Apple

Alleged iPhone 5C manufacturer Jabil Circuit accused of labor abuses [updated]

Cody Lee ∙ September 5, 2013

China Labor Watch has released another critical report today on working conditions at an Apple supplier in China. This time, the news hits a little bit closer to home for the Cupertino company, as the activist organization has taken aim at a US-owned factory.

According to CLW, employees at a Chinese factory owned by Florida-based Jabil Circuit, which is reportedly manufacturing Apple's rumored iPhone 5C, are regularly forced to work excessively long hours without overtime pay, and given inadequate training...

Rumor: Apple to release A7X-based iPad and iPad mini this year, lower-cost A6 mini in 2014

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

The oft-accurate Apple analyst has spoken again. KGI Securities' Ming-Chi Kuo came down off of his proverbial mountain last night and sent out a letter to investors with some predictions regarding Apple's iPad plans for the end of this year, and the beginning of next.

Kuo, who as we've said before has a solid track record in predicting Apple's product plans, says that he believes we'll see two new tablets from the company this year: a fifth-generation iPad and a second-generation iPad mini. And both of them will have an A7X chipset...

HDMI 2.0 launches in time for next-gen Retina TVs

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

The upcoming Mac Pro is the first Mac to make possible ultra high-definition images and video, also known as Ultra HD or simply 4K. We're talking native video at a minimum of 3,840-by-2,160 pixel resolution. That's four times the pixels of your regular full HD 1,920-by-1,080 movies on Blu-ray discs and iTunes - and consequentially four times the clarity.

Just in time for the new generation of Ultra HDTVs - and possibly that rumored full-on Apple television set - the HDMI Licensing group has now taken the wraps off the updated HDMI standard, version 2.0...

Apple to livestream California’s iPhone event in Tokyo, Berlin and Beijing

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 22, 2016

In addition to the upcoming iPhone keynote next Tuesday, Apple in a surprise announcement confirmed it will be holding a standalone press conference the following day, September 11, in Beijing, China. The development prompted speculation that the Beijing event could serve as a launchpad for a landmark deal with China Mobile.

Be that as it may, it's been reported earlier today that Apple will livestream the Cupertino event via satellite in other big cities around the world, including Japan's Tokyo and Germany's Berlin...

Apple ‘on hiring binge’ to strengthen iAd team ahead of iRadio Launch

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Apple is seemingly scrambling to hire a number of key iAd executives in preparation for the launch of its streaming music service iTunes Radio. The Cupertino company is "on a hiring binge," placing job offers for more than two dozen positions, according to reports Wednesday.

At the head of Apple's talent search is for a creative design manager who would oversee rich media ads for such brands as McDonald's, Pepsi and Proctor & Gamble. The iTunes Radio service is expected to be unveiled September 10 alongside iOS 7...

Court rules iTunes FairPlay DRM did not monopolize digital music sales

Ed Sutherland ∙ September 4, 2013

A California appeals court provided Apple some good news for a change, ruling Apple's FairPlay DRM software did not monopolize digital music sales. The decision has affirmed a lower court's dismissal.

In a Wednesday ruling, a three-judge San Francisco court found that although Apple controlled 99 percent of the digital music and digital music player market after imposing FairPlay, the company did not prevent rivals from competing.

The lawsuit had claimed Apple's DRM prevented songs purchased at iTunes from playing on anything other than its iPod...

Sony launches 21MP Xperia Z1 phone, sleek SmartWatch 2 and powerful lens attachments

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

The IFA 2013 show is now underway in Berlin, Germany and the consumer electronics giant Sony has just wrapped up its major keynote which saw the official announcement of a brand new flagship smartphone, the 4G LTE-enabled Xperia Z1. Previously code-named the Honami, the Android smartphone combines the very best of Sony’s technology and boats "a groundbreaking camera experience".

More on that a bit later. The Japanese company also unveiled a second-generation smartwatch and launched two all-new powerful camera lens accessories. Jump past the fold for cold hard facts...

Rumor: brand new portable Apple product being developed

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 4, 2013

For the first time, mobile devices with a screen between five and seven inches - colloquially named phablets - are now outselling both PCs and tablets in Asia. That said, it doesn't surprise us that Apple's supply chain partners and analysts have been calling for an Apple-branded phablet for some time now. For the time being, however, an iPhablet remains just a pipedream.

Should a new report be trusted, the iPhone maker could instead be working on a new portable device. Likely powered by Apple's iOS mobile operating system, the mystery gizmo could fall between the current full-size 9.7-inch iPad and the MacBook Air lineup, which comes in eleven and thirteen-inch flavors...

IDC: in Asia, phablets now outselling both PCs and tablets

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

If a camel is a horse created by committee, then a phablet is a device built by indecision between a smartphone and tablet. Whatever the definition, popularity of the product with a screen between five and seven inches diagonally is skyrocketing in much of Asia. According to IDC, sales of phablets led tablets and portable PCs, up 620 percent in the second quarter compared to the same period in 2012...

Another SNES emulator sneaks into App Store, grab it while it’s live

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated March 19, 2019

From time to time, various console emulators make their way into the App Store. Disguised as innocent looking apps, these submissions employ various tricks to escape the attention of Apple's App Store review team. If you're a fan of Nintendo's old-school SNES console and such classics as Zelda, you can now download a SNES emulator from the App Store.

The program pretends to be a basic file manager that can connect to both Dropbox and FTP accounts. As it turns out, it can also open *.smc Super Nintendo ROM files and play them. Jump past the fold for the full reveal...

Apple’s iPhone grows to 43 percent of US smartphones

Ed Sutherland ∙ September 4, 2013

Continued good news for Apple in the United States. The iPhone has more than 43 percent of the domestic market, marking a 7.8 percent jump over the July quarter of 2012. The increase appears to be largely at the expense of Android, which saw its share of the U.S. market fall during the period.

Additionally, although the market share of iOS declined throughout much of Europe, the iPhone in Great Britain saw a 7.8 percent jump between the three-month period of 2012 and 2013, according to an analytics firm...

Leaked shipping records suggest new Apple TV coming soon

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Apple made it official yesterday. It will be holding a media event on September 10 where it is expected to unveil two new iPhones and the final version of iOS 7. But are smartphones all that's on the docket for next week's event? Perhaps not.

As it turns out, Apple may be planning to unveil a new Apple TV, or similar television-related product at the upcoming presser. A new report shows the company accepted three shipments last month labeled "Set Top Boxes" from a top supplier...