iPhone 5s

Apple sends out invites for separate September 11 media event in Beijing

Just one day after Apple sent out invitations to a September 10 media event to take place at its Cupertino, California headquarters, the company has apparently sent out invites to a separate event to be held in China a day later.

The event will take place at Beijing’s World Trade Center, and notably, the invitation looks exactly like the one sent out yesterday, albeit the Chinese text. So why would would Apple want to hold a separate iPhone event in China?

Apple sends out invites for September 10 iPhone media event

The months of speculation, rumor mongering, crystal ball peering and analyst predictions are almost over as Apple on Tuesday confirmed there will be an iPhone-related special media event taking place come next Tuesday.

The Apple PR folks have just treated a cherry-picked group of journos to the official invitation for the forthcoming September 10 event.

The high-profile press conference will be held at the company’s Cupertino, California headquarters at 10am Pacific / 1PM Eastern. The invite graphics shows colorful circles behind the Apple logo, set against the all-white flattened background and adorned with the tagline which simply reads, "This should brighten everyone's day".

As per usual, the invitation's design has prompted a scavenger hunt for subtle hints and hidden meanings so do fell free to join the game down in the comments...

Some iPhone event wallpapers that will brighten your day

Today, Apple made the official announcement for the iPhone event to be held on September 10. The event is expected to announce the much anticipated iPhone 5S, a colorful range of iPhone 5C's, and the updated iOS 7 operating system. Each time there is an official invitation, many skeptics try to predict what exactly is meant by every little piece of graphical evidence on the image. However, some people spend their time more creatively by creating wallpapers.

In a special mid-week wallpaper update, we are pleased to post copies of Bas van der Ploeg's originals, created exclusively for the September Apple event. If you are as excited as I am, take a look past the fold for the first chance to download full resolution originals...

UK retailers expect to start selling new iPhones on September 20

With U.S. wireless carriers AT&T and T-Mobile - as well as Apple itself - canceling their retail employee vacations ahead of Apple's media event next Tuesday, retailers and distributors in the United Kingdom are now bracing themselves for the impending mid-September iPhone 5S/5C launch.

A report by the British newspaper The Guardian asserts that Apple will be delivering the upcoming new handsets to UK retailers and mobile phone network shops on September 20 and 27, in time for them to go on sale approximately a week after the official announcement on September 10.

The report matches up conveniently with market rumors of Apple allegedly launching the new devices on Japan's SoftBank and KKDI networks come September 20...

New iPhone models begin arriving in the US ahead of September 10 media event

Apple made its long-rumored September 10 media event official this morning, as it sent out a number of invites to the presser. It's widely believed that the company will use the event to unveil not one, but two new smartphones.

And according to a new report, those smartphones have already begun shipping to the US. Citing a reliable source, MacRumors claims that Apple has begun stockpiling both the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C in various channels...

New photo of alleged iPhone 5S Home button part could point to fingerprint sensor

As the September 10 iPhone event draws nearer, pundits have begun to cast their final predictions for what features Apple's next smartphone will possess. A faster processor seems like a given, as do a better camera and new gold colorway, but what else?

A lot of folks also think that the iPhone 5S will have a fingerprint scanner built into its Home button. It's been reported by analysts on several occasions, and evidence of it surfaced in iOS 7, but we have yet to see any real concrete proof. Until now?

August was a bad month for Apple’s mobile web usage share

New data from web analytics firm NetApplicatons shows a significant decline in Apple's share of the mobile web, with iOS devices falling to 54.9 percent in August, a 16.7 percent drop from the 65.9 percent reported during the same month in 2012. While still less than a third of the web usage, Android experienced an increase, rising eleven percent to 28.1 percent from 21 percent in 2012...

AT&T vacation blackout confirms rumored September 20 iPhone 5S/5C launch

Following a report that T-Mobile is canceling vacations for store employees between September 20 and September 22, another story has affirmed that rival AT&T is now following suit. Specifically, the carrier is said to be blacking out vacation days for the second half of September, seemingly in preparation for the iPhone 5S/5C launch date.

That's a tell-tale sign of an impending iPhone launch: carriers want to ensure enough staff is on hand to handle an influx of customers at launch. Notably, AT&T did the same last year ahead of the iPhone 5 launch, as well as every single year starting with the original iPhone launch back in 2007.

Putting these pieces together, new iPhones are very likely going on sale in the United States and a few major international markets on Friday, September 20, which would be ten days after the official unveiling...

Apple could face legal hurdles with a “Champagne” iPhone

"Champagne is neither a colour, nor anything else than the name of wines from Champagne." This is the tweet sent a few days ago by the Comité Champagne, a trade association that represents the interests of independent Champagne producers and Champagne Houses in France.

The tweet, which came with a link to a page showcasing significant victories of the Comité Champagne in defending the Champagne name across the globe, was a not-so-subtle way for the organization to send Apple a message that it'd better think twice if it decided to indeed call its rumored gold iPhone model Champagne...

Top Apple blogger debunks September iPads, iPhone 5S scratch test and other crazy rumors

Apple's CEO Tim Cook and the company's leadership team must be hating Mark Gurman, the most connected Apple blogger and Time's pick for its 2013 Best 25 Bloggers list. He's leaked much of the iOS 7 redesign ahead of June's revelation and nailed the iPhone 5 features well before its release.

Two weeks ago, Mark was first to acknowledge an iPhone 5S with gold colorway. He's also confirmed fingerprint scanning - the iPhone 5S's killer feature - and said the iPad build of iOS 7 was running behind schedule.

Taking a number of burning issues occupying the collective minds of the Apple rumor-mill community, Gurman has now brought into question a few popular misconception concerning Apple's upcoming product launches that are making rounds today...

First hands-on video comparison of gold iPhone 5S/5C/5 casing emerges

You've seen the supposed photos of the upcoming iPhone 5S’s chassis and watched a video depicting the scratch-resistance of the plastic iPhone 5C. Now what? Well, how about the ultimate video hands-on showing off the rumored gold/champagne iPhone 5S and a blue iPhone 5C variant next to an iPhone 5?

Your prayers have been listened to: you're in for a treat as one blogger has posted exactly such footage, and it's been making the rounds this morning...