TSMC to build Apple’s in-house designed AMOLED driver chips for 10th Anniversary iPhone

TSMC is believed to have secured orders for an Apple-designed 'A11' system-on-a-chip expected to power so-called Tenth Anniversary iPhone and new iPads in 2017, trade publication DigiTimes reports. The chip should be fabricated on TSMC's ten-nanometer process technology and use its backend integrated fan-out (InFO) wafer-level packaging technology. Additionally, TSMC should build Apple-designed circuitry to drive 2017 iPhone's AMOLED panel.

Sources reaffirm new 256GB iPhone 7 storage tier

Industry sources told Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes that the iPhone 7/7 Plus (no, there won't be a third 'Pro' tier) will feature up to 256 gigabytes of storage, effectively doubling the current top-of-the-line 128GB storage tier. The 256GB iPhone 7 tier was previously reported by Chinese-language MyDrivers, research firm TrendForce and PocketNow.

iTunes carrier billing expands in Japan, Taiwan and Switzerland

Following initial launch of iTunes carrier billing in Russia with Telefonica's O2 and in Germany with VimpelCom's Beeline unit nearly a year ago, Apple has now brought this alternative option to customers in Japan, Taiwan and Switzerland, according to reports from CNBC and Mashable.

Carrier billing lets customers without access to credit or gift cards have their app and media purchases charged directly to their monthly mobile phone bill or deducted from their prepaid amount.

Chinese supplier commits to 100% wind energy for all Apple operations

Apple today issued a press release updating the public on its environmental progress in China while applauding its supplier Lens Technology, which in an unprecedented move has committed to utilize 100 percent renewable energy in all its glass production for the Cupertino firm by 2018.

Lens will use wind energy to power its two facilities in Changsha, Hunan province which are used for Apple manufacturing. The move will avoid nearly 450,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, equivalent to the energy use in 380,000 Chinese homes.

AutoPaste makes using GIF keyboards easier on jailbroken iPhones

There are a lot of people out there who love using GIF images as a way of expressing their feelings, and it would seem that jailbreak developer Ryan Petrich is no different.

With a new beta jailbreak tweak release he's calling AutoPaste, he aims to make sharing GIF images in your favorite messaging apps with third-party GIF keyboards from the App Store faster and easier than before.

Watch Apple’s ‘Behind the Scenes of iOS Security’ Black Hat presentation

You can now watch Apple's 'Behind the Scenes of iOS Security' presentation from this year's Black Hat Conference in its entirety. A video of the talk, featuring the company's head of security engineering Ivan Krstic, has been posted to the official Black Hat YouTube page.

Apple's presence at the conference was a nice change of pace, as the firm typically skips the event. Krstic covered a wide range of topics, including the technologies his team uses in services like HomeKit and iCloud Keychain that handle exceptionally sensitive user data.

Deal with ARM would theoretically let Intel build 10nm iPhone and iPad chips

Chip giant Intel announced today at its Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco an important deal with UK-based fabless semiconductor maker ARM Holdings that will permit other foundries to build chips based on ARM's most advanced Cortex-series CPU cores using Intel's sophisticated ten-nanometer process technology.

Given that Apple's in-house designed A-series chips include fully customized 64-bit CPU cores based on ARM technology, the announcement expands Apple's options by letting its contract silicon manufacturers such as Samsung and TSMC fabricate iPhone and iPad chips using Intel's foundry services.

Intel unveils new Kaby Lake chips, VR headset for merged reality, drone platform & more

At Intel Developer Forum today, chip giant Intel announced a seventh-generation Core processors, code-named Kaby Lake, along with a new drone platform, an exciting open-source virtual reality project and a bunch of other goodies.

During an opening keynote presentation, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said the new Kaby Lake chips, due later this year, will let users stream movies in 4K resolution with smooth playback and long battery life.

The company did not say when a low-power edition of the latest Kaby Lake chips suitable for use in Mac notebooks and iMacs might become available to vendors.

Apple recruiting lyric curators for Apple Music

Apple is hiring a Lyrics Curation Manager to lead a team of 'Lyrics Curators,' likely to work on the new song lyrics feature in iOS 10's Music app. The job listing, first spotted by MusicBusinessWorldwide, was posted to Apple's website within the last week.

The position calls for someone with excellent writing skills, music knowledge, and attention to detail, as well as a passion for technology and experience writing lyrics. They must also have experience with managing complex teams and using complicated tools.