First OS X 10.10 Banner Goes Up at Moscone Featuring Yosemite Posted: 30 May 2014 02:07 PM PDT Apple is continuing to decorate the Moscone Center ahead of its upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference, and following the addition of outside banners and the first iOS 8 banner, the inaugural OS X 10.10 banner has just appeared, with a photo courtesy of The Verge .
Click to view larger The mountainous background of the banner suggests OS X 10.10 will be receiving a land-related name to complement the water-based name given to OS X 10.9, possibly Yosemite or El Cap, as the image appears to feature the state park's El Capitan rock formation. We detailed some of the names Apple has apparently filed for trademarks on back in April. Some trademarked land-themed names include Yosemite, Redwood, Mammoth, California, Diablo, Miramar, El Cap, Redtail, Condor, Grizzly, Tiburon, Skyline, Shasta, and Sierra. Because OS X Mavericks only introduced minor visual changes, OS X 10.10 is expected to feature a more drastic redesign, adopting a "flatter" look and taking on some iOS 7-style design elements. While little is known about the operating system at this point, we will get our first glimpse of the operating system on Monday June 2 at 10 AM Pacitic Time, when Apple kicks off the Worldwide Developers Conference with its keynote presentation. Apple will be live streaming the event both on the web and on the Apple TV. MacRumors will also provide a live blog, live tweets via the MacRumorsLive Twitter account, and a spoiler free page for those who want to watch the full keynote at a later time. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Healthbook, HealthKit, and iResearch Names Revealed in Trademark Filings Posted: 30 May 2014 01:46 PM PDT MacRumors has now discovered several trademark applications related to the Healthbook name, and while information on the applications available online does not directly link them to Apple, circumstantial evidence suggests that they are indeed Apple's filings. The filings were made earlier this year in Trinidad and Tobago, one of Apple's favored early trademark filing locations. First is a pair of filings protecting Healthbook itself and a two-word variation of Health Book. Rumors and a leaked screenshot have indicated that Apple has been planning to use the one-word variation, but it is understandable that Apple would want to protect both versions. The applications were filed on February 3 of this year, just days after the name was publicly revealed. Supporting the notion that these are Apple filings is the fact that two different trademark applications for "Apple CarPlay" were filed on the same day, roughly a month before iOS in the Car was publicly announced as having been renamed CarPlay. Just one day later, another series of trademark applications were filed for several other terms, including HealthKit, iResearch, and iReasearch. Again, while these can not be directly linked to Apple, the timing and other circumstantial evidence suggests that these are in fact Apple's applications. It is not entirely clear what these terms are intended to describe, although HealthKit could be a set of developer tools for Healthbook integration in much the same way Apple has named other kits such as UIKit and GameKit. The focus of iResearch is even less clear, and iReasearch could simply be a typo that was quickly corrected with another filing. All of the new health- and research-related trademark applications are filed under four international classes: 9 (computer software), 10 (medical apparatus), 14 (jewelry and watches), and 42 (computer hardware and software development services). Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Future OS X Names Could Include Sequoia, Mojave, Sonoma and Ventura Posted: 30 May 2014 01:37 PM PDT With the shift from OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion to OS X 10.9, Apple opted to switch from naming its desktop operating system updates after big cats to naming them after distinct California landmarks or "places that inspire us," as Craig Federighi explained during the 2013 Worldwide Developers Conference. Mavericks, a popular surf spot, was the company's first choice, and as we approach the initial preview of OS X 10.10, there's a lot of speculation about which landmark Apple will choose next. Back in April, several possible naming choices were discovered in the form of trademarks that Apple applied for on California-related terms including Yosemite, Redwood, and Mammoth.
