Apple News: MacRumors : Mac News and Rumors

Apple Reportedly Preparing to Remove Bose Audio Products From Retail Stores

Posted: 10 Oct 2014 06:58 AM PDT

Apple is preparing to remove all Bose audio products, both demo and sellable, from its retail environment, according to a reliable source who spoke to MacRumors. The inventory change will begin early next week, with instructions for removal being sent to employees in the coming days.

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The reasons behind this removal were not disclosed, but it is very likely tied to to Apple's recent acquisition of Beats Electronics. As part of this deal, Apple obtained the popular Beats headphone division as well as the company's subscription music streaming service. With Beats now featured prominently by Apple, either Bose or Apple may have decided to end their retail relationship.

Bose also has a new sponsorship deal with the National Football League that has seen the league prohibit players from wearing Beats headphones while in the presence of television cameras at practice and on game days. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick defied the ban by wearing bright pink Beats headphones at a postgame press conference last Sunday, a move that saw the league hit Kaepernick with a $10,000 fine.

Apple acquired Beats Electronics earlier this year in a deal worth $3 billion. Beats co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre reportedly have assumed senior roles within the company and are said to be working to improve Apple's influence in the music industry. This partnership may help Apple as it supposedly negotiates with music labels in order to lower the price of its Beats Music service ahead of a planned revamp rumored for February of next year.

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Apple to Live Stream Upcoming October 16 iPad Event

Posted: 09 Oct 2014 05:55 PM PDT

Apple has plans to offer a live stream of its October 16 event, according to a source that spoke to MacRumors. As with its September 9 iPhone event, Apple will likely offer a stream of the event both on its website and through a dedicated channel on the Apple TV.

Invitations for the October 16 event, which will be held at the Town Hall auditorium on the company's Cupertino campus at 10:00 AM Pacific Time, went out earlier this week with the tagline "It's been way too long."

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At the event, Apple is expected to introduce an updated iPad Air and possibly a new Retina iPad mini, as well as updated iMacs with a 27-inch model that has a high-resolution Retina display. OS X Yosemite is also likely to be previewed one more time before its public launch, and updated Mac minis, which are rumored to be in the works, might possibly see an announcement at the event.

In addition to Apple's live stream, MacRumors will be providing its own live coverage of the event, both on MacRumors.com and on the MacRumorsLive Twitter account.

Update: Apple has now officially confirmed it will be streaming the event live.

Jony Ive Details Apple Design Process, iPhone 6 Design Choices in New Interview

Posted: 09 Oct 2014 05:37 PM PDT

Apple's head of design Jony Ive today gave a live interview at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit in San Francisco. In the interview, which BusinessInsider attended, Ive gave some rare insight into the design process at Apple and some of the design choices the team made with the iPhone 6.

According to Ive, he has a great design team that's quite small, numbering 16 or 17 employees. During a typical day, Ive says that designers gather around tables like those in the Apple Store to draw. The team meets three or four times a week.

One of the major advantages of being part of a design team that's been together so long is that it's given them time to develop a design process. Ideas, Ive says, don't really come along until the design team has created a physical object from their drawings. "It really galvanizes and focuses our team," said Ive.

When asked whether or not he had experienced a "eureka moment" in a design meeting, Ive pointed towards the iPhone 6 and the 6 Plus, saying that there's a "special moment" when there's an object you can touch. He says he's surprised and thrilled every time he gets to see a new first model.

On the iPhone 6's rounded edges, Ive says that Apple opted to go back to rounded edges because they were necessary to make the device feel less wide. Apple made bigger-screened prototypes years before, but they were "clunky."

Ive also shared details on Steve Jobs, saying that Jobs was "the most remarkably focused person" he'd ever met in his life. "You can achieve so much when you truly focus," Ive said. "What focus means is saying no to something that with every bone in your body you think is a phenomenal idea. And you wake up thinking about it, but you say no to it because you're focusing on something else."

During audience questions, Ive gave some interesting thoughts on Xiaomi, the Chinese manufacturer that closely copies Apple's designs. Ive says what Xiaomi is doing is theft, not flattery.

