Another claimed iPhone 8 drawing shows vertically stacked cameras and nearly full-screen face

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 4, 2017

Prolific leakster Steve Hemmerstoffer on Thursday posted a purported image of what appears to be yet another technical drawing that may or may not relate to Apple's upcoming iPhone 8. “This is a tipped leak, which means I can't confirm if legit or not but there you have it,” he wrote on Twitter.

The image “confirms” some of the iPhone 8 rumors, namely an enhanced dual-camera system out the back with vertical rather than horizontal alignment and a nearly full-screen front face with just a tiny physical slit at the top of an OLED display for the earpiece.

As Steve himself says, he got this leak from someone who is not a trusted source yet so do take this report with a pinch of salt. The drawing depicts Apple's quad-LED True Tone flash as sitting between the two cameras. It appears to be built directly into the camera bulge.

I'm not an imaging expert, but positioning the flash LEDs between the cameras may not be smart because the placement might affect the quality of photographs. On the other hand, this could actually be a new 3D camera sensor we've been hearing about, not the actual LED flash.

Benjamin Geskin tweeted out a new image of his updated CAD model of iPhone 8.

As you're seeing above, he has edited the 3D model to match the recently leaked schematics that hinted at the possibility of a charging mat or a coil of sorts on the back of the device.

Unbox Therapy 3D printed a mockup based on the technical drawings provided by Geskin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua61ltayFNg&feature=youtu.be

To reiterate, there's really no way of telling for sure if any of these leaks are accurate or not because real-world iPhone 8 components are yet to leak out from factories in Asia.

ROUNDUP: iPhone 8 concepts and mockups—Part I

A NYU grad student, who spent six weeks working undercover in a factory in Shanghai operated by iPhone manufacturer Pegatron, has reveled that only high-level managers are permitted to bring their phones inside the facilities where future iPhones are being assembled.

“I’m not sure whether photos can get leaked by that,” he said.

Which feature are you most excited for in iPhone 8: an improved dual-lens camera, rumored augmented-reality capabilities, wireless charging, stainless steel construction, an all-new industrial design, an OLED display or something else?

Let us know in the comments!

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iPhone 8 concept roundup: Part I

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 4, 2017

Conceptual renderings and mockups of iPhone 8 have been increasingly feeding the rumor-mill in the absence of leaked components, to the point where they've become a major part of the excitement surrounding unreleased Apple products.

Taking rumors at face value, talented 3D artists and CAD addicts conceptualize what Apple's next handset might look like. More often than not their work is off the mark, but some of the concepts we've seen thus far are plausible and give us nice food for thought.

We asked our resident video editor Andrew O'Hara to create a short video summarizing some of the conceptual iPhone 8 renderings we've featured thus far here on iDownloadBlog.

Without further ado, watch our video roundup of iPhone 8 concepts and mockups.

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

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The video features work by these artists and publications:

Steel Drake Techno Configurations Venlamin Geskin Imran Taylor Handy Abo Vergleich Benjamin Geskin ConceptsiPhone AlHasan Husni Vianney le Masne Computer Bild iFanr Martin Hajek

Part 2 of iPhone 8 concept roundup will explore additional iPhone 8 concepts.

On a recent conference call with Wall Street analysts and investors, Apple CEO Tim Cook has attributed what he believes to be “a pause” in iPhone purchases to the rumor-mill and leaks that have been proliferating earlier than usual this year.

“We’re seeing what we believe to be a pause in purchases on iPhone, which we believe are due to the earlier and much more frequent reports about future iPhones,” he said.

How do you like the conceptual artworks and 3D models highlighted in Andrew's video? Which is your favorite one, and why? Which one will we see, if any, come this fall?

Let us know by posting a comment below.

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Apple clarifies only in-app commissions have dropped to 2.5 percent

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 4, 2017

Apple has clarified in an email communique by its iTunes Affiliate Support team that the recently reduced affiliate rates which went into effect May 1 only apply to in-app content, not to apps linked on websites and other outlets.

The company announced a policy change last month, saying commission rates for apps and in-app content would drop from seven to just 2.5 percent. The firm now clarifies that the change applies only to affiliate links used inside apps, not the ones on websites like iDB.

