Apple

Gap between Roku and Apple TV is widening

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 9, 2014

A lot has changed since a Frost & Sullivan Consumer Video Devices Market report last August determined that Apple’s $99 Apple TV was the most-used set-top box in terms of content streaming, owning a whopping 56 percent share of streaming device sales, more than twice the share of the #2 Roku, which took 26 percent share of sales.

A month later, Roku said its set-top box was more popular for streaming than Apple TV and now a report from researcher Parks Associates reveals that a gap between Roku's and Apple's device is widening...

Retina MacBook Air hits roadblocks as Intel’s Broadwell chips face new delays

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 18, 2016

It's hardly a secret that Apple is looking to phase out non-Retina models from its MacBook Pro lineup.

Furthermore, the expected switch to all-Retina notebooks should over time affect Apple's ultra-portable MacBook Air model, too.

I mean, even Apple's Taiwan-based suppliers have been adamant that a long-expected version of the MacBook Air with Apple's Retina display is due in the second half of 2014.

Unfortunately, it's now almost certain that a Retina MacBook Air won't see the light of day this year because the crucial components - Intel's next-generation, extremely low-power Broadwell chips - reportedly won't be available in volume until mid-2015...

Beijing ruling spells trouble for Apple’s Siri in China

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 9, 2014

Apple's ability to use Siri as a competitive weapon in the 1.33 billion people market of China - its second-largest market by revenue - could be compromised. A Beijing court has now ruled against Apple by upholding the validity of a patent related to the personal assistant feature held by a Chinese company called Zhizhen Network Technology.

The ruling clears the way for Zhizhen to continue its own case patent infringement case against Apple. Specifically, the Shanghai-based firm is now asking the court to block Apple from selling devices with Siri installed. The iPhone maker is of course expected to appeal the verdict...

New report says Foxconn’s robots will play more of a supporting role in factories

Cody Lee ∙ Updated August 29, 2016

Earlier this week, word got out that Foxconn is preparing to deploy sophisticated robots to help assemble devices in its factories. The so-called 'Foxbots' have been in testing for years now, and CEO Terry Gou says the first units will help manufacture Apple’s iPhones.

Today, a new report is out from Taiwan's United Daily News that offers up new details on the program. According to the outlet, the robots will play more of a supporting role initially. Foxconn employees will still be responsible for general assembly and quality control...

Apple picks up two engineers from Nike’s FuelBand team

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 13, 2018

A few months ago, word got out that Nike was significantly downsizing its FuelBand team. The company's CEO later confirmed the move, saying that it would be transitioning the focus of its FuelBand project from hardware to software.

The news sparked speculation that the strategy shift had something to do with Apple's rumored wearable, and today more fuel was added to that fire. Apparently the iPad-maker has added two ex-FuelBand engineers to its iWatch team...

Apple posts iTunes U 2.0 update with Discussions, creation tools and more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 9, 2016

Keeping true to its promise to release a much-improved iTunes U version 2.0 on July 8, Apple today posted the update to the App Store. Now available free of charge for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, iTunes U 2.0 finally allows educators to create, edit and manage entire courses, directly on their iPad.

Enhancements for students include new ways to collaborate, with the ability to start class discussions and ask questions right within the app. Jump past the fold for the full reveal...

Rdio gains revamped station artwork and Station Pages

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 9, 2016

After receiving an update a little over a month ago that has enabled push notifications for various social activities going on in your stream, the popular Internet radio service Rdio today issued another minor update to its free iPhone and iPad client.

A pair of new features included in the new Rdio version 2.5.10 focus on improving the design of your radio stations: revamped station artwork for a cleaner look and all-new Pages for Rdio's endless stations...

Apple’s second secret eBay store goes live with pre-owned iPhones

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 8, 2014

Back in November 2012, a secret mini-store popped up on eBay with officially certified, little-used Apple products, similar to those found on the company's own refurbished section at the Online Apple Store.

However, since selling through the initial allotment of good-as-new gear the Apple Certified Refurbished Products section on eBay has seen little activity in terms of deals on iPhones, iPad, MacBooks and other products.

Today, Apple reportedly launched a brand new secret store - again on eBay, but this time around offering certified and unlocked GSM iPhone 5 units, with prices starting at $449 with free shipping...

Apple loses senior Maps engineer Chris Blumenberg for Uber

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

Apple's senior engineering manager with the Maps team is leaving the company for Uber, the popular ride-sharing service founded in 2009.

Chris Blumenberg, who long worked on Maps for iOS and OS X and managed Apple's Maps Apps and Frameworks teams, will be taking a position at Uber, according to a report by The Information.

The departure comes as Apple appears to be ramping up hiring to overhaul the Maps backend.

More importantly, this development reaches us amid talk of internal politics, personal issues and managerial incompetencies allegedly causing significant Maps delays, as evidenced by the lack of major iOS 8 Maps announcements at WWDC...

Apple drops Google Maps for own maps in a new beta of the Find My iPhone web app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 27, 2016

It would seem that Google gave way to Apple Maps on the web in a new Find My iPhone beta, which was released yesterday alongside iOS 8 Beta 3 and the third OS X Yosemite Developer Preview.

At the time of this writing, the change appeared to affect Apple's Find My iPhone beta on the web, which has switched from Google Maps tiles to an Apple Maps backend. For those wondering, the native iOS app stopped using Google Maps in 2012...

Apple’s former Retail chief Ron Johnson was not a good student at Stanford

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 8, 2014

Apple's original Senior Vice President of Retail quit his job at Apple last year for a CEO position with J.C.Penney, only to be fired rather infamously after revenues dropped sharply following his attempts to apply sprinkles of Apple magic and overhaul the retailer's shopping experience.

Johnson recently participated in View From the Top Talk at Stanford Graduate School of Business and shared a few anecdotes from his time at Apple while revealing that he "was not a good student" at Stanford.

I've embedded the video right after the break...

Leaked SIM card tray indicates iPhone 6 will be available in Space Grey, Silver and Gold

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 16, 2016

If a claimed iPhone 6 SIM card tray is anything to go by, Apple's upcoming handset(s) will be offered in Space Grey, Silver and Gold finishes, just like the current iPhone 5s lineup. Sources on Tuesday posted new images that seemingly depict claimed iPhone 6 SIM card trays in three color options as well as purported power and volume flex cables.

For what it's worth, the layout of the power/volume flex cables matches up nicely with previous reports and leaks suggesting the sleep/wake button will be relocated to the side in order to make it easier to wake a 4.7 and 5.5-inch handset from sleep with one hand...