An OS X 10.10 mockup image MacRumors has now discovered an additional set of names that appear to be linked to Apple, which trademarks were filed for on March 11, 2014 in Trinidad and Tobago, a favorite early filing spot for the company. The terms, all of which could be slated for future OS X releases, include OS X Sequoia, OS X Mojave, OS X Sonoma, and OS X Ventura, as well as the individual names Sequoia, Mojave, Sonoma, and Ventura. While Sonoma and Ventura are major California cities known for vineyards and beaches, respectively, Mojave refers to the state's Mojave Desert while Sequoia likely refers to the Sequoia National Park famous for its giant sequoia trees. All of the names represent well-known California landmarks and are suitable for Apple's new OS X naming scheme. At this point, the full list of known trademarks Apple has registered for includes Yosemite, Redwood, Mammoth, California, Big Sur, Pacific, Diablo, Miramar, Rincon, El Cap, Redtail, Condor, Grizzly, Farallon, Tiburon, Monterey, Skyline, Shasta, Sierra, Mojave, Sequoia, Ventura, and Sonoma. It is unknown which name Apple is leaning towards for OS X 10.10, but an iOS 8 banner currently hanging at the Moscone Center ahead of WWDC featured an underwater theme, which may hint at the company's OS X plans. Along with the trademarks for several OS X terms it filed for on March 11, Apple also appears to have applied for trademarks on the terms "Apple Watch" and "Watch," continuing its long trademarking spree of iWatch-related terms, which included several new filings under shell company Brightflash back in April. OS X 10.10's official name will be unveiled this coming Monday, during the keynote presentation of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference. The event will take place at 10 AM Pacific Time. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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First iOS 8 Banner Appears at Moscone Ahead of WWDC Posted: 30 May 2014 11:04 AM PDT Apple is beginning to decorate the inside of the Moscone Center ahead of WWDC, adding banners for OS X 10.10 and iOS 8. A photo of the iOS 8 banner has been supplied by BusinessInsider's Jay Yarow, depicting a simple "8" on what appears to be a watery background.
We will get our first glimpse of iOS 8 on Monday during Apple's WWDC keynote, which kicks off at 10 AM Pacific Time. Apple will be live streaming the event and MacRumors will also provide a live blog, live tweets via the MacRumorsLive Twitter account, and a spoiler free page for those who want to watch the full keynote at a later time. Update 11:38 AM PT: MacStories has provided another image of the banner, which can be seen below:
Click for full size Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Apple to Bolster iTunes Radio With Localized Ads, Content Posted: 30 May 2014 10:55 AM PDT Apple has plans to add both targeted local advertisements and broadcast radio stations to its iTunes Radio music service in the coming months, according to a report from The Information . The move will boost its advertising efforts and introduce new content on iTunes Radio, better positioning it to compete with market leader Pandora. Apple is also expected to begin advertising its own iTunes content through the iAd network.
Apple has reportedly contacted broadcasters like Cumulus Media, the second largest operator of radio stations in America. Cumulus serves approximately 150 million listeners in 110 metropolitan areas and could potentially bring multiple local stations to iTunes Radio. Apple made its first moves towards introducing local content on iTunes Radio earlier this year with the launch of the National Public Radio (NPR) channel, which will eventually include local stations offering a mix of live and taped news.
The addition of local ads could significantly boost the revenue iTunes Radio pulls in, which is a major threat to Pandora. Pandora currently focuses heavily on local ads with sales teams located in more than 35 markets around the United States. In April, Apple moved towards expanding into Pandora's local advertising territory by making it easier to create and buy iAds on its network. While a developer account was previously required to create an ad campaign, that restriction has now been removed, making it simpler for advertisers large and small to create ads for the platform. Apple's efforts to bolster its iTunes Radio revenue through local content come as the company works to acquire Beats Music, a paid streaming music service that delivers content on demand. With both iTunes Radio and Beats Music, Apple is hoping to boost its overall music sales, which have waned in recent years. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Apple Reportedly Asking Chinese Authorities to Crack Down on iPhone 6 Leaks Posted: 30 May 2014 08:06 AM PDT iPhone rumors this year have included a steady stream of mockups, case designs and alleged schematics for the iPhone 6 emerging from China and other Asian countries. Sonny Dickson, well-known source of Apple hardware rumors, claims this wellspring of leaked information may be drying up due to increased security efforts by Apple and Chinese authorities.
