We’ve known for a while that Apple design guru Jony Ive would be bringing his own distinctive stamp to iOS 7 and now we’re getting some more details about what that stamp might look like. One of 9to5Mac’s sources describes the new version of iOS as “black, white and flat all over,” meaning that there will be fewer heavy textures and more interface elements that come in plain black and white. More →
Microsoft has released a second advertisement targeting Apple and its popular iPad this week. The company compares the iPad to an ASUS VivoTab RT, noting that the Windows RT device is slimmer, lighter and can perform more functions than Apple’s tablet. Microsoft highlights Windows RT’s multitasking ability, integration with Office, and convenience with features such as a built-in microSD card reader and compatibility with “nearly all printers.” This is the second advertisement released by Microsoft that targets the iPad, as an earlier video mocked the supposedly inferior voice recognition capabilities of Apple’s Siri voice assistant. Microsoft’s Windows RT commercial follows below. More →
In addition to scoring rumors about the low-cost iPhone on Thursday, Japanese blog Macotakara also published the latest news on the fifth-generation iPad, which it says will likely launch after Apple releases the iPhone 5S in September and will feature a rear microphone located directly next to the camera, similar to the design of the iPhone 5. AppleInsider notes that early prototypes of the iPad mini also had a rear microphone but that this design was apparently ditched for the final version of the product. Earlier rumors have indicated that the fifth-generation iPad will take more design cues from the iPad mini, such as having thinner side bezels.
A new report suggests that Apple is preparing to begin testing its long-rumored low-cost iPhone sometime next month. According to Japanese website Macotakara, the handset will be available in a variety of colors, including Navy, Gold-Orange, White, Gray, Pink, Green, Blue and Yellow-Orange. Only 1,000 units of the low-cost iPhone will reportedly be produced for field tests in June, with consumer production slated to take place between July and September. Earlier reports claimed Apple would offer the device for as little as $99 or $149 from retailers. It has also been suggested that the cheaper iPhone would feature a shell made of polycarbonate plastic to bring the price down.
Take your iPhone 5 to Apple with a broken display and the company will charge as much as $229 to swap it out. As MarketWatch notes, that’s a pretty steep price to fix a phone that starts at $199 on contract. This is pretty bad news for iPhone owners; according to third-party gadget insurer SquareTrade, almost one out of every three iPhone owners damaged their phones last year. Why is it so expensive to fix iPhones? The simplest explanation is often the correct one: iPhone 5 parts are much more expensive than typical smartphone parts. Apple’s restrictions on components are making parts so expensive, in fact, that some popular repair companies are refusing to service the iPhone 5. In the end, AppleCare is unfortunately still the best way to save money on iPhone 5 repairs.
Apple’s had previously been rumored to be reading its “iWatch” smart watch for a late 2013 launch, however a new report suggests the device won’t launch until late 2014. In what reeked of a controlled leak earlier this year, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg all issued exclusive reports on the iWatch within days of each other. Details were scarce at the time, but Apple reportedly had a team of more than 100 people working on the smart watch, which it hoped to debut in late 2013. Now, however, KGI Securities analyst Ming-chi Kuo claims that Apple won’t launch the iWatch until late next year. More →
Apple has updated an earlier lawsuit filed against Samsung with claims that the Galaxy S4 and its Google Now feature violate two Apple patents covering functions of its own virtual personal assistant, Siri. Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents relayed news of the updated complaint on Wednesday, and he noted that two of the patents — U.S. Patent 8,086,604, and U.S. Patent 6,846,959 — cover technologies related to Siri. Both filings describe a “universal interface for retrieval of information in a computer system.” Apple also added three more patents to its earlier complaint that are not related to Siri, according to the report.
We all know that Apple shares have been taking a beating over the past several months but is that really a reflection of a drop in the company’s underlying value as a brand? The latest brand value rankings from MarketingWeek suggest that the answer is “no,” since the publication found that Apple’s brand value has actually increased year-over-year and that it remains the best in the world. MarketingWeek says that a company’s brand value is calculated by multiplying its earnings by the “brand contribution” percentage that “is determined by the proportion of financial value that is generated by the brand’s ability to create loyalty.” More →
It has been reported that Apple’s next-generation MacBooks will support gigabit Wi-Fi connectivity, evidence of which was discovered in a recent OS X developer build. The 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard, also known as “5G Wi-Fi,” is capable of delivering theoretical speeds of up to 1.3Gbps and is considered a major leap forward. An earlier report claimed Apple was teaming up with Broadcom to bring the technology to its 2013 Mac lineup, and now Tonymacx86.com points us to a leaked image of a Broadcom BCM94360CD PCI-E mini custom combo WLAN and Bluetooth card that supports IEEE 802.11ac, the same standard Apple is reportedly looking to incorporate into future computers. The card is similar to those found in current Mac models and is expected to be the one Apple uses in its upcoming computers. Apple is expected to announce new Mac computers at its Worldwide Developers Conference on June 10th in San Francisco. Images of the Broadcom card follow below. More →
“Mobile is eating the world,” according to industry analyst Benedict Evans. Ahead of a presentation to be given later this month at Book Expo America, Enders Analysis’ Benedict Evans published a draft of his slide deck. The presentation paints a wonderfully clear picture of where industry growth has come from over the past few years thanks to companies like Apple and Samsung, and where it will likely continue to come from over the next few years. In a word: mobile. Several charts in the deck to a good job of illustrating the mobile explosion, which ramped up in 2010 as PC industry growth started to flatline. A few particularly interesting slides follow below, and Evans’s full presentation can be viewed on his blog. More →
Google took the wraps off of its subscription music streaming service last week at its I/O Developers Conference. To the dismay of many, Google Play Music All Access was only available for Android smartphones and tablets. This isn’t the first time Google has initially ignored iPhone and iPad users — the company’s music upload service, known as Google Listen Now, was also never officially made available on iOS. Luckily enough, third-party developers are creating applications to access the services on Apple devices. More →
It’s safe to say that Apple CEO Tim Cook won’t be having much fun on Tuesday when he testifies before the Senate about his company’s alleged tax dodging practices. The Hill reports that a new report from the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has found that Apple has allegedly “funneled money through three offshore companies to dodge billions in taxes,” which some senators say highlights major holes in U.S. tax law. More →