“Please note that only in-app commissions have changed,” reads the message from iTunes Affiliate Support. Here are the correct new app commission levels, according to Apple itself:

iOS apps commissions: 7 percent In-app iOS commissions: 2.5 percent Mac apps commissions: 7 percent In-app macOS commissions: 2.5 percent

Several website owners and bloggers linking to App Store and Mac App Store apps have reported that the seven percent commission for apps has in fact remained unchanged.

MacGamerHQ provides the following screenshots of Apple's email to iTunes Affiliate members.

Apple originally said about two weeks ago that beginning May 1, 2017 commissions for all apps and in-app content would get slashed from seven percent to just 2.5 percent globally. The poor wording of the message has been blamed for the misunderstanding.

“We will also continue to pay affiliate commissions on Apple Music memberships so there are many ways to earn commissions with the program,” Apple said two weeks ago.

Aside from slashing commissions for in-app content, items like music, movies, books and TV subscriptions remain subjected to the seven percent commission rate across all markets.

iTunes Affiliate Program lets website owners and developers claim a small percentage of the proceeds from linked apps and content.

The company's Affiliate Resources webpage offers a Getting Started guide on becoming an affiliate partner, an updated Program Overview section providing information on the commission raters, reporting, creating links and other useful resources.

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Snapchat launching original TV shows lasting between 3-5 minutes long

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 4, 2017

Snap Inc. is gearing up to launch original TV shows on the service that would last between three and five minutes long. As per the Wall Street Journal today, the company has partnered with a bunch of content owners on the initiative, including NBCUniversal, Turner, A+E Networks, Discovery, BBC, ABC, ESPN, Vice Media, Vertical Networks, NFL and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Snap is aiming to air between two and three new episodes of original TV shows per day by the end of 2017. The company is looking for scripted dramas, daily news shows, horror, documentaries, animated shows and more.

Snap is also in discussions with CBS and Fox, said people familiar with the matter.

They could soon reach a deal with Scripps Networks Interactive, which owns Food Network and HGTV. According to the report, HGTV could produce offshoots of its current TV shows for Snap, including House Hunters and Chopped.

TV companies “are flocking” to create original shows for Snap because its executives “embrace certain old media values” like scarcity and promoting a select group of premium content above user-generated fare.

“I don't want to be a TV killer,” said a former News Corp. executive who works for Snap.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

To this extent, Snapchat might change some fundamental aspects of the social network in order to encourage binging and catching up with its shows, instead of sticking to its ephemeral content strategy which removed some past shows from the service after 48 hours.

For the new slate of TV shows, it's still unclear when exactly Snapchat plans to begin the launch, but users can at least expect them to begin debuting by the end of the year.

TV shows will be provided in the Stories tab of the mobile Snapchat app.

Snap has now launched an interactive audition experience akin to “The Voice” in its mobile app.

NBC's “Saturday Night Live” has already created original shows for Snapchat, like an episode pictured top of post where a couple tries to boycott all things related to Donald.

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Windows are being installed along the outside of the main Apple Park building

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 4, 2017

Following recent aerial footage of Apple Park from videographer Matthew Roberts, drone pilot Duncan Sinfield has now released his birds-eye video of Apple's upcoming 175-acre campus. Like Matthew's clip from two days ago, Sinfield's video reveals that the Cupertino company is continuing to put the final touches on the main ring-shaped building.

You can tell they're doubling down on landscaping work, which involves planting mature trees around the site. The massive pile of the earth continues to shrink on a daily basis, but don't expect it to disappear completely until all that dirt has been reused for landscaping.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OS1d06QWqk

The solar panel roof looks complete and windows are now being installed alongside the outside of the main building. We can also see progress being made at the Steve Jobs Theater, a 1,000-seat underground auditorium named after Apple's late co-founder.

Other structures, including parking garages, secure research and development facilities, a fitness center for employees and a visitor kiosk, seem to be nearing completion—especially R&D centers that have appeared fully functional for several weeks now.

First employees supposedly began moving in last month, but it's going to take a while until Apple Park becomes a new home for a total of 13,000 employees.

“Closer to home, we're excited about moving into our new corporate headquarters, Apple Park, our new center for innovation,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook earlier in the week on a conference call discussing his company's latest quarterly results with analysts and investors.

“The main building on Apple Park is designed to house 13,000 employees under one roof in an environment that fosters even greater collaboration among our incredibly talented team.”

