Apple Inc

613 'Apple Inc' stories April 2013 - December 2014

Apple announces iTunes Best of 2014: apps, music, movies, TV shows and books

Ben Lovejoy Dec 8 2014 - 4:27 am PT

Apple has announced its favorite apps, music, movies, TV shows and books of the year, with Elevate – Brain Training declared iPhone App of the Year while number puzzle game Threes! won iPhone Game of the Year.

For the iPad, ‘desktop-class’ image editor Pixelmator took the top slot, with the gorgeous Monument Valley winning best game. Both Threes! and Monument Valley previously won Apple Design Awards at WWDC back in June …
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Former Apple Global Supply Manager Paul Devine sentenced to a year in prison and $4.5M fine

Seth Weintraub Dec 7 2014 - 12:29 pm PT

19 Comments

A former Apple Global Supply Manager was sentenced in a San Jose federal court earlier this week nearly 3 years after being convicted of wire fraud, conspiracy and money laundering in relation to selling Apple iPhone and component secrets to Apple’s suppliers. AP notes that Paul Shin Devine was up to no good:

“The scheme funneled millions in kickbacks to Devine for passing along confidential information to Apple Inc. suppliers and manufacturers who used the secrets to negotiate more favorable deals.”

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Apple’s new ‘Change is in the Air’ ads show novel uses for the iPad Air 2

Seth Weintraub Dec 7 2014 - 12:05 pm PT

10 Comments

Apple released a new iPad Air 2 campaign during Sunday football today showcasing various unique physical and software applications for the iPad Air 2.

Featuring the song “Who Needs You” by The Orwells [iTunes Store, YouTube], the ad is a departure from last year’s iPad Air which were focused on a single user.

iPad Air 2 isn’t just the thinnest and lightest iPad we’ve ever created. It’s the most powerful. From the studio to the classroom, the ﬁeld to the garage, it’s helping people discover new and better ways to do the things they love. Imagine what you’ll do with it.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROZhrRm88ms]

Microsite embedded below:
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Apple Campus 2 December 2014 update + Drone Flyover video

Seth Weintraub Dec 6 2014 - 8:26 pm PT

18 Comments

Our bi-monthly drone flight over Apple’s Campus 2 doesn’t reveal anything huge but things are definitely moving along from last time, especially in the foundation. Check the YouTube below and thanks again to Myithz, our eye in the sky.
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Review: Harman Kardon Esquire Mini is the best iPhone speakerphone you can fit in your pocket

Seth Weintraub Dec 6 2014 - 1:11 pm PT

2 Comments

not me

I reviewed two portable Bluetooth speakerphone options earlier this year: The Philips WeCall ($145) vs. Logitech P710e ($125) . Both are square and have internal batteries and make conference calling easy. But for their ~$150 price tag, I wondered if you could get more portability and style without sacrificing sound quality.

The answer to those questions is the Harman Kardon Esquire line of portable speakerphones. Below, I take a look at the Esquire Mini which retails for $149.99 and can be found as low as $145 at Amazon or $135 at World Wide Stereo.
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Chance’s holiday gift guide: the products I use everyday

Chance Miller Dec 5 2014 - 10:30 am PT

7 Comments

I’ve already broken down the best gifts for students this holiday season, but now it’s time to talk about the best gifts for all the Apple lovers in your life. These are most of the products that I use on a daily basis. Whether I use them on-the-go, while working, or pretty much 24/7, these are some of the best products that have earned a coveted spot in my daily routine.

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Mark Zuckerberg describes Tim Cook’s views on ad-supported businesses as “ridiculous,” suggests Apple products over-priced

Ben Lovejoy Dec 5 2014 - 7:19 am PT

112 Comments

In an interview with TIME, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has described Tim Cook’s comments on ad-supported businesses as “ridiculous,” and suggested that Apple’s products are over-priced.

Zuckerberg was referring to comments Cook made back in September about Apple’s approach to security and privacy, when Cook said:

A few years ago, users of Internet services began to realize that when an online service is free, you’re not the customer. You’re the product.

While Cook was taking a shot at Google without specifically naming the company, the comment could apply equally well to Facebook, which has the same need to monetize its subscribers …
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Apple questions whether iPod class action suit can proceed as case may lack genuine plaintiffs

Ben Lovejoy Dec 5 2014 - 4:11 am PT

7 Comments

Just as it looked like the iPod-related class action suit against Apple was getting interesting, Eddy Cue arguing that competing music stores had effectively hacked the iPod, it now seems the case is in danger of collapsing.

