Rumors

Here are the best iPhone 7 Space Black images yet

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 15, 2016

Dummies produced by third parties previously hinted at what an Apple Watch Space Black-like colorway reportedly in tow for the next iPhone might look like. Such photos are as fine as plasticky dummies go, but there's nothing quite like seeing the real aluminum unibody construction with Apple fit and finish.

Leaked out of China and discovered by Dutch blog TechTastic.nl, the latest batch of photographs presumably taken inside a Foxconn factory give us our best look yet at the rumored Space Black finish for the iPhone 7.

Photos of alleged iPhone 7 Plus casing leak out of Foxconn factory

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 15, 2016

Allegedly genuine images that surfaced on Chinese forums this weekend, discovered by Dutch blog TechTastic.nl, seem to offer a closer look at an iPhone 7 Plus casing inside a Foxconn factory. Someone who appears to work on the factory floor has been photographed holding what resembles a casing for an iPhone 7 Plus in their hand, showing it from various angles. The images corroborate previous leaks and mark the first time photos of an iPhone 7 unibody chassis have leaked out of Foxconn.

Twitter said to be building Apple TV app to stream NFL games

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 1, 2018

Twitter is in talks with Apple to bring its Twitter app to Apple TV, reports The New York Times. In a wide-ranging article on Twitter's live-streaming ambitions, the outlet said the social network could use the app to stream several NFL games this season.

For those that missed it, earlier this year Twitter beat out Facebook and other tech giants to win the rights to Thursday Night Football broadcasts. The deal is for 10 games, and the company plans to stream them all live for free (supported by ads of course).

Apple’s presence in Seattle could increase with a big piece of office space

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 19, 2018

Following its reported $200 million acquisition of Turi, a Seattle-based machine learning and artificial intelligence startup, Apple appears to be interested in purchasing hundreds of thousands of square feet of office space in the region to accommodate up to 2,300 engineers, reports GeekWire.

New iPhone 7 dummies show what Space Black model might look like

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 12, 2016

With a little more than three weeks left until Apple's supposed unveiling on September 7, various iPhone 7 dummies have been cropping up everywhere. Judging by the comments, many of you are excited about a rumored Space Black (or Deep Blue?) colorway replacing the Space Gray finish in the iPhone 7 lineup.

A fresh batch of images posted yesterday to Chinese microblogging service Weibo, republished by AppleInsider, showcase an alleged 4.7-inch iPhone 7 model in Space Black, as well as two 5.5-inch models with and without a magnetic Smart Connector on their backside.

Leaked iPhone 7 assembly instructions reveal a second mic, haptic Home button

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 12, 2016

iPhone 7 dummies and alleged components that have been leaking out of Asia in the past few months have more or less consistently shown a second speaker grille to the left of the Lightning port at the bottom. Many people are convinced that the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack has created space inside the device for another speaker, indicating that the next iPhone may finally have stereo sound.

That conventional wisdom is now called into question as French blog NowhereElse.fr points us to alleged technical drawings, obtained from a Foxconn plant, suggesting that another mic, not a speaker, may be hiding behind these additional speaker holes.

Is Apple planning to announce iPhone 7 on September 7?

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 11, 2016

With no official invites going out yet, speculation continues to mount as to when Apple might be holding a media event to announce the next iPhone. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are going to be unveiled at an event tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, September 7, less than four weeks from today.

His report yesterday about the next MacBook Pro with an OLED touch strip mentions as a side-note that the refreshed notebooks “aren’t likely to debut at an event currently scheduled for September 7 to introduce next-generation versions of the iPhone”.

Photos of iPhone 7/Plus dummies (or are they?) in Gold surface on the web

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 11, 2016

Crisp images of alleged iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus devices in Gold surfaced today, first discovered by Czech blog Letem svetem Applem. According to mobile peripheral website Topp Ten, which provided the images, the phones will be offered in a Deep Blue variant replacing Space Gray, in addition to existing Rose Gold, Gold and Silver colorways. It's also possible that the pictures show iPhone 7 dummies, which are readily available from sites like AliExpress.

First claimed photo of iPhone 7’s A10 chip surfaces

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 10, 2016

We may have just been treated to our first glimpse of Apple's next-generation A10 system-on-a-chip that should power the forthcoming iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus devices.

Leaked on the web through a Weibo account that belongs to Chinese repair shop GeekBar, which in the past provided genuine components for unreleased Apple products, the chip's label suggests it was manufactured in mid-July.

What's more, the package has the same number of pins as its predecessor, potentially alluding that it could sport the same 64-bit LPDDR4 interface like the current A9 chip.

Will overhauled MacBook Pros debut alongside iPhone 7 in September or in October?

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 10, 2016

In an article this morning, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman rehashed much of the previous rumors regarding Apple's widely expected MacBook Pro refresh with Touch ID, AMD GPU, an OLED touch strip replacing the row of function keys and more. As per the report, these new MacBook Pros “aren’t likely” to debut alongside the new phones at the September 7 iPhone media event.

Which brings me to our question of the day: will the new machines launch in September, October or maybe even later? Let us know what you think in the comments.

Bloomberg: next-gen MacBook Pro with OLED touch strip “most significant update in 4 years”

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 22, 2017

Bloomberg threw its weight today behind rumors that a next-generation MacBook Pro would have Touch ID and an OLED touch strip with programmable shortcuts replacing the function key row, among other features first predicted by KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Author Mark Gurman now writes for Bloomberg that the new MacBook Pros represent “the most significant upgrade” to the lineup in four years with the updated, thinner notebooks offering more powerful graphics processors “for expert users such as video gamers” and design features like a smaller footprint, thinner appearance, a bigger trackpad and more.

DigiTimes: TSMC to build 16nm Apple Watch 2 chip

Christian Zibreg ∙ August 10, 2016

An Apple-designed 'S2' system-in-package that will power a second-generation Apple Watch won't be produced by Samsung, like the original Apple Watch's S1 chip. According to a new report by Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes, semiconductor foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has managed to beat Samsung in securing S2 orders. In fact, both the second-generation Apple Watch and an enhanced version of the original Apple Watch will be driven by the S2 chip, built using TSMC's 16-nanometer process technology.