Sketchy Rumor Claims Apple Planning New 4-Inch iPhone for 2015 Posted: 04 Dec 2014 08:15 AM PST Apple is reportedly planning to expand its 2015 iPhone lineup to include a new 4-inch model, according to Asian sources [Google Translate] cited by G for Games . The smaller form factor would bring back the ease of one-hand usage that was lost when Apple introduced its larger iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus handsets. The supply chain sources suggest the new phone may debut in the second half 2015 with female users as the targeted audience for the smaller phone.
Still, the sourcing on today's rumor is not entirely clear and a track record is unknown, so it is difficult to assess the potential validity of the claim. As a result, we would not put too much stock in it for the time being until or unless additional information surfaces in the coming months. Even without a new 4-inch model this year, iPhone sales have been strong for the new 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus, with Apple setting a new sales record in the first weekend of availability. While the iPhone 6 is outselling the 6 Plus, the larger handset is holding its own in the phablet market, accounting for 41 percent of large-screened smartphone sales in the past three months. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Type More Than 100 Words Per Minute With the New NinType Keyboard for iOS Posted: 03 Dec 2014 08:55 PM PST Third-party keyboards like Swype and Fleksy promise to make typing on iPhones and iPads faster with features like predictive text and swiping, but new third-party keyboard NinType goes even further, combining taps, swipes, and shortcuts to allow users to type more than 100 words per minute. Created by app developer Yose Widjaja, NinType's magic comes from its ability to support two-handed swipe-based gestures for spelling out words. Using two thumbs, it's possible to use a combination of taps and swipes to write words and insert punctuation quickly. The NinType typing experience is significantly different from the standard iOS typing experience, so it does take some time to adjust to the two-handed swipe and tap input. Users are advised to use the keyboard as a standard keyboard to begin with, inserting swipe-based words gradually to adjust to the difference. NinType has a built-in game-like tutorial that's designed to walk users through all of the app's features, and it is deeply customizable with a top bar that can be arranged to a user's liking, different visual effects, extensive shortcut options, and settings for nearly every aspect of the keyboard. There are a number of handy gestures in NinType, including a swipe on the spacebar to move the cursor, a swipe on the backspace key to quickly delete words, edge slides for inserting punctuation, and flick to autocomplete. NinType does not require users to enable full access. MacRumors went hands-on with the NinType keyboard to show off how it works and to highlight some key features like themes and the ability to easily insert emoji. NinType also includes features like a built-in calculator, support for multiple languages, a tool for counting words typed per minute, and a "word transformer" mode for stylizing the words that you type. Like most iOS 8 keyboards, NinType occasionally experiences some hiccups that cause it to fail to show up at times, but this appears to be more of an issue with iOS than with NinType itself. Aside from that, we ran into a few crashing problems during our time testing the keyboard, but the developer has been hard at work pushing updates and resolving any lingering issues. NinType is available for both the iPhone and the iPad and can be downloaded from the App Store for $4.99. [Direct Link] Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Apple Deleted iPod Owners' Songs Downloaded From Competing Music Services Between 2007 and 2009 Posted: 03 Dec 2014 04:40 PM PST Between 2007 and 2009, Apple stealthily deleted content that iPod owners had downloaded from rival music services, reports The Wall Street Journal . The information came to light during an ongoing class action iPod lawsuit that Apple is fighting in court this week, where the Cupertino company is accused of having violated antitrust law by locking its original iPods to the iTunes ecosystem. According to plaintiff attorney Patrick Coughlin, a user who downloaded music from a competing music service to iTunes and then tried to sync the content to an iPod would receive a nondescript error message. The vague message would advise the iPod owner to restore the device to its factory settings, deleting the music that had been downloaded from a rival service and preventing it from being played.