Apple’s lawyers have written to the judge to say there is no evidence that either of the two plaintiffs owned iPods during the time affected by Apple’s action to remove non-iTunes songs from iPods …
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iPhone 6 Plus captured 41% of all US phablet sales; iPhone 6 best-selling iOS device – Kantar data

Ben Lovejoy Dec 4 2014 - 4:30 am PT

24 Comments

Kantar data shows that the iPhone 6 Plus managed to take a 41% share of all US phablet sales for the August to October quarter, despite only being on sale for a little over one of those months and significant supply constraints.

Unsurprisingly, the smaller iPhone 6 also outsold the iPhone 5s in the same period, taking 33% of all iOS device sales against 26% for the 5s, 18% for the 5c and 10% for the 6 Plus. This is line with multiple sources suggesting a 3-to-1 ratio of iPhone 6 vs 6 Plus sales …
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Samsung appeal against Apple’s $930M award for patent infringement begins today

Ben Lovejoy Dec 4 2014 - 4:01 am PT

47 Comments

The latest court battle between Apple and Samsung begins today, with Samsung appealing against the $930M it was ordered to pay Apple for patent infringement in the first trial between the two companies. Samsung is arguing that the amount awarded was “excessive and unwarranted.”

It’s of course not the first time that the sum awarded has been disputed. Apple was initially awarded $1B in damages, with $450M of that later cut and a retrial required to determine a revised sum. The retrial awarded Apple $290M instead for that element of the case, giving Apple a revised total award of $930M …
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Mockup video gives a sense of the size of the long-rumored iPad Pro

Ben Lovejoy Dec 2 2014 - 4:45 am PT

15 Comments

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkzt_nl-7ok]

Following last week’s claimed leaked schematics for the long-rumored larger iPad, in which the screen size was shown as 12.2-inches, a YouTube channel has put together a mockup video putting the size into context.

The video by tech channel Canoopsy shows the iPad Pro mockup compared in size to everything from the iPhone 5 through to the iPad Air 2 – then places it against a 13-inch MacBook Pro, showing that it is almost exactly the same height and just a little less wide.

The idea of a 12.2-inch display was first posted by MacOtakara, which also suggested a 7mm thickness. Most previous rumors had pegged the screen size at a slightly larger 12.9 inches. Mac Fan claimed that the device will have four speakers, to ensure stereo sound in both horizontal and vertical formats.

KGI recently suggested that the iPad Pro will be launched in Q2 of next year.

Via tip

Tim Cook visits Georgetown, DC, store as Apple issues push notification in World AIDS Day promo

Ben Lovejoy Dec 2 2014 - 4:21 am PT

9 Comments

Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted a couple of photos of a visit yesterday to the Apple Store in Georgetown, Washington DC, to help promote World AIDS Day. He was accompanied by (RED) CEO Deborah Dugan, who tweeted a couple of additional photos from the visit (show below) …
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iPod-related class action suit against Apple starts tomorrow, Steve Jobs emails & video key evidence

Ben Lovejoy Dec 1 2014 - 4:55 am PT

15 Comments

This case goes back a while …

Emails and a video deposition by Steve Jobs are likely to form key elements of the evidence in an iPod-related antitrust case against Apple which opens in California tomorrow, reports the NYT.

The case goes back more than a decade, to the time when iPods would play only music purchased from iTunes or ripped from CD, with consumers unable to play music bought from competing stores. The class action alleges that this amounted to anti-competitive behaviour, and that consumers were forced to pay higher prices as a result …
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Google Chrome crashes hard with Mac OS 10.10.2 beta, here’s the fix

Seth Weintraub Nov 30 2014 - 9:26 am PT

34 Comments

…Use Safari! (lol,)

Google Chrome 39 had started to crash for me as soon as I updated to 10.10.2 Beta. I tried all of the normal things (trashing Google prefs, using Canary, etc etc). Nothing worked except downgrading back to Mac OS 10.10.1 stable.

[tweet https://twitter.com/llsethj/status/538403705201377281]

It turns out that the new 10.10.2 has depreciated some Trackpad APIs that cause an immediate crash.

@llsethj If I understand correctly, some trackpad APIs were deprecated — drivers aren’t relevant. http://t.co/f93RBntG4J

— Scott Buscemi (@scottbuscemi) November 30, 2014

The answer comes via Reddit today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMVte93tgTM

Obviously use at your own risk: an Automator app has also been built to speed up the below process.

Workaround that was found on the Apple dev forums – this is not my code – use at your own risk – I’ve used it and it works fine.

