MacRumors

Apple this afternoon addressed customer concerns about an ongoing controversy over power management features in older iPhones, pledging to introduce more detailed information about battery health and reducing the price of battery replacements for all of 2018.

In a letter explaining its policies, Apple apologizes for the misinformation that's been spread and says that it would never "intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product, or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades."

At issue is a power management feature that was initially introduced in iOS 10.2.1 in the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6s, which was implemented to prevent unexpected shutdowns due to high power draw peaks. Apple's lack of clarity about the feature has led to a number of lawsuits being filed in recent days claiming that Apple is purposefully slowing down older iPhones.

Apple explains the situation and the aging of batteries both in the letter and in a new support document.

A chemically aged battery also becomes less capable of delivering peak energy loads, especially in a low state of charge, which may result in a device unexpectedly shutting itself down in some situations.

To help customers learn more about iPhone's rechargeable battery and the factors affecting its performance, we've posted a new support article, iPhone Battery and Performance.

It should go without saying that we think sudden, unexpected shutdowns are unacceptable. We don't want any of our users to lose a call, miss taking a picture or have any other part of their iPhone experience interrupted if we can avoid it.

These power management features are implemented in the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, and iPhone 7 Plus, and will be added to future iPhones as required. They kick in when the battery begins to degrade and can be fixed with a new battery.

Apple says it began to receive feedback this fall from customers who were seeing slower speeds, which it initially thought might be due to software updates and minor bugs in iOS 11, but it now believes the continued chemical aging of the batteries in older devices is at fault.

To allay customer concerns and address recent customer feedback, Apple says it will implement several changes.

- The price for out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacements is being dropped from $79 to $29, starting in late January and lasting through December 2018. Apple plans to provide more information on the price drop in the near future, but it will apply to anyone with an iPhone 6 or later whose battery needs to be replaced.

- In early 2018, an iOS update will introduce new features to give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone's battery, so they can clearly see whether the state of the battery is affecting performance.

Apple says its team is also always working on ways to make the user experience better, including how performance is managed to avoid unexpected shutdowns as batteries age.

With the release of the iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus, Apple now supports Qi-based wireless inductive charging on its latest phones, and that means charging pads have quickly become popular accessories for iPhone owners.

Apple's favored partners for wireless charging pads are Belkin and mophie, and Apple is carrying a $60 charger from each company in its own online and retail stores. But there are lots of other options available on the market, and we've had a chance to try out a number of them, so we're rounding them up in this guide which we'll continue to update going forward.

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Following initial shipments of the iMac Pro that have started to be delivered to customers over the past few days, the iMac Pro is now available for pickup at many Apple retail stores in Australia and Japan.

Apple's website lists the iMac Pro as available for pickup today at around half of its retail locations in Australia and Japan, but for now it appears that only the base model has immediate availability, allowing customers to place orders online from store stock.

While we're currently seeing pickup available only in Australia and Japan, it's possible other countries with personal pickup could see similar availability once the clock rolls around to Friday in those countries.

Since the workstation is highly customizable, many customers may still prefer to order from Apple's online store, where exact tech specs, accessories, and software add-ons like Final Cut Pro X can be selected as desired.

iMac Pro starts at $4,999 for a base 8-core model in the United States, with 10-core models available from $5,799, and these configurations are currently estimated for delivery by early to mid January from Apple's U.S. online store. 14-core and 18-core models start at $6,599 and $7,399, but they don't ship for 5-7 weeks.

Online, every configuration has optional upgrades available for storage, memory, and graphics, with prices topping out at $13,199 for a maxed-out, high-end model with an 18-core Intel Xeon processor, 4TB of SSD storage, 128GB of ECC RAM, and AMD Radeon Pro Vega 64 graphics with 16GB of HBM2 memory.

Update December 29: Apple is now showing personal pickup availability for the base iMac Pro model at many stores in the United States and Canada.

2017 was a big year for Apple, with the launch of the entirely revamped iPhone X, the iMac Pro, the first cellular-enabled Apple Watch, an iPad Pro with an amazing display, the Apple TV 4K, and new Macs, software, and other products.

In the video below, we highlighted some of the most well-received and notable Apple products of the year, and below that, you'll find a quick overview of every major product Apple debuted or announced in 2017.

Fifth-Generation iPad (March)

March saw the launch of Apple's most affordable iPad to date, the 5th-generation iPad, which Apple refers to as "iPad." iPad is priced starting at $329 for the entry-level 32GB Wi-Fi only version, and despite its low price, the tablet is equipped with a speedy A9 processor, an 8-megapixel rear camera, Touch ID, and Apple Pay support.

It's thicker than the 9.7-inch iPad Pro that came before it, but not by much, and while it doesn't support Apple Pencil or have some of the impressive display features available in the iPad Pro, it's an incredibly capable tablet that's going hold up for years to come.