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Apple’s social video editing app Clips gains new feature in first update since launch

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 4, 2017

Apple yesterday pushed the first update to Clips for iPhone and iPad following the software's debut on App Store nearly a month ago. Bumped to version 1.0.1, Clips packs in improvements to the Live Title feature that lets you create animated captions and titles in 36 different languages using your voice.

Apple says you can now tap on Live Title text while playing or paused to edit it manually in case Siri misheard you. Additionally, when you share your edited video to a contact who has multiple messaging addresses in your address book, the app will now suggest the most frequently used address.

Lastly, the stability and reliability when capturing and sharing videos that contain certain posters have been improved in this edition of the app.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2dfeWpwfyk

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Clips is compatible with iPhone 5s and later, 9.7-inch iPad (2017), all iPad Air and iPad Pro models, iPad mini 2 and later and sixth-generation iPod touch.

The app requires iOS 10.3 or later and does not work on 32-bit devices.

For more on Clips, check out our walkthrough video included above. Clips was introduced as part of a flurry of Apple's Spring product refreshes in March.

Download Clips for iOS for free via App Store.

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Delta Beta 4: iOS emulator gains Game Boy Color support

Joaquim Barbosa ∙ May 4, 2017

You may have heard Sebastien and I discussing Delta on Let's Talk Jailbreak, mentioning that more frequent updates had been promised with the last beta, and speculating on whether we would see anything big coming soon to the emulator. Perhaps developer Riley Testut heard us, but more likely an instance of pure dumb luck has meant that Delta Beta 4 was released to press testers, along with some exciting news.

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Colorize your Instagram app with ColorGram

Anthony Bouchard ∙ May 4, 2017

Instagram users typically get to see the app’s generic white interface introduced back in 2016, but if you'd like to add a splash of color to it, then you’ll love a new free jailbreak tweak release dubbed ColorGram by iOS developer Justin Petkovic.

This tweak lets you go hands-on with colorizing various elements of the Instagram app so you don’t have to put up with the boring flat colors anymore.

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iPhone 8 said to offer Bluetooth 5 and wireless charging via Broadcom chip

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 3, 2017

JPMorgan said in yesterday's note to clients ahead of Apple's earnings report that iPhone 8 would implement support for the latest Bluetooth 5.0 standard and wireless charging via a Broadcom chip. Broadcom's chips support both PMA and Qi wireless charging standards, but it's unclear if iPhone 8 might use either of them or rely on Apple's custom version of these standards.

At any rate, Apple's business could add between $500 million and $600 million to Broadcom's annualized revenues, JPMorgan predicted. Though the note doesn't say which new iPhone models will pack wireless charging, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said before that all 2017 iPhones would offer this feature.

Galaxy S8 is the world's first phone with support for the new Bluetooth 5.0 standard, which promises to double the speed and quadruple the range. Bluetooth 5.0 also allows multiple devices to be used at the same time, meaning iPhone 8 could allow two users to watch a movie on the device with two sets of Bluetooth headphones.

Bluetooth 5.0 was certified by Bluetooth Special Interest Group back in June 2016. Apple is a promoting member of the organization with voting rights.

In February of this year, Apple joined Wireless Power Consortium, potentially giving some credence to rumors about wireless charging in iPhone 8. The Cupertino company is listed as a member on the organization's website.

There are currently 213 members of the consortium.

In 2016 year, 152 different brands registered a Qi-compliant product on the official Wireless Power Consortium website, up from 86 in 2015. The Qi protocol is currently used by more than 200 companies and is in 1343 products you can buy now. Apple Watch uses a bespoke version of the Qi wireless charging standard that’s incompatible with existing Qi chargers.

JPMorgan said this morning that there's a “high likelihood” that Apple will pre-announce and preview iPhone 8 at WWDC next month, ahead of its launch in the fall. But if you ask another investment firm—Deutsche Bank—no new iPhone 8 will arrive this year.

“Several supply chain reports have suggested that key component shortages and technical challenges could delay the release of a high-end iPhone 8 device this fall,” reads Deutsche Bank's report. “We believe this report further underscores the uncertainty around the timing of Apple's next-generation iPhone model”.