1) Open up text edit and paste this code – save it as “patch.m”
#import <AppKit/AppKit.h>

__attribute((constructor)) void Patch_10_10_2_entry()
{
NSLog(@"10.10.2 patch loaded");
}

@interface NSTouch ()
- (id)_initWithPreviousTouch:(NSTouch *)touch newPhase:(NSTouchPhase)phase position:(CGPoint)position     isResting:(BOOL)isResting force:(double)force;
@end

@implementation NSTouch (Patch_10_10_2)
- (id)_initWithPreviousTouch:(NSTouch *)touch newPhase:(NSTouchPhase)phase position:(CGPoint)position     isResting:(BOOL)isResting
{
return [self _initWithPreviousTouch:touch newPhase:phase position:position isResting:isResting force:0];
}
@end
2) Run this command in Terminal
clang -dynamiclib -framework AppKit ~/Desktop/patch.m -o ~/Desktop/patch.dylib
3) Run this command in Terminal to open Chrome.
env DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES=~/Desktop/patch.dylib "/Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome"
Notes: This will leave Terminal open in the background, do not close it or Chrome will quit out. This doesn’t modify anything permanently just fixes it temporarily. To reopen chrome a second time all you have to do is repeat step 3.

Best iPhone 6/Plus wallet cases: Pad and Quill Little Pocket Book and SurfacePad from TwelveSouth

Seth Weintraub Nov 28 2014 - 9:32 am PT

27 Comments

For all of its greatness, Apple Pay hasn’t nearly killed the need to take your wallet with you wherever you go. But if you are like me, it has lightened your load a little bit. Instead of carrying around 5 credit cards, I now carry around one each of debit and credit. Combine that with some other de-Costanzifications (scan insurance cards and health club cards for instance) I’ve made recently, I can now consolidate my wallet into a few card slots.

What I’m getting at here is that I can follow the lead of my wife and now consolidate my iPhone and my wallet finally. I’ve chosen two amazing iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus cases from my favorite iPhone case manufacturers to get me there: Pad and Quill’s Little Pocket Book ($60 -$10 off for Black Friday) and Twelve South’s $50 Surfacepad…
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IBM analytics show that iOS dominates online purchasing in both transactions and average sale values

Ben Lovejoy Nov 28 2014 - 6:20 am PT

5 Comments

Android might have the sheer weight of numbers, but when it comes to ecommerce, it’s iPhone and iPad owners retailers want to attract. Online shopping data compiled from Thanksgiving shopping yesterday showed that despite iOS devices in the US being outnumbered almost two-to-one by Android, it’s iOS devices that dominate online purchasing.

iOS accounted for a quarter of online purchases, compared to less than 7% for Android devices. Average order value was also higher, at $118.57 compared to Android’s $95.25 …
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MIT looks back at Steve Jobs patents, including the 141 approved since his death

Ben Lovejoy Nov 28 2014 - 4:19 am PT

8 Comments

Steve Jobs may have passed away more than three years ago, but he is still having patents awarded today as applications work their way through the system and old patents are renewed with updates. MIT Technology Review notes that of the 458 patents credited to Jobs, almost a third of them have been awarded since his death in October 2011.

Since his death in 2011 from pancreatic cancer, the former Apple CEO has won 141 patents. That’s more than most inventors win during their lifetimes.

His patent documents act as a record of Apple’s history, says the site …
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Hyper’s Black Friday: $50 off the world’s only external MacBook battery, $10 battery packs (Reg. $50), $2 iPad cases (Reg. $30), much more

Jordan Kahn Nov 27 2014 - 7:14 am PT

1 Comment

Hyper, the brand behind a number of popular Mac and iOS products we’ve reviewed in the past, is today offering its best deals ever for Black Friday. The sale includes big deals on external battery packs and other iOS accessories including the world’s only external MacBook battery.

Some of the notables: A $10 3600 mAh battery pack (Reg. $49), a $20 7200mAh battery pack (Reg. $70), and up to $50 off the company’s external battery for MacBooks. Head below for the full list of deals.
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Looks like no Black Friday deals in European Apple Stores – just (RED) donations on Cyber Monday

Ben Lovejoy Nov 27 2014 - 4:51 am PT

5 Comments

While Apple Store customers in the U.S. can look forward to gift cards on selected purchases on Black Friday, it seems European customers may be missing out. Apple last year offered its European customers discounted pricing rather than gift cards, but rumors – including from the usually reliable MacG – say that there will be neither cards nor discounts this year …
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Predicted cannibalisation of iPads by larger iPhones underway as iPhone 6/Plus changes browsing habits

Ben Lovejoy Nov 26 2014 - 7:31 am PT

20 Comments

Predictions that larger-screened iPhones would cannibalise iPad usage look to be confirmed by some stats from the Pocket app that allows you to save webpages, videos and other content for reading later.