There is a danger...I don't see it as flattery. I see it as theft. (Talking about copying designs in general). When you're doing something for the first time and you don't know it's going to work. I have to be honest the last thing I think is "Oh, that is flattering. All those weekends I could've been home with my family...I think it's theft and lazy. I don't think it's OK at all."

The full paraphrased text of Ive's interview, where he also shares why he chose to be an industrial designer, what he thought was well designed as a kid, how he came to work at Apple, and his thoughts on Steve Jobs, can be found over at BusinessInsider . Both TechCrunch and The Verge have shared details on the interview as well.

GT Advanced Asks Court for Permission to 'Wind Down' Operations at Sapphire Plant

Posted: 09 Oct 2014 05:14 PM PDT

After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this week, Apple sapphire partner GT Advanced has asked for the court's permission to "wind down" operations at its Mesa, Arizona manufacturing plant, reports Re/code and The Wall Street Journal .

GT is said to be filing motions to get expedited hearings to cease certain operations and get out of both contracts and leases connected to those operations.

The facility, which was purchased and outfitted by Apple and run by GT Advanced, has operated for less than a year. Approximately 700 employees are employed at the manufacturing plant, where GT Advanced was rumored to be creating sapphire for use in Apple products like the Apple Watch and the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

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Furnaces for sapphire production

Little information about the reasoning behind GT Advanced's bankruptcy filing is available as the company has asked for a non-disclosure in its bankruptcy proceedings. GT is subjected to a confidentiality agreement with an unnamed third party (confirmed to be Apple by a courtroom reference) that has prevented it from disclosing details about the bankruptcy. The company could be fined up to $50 million per violation for breaking the agreements.

GT's bankruptcy filing took both Apple and Wall Street by surprise. Apple has reportedly been working with GT Advanced to help it remain solvent and to help it receive its final $139 million payment, but it is unclear how this latest request will impact the relationship between the two companies.

According to The Wall Street Journal , the deal between GT Advanced and Apple may have crumbled following the former's failure to deliver sapphire iPhone screens for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Apple was widely expected to use sapphire screens in at least some models, but both the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus continue to feature Gorilla Glass displays.

GT Advanced will again appear in court on October 15 at a hearing related to its wind-down request. Apple, for its part, has again said that it plans to focus on "preserving jobs" in Arizona and that it will "work with state and local officials" as it considers its next steps.

Apple Watch to be Featured in November Issue of Vogue China

Posted: 09 Oct 2014 04:24 PM PDT

Earlier this month, Chinese model Liu Wen hinted that she might be involved in a fashion-oriented advertising campaign for the Apple Watch. As it turns out, Liu Wen will be featured in Vogue China's November issue, wearing the Apple Watch on the cover of the magazine.

Wen appears to be wearing the 18-karat yellow gold Edition Apple Watch, which features a red Modern Buckle Band. She's also featured wearing other Apple Watch models on a spread inside the magazine.

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In an interview with The Business of Fashion , Vogue China editor-in-chief Angelica Cheung has revealed the details behind the partnership between Vogue and Apple that led to the device being featured on the popular magazine's cover. According to Cheung, she met with Apple CEO Tim Cook and design head Jony Ive ahead of the device's September 9 unveiling.

Cheung says that the duo walked her through the development of the Apple Watch, which left her "impressed by their thoughts and passion for the project." Cheung said that she thought the watches "combined technology, style, and functionality and were very modern," making them a good fit for Vogue China.

Cheung believes that Cook and Ive opted to give the Apple Watch its editiorial debut in Vogue China due to China's willingness to embrace new technology.

"Chinese people are actually very digitally minded and we embrace new technology and digital products more easily than perhaps people elsewhere," said Ms Cheung. "We are an ancient country but at the same time a very young country when it comes to fashion and new products. We love to embrace everything that is new, modern and positive," she added. "All these convince us that the intersection of fashion and technology is a natural progression, not something alien."

