News

Construction is underway for Apple’s $1 billion data center in Foulum, Denmark

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 3, 2016

In February of last year, the Cupertino firm announced that it will be spending to the tune of two billion dollars on the construction of two huge data centers in Ireland and Denmark that will make iCloud and other services more performant and reliable for European customers. As per The Copenhagen Post, the Denmark facility is located in Foulum.

Foulum is a small town located just outside of Viborg, a city in central Jutland that is home to Aarhus University and agricultural research facilities. Additionally, the iPhone maker reportedly signed a multi-year clean energy deal with Aarhus University on a new biogas research and development project.

Apple Regent Street to reopen on October 15

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 3, 2016

Apple announced today that its flagship Regent Street store in London, England, will reopen on Saturday, October 15, after the company spent more than a year on major interior renovations. The new-look store will preserve the building's historic look, like before. “We're making the store you love even lovelier,” reads the Apple Regent Street's listing on the official Apple Retail website.

Apple TV gets its first ticketing app: StubHub

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 3, 2016

StubHub, the world's largest ticket marketplace, is launching today on the fourth-generation Apple TV as a free download in the tvOS App Store, according to an announcement this morning. With StubHub, you can browse, search and purchase tickets for various events from the comfort of your sofa. Owned by eBay, StubHub is an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of tickets for sports, concerts, theater and other live entertainment events.

Apple SIM partner AlwaysOnline Wireless unveils new UK plans, expands in 29 countries

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 3, 2016

Apple SIM is available in 140+ countries via GigSky, but now customers traveling abroad have additional choices when it comes to buying short-term data plans on the go, directly from their cellular-enabled iPad, thanks to a company called AlwaysOnline Wireless which today announced that its 4G LTE roaming network is now available via Apple SIM in the United States and 28 additional countries.

The company also launched new data plans in the United Kingdom via a partnership with British wireless carrier Three: an hourly plan with 100MB of 4G LTE for $0.49 (£0.37), a daily plan with 500MB of 4G LTE for $5.99 (£4.50), a 1GB plan for $10.99 (£8.26), a 3GB plan for $18.99 (£14.28) and a 5GB plan for $29.99 (£22.55).

Video: all iPhone sapphire lenses scratch tested

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 3, 2016

As you may know, Apple's marketing boss Phil Schiller recently insisted that rumors of the iPhone 7's Home button and camera lens not being covered in pure sapphire were false. However, YouTuber JerryRigEverything has found that these parts do leave scratch marks at a level six on the Mohs scale of hardness, which is odd given that pure sapphire crystal should sustain scratches up to a level nine.

Apple on its website states that all of the iPhones it currently sells offer sapphire protection for the Touch ID sensor and iSight camera, which doesn't explain why these parts appear to scratch more easily than they should.

Could Apple be using a sapphire/glass hybrid or even a normal tempered glass rather than a 100 percent sapphire crystal? That's what JerryRigEverything set out to find in a comprehensive scratch test video of the iPhone SE/6/6s/7 series.

Report: new iPad mini Pro, 10.1″ iPad Pro & updated 12.9″ model due in Spring 2017

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 3, 2016

Japanese blog Mac Otakara has heard from reliable sources that Apple is gearing up to refresh its iPad lineup in Spring of 2017 with an updated 12.9-inch iPad Pro model, a new 10.1-inch model joining the lineup and a fifth-generation iPad mini, which should gained the 'Pro' moniker and be marketed by Apple simply as the 7.9-inch iPad mini Pro.

For the most part, the outlet corroborated a previous report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo with one major difference: Kuo claimed Apple would be releasing a 10.5-inch model iPad Pro model next year, not the 10.1-inch device mentioned in Mac Otakara's report.

Apple threatens pulling an app for pranking friends with stickers that mimic iMessage bubbles

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated February 1, 2018

Apple on Friday threatened to pull Phoneys, a 99-cent sticker pack which lets you prank friends by putting words in their mouth. The #1 Top Paid item in the Messages App Store, Phoneys employs a simple trick to make the illusion work: it provides stickers that look exactly like the blue iMessage bubbles. Phoneys developer Adam Howell says Apple told him it would be pulling the app next Thursday unless it's fundamentally changed so that the stickers looked nothing like iMessage bubbles.

TSMC to start mass producing 10nm chips nearly a year ahead of Intel

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated October 16, 2018

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC), which builds Apple's in-house designed A10 Fusion chip that powers the iPhone 7, has confirmed mass production of ten-nanometer chips for clients will kick off by year-end, beating Intel by almost a year in terms of high-performance silicon.

Chip maker Intel's own ten-nanometer chips are due in second half of 2017.

Latest 4K drone flyovers show off iSpaceship facade glowing at night & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 30, 2016

A pair of new flyover videos from YouTubers Duncan Sinfield and Matthew Roberts reveal that Apple has installed exterior lights at Apple Campus 2 site, showing the iSpaceship building facade glowing at night. It's quite a spectacular sight given the enormous scale of the flying saucer-shaped structure.

Apple Campus 2, as it's officially called, will become home to more than 12,000 employees when it's completed some time in early 2017.

macOS Sierra code suggests Apple could replace Intel in Macs with custom ARM chips

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 30, 2016

Could Apple be working on next-generation Mac hardware that would be powered by an in-house designed processor based on CPU blueprints from British fabless semiconductor maker ARM Holdings plc? That's exactly the conclusion one could reach by looking closely at code strings in the macOS Sierra kernel, discovered by Dutch outlet TechTastic.nl.

iPhone 7 to arrive in more countries starting October 7

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 30, 2016

As confirmed by various news reports, authorized resellers and local Apple websites around the world, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be expanding in additional markets beginning October 7. The handsets will be available for purchase in India and Ukraine starting October 7.

A week later, on October 14, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will arrive in Macao, Macedonia, Malaysia, Montenegro, South Africa and Turkey.

Apple in negotiations with Sharp to supply OLED screens for new iPhones

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 30, 2016

Bloomberg is reporting that Apple is in negotiations with Japanese consumer electronics maker Sharp to supply organic LED displays (OLED) for future iPhones. Any potential agreement is contingent upon Sharp’s production capability. The rumored discussions reportedly stem from Apple’s desire to secure multiple suppliers for organic LED screens and minimize exposure to any single supplier.