iPhone 6 mockup (left) obtained by MacRumors and iPhone 5 (right) in the hand Dickson claims Apple is working with Chinese officials to stifle leaks about the iPhone 6, hiring approximately 200 security officers to catch merchants who are selling accessories allegedly for the iPhone 6. Apple is known for being a secretive company, with Tim Cook promising shortly after he took over as CEO that he was going to "double down" on secrecy when it came to future product information. Cook may be able to adequately control the flow of information from Apple's employees by reminding them to "do the right thing," but his power does not extend to Asian suppliers. These overseas suppliers often are the weak link as they are privy to Apple's unreleased products, but lack the strict oversight that discourages employees from intentionally leaking sensitive product details. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Home Screen Widget 'Blocks' Imagined in New iOS Concept Posted: 30 May 2014 07:34 AM PDT One of the more popular feature requests from iOS users has been live widgets for the home screen, similar to Live Tiles on Windows Phone and Widgets on Android. While there have been no specific rumors of widgets actually coming to iOS 8, a new concept from Jay Machalani (via The Verge ) offers an excellent vision of how this could be implemented on iOS with the "iOS Block".
Malachani imagines three possible sizes for Blocks, designed to take up the space of a 2x2 grid of icons on the home screen for iPhone, iPad portrait, and iPad landscape.
As Malachani notes, the concept is still a work in progress, as he is unsure exactly how iOS would handle moving other home screen icons to accommodate a new Block on a full home screen, as the normal method of pushing icons to the next page could be disruptive depending on how frequently Blocks are opened and closed. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Alleged iPhone 6 Back Cover Shown Off in New Photo Posted: 29 May 2014 05:44 PM PDT Despite a variety of iPhone 6 mockups and case leaks, there haven't been as many part leaks for the iPhone 6 outside of what could be the front panel of the device, the backlight panel and the possible batteries. Now, Macfixit Australia has obtained what looks to be the back cover for the 4.7-inch silver iPhone 6.
The cover also appears to have the much-rumored round corners, which are similar to the design of the iPod Touch. This also keeps the iPhone in line with both the iPad Mini and iPad Air, which have more rounded back corners. Aside from larger 4.7 and 5.5-inch displays, the iPhone 6 is rumored to have an improved A8 processor, an improved camera with optical image stabilization, new backlighting technology and 802.11ac Wi-Fi. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Apple in Talks With Retailers About Mobile Payments Service Posted: 29 May 2014 05:28 PM PDT An Apple-branded mobile payment solution would likely be integrated directly into iOS devices, allowing people to use their iPhones or other devices to make purchases for physical goods both on the web as well as in retail stores. Currently, iTunes customers can use their accounts to make purchases in iTunes and in brick and mortar Apple Stores, a feature Apple hopes to expand to third-party retailers. Discussions with retailers have reportedly focused on the difficulties behind building a unified payment service to be used with multiple retail outlets, with Apple also encouraging retailers to adopt the company's Bluetooth-based iBeacons, which could potentially be used as part of a payments service in the future.
Apple's interest in a possible mobile payment solution has been rumored for years, but gained renewed attention in early 2014, after The Wall Street Journal reported Apple was looking to develop a mobile payment service to leverage its store of more than 800 million iTunes accounts, many of which have credit cards attached. In April, the company was said to be in talks with several senior payments industry executives about possible roles at the company and Apple has also spoken with Paypal about a possible partnership. According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, a mobile payment solution was "one of the thoughts" behind Touch ID. He has also said that Apple is "intrigued" with mobile payments, noting that there's a "big opportunity on the platform." Apple has promised new hardware, software, and services in 2014, and it is possible that a mobile payment service could come later this year, though a set date is unclear as the company is still in the developmental stages. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Beats Breakdown: Apple Paying $2.5B for Beats Electronics, $500M for Beats Music Posted: 29 May 2014 04:13 PM PDT Apple yesterday announced plans to acquire both Beats Electronics and Beats Music for a combined total of $3 billion, but a new report from The Wall Street Journal breaks those numbers down further. As it turns out, Apple is paying slightly less than $500 million for the Beats Music streaming service, with the bulk of the money ($2.5B) going towards the purchase of Beats Electronics, which includes the company's popular line of headphones and speakers.