Pocket reported in a blog post today that while 55% of owners of the iPhone 5s viewed content on their phone rather than iPad, the number leapt to 72% for the iPhone 6 and 80% for the iPhone 6 Plus …

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These are the most popular non-Apple apps people keep on their homescreens

Ben Lovejoy Nov 26 2014 - 5:02 am PT

28 Comments

You don’t need to go any further than iTunes to see the most popular iPhone apps, but a couple of days after Betaworks launched #Homescreen, an app which allows people to share their homescreens on Twitter, we thought it would be interesting to check the results so far. The above image was the result at the time of writing.

#Homescreen is an app with a single function: it allows you to share your current iPhone homescreen on Twitter. Betaworks uses image-recognition to identify the apps, and pulls together a constantly-updated image showing the most popular dock and homescreen apps.

Betaworks excludes Apple’s own apps, but does note that “between 45 percent and 65 percent of the home screens examined had replaced Apple’s default apps with third-party options,” reports TechCrunch.

One trend the company noted in a Medium blog post is the growing popularity of third-party messaging apps.

Facebook is Messenger is on 14% of people’s homescreen, Whatsapp is on 12 percent, Snapchat is on 11%, Path on 5 percent (while snapchat and path arent straight messaging app’s, worth noting them here for comparison), Groupme 4.7%, HipChat on 2.6 percent, Line on 1.5 percent, Viber 1%, Kik is on 0.5 percent.

Facebook, unsurprisingly, took the title of most popular third-party app provider, with 68.6% of homescreens having at least one of Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Pages or Instagram.

If you want to share your homescreen but can’t be bothered to download an app to do it, you can tweet a screengrab with the hashtag #homescreen2014.

Rev. Jesse Jackson urges Tim Cook to take a lead in the treatment of low-paid contractors

Ben Lovejoy Nov 26 2014 - 4:22 am PT

22 Comments

The Rev. Jesse Jackson has written to Apple CEO Tim Cook to urge the company to create “world-class working conditions” for low-paid contractors like security guards, requesting a meeting with Cook to discuss the issue, reports the San Jose Mercury News.

The paper reports a growing debate about the widespread use of contract workers by tech companies for low-paid roles, contract staff having none of the protections or perks afforded to direct employees …
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Grab this (Typinator, Intensify Pro, Paperless, Pixa, MacJournal, more!) Mac Bundle while it is only a buck or 2

Seth Weintraub Nov 25 2014 - 9:00 pm PT

3 Comments

From 9to5Toys.com:

We’ve got a nice 9to5Toys Specials deal on this evening and the best part is that it is a name your own price with the bids starting at $1. The earlier you get in, the less you pay. Here’s the list of apps but frankly Typinator alone is worth it. Go big and 10% of your purchase price goes to a charity of your choice and you’ll be entered to win a Gold iPad 2 & iPhone 6

(Update:6:30am ET: the price is now $3.50)

Typinator – $32 – The program the “types” frequently used text for you
Hotspot Shield VPN – 1 Year Elite Subscription
Starry Night Enthusiast – $80 – Turn your computer into a virtual universe
Intensify Pro – $60 – The image enhancer for photographers of all levels
Spotdox 3 – $72 – Get access to all your files, on any device, anywhere
Data Backup 3 – $49 – Easy, powerful, and flexible backups
Paperless – $50 – Fuel your paper-free lifestyle
MacJournal 6 – $40 – Multimedia journal for the 21st century
Pixa – $25 – Image management and sharing app
Must Have Mac App Tutorial – $100 – Learn how to maximize the 9 apps included

Top Apple Maps app manager for Watch, iOS & OS X exits for Uber

Mark Gurman Nov 25 2014 - 1:08 pm PT

22 Comments

Apple is having trouble retaining top talent in its Maps division.

We’re told that a notable number of exits have occurred on the Maps team over the last several months with a large portion of those engineers heading to ride-sharing startup Uber. The most notable Apple employee to recently depart is Brad Moore, who exited in October to become a manager at Uber. As “Senior Engineering Manager, Maps Apps & Community” at Apple, Moore “built and managed the application and community teams responsible for Maps on iPhone, iPad, CarPlay, OS X, and Apple Watch,” according to LinkedIn.

Since Moore was in charge of such a critical application across all of Apple’s major hardware and software platforms, his departure marks a significant loss for Apple and a huge gain for Uber. Apple is said to also be overhauling its public transportation team following the group’s inability to launch the planned directions service for iOS 8 last year. Sources say that Apple’s Maps team is also progressing on its testing in major districts like New York City of a new indoor mapping service. Chris Blumenberg, another former top Apple Maps manager at Apple, left for Uber in July.

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