Apple's choice to show off the Apple Watch in Vogue China speaks to how important the country has become to the company. China marks an opportunity for significant growth for Apple and earlier this year, China's largest cell phone carrier, China Mobile, began offering the iPhone in what Tim Cook called a watershed moment. Cook visited China several times in 2013, and Apple has opened several new retail stores in the country in 2014, including locations in Wuxi, Chongqing, and Beijing.

The Apple Watch marks Apple's first foray into the fashion world, and the company has been working to position it as a high-fashion accessory. In addition to getting its editorial debut in Vogue China, the Apple Watch saw its retail debut at French luxury boutique Colette in late September.

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Apple is likely to hold additional fashion-oriented events as the Apple Watch's early 2015 debut date approaches, aiming to promote the device as much as possible. Apple may also take a variety of approaches in its Apple Watch advertising, to reach a wide range of potential customers. June rumors suggested the Apple Watch was also being tested with multiple professional athletes that could also take part in future advertisements.

The Apple Watch is expected to launch in early 2015 and the device will be available in a wide range of materials and at several different price points. On the lower end, the Sport version of the device will retail for $349, and rumors have suggested the higher-end solid gold Edition models could sell for thousands of dollars.

Apple Releases Third OS X Yosemite Golden Master Candidate to Developers

Posted: 09 Oct 2014 03:52 PM PDT

Apple today released a third golden master candidate of OS X Yosemite to developers, just two days after releasing the second candidate golden master and the fifth public beta. The first golden master candidate was seeded to developers on September 30.

The latest Yosemite update can be downloaded from the Mac App Store and through Apple's Mac Developer Center.

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OS X Yosemite brings a flatter, more modern look to OS X, with an emphasis on translucency and redesigned dock, windows, and more. It also includes a multitude of new features, such as improved integration with iOS 8 through Continuity, a new "Today" view in Notification Center that offers integration with third-party apps, a retooled Spotlight search with new data sources, and several new features for apps like Mail, Safari, and Messages.

Over the course of the beta testing period, each Developer Preview has added new features and refined the look and performance of OS X Yosemite, although changes have become less obvious in more recent builds as Apple begins finalizing Yosemite ahead of its public release, which is expected in late October.

The current build, like the previous golden master candidate, may not be the final version of OS X Yosemite, depending on the outcome of final testing. Last year, Apple seeded multiple golden master versions of OS X Mavericks, with the final version coming a couple of days ahead of the software's public release.

San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Fined $10k for Defying No Beats Headphones Rule

Posted: 09 Oct 2014 03:01 PM PDT

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been fined $10,000 for wearing Apple's Beats by Dre headphones following a ban on the brand after the NFL signed an exclusive deal with Bose.

Kaepernick opted to wear bright pink Beats by Dre headphones following last Sunday's game against the Chiefs, in order to "pay homage to Breast Cancer Awareness." Kaepernick declined to say whether Beats paid his fine, saying "I'm going to let that be unanswered."

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Kaepernick, along with a number of other high-profile NFL players, has an endorsement deal with Beats. Last year, he starred in a popular Beats ad that depicted him tuning out the negative comments and boos of opposing fans by wearing Beats noise-canceling headphones.

Bose and the NFL signed a sponsorship agreement before the season began, but last week the NFL decided to ban players from wearing Beats headphones in front of television cameras to support its sponsor. Players are not allowed to wear them when conducting interviews during training camp, during practice sessions, or on game day, from before the event until 90 minutes after play has ended.

This is the second time Beats headphones have been banned from major sporting events. Earlier this year, World Cup headphone sponsor Sony banned soccer players from wearing Beats headphones within stadiums, and during the London Olympics, the International Olympic Committee ended up banning Beats headphones after a guerrilla marketing campaign because the company was not an official sponsor.

Lenovo Product Engineer Ashton Kutcher 'Not Concerned' About Upcoming iPad Launch

Posted: 09 Oct 2014 01:53 PM PDT

Lenovo today launched the Yoga Tablet 2, which comes equipped with either Android or Windows 8. Available in three different sizes ranging from 8 to 13 inches, the tablets are priced from $249 to $499. On the smaller end, the 8 and 10 inch tablets (Windows or Android) have a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080, while the larger 13-inch Pro version (Android only) has a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440.