Read more about the iPad in our iPad roundup.

iPad Pro

Following the launch of the new low-cost "iPad," Apple introduced two new iPad Pro models in June: an updated 12.9-inch model and an all-new 10.5-inch model that replaces the previous 9.7-inch iPad Pro. The 10.5-inch iPad Pro isn't much bigger than the 9.7-inch model, but it has a much larger display thanks to thinner side bezels.

Both the 10.5 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro are amazingly powerful and can serve as PC replacements with A10X Fusion chips and 4GB RAM. New displays offer ProMotion display technology with a 120Hz refresh rate, and these are without a doubt the nicest displays we've seen in an iPad.

Unlike the fifth-generation iPad, the iPad Pro models support the Smart Keyboard and the Apple Pencil, but all of these features don't come cheap - the 64GB 10.5-inch iPad Pro starts at $649, and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro starts at $799. Luckily, sales are common, so you can often get these two tablets at lower prices.

Read more about the iPad Pro in our iPad Pro roundup.

MacBook Pro

Apple introduced the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar in October of 2016, so we weren't expecting new MacBook Pro models until late 2017, but Apple surprised us with new MacBook Pro models equipped with Kaby Lake processors in June of 2017.

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An Italian clothing company that uses the name "Steve Jobs" as its brand will be able to continue using the moniker after winning a multi-year legal battle, reports Italian site la Repubblica Napoli (via The Verge).

Brothers Vincenzo and Giacomo Barbato named their clothing brand "Steve Jobs" in 2012 after learning that Apple had not trademarked his name.

"We did our market research and we noticed that Apple, one of the best known companies in the world, never thought about registering its founder's brand, so we decided to do it," the two told la Repubblica Napoli.

The Barbatos designed a logo that resembles Apple's own, choosing the letter "J" with a bite taken out of the side. Apple, of course, sued the two brothers for using Jobs' name and a logo that mimics the Apple logo. In 2014, the European Union's Intellectual Property Office ruled in favor of the Barbatos and rejected Apple's trademark opposition.

While the outcome of the legal battle was decided in 2014, Vincenzo and Giacomo Barbato have been unable to discuss the case until now, as their claim on the brand was not settled until 2017.

The two told la Repubblica Napoli that Apple went after the logo, something that may have been a mistake. The Intellectual Property Office decided that the "J" logo that appears bitten was not infringing on Apple's own designs as a letter is not edible and thus the cutout in the letter cannot be perceived as a bite.

While the Barbatos currently produce bags, t-shirts, jeans, and other clothing and fashion items, they told Business Insider Italia that in the future, they plan to produce electronic devices under the Steve Jobs brand. "We are working on a line of highly innovative electronic devices, projects we have been working on for years," said the two.

While we await iFixit's inevitable comprehensive teardown of Apple's new iMac Pro, third party Mac component supplier OWC has just published its own teardown video, providing some interesting tidbits on the internal configuration of the non-user upgradeable machine.

Whereas standard 27-inch iMacs have a small hatch in the back that allows the RAM in the machine to be upgraded after purchase, the iMac Pro does not. Fortunately, an Apple Store or an Apple Authorized Service Provider is able to open up the iMac Pro and swap out the RAM, and here's what they can expect to find upon doing so.

The teardown reveals that in the 32GB base model, there are four 8GB DIMM modules, a configuration type that appears to be mirrored in the 64GB (4 x 16GB) and 128GB (4 x 32GB) models. The good news is that this means the iMac Pro supports quad-channel memory, but the bad news is that it also means users looking to upgrade from, say, 32GB to 64GB will have to replace all four modules to do so.

The teardown also reveals that in the iMac Pro 1TB base model, Apple has chosen to use two 512GB SSDs in a RAID configuration. Rather than soldering the flash storage on the main board, both drives exist as separate modules that are attached via screws, so replacing them is at least technically feasible, even if Apple does not make it easy.

OWC says that in the near future it will be offering a DIY memory upgrade kit for the iMac Pro, although most users are likely to hand over such an undertaking to a qualified service provider. For more details on the iMac Pro's internals, including the Intel Xeon W eight-core processor, be sure to watch the video embedded above.

In fiscal 2017, Apple CEO Tim Cook received a salary of $3.06 million plus $9.33 million in bonuses and stock worth $89.2 million for a total compensation package of approximately $102 million, reports Bloomberg.

The data was shared today by Apple in a proxy statement filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ahead of the company's annual shareholders meeting, which will take place on February 13, 2018.

Executive officers at Apple, which included Luca Maestri, Angela Ahrendts, Johny Srouji, Dan Riccio, and Bruce Sewell, all received bonuses of over $3 million, bringing their compensation, including salary and stock awards, to approximately $24.2 million each, provided each stays with the company long enough for awarded stock to vest. Angela Ahrendts, Apple's retail chief, was the highest paid executive, bringing in $24,216,072.

