Apple

Apple to hold another media event on October 15?

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

With last week's official introduction of the flagship iPhone 5s and the colorful iPhone 5c now behind us, our attention slowly but surely turns to Apple's next major product launch. iDB, along with a few other reliable blogs, suspected there won't be new iPads in September as the company would have been unwise to focus its attention (and waste headlines) on both new iPads and iPhones.

The French blog MacGeneration, which has somewhat of a mixed track record, has now pegged an iPad-related event at October 15 (that's a Tuesday)...

Rdio announces free, ad-supported music service ahead of iTunes Radio launch

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 16, 2013

The popular streaming-music startup Rdio, is about to launch a a free, ad-supported music service just as Apple is prepping to flip the switch on iTunes Radio alongside iOS 7 release this Wednesday. According to a report Monday by The New York Times, the Pandora rival has also secured a new, $100 million partnership with radio operator Cumulus, which will also sell advertising for a free version of the service in the United States...

The Beatles arrive on iTunes Radio

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 16, 2013

Just two days ahead of general availability of Apple's iOS 7 mobile operating system that includes the company's free, ad-supported iTunes Radio service, it would appear Apple has worked out all the kinks with Apple Corps and has finally managed to bring The Beatles music to iTunes Radio. Remember, Apple struck a landmark agreement with Apple Corps to bring The Beatles music downloads to the iTunes Store back in 2010, following a period of legal wrangling between the two companies over licensing and trademark disputes...

China Unicom announces taking 100,000 iPhone 5s/5c reservations

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 3, 2017

As Apple fans in Japan batter the storm camping out in front of the local Apple Store ahead of Friday’s launch of the new top-line iPhone 5s and the colorful plastic iPhone 5c, journalists have been playing somewhat of a guessing game regarding iPhone 5c pre-orders (the 5s isn't available for pre-order).

What's the new milestone going to be and will it shatter previous iPhone pre-orders are the questions occupying the collective minds of Apple watchers as pundits have been holding their breath for an Apple press release. In the meantime, China Unicom has released some cold hard numbers...

Japanese typhoon can’t stop fans waiting for new iPhones

Ed Sutherland ∙ September 16, 2013

Would you brave a tornado or hurricane to be first in line for Apple's newest iPhones? That was the situation in Japan, where Tokyo consumers camped out in front of the local Apple Store ahead of Friday's iPhone 5s/5c launch. Luckily, Apple employees let the fans inside just before a typhoon struck.

Along with shelter from the storm, drenched fan boys and girls were given complimentary water, according to a local report. Customers were "so moved" by Apple's gesture, according to a YouTube user who uploaded a video of the weather. Japan's largest carrier NTT DoCoMo becomes the latest provider in that country to sell the Apple smartphone...

iPhone 5c shipping times begin to slip

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 16, 2013

It's been three days since Apple started taking iPhone 5c pre-orders on Friday at 12:00am Pacific time and shipping times for some models are now slipping to next month.

Cody already told you that the unlocked 16GB yellow model was the first to sell out and now comes word that Apple is continuing to push back shipping estimates for various other models.

And to think naysayers made fun of the colorful handset, dismissing the lineup on the basis of the iPhone 5c being nothing more than a repackaged iPhone 5...

Apple posts official iPhone 5s/5c schematics

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated December 24, 2017

Just as it did last year ahead of the September iPhone 5 debut, Apple has now posted the official schematics detailing the design of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c ahead of their Friday availability.

A pair of documents provide the blueprints for both new iPhones, including the dimensions, button layouts and the so-called keepout areas so accessory and case makers can design their products accordingly.

The iPhone 5s schematics is largely similar to the iPhone 5 due to the design similarities shared between the two handsets. The interesting takeaways include Apple's requirements regarding the Touch ID sensor and the radio transparent windows related to the iPhone 5c and its tweaked antenna design...

Apple Stores to demo Touch ID using a dedicated app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated November 29, 2016

When the iPhone 5s launches this Friday, Apple's retail employees will be showing off the new Touch ID fingerprint reading functionality to prospective customers using a dedicated app designed especially for this purpose, a new report Monday claimed. The feature, stemming from last year's acquisition of Israeli biometric experts AuthenTenc, uses the fingerprint sensor embedded into the iconic Home button to unlock the handset with a touch of your finger and approved purchases on Apple's content stores...

Microsoft admits its recent anti-iPhone ads were “off the mark”

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Even though most of this week's news cycle was dominated by Apple and its new iPhones, Microsoft managed to snag a few headlines on Friday. But it wasn't positive press. The company was lambasted for its new series of anti-Apple ads.

The series, made up of 7 clips, was called 'A fly on the wall in Cupertino.' And each of the ads featured two high-level Apple executives pitching the new iPhone 5c and 5s handsets to a third character that looked an awful lot like Steve Jobs...

Job posting suggests Apple is working on solar-powered mobile devices

Cody Lee ∙ September 14, 2013

Apple is in search of a thin films engineer for its Mobile Devices team, according to a recent job posting. More specifically, it's looking for an engineer with extensive experience with thin-film technologies in either semiconductor processing or solar industries.

The posting suggests Apple is investigating a viable alternative energy source for future mobile products. And the fact that it says this position will work with suppliers to deliver scalable manufacturing processes means they may be coming sooner than later...

Microsoft posts series of terrible ads bashing new iPhones [updated]

Cody Lee ∙ Updated March 15, 2018

Now, we're no strangers to Microsoft's anti-Apple marketing antics. Whether it be Surface against iPad or Windows Phone against iPhone, the company has made it very clear that they are gunning for Tim Cook and his team out there in Cupertino.

And up until now, the effectiveness of Microsoft's ads have been questionable at best—it's tough to proclaim your product is better than another when sales and reviews suggest the opposite. But these new commercials have to be the worst yet...

Unlocked 16GB Yellow iPhone 5c first to sell out

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

The iPhone 5c became available for pre-order at 12:00 am PST this morning. Since then, hundreds of thousands (millions?) of people around the globe have placed orders for the new handset with Apple or one of its retail partners.

And for the most part, launch day supplies have held up. Last year, it only took an hour for iPhone 5 shipping times to slip on certain models. But this year, most configurations of the iPhone 5c remain available 10 hours after launch...