Apple TV talk has really died down over the past few months, but the rumors of the device have been pretty persistent over the past few years. Analysts and tech pundits continue to believe that we'll see something in the not-so-distant future.
The latest testimony comes from Jefferies & Co. analyst James Kisner. In a note to investors this morning, Kisner said that after speaking with his industry contacts, he believes the launch of an Apple television product is "imminent..."
Tim Cook has ushered in a number of changes to Apple in his first year as the CEO. He's instituted an employee donation program, and a few weeks ago he spearheaded one of the biggest management shakeups in the company's history.
And this afternoon, we can add another alteration to the list. According to a new report, Cook has signed off on a new program, code-named "Blue Sky," that gives select employees up to two weeks to work on special side projects...
Samsung Electronics, which manufactures Apple-designed chips for iPads and iPhones exclusively at its Austin, Texas facility, has reportedly hit the iPhone maker with a material 20 percent price hike. Unsurprisingly, per an unnamed person allegedly familiar with negotiations between the two companies, this price increase is only aimed at Apple and not other Samsung clients. Apple up until recently used to account for as much as 8.8 percent of Samsung's revenue. It's been estimated that Apple ordered 130 million iPhone and iPad chips from Samsung Electronics in 2011 and more than 200 million units this year. The two frenemies have allegedly started to reflect the new supply price recently...
And you thought your iPhone 5 would keep you on the bleeding edge of technology. A new report out of Asia this morning claims that Apple plans to begin trial production of a next iPhone, the iPhone 5S, in December. The reason for such a hasty production schedule? Low yields that continue to affect availability of the current iPhone 5.
In order to avoid similar problems with the next iPhone, the story goes, Apple wants to start trial production of the iPhone 5S as early as possible so the company could work out any kinks ahead of volume production, which is apparently slated to begin in the first quarter of 2013...
One of the hot button economic and political issues in the US right now is how do we bring back manufacturing jobs? The unemployment rate is extremely high right now, and a lot of folks are suggesting we try to get back the thousands of manufacturing positions that have been sent overseas.
Apple is frequently brought up in this conversation due to its size and visibility. The company now sells some 50 million iDevices each quarter, and they're all made outside of the country. But that may not be the case much longer. According to a new report, Foxconn is looking to build plants in the US...
Moving to blunt criticism over the iPad mini display, a rumor out of China asserts that AU Optronics (AUO) is working on building a crisper Retina screen for the next iPad mini with the same 326ppi pixel density as the iPhone 4/4S/5. AUO is one of the suppliers Apple sources display panels for the iPad mini from. The need to offer a Retina iPad mini was allegedly pressing enough to bypass the usual waiting period before providing sharper display...
This is really interesting. Hot on the heels of launching its full-sized Surface tablet to a mixed market response, Microsoft is thought to now have their sights set on the smaller form-factor tablet space, currently dominated by seven-inchers from Google and Amazon, in addition to Apple's iPad mini that launched last month. Microsoft's secret project for a mini Xbox, it's been said, involves a custom-built ARM processor and high-bandwidth RAM designed specifically for gaming tasks...
Sharp, who makes TVs, displays and other electronics, is in serious trouble right now. The company is bleeding money, its stock price is plummeting and it says that it's not sure that it can continue to operate.
In fact, the dyer situation has Foxconn worried enough that it's thinking about pulling out of its deal to buy an 11% stake in the company. But according to a new report, Apple may be looking to help out...
Google submitted its native Maps iOS app to Apple in September with the hope of having it approved by Christmas. Two weeks later, its chairman Eric Schmidt acknowledged that a Google Maps iOS app is up to Apple and a newspaper report this morning now suggests that insiders don't have high hopes that it will be approved by the iPhone maker after all. Google previously released a native YouTube app for iOS devices following the removal of stock YouTube software from iOS 6. Last month, the search Goliath also enabled Street View as a web app in the mobile Safari browser...
It looks like Twitter is about to make a pretty significant move on the mobile front. According to a new report, the social network is about to push out an update to its mobile apps that will add the ability for users to upload photos with Instagram-like filters....
Once Microsoft unveiled its Surface tablet, its first foray into designing its own mobile hardware, this summer, you had to imagine that a Redmond-built smartphone wouldn't be far behind.
And sure enough, according to a new report from a highly regarded news outlet, the Windows company is currently working with suppliers in Asia to test its own smartphone design...
By now, you've probably heard the rumors that Apple is working on a Pandora-like internet radio service. Yesterday, Bloomberg added to the speculation, saying that a deal with record labels could be reached by mid-November.
But according to a follow-up report, that may not be the case. Apparently, some record executives haven't been particularly impressed with the revenue sharing proposal. And they want Apple to sweeten the deal before they sign...