Rumors

Report: new MacBook Pros, USB-C MacBook Airs coming this month

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

New MacBook Pros are still on for October, reports the often accurate Japanese site Mac Otakara. Citing a reliable source within Apple's supply chain, the outlet says the long-awaited refresh of the premium notebook line is still on schedule for this month.

In addition to the MacBook pro update, the site also says that the MacBook Air line is also getting a refresh. It expects Apple to drop the 11-inch model, to focus on the larger 13-inch version, and it will include USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 ports.

Bloomberg: Apple gives up building a car, for now

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 17, 2016

Project Titan, Apple's ambitious initiative to build an electric vehicle by 2020-2021 reportedly fell apart amid management crisis, supply chain issues and departures, prompting the company's leadership to shift gears and focus on autonomous self-driving software, for now.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported Monday that Apple will decide fate of self-driving software by late 2017 as the new direction no longer includes building its own car.

Confirmed: Apple held talks with Sonder on using e-ink for a dynamic Magic Keyboard

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 13, 2016

An exciting story yesterday, based on a sketchy Reddit report, alleged Apple could use dynamic keyboard technology from Australian startup Sonder, part of Foxconn’s International Holding’s Incubator program. It would presumably permit the Cupertino company to engineer a keyboard with a tiny e-ink display on each key so that the layout could change depending on the app being used.

British newspaper The Guardian confirmed that discussions between members of Apple’s boss Tim Cook and representatives from Sonder Keyboard indeed took place.

Next-gen Magic Keyboard reportedly in the works with e-ink display on every single key

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 12, 2016

According to a post by an anonymous user named “Foxconninsider” that surfaced Wednesday morning on Reddit, Apple is allegedly working with a startup called Sonder on a next-generation Magic Keyboard that's supposedly outfitted with an individual e-ink display on every single key.

Having e-ink-enhanced keys would let the graphics on each individual key change depending on the app currently in use. To me, that sounds a lot like an OLED strip that the rumor-mill believes will be debuting on the next MacBook Pro.

Samsung “paying extra careful attention” to Galaxy S8 development due to “huge changes”

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 11, 2016

Unperturbed by its ill-fated Note 7 flagship, which Samsung has now permanently stopped building due to ongoing battery woes, development of a next-generation Galaxy smartphone is in full swing. Reportedly, the troubled South Korean company is “paying extra careful attention” towards the development of the Galaxy S8.

That's not just because of quality control issues with the Note 7, but also due to the fact that the Galaxy S8 packs in some “huge” hardware and design changes, according to a new report Tuesday from Korean news site ET News.

Apple to unify its separate cloud services teams to improve Siri, Maps, iTunes, iCloud & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 6, 2016

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman is reporting today that Apple is in the process of unifying its separate cloud services team in an effort to foster tighter collaboration between them, better compete with Google and Amazon in the cloud space and improve Siri, Maps, iTunes, iCloud and other services.

Eddy Cue, Apple's boss of Internet Software and Services, will oversee the effort to move cloud service engineering teams to a single campus as Apple continues shifting its cloud to its own infrastructure.

Apple’s rescheduled earnings call could hint at unveiling of new Macs around October 27

Christian Zibreg ∙ October 5, 2016

Apple originally told investors it would be publicizing its quarterly earnings report on Thursday, October 27.

Curiously, a notice posted on the Apple Investor Relations website earlier this week has moved up the upcoming earnings call with Wall Street investors by two days to Tuesday, October 25, over what Apple describes as a simple “scheduling conflict”.

Longtime Apple reporter Philip Elmer-DeWitt speculates that the move might mean that Apple could be planning to hold a launch event for new Macs on October 27.

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.

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.

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.

KGI: 2017 iPhones to sport glass front/back, stainless steel edges on high-end models

Christian Zibreg ∙ September 29, 2016

Back in April, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted that the Tenth Anniversary iPhone would undergo significant design changes, ditching the LCD screen and unibody aluminum casing for an all-glass enclosure and a wraparound AMOLED panel protected by curved 2.5 glass cover on the front.

In a new report issued to clients today, a copy of which was obtained by AppleInsider, Kuo says that there is “increasing likelihood” that all 2017 iPhones will have all-glass front and back, with a high-end iPhone 8 model adopting a stainless steel metal frame rather than aluminum.

Spotify said to be in advanced talks to buy SoundCloud

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 17, 2018

Spotify is in advanced talks to acquire SoundCloud, reports the Financial Times. The streaming music service believes the buyout could help it better compete with competitors like Apple Music thanks to its large library of exclusive and user-created content.