The tablets come equipped with a 180-degree kickstand and the 13-inch Pro model comes equipped with a built-in pico projector that can project an image up to 50 inches on a wall as its defining feature. The tablets and two new two-in-one Yoga laptops have been created by Lenovo in conjunction with Ashton Kutcher, a "product engineer" at the company. Along with serving as one of Lenovo's product engineers, Kutcher also famously starred as Steve Jobs in "Jobs," the biographical movie directed by Joshua Michael Stern.

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Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 Pro image courtesy of Engadget

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal , Kutcher sat down to talk about the creation of the Yoga Tablet 2 Pro and give his thoughts on Apple's upcoming iPad lineup. According to Kutcher, he traveled to China to brainstorm a product consumers want. with the aim of making a "great entertainment device."

For that reason, the Pro tablet comes equipped with a subwoofer and an 8-watt speaker, along with a 13-inch screen. "Because people use it in the home, we don't need to create this super portable device," Kutcher said. And with the projector, users don't need to look for an HDMI cord or use AirPlay, because there's a "built-in 50-inch screen."

When asked about the upcoming iPad, Kutcher said he wasn't worried about the competition as it would be unlikely to approach the features found in the Lenovo tablet.

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Not at all. I'm not concerned about it in the least bit. Maybe it will be an iPhone Plus Plus. I think Apple has their fingers in a lot of things. We are really focused on this space and this product. I will be really surprised if they launch anything that approaches what we have here.

While Apple is said to be working on a larger 12.9-inch iPad, its upcoming October 16 launch event will focus on new versions of its already existing tablets, the iPad Air and the Retina iPad mini. Rumors have suggested the new iPad Air will receive an updated A8 processor, an improved camera, a gold color option, a new anti-reflective screen, and possibly 2GB of RAM.

Apple's 12.9-inch iPad, meanwhile, is currently on hold with production delayed until Apple can meet demand for the iPhone 6 Plus. Lenovo's smaller Android Yoga tablets are available now, while the larger projector-equipped version will launch later in October.

iTunes Users Downloaded U2's 'Songs of Innocence' 26 Million Times, 81 Million 'Experienced Songs'

Posted: 09 Oct 2014 01:10 PM PDT

U2's partnership with Apple that saw its latest album, "Songs of Innocence" distributed for free to iTunes users appears to have been a wild success, with the album reaching more than 81 million Apple customers across iTunes, iTunes Radio, and Beats Music.

Eddy Cue, Apple's iTunes chief, told Billboard that the album had been downloaded in its entirety more than 26 million times since its September 9 release, and that more than 81 million customers had "experienced songs" from the album.

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"To help put this into perspective," [Cue] says, "prior to this, 14 million customers had purchased music from U2 since the opening of the iTunes Store in 2003."

During Apple's September 9 keynote event, Bono took the stage with Tim Cook to announce that the "Songs of Innocence" album would be available at no cost to 500 million iTunes customers. Apple even went so far as to push the album to iTunes accounts, causing some devices to download the album without explicit user permission.

There was some backlash over the automatic downloads, prompting Apple to create a tool to allow users to remove the free U2 album. Despite the negativity over auto downloads, Apple announced that "Songs of Innocence" had been "accessed" by more than 33 million customers just under a week after it had been made available.

Apple's deal with U2 and Universal Music Group is worth an estimated $100 million and is said to be part of a "long-term relationship" that will see U2 continuing to work with Apple to promote innovation in music.

Banks Confident in Apple Pay Security, Assume Liability for Fraudulent Purchases

Posted: 09 Oct 2014 01:05 PM PDT

Apple's new Apple Pay payment system has been designed to be ultra secure, taking advantage of existing NFC tokenization specifications to keep user payment information safe. Apple uses tokens, or unique Device Account Numbers, to replace card numbers and transactions are verified through both one-time use security codes and Touch ID.