Yesterday, lawyers for the plaintiffs shared both a videotaped deposition and emails written by Steve Jobs as evidence that Apple had deliberately stymied competing music services after the launch of the iPod. In the correspondence, the former Apple CEO hatched a plan to accuse competing music service RealNetworks of hacking the iPod when it offered song downloads that could be played on the device. The class action lawsuit began on Tuesday of this week and is being heard in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California. Both Apple marketing head Phil Schiller and iTunes chief Eddy Cue are expected to testify during the court proceedings. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Shipping Times Improve to 3 to 5 Days for Many Models Posted: 03 Dec 2014 02:41 PM PST Following the Thanksgiving holiday, Apple Store shipping estimates for both the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus have seen significant improvement, with many models in the online Apple Store now carrying a shipping estimate of 3 to 5 days in the United States. iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models in all colors and from all carriers in 16 and 64GB configurations now ship within 3 to 5 days, while the more constrained 128GB versions ship within 7 to 10 days.
iPhone 6 and 6 Plus stock first began improving in late November, with 16GB iPhone 6 Plus supplies jumping to a 7 to 10 day shipping estimate after sitting at three to four week shipping estimates for several weeks. 64GB and 128GB iPhone 6 Plus devices have seen the biggest increase in supply, because as of late November, 64GB devices carried a shipping estimate of 2 to 3 weeks while 128GB devices carried a shipping estimate of 3 to 4 weeks. iPhone 6 supply has also been steadily improving, going from 7 to 10 days in November to 3 to 5 days today. In store supply of the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus has also seen significant improvement, and many stores across the country list availability of both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in 16, 64, and 128GB configurations. Tracking tool iStockNow can be used to find where iPhone 6 and 6 Plus devices are available.
Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Apple Releases Safari 8.0.1, 7.1.1, and 6.2.1 [Update: Pulled] Posted: 03 Dec 2014 02:10 PM PST The new Safari builds can be downloaded through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store. Safari 8.0.1 for OS X Yosemite requires OS X 10.10 or 10.10.1, while Safari 7.1.1 for OS X Mavericks requires OS X 10.9.5 and Safari 6.2.1 for OS X Mountain Lion requires OS X 10.8.5. According to the release notes, Safari 8.0.1 fixes an issue that could prevent history from syncing across devices without iCloud Drive turned on, fixes an issue preventing saved passwords from being autofilled after two devices are added to iCloud Keychain, improves WebGL graphics performance on Retina displays, and allows users to import usernames and passwords from Firefox. Update: The Safari 8.0.1 update has been removed from the Mac App Store by Apple for unknown reasons. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Jimmy Iovine to Apple: 'You Have a Hole in Music Right Now; Let Me Plug It' Posted: 03 Dec 2014 11:30 AM PST Beats co-founder, music mogul, and Apple employee Jimmy Iovine was named as one of GQ's Men of the Year, and in an interview with the magazine, he unveiled some details on his efforts to establish a partnership with Apple, which famously led to the $3 billion acquisition that was Apple's biggest purchase ever. According to Iovine, who had an ongoing relationship with Steve Jobs, he worked hard to persuade Apple to purchase Beats because it was the only company that he wanted to work for. He also believed he had a lot to bring to the company, telling Apple execs that he would "plug" Apple's "hole in music," referring to the company's lack of presence in the streaming music arena.
Jimmy Iovine, Tim Cook, Dr. Dre and Eddy Cue
Though he only joined Apple in 2014, Jimmy Iovine and Steve Jobs were longtime friend and had a close relationship. Iovine even collaborated with Apple on several projects, helping Steve Jobs sign deals with music labels in the early days of iTunes and working with Apple and U2 on a special edition iPod. Iovine even pitched a subscription music service to Apple way back in 2003, far before services like Pandora and Spotify exploded in popularity. Iovine does not have a specific title at Apple, but he reportedly has a senior role at the company alongside Dr. Dre, aka Andre Young, and works under iTunes chief Eddy Cue. Given his experience in the music industry, there has been some speculation that Iovine is working to help Apple secure deals with record labels, establish relationships with artists, and create a connection with a younger audience. When announcing the Beats acquisition, Apple CEO Tim Cook called Iovine and Dre's talent and skills "really unique" and "very hard to find." In a later interview, Cook called the duo "off the charts creative geniuses," specifically citing Iovine's knowledge of the music industry as one of the major reasons he was hired. At the current time, Apple is said to be working on a rebranding of Beats Music that may see it incorporating the service into iTunes and cutting the subscription price. The new music streaming service is expected to be unveiled in early 2015, possibly ahead of the Grammy Awards in February. Recent Mac and iOS Blog Stories
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Thursday, 4 December 2014
MacRumors : Mac News and Rumors
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