Photo: ON Charge magnetic wireless charging solution for current iPhones

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JPMorgan—iPhone 8 announcement at WWDC; Deutsche Bank—no iPhone 8 until 2018

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 3, 2017

Multiple analyst reports and rumors have asserted that Apple's Tenth Anniversary iPhone, or iPhone 8, is going to be delayed because of manufacturing issues related to new components, but we still don't know by how long. A pair of conflicting reports from JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank offer very differing opinions regarding the handset's potential availability.

Basically, JPMorgan is telling clients that there is a “high likelihood” that Apple will announce iPhone 8 at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference next month. On the other hand, we have Deutsche Bank which on Sunday put out a research note, based on a questionable report from ValueWalk, saying iPhone 8 won't land until 2018.

“JP Morgan's Rod Hall first suggested iPhone 8 could be previewed at WWDC,” Business Insider's Kif Leswing wrote on Twitter this morning. The analyst is claiming that the Cupertino firm will preview its OLED-based iPhone in June ahead of its launch in the fall (in what KGI's Ming-Chi Kuo said would be extremely limited availability).

While Apple did announce the original iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 at WWDC, subsequent models were formally unveiled at fall events in September or October. Be that as it may, I don't think either of these reports is accurate to begin with.

Deutsche Bank's analysis in particular is based solely on a sketchy claim by ValueWalk.

Citing unnamed sources close to Foxconn, ValueWalk reported that Apple would delay iPhone 8 until 2018 over an apparent lack of orders for packaging materials. The iterative LCD-based iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus would arrive on schedule in the fall, it said.

The story prompted Deutsche Bank to predict the following:

Report suggests no new iPhone 8 this calendar year. As we have written in previous research notes, several supply chain reports have suggested that key component shortages and technical challenges could delay the release of a high-end iPhone 8 device this fall.

We believe this report further underscores the uncertainty around the timing of Apple’s next- generation iPhone model.

As mentioned, the investment bank told clients that it thinks the OLED-based iPhone 8 model might not release in 2017 at all. The problem is, Deutsche Bank trusts ValueWalk which lacks any track record in breaking major Apple news.

Even if it did have one, we'd need at least one independent publication confirm the report before we could jump to any conclusions. Apple sources components from multiple suppliers so the fact that it's ordered packaging for the iPhone 7s series from one supplier doesn't mean that iPhone 8 packaging won't come from a separate supplier.

Given the rumored manufacturing problems with iPhone 8, it's more likely that Apple will choose to pre-announce iPhone 8 this fall alongside the iPhone 7s/Plus announcements and then launch the OLED-based device in late October or November.

And if that's how things are going to play out, there's no reason whatsoever for iPhone 8 packaging to arrive alongside iPhone 7s packaging in June and spoil Apple's surprise. Last but not least, delaying iPhone 8 until 2018 would be a huge blow to Apple's bottom line.

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

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Take it from Apple's Tim Cook, who said on yesterday's earnings call with analysts and investors that earlier-than-usual leaks and rumors are hurting sales of current iPhones.

Here's what Cook said:

We're seeing what we believe to be a pause in purchases on iPhone, which we believe are due to the earlier and much more frequent reports about future iPhones.

Considering that consumers usually hold off on buying a new iPhone until they see the new model, Cook's remarks have merit and the fact that he actually blamed the hype machine for “a pause” in iPhone sales is pretty remarkable, if you ask me.

Make sense?

Mockups: all-glass iPhone 8 with stainless steel frame via Steel Drake

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AirPods manufacturer Inventec reportedly lands orders for Apple’s rumored Echo rival

Christian Zibreg ∙ May 3, 2017

Following claims that Apple has finalized designs for its alleged standalone Siri/AirPlay device, Chinese-language Economic Daily News report Wednesday that AirPods manufacture Inventec has now landed orders for the device.

According to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the connected speaker will be Apple's first AI-based smart home device, powered by Siri and supporting AirPlay and other features.

It's expected to take on Amazon's smart home assistant Echo, but will be aimed at the premium segment of the market.

Inventec is the sole assembler of Apple's wireless AirPod products, while iPhone manufacturer Foxconn Electronics is the sole producer of Amazon's Echo devices. Kuo said Apple may announced the device at WWDC 2017 in June. He added adding that the connected AI-driven speaker will be priced higher than Amazon's $179 Echo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io8NU6iTto0

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Other reports have said that Apple's device will feature Beats audio technology and a MacPro-like concave top with built-in controls, with a speaker mesh portion covering it all.

Mockup via iFunnyVlogger on Twitter

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