In addition to covering executive compensation, today's proxy statement also says that Apple's board now requires Apple CEO Tim Cook use private aircraft "for all business and personal travel." The flight policy was implemented in 2017 "in the interests of security and efficiency" based on Cook's "highly visible" role as CEO.

Over the course of 2017, Cook's personal air travel expenses amounted to $93,109, and Apple spent an additional $224,216 in personal security costs provided to Cook.

The proxy statement also includes six proposals that will require shareholder action at the upcoming shareholders meeting in February. Proposals cover standard actions like re-appointing Apple's public accounting firm and re-electing board members, along with two shareholder proposals covering proxy access amendments and the establishment of a Human Rights Committee.

Apple's board of directors is recommending shareholders vote against both shareholder proposals, with the full text of all of the proposals available in the proxy statement filed with the SEC.

Shareholders who wish to attend the shareholders meeting, which will be held at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park, will need to register using Proxyvote.com starting at 8:00 a.m. on January 22, 2018. Apple plans to accept registrations on a first-come, first-serve basis as space is limited.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

The Apple Lisa, released in 1983, was one of the first personal computers to come equipped with a graphical user interface, and soon the operating system that ran on the Lisa will available for free, courtesy of the Computer History Museum and Apple.

As noted by Gizmodo, Al Kossow, a software curator at the Computer History Museum, recently announced that both the source code for the Lisa operating system and the Lisa apps have been recovered. Apple is reviewing the source code, and once that's done, the museum will be releasing the code publicly.

Just wanted to let everyone know the sources to the OS and applications were recovered, I converted them to Unix end of line conventions and spaces for Pascal tabs after recovering the files using Disk Image Chef, and they are with Apple for review. After that's done, CHM will do an @CHM blog post about the historical significance of the software and the code that is cleared for release by Apple will be made available in 2018.

The only thing I saw that probably won't be able to be released is the American Heritage dictionary for the spell checker in LisaWrite.

Back when the Lisa was first released, Apple charged $9,995, with the machine aimed at business users. It was equipped with a 5MHz Motorola 68000 CPU, 1MB of RAM, and a 5MB hard drive. Given its high price, Apple only managed to sell about 100,000 of the Lisa computers. Though Steve Jobs originally denied it, he later said the Lisa was named for his daughter, Lisa Brennan.

Apple's Lisa operating system featured the text-based Workshop for developing software and the Lisa Office System, which had seven apps that included LisaWrite, LisaCalc, LisaDraw, LisaGraph, LisaProject, LisaList, and LisaTerminal.

The Lisa computer was followed by the Macintosh in 1984, and the Macintosh was essentially a more affordable, improved version of the Lisa, which allowed it to outsell the Lisa. Though Apple did introduce additional versions of the Lisa computer at a lower price tag, it was ultimately discontinued only a few short years after its introduction.

Apple's iPhone and iPad were again the most popular mobile devices gifted around the world during the holidays this year according to new data shared today by mobile analytics firm Flurry.

In the week leading up to Christmas and the end of Hanukkah (12/19 to 12/25), Flurry took a look at all new smartphone and tablet activations to see which devices consumers were purchasing most.

44 percent of new device activations were Apple devices, while Samsung devices accounted for 26 percent of activations. Huawei, Xiaomi, Motorola, LG, OPPO, and Vivo trailed behind Apple and Samsung with each responsible for 2 to 5 percent of new device activations.

The 2017 activation numbers closely mirror the activation numbers we saw from Flurry in 2016. Apple also saw the highest number of device activations -- 44 percent -- during the same time period last year, followed by Samsung at 21 percent.

Similar to last year, 44% of new phone and tablet activations were Apple devices. While Samsung dominates global market share, they fell short as the gift of choice during the holiday season, with only 26% of activated devices in the lead up to Christmas. Samsung's activation rate is up 5% from the 2016 holiday season, which can likely be attributed to the 2017 introduction of the Galaxy S8 after the late 2016 recall of their malfunctioning Note devices.

Broken down, it's actually Apple's older devices that saw the highest number of new activations rather than the newer devices. 15.1 percent of activations were for the iPhone 7, followed by 14.9 percent for the iPhone 6. Apple's flagship device, the iPhone X, was popular though, making up 14.7 percent of new activations. The iPhone 8 was responsible for 8.1 percent of new activations, and the iPhone 8 Plus was responsible for 8.7 percent.

It's important to note that Flurry examined worldwide activations, where older, more affordable devices are popular. Apple no longer sells the iPhone 6, for example, but it's still readily available internationally from third-party resellers who offer it at a discounted price.

When looking at device size, "phablets" or devices that measure in at 5 to 6.9 inches, made up 53 percent of all new device activations, while smaller phones (3.5 