Leveraging iTunes and iTunes Radio, Apple may be able to grow Beats Music significantly in the coming months. Apple's existing streaming music service, iTunes Radio, has a total of 40 million listeners and via iTunes, Apple has sold 35 billion songs. The company also has more than 800 million iTunes accounts, most with credit cards attached, along with a wealth of data on customer listening habits. "We think all of those things, when you put them all together, it's on steroids with us together," said iTunes Chief Eddy Cue. Under the terms of the deal, Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre will both be joining Apple to work under Cue, while marketing head Phil Schiller will oversee the Beats headphone business. Apple CEO Tim Cook has called Iovine and Dre's talent and skills "really unique" and "very hard to find." He also stated that Apple felt Beats Music was the first music service to "get it right" through the use of human curation. Following regulatory approval, Apple's purchase of Beats is expected to close during the fiscal fourth quarter. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Apple Nears Completion of WWDC Decorations at Moscone Center Posted: 29 May 2014 03:13 PM PDT Apple is nearly finished decorating the Moscone Center ahead of its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco next week. Decorations began appearing earlier this week with a larger banner that says "Write the code. Change the world." MacStories editor Federico Viticci has shared selection of images from San Francisco. Giant Apple logos are nearly finished on the sides of Moscone, with large square panels in the same style as the other banners have appeared on the Metreon building across the street.
Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Rumored Split-Screen Multitasking Feature for iOS 8 Not Ready for WWDC Preview Posted: 29 May 2014 01:47 PM PDT The rumored split-screen multitasking feature said to be coming with iOS 8 is still a work in progress and won't be previewed at Apple's upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference, according to Brian Chen of the New York Times. Designed for the iPad Air and possibly a larger-screened iPad to be released in the future, split-screen multitasking would allow two apps to be displayed at the same time on a single screen while in landscape mode. It might also include a feature that allows users to share information like links, images, and text between two apps. Split-screen multitasking concept, not rumor-based The iPad's inability to display two apps at once is a lack that Microsoft has used to heavily advertise its Surface tablet, which does have the ability to display multiple apps on the screen at one time. While the multitasking feature will reportedly not make its debut at WWDC, it is still slated for inclusion in iOS 8. It appears multitasking will be limited to the iPad Air at launch, and it is unclear whether the smaller Retina iPad mini and iPhone might also gain the functionality. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Apple's 'Smart Home' Initiative Focused on 'Made for iPhone' Certification, Not Deep Integration Posted: 29 May 2014 01:14 PM PDT Earlier this week, a report suggested Apple has plans to unveil a new smart home initiative at WWDC. This platform would allow the iPhone to directly control lights, security systems, and other household gadgets, with Apple giving third-party device makers official approval for integrated devices. Gigaom has some new information on how the smart home program will work, confirming that it is a fairly simple program that will certify both connected devices already on the market and upcoming devices under the existing "Made for iPhone" certification process currently used for iOS accessories like iPhone cables and gaming controllers.
The MFi certification will essentially be used to notify consumers about which products will integrate well both with the iPhone and with other home automation accessories, suggesting the program introduced next week will feature several home automation product manufacturers that have agreed to work with the MFi standards for quality and compatibility.
Apple is expected to unveil more information on its smart home initiative on Monday, when WWDC kicks off with an opening keynote. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Friday, 30 May 2014
MacRumors : Mac News and Rumors
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