Apple

Reliable leaker corroborates Google Music iOS app late-November launch

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 6, 2018

Google Music launched back in November 2011 with a music store, Google+ integration, artist hubs, carrier billing and initial support from Universal Music Group, EMI and Sony Music Entertainment, along with other smaller labels. Fast-forward two years and we still don't have a native iOS app.

Google in its typical fashion has tried to appease its disgruntled Apple audience with a Google Music iOS web app.

Alas, nobody cared!

The search Goliath later promised to bring a native app and a report recently claimed it would launch later this month. Today, a prominent leaker has corroborated that the native Google Music iOS app is indeed due by the end of the month...

This Delaware Apple Store sells more iPhones than any other in the US

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 6, 2013

If someone asked you which Apple Store in the United States sold the most iPhones, you'd probably name off some of the flagship locations like the one in San Francisco on One Stockton Street, or the Fifth Avenue Store in New York.

But you'd be wrong. According to a new report from ABC News, an Apple Store located within the Christiana Mall shopping center in Delaware, sells more iPhones than any other in the US. How? Delaware doesn't charge state sales tax...

Several U.S. Apple Stores will be open on Thanksgiving Day

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 26, 2017

I know it may sound blasphemously to some, but the iPhone maker's retail army does get to enjoy turkey with their families as Apple Stores typically close for major holidays such as Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving Day. One notable exception is the flagship glass cube store on Fifth Avenue, open 24/7 every day of the year.

Apple normally allows store employees to spend time with their families on Thanksgiving Day, with some of its retail shrines typically opening as early as 3am on Black Friday. Last year, for example, only the Royal Hawaiian and Las Vegas Forum Shops outlets were open on Thanksgiving, mainly because of tourist who arrived in droves for the start of the holiday shopping season in the United States.

This year will be different. According to a guy who tracks Apple's retail efforts for a living, a bunch of Apple's brick-and-mortar Stores in the United States will be open on Thanksgiving Day, a move apparently that in line with Tim Cook's policy of doubling down on Apple Stores.

UPDATE: Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly cancelled plans to keep additional Apple Stores open on Thanksgiving...

Pocket 5.0 is out featuring Highlights: your best and most relevant content

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 13, 2013

Pocket, the popular read-later service (formerly Read It Later), has undergone a major refresh bringing a few new headline features, including one which analyzes saved articles to surface your best and most relevant content. Available now in the App Store, the new Pocket 5.0 introduces a new sidebar panel navigation, a much better search, Pocket Preferences and more. The full breakdown follows below...

Samsung and Apple bosses to meet in January for another round of peace talks

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 13, 2013

Following a ruling in March which halved last August's $1.05 billion verdict against South Korea's Samsung, a retrial to recalculate the remaining damages is due later this week. In its opening statement today, Apple's legal representatives demanded $379 million in pending damages. Samsung argues it owes Apple but a paltry $52 million for infringing its iPhone patents and design features.

And as the two parties gear up for a déjà vu retrial, its CEOs will apparently meet for a new round of peace talks - all over again - according to a new report out Wednesday from South Korea...

Apple being investigated for $1.3 billion Italian tax fraud

Cody Lee ∙ November 13, 2013

Apple is in hot water over international taxes again, this time it's in Italy. According to Reuters, the Cupertino company is currently under investigation by Italian authorities for alleged tax fraud.

The Italian government believes Apple may have hidden more than 1 billion euros (or $1.3 billion US) from the country's tax authority during 2010 and 2011, and Milan prosecutors want answers...

LTE-enabled Retina iPad minis start arriving to Apple Stores

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

Yesterday, credible analysts cautioned fans to brace themselves for tight supply of the iPad mini with Retina display throughout the entire holiday quarter, as evidenced by Apple making Wi-Fi models available for in-store pickup only and based on supply chain chatter. Part of the stagerred roll-out, LTE-capable devices have now started slowly but surely trickling into Apple's retail stores in the United States.

As you could imagine, quantities are limited so not all outlets carry cellular minis yet...

Google gives YouTube Capture new video editing features

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 13, 2018

YouTube Capture, Google's dedicated iPhone and iPad app for recording and sharing video on YouTube, appears to have been on the back burner for a while because the last major update dates back to early-summer 2013, when the program gained support for YouTube accounts with multiple channels.

Meanwhile, Google posted a new version of the Hangouts app and added multi-account support to the Drive app.

With that off its back, the Internet giant's attention now turns to YouTube Capture. Apart from the flattened icon, version 2.0 finally allows users to pause and resume their recordings. That's just scratching the surface though as the app now lets you combine and rearrange clips and even add a soundtrack.

Jump past the fold for the full reveal...

eBay app, now with AirDrop and Pinterest sharing, in-store pickup and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 13, 2013

If you shop at eBay and have used their free iPhone and iPod touch app, there're some nice goodies for you in the latest version 3.2 update. For starters, the iOS 7-ified application now comes with a handy in-store pickup option allowing you to purchase stuff from local retailers on eBay for personal pickup.

The team has added two new sharing options via the iOS 7 AirDrop feature and Pinterest, the latter allowing you to easily share your favorite products to your Pinterest board. The selling features have been improved a bit, you can now swipe through images on the item screen and more...

Bloomberg details Apple’s sophisticated robots and production machinery

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

'Gadgets that build gadgets' should have been the headline of the Bloomberg piece which details Apple's multi-billion dollar investments in custom-engineered manufacturing equipment, machines and robots which dutifully churn out your shiny new iPads and iPhones with their diamond-cut chamfered edges, precision crafted down to the micron.

'The Rolex of smartphones' is impossible to mass-produce using the existing tooling and manufacturing techniques. Because Apple custom-designs everything, it shouldn't surprise you that it also designs its own manufacturing processes, techniques and cutting-edge production equipment.

Just how does the company utilize its billions on these pricey robots?

Retina iPad mini teardown: LG Display Retina panel, larger battery, A7 and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 13, 2013

Yesterday, I wondered on Twitter what was taking the repair magicians over at iFixit so long to do their ritual teardown of Apple's stealthily-released iPad mini with Retina display. My prayers have been listened to as iFixit has torn apart the device, revealing its guts and components for the whole world to see. As you could imagine, they found an Apple-designed A7 chip inside, slightly underclocked versus the iPad Air.

On top of that, there are usual suspects in terms of wireless and supporting chips. As for the titular update to this iPad mini - the Retina display - the teardown analysis has identified an LG Display-supplied 7.9-inch in-plane switching LCD with a 2,048-by-1,536 screen resolution.

While the resolution is the same as the iPad 3/4/Air, the images are crisper at 326 pixels per inch (264 ppi on the iPad Air) due to a shrunken form factor, as noted MacStories editor Federico Viticci noted in his hands-on article.

Other tidbits follow...

Retina iPad mini: first shipments due Friday, tight supply until 2014

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 13, 2013

Have you ordered your iPad mini with Retina display yet? If you're still on the fence of buying the device, make up your mind sooner than later because the popular Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is expecting tight supply this holiday season.

Kuo is very reliable and this is the first time he posted estimates of the numbers so it pays to take his remarks at face value. Corroborating his analysis, Rhoda Alexander of IHS iSupply cautions that shipments of the supply-constrained device won't double until the first quarter of next year, meaning shortages are to be expected throughout the Christmas quarter.

Meanwhile, early adopters are now reporting receiving an Apple Store-estimated delivery date of this coming Friday, November 15. Jump past the fold for the full reveal...