update: Our winners have been chosen at random and contacted. As thanks for everyone participating, Pad & Quill is generously offering 15% off any order for a limited time to our readers using the coupon code DAD14 at checkout. 6/12/14
With Father’s Day quickly approaching, our friends over at Pad & Quill are teaming up with us to give away some cool bags and cases for your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and more. Pad & Quill makes super well-crafted accessories that look and feel very rich and thought out. We’ve had the chance to cover and review several of their products in the past.
We’ll be picking one grand prize winner to receive Pad & Quill’s Field Bag, Aria for iPad Air case, Bell Fino for iPhone 5s case, and any choice of Pad & Quill MacBook case for free (over a $600 value). In addition to the grand prize winner, two additional winners will be selected each to receive their own choice of any Pad & Quill iPhone or iPad case. Find out how to enter after the break…
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There are times when an iPad can act as a handy sidekick to your Mac, but with a typical iPad stand you end up looking a little like a nodding dog as you look up at your monitor and down at your iPad. The TwelveSouth HoverBar 3 is designed to solve that, positioning your iPad display right next to your iMac or Apple Thunderbolt/Cinema Display.
The HoverBar can also be used on its own to position an iPad more comfortably, especially when using it to watch movies …
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Update: Download is now available on iTunes.
You can now rewatch the WWDC 2014 keynote online at Apple.com. You can also read full coverage of all the announcements here on 9to5Mac.
Apple usually posts downloads of the event, through podcasts in the iTunes Store, shortly afterwards too. We’ll update when these go live.
Apple wants users to be able to smoothly move between their Macs and iOS devices. AirDrop now interoperates between Mac and iOS devices. However, it goes further. Handoff allows you to send a document from your Mac to your iOS device, just by being in close proximity to each other.
The Mac also notices when an iOS device is nearby for Personal Hotspot. The phone appears in the WiFi menu, shown above, and with one-click the phone connects to the Mac and the devices start tethering.
Following up on their earlier report, Re/code is reporting that Katie Cotton’s last day at Apple is today. Cotton has been Apple’s PR chief and Vice President of Corporate Communications since the return of Steve Jobs in the 1990s. Her departure comes just days ahead of Apple’s developer conference, but you can bet Cotton was heavily involved in decisions surrounding the event. Kara Swisher has a great tribute to Cotton’s career that is well worth a read.
Just a couple of weeks after releasing OS X Mavericks 10.9.3 to users, Apple has seeded the first beta of the upcoming OS X 10.9.4 to developers. We first reported that Apple was nearing a release of OS X 10.9.4 in beta to developers. It’s unclear what changes are in store with the new system, but hopefully it fixes the many headaches that Mac Pro users have been facing since 10.9.3’s release earlier this month. No word on when 10.9.4 will go public, but it is interesting that this Mavericks release will be in beta in tandem with OS X 10.10‘s beta release next week at WWDC. Thanks, D!
Slipping shipping times for iMacs on Apple’s site may support a timeline released last month by KGI Research analyst Ming-Chi Kuo indicating that new, lower-cost iMacs could be launched this quarter.
Apple usually quotes 24 hours for delivery of standard-configuration iMacs, but is currently showing 3-5 business days across the range. Increased shipping times are sometimes an indication of lower or sporadic stocks, which tend to precede the launch of new models. With WWDC just one week away, that would be a logical time to announce them …
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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF7EpEnglgk]
If you ever wanted an illustration of how far computer technology has come in a single generation, this video portrays it well. A bunch of kids who’ve grown up with Macs, iPads and iPhones, and for whom apps and the web are as natural as breathing, try their hand at an Apple II – starting with the challenge of how to switch it on.
Scarily, I’m old enough to have used an Apple II and now feel slightly nostalgic, but I don’t think I’ll be trading in my MacBook Pro anytime soon.
Shocker. Now that OS X 10.9.3 has finally been released publicly, Apple has told its AppleSeed testing group (Apple’s customer software seeding program) that they will automatically be enrolled in the testing phase for the upcoming OS X 10.9.4:
We reported a few weeks ago that Apple has begun development of 10.9.4 and has already seeded some alphas to employees. No word yet on what 10.9.4 includes, but it probably has some bug fixes and maybe even some new bugs.
Update: The glitch may be related with the latest versions of Find My Mac and iTunes, according to testing by The Mac Observer.
Since upgrading to OS X 10.9.3, some users are reporting that their /Users folder is now hidden. This means the folder is no longer visible when looking at the root of the hard drive in the Finder, which is inconvenient for Macs with multiple users installed.
With OS X Lion, Apple took the liberty to hide the Library folder from OS X users. However, it does not seem like hiding the /Users directory is an Apple design decision. Many users are still seeing this folder after updating and the behaviour is consistent. The most likely conclusion is that is simply a bug that slipped through to final release, despite Apple’s new beta testing program. If you are affected by this bug, you can find out how to make your /Users folder visible again after the break …