Ahead of the launch of Apple Pay, The Daily Dot has spoken to several different banks working with Apple on the payments service, including Navy Federal Credit Union, USAA, Chase, and PNC, to get their thoughts on its security.

According to Navy Federal VP of credit cards Randy Hopper, the bank was "very excited" to see what Apple had developed, because it is "convenient, secure, and private." Apple's use of tokenization "addresses all points of weakness across the payment system."

USAA assistant vice president Vikram Parekh, meanwhile, said that the bank is confident enough in Apple Pay to assume all liability for unauthorized or fraudulent transactions, both in retail stores and for online purchases.

"USAA has a zero liability policy and members are never liable for any losses related to unauthorized [or] fraudulent activity, this does not change with Apple Pay," Vikram Parekh, Assistant Vice President at USAA Bank tells the Daily Dot.

"The bank has liability for any purchases made when Apple Pay is offered and used as the form of payment. This is true for both face-to-face and for "in-app" purchases," Parekh explains.

Both Chase and PNC offered similar statements, suggesting banks that have partnered with Apple feel that the payments system is secure enough for them to offer consumers the same protections they get with standard credit cards.

Apple Pay is "extremely secure" and "zero liability for fraudulent transactions still applies," said Chase spokesman Paul Hartwick, while Tom Trebilcock, vice president of digital at PNC Bank, pointed out that tokenization will protect consumers from "potential mass theft of credit and debit card information." Stolen credit cards and customer information have plagued millions this year, as major retailers like Target and Home Depot saw massive security breaches that compromised significant amounts of customer data.

"From Navy Federal's perspective we're excited about the whole tokenization process," Hopper says. "The whole process of providing a payment token as opposed to the financial account number actually reduces the risk to the system and to everyone participating in it, from the customer, to the retailer, to the payment networks, to the issuer, and to Apple."

Though Apple has said that it will not be able to see transaction information, several of the bank representatives that spoke to The Daily Dot have confirmed that they will be able to tell if a transaction has taken place using Apple Pay or a standard credit card, "because of the nature of the data" given to banks in the Apple Pay system.

Apple has plans to launch Apple Pay in October, through an update to iOS 8. iOS 8.1, which was seeded to developers earlier this month, already contains hidden Apple Pay setup and settings elements that will likely be unlocked before the software is released to the public.

There is no word of an official release date for Apple Pay, but Chase said its customers will be able to use Apple Pay when it launches, while USAA plans to begin offering Apple Pay on November 7. PNC and Navy Federal will support Apple Pay in the fall.

GT Argues Inability to Disclose Bankruptcy Details, Citing Confidentiality Agreements

Posted: 09 Oct 2014 09:45 AM PDT

GT Advanced Technologies today appeared in a New Hampshire courtroom, asking for non-disclosure in its pending bankruptcy proceedings. According to Reuters , a lawyer for the company told the court that a confidentiality agreement prevented it from disclosing the details surrounding its Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Luc Despins of Paul Hastings told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Henry Boroff an unspecified confidentiality agreement prevented GT from disclosing the cause of its bankruptcy, or its plan for dealing with the situation. He also acknowledged the 90 percent drop in the company's stock price in the first three trading days of this week.

GT further asked the court to seal select documents referencing a third-party, noting that the disclosure would violate existing confidentially agreements. The publication of these documents could prove costly to the sapphire maker with potential damages of $50 million per violation. GT failed to identify the third-party company, but it almost certainly is Apple, which is known for its strict confidentiality clauses.

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GT's lawyers also asked that the proceedings be closed to the public as part of what they agree is an "unusual (and perhaps unprecedented)" request. Lawyers from the Department of Justice denounced GT's motions, saying "the record is insufficient for the court to find what the court needs to find."

GT filed for bankruptcy earlier this week, taking Apple and Wall Street by surprise. Apple reportedly was working with the company to help it remain solvent, but those efforts have failed for the time being and GT will seek to restructure its finances moving forward.

Apple News

Friday 10 October 2014

MacRumors : Mac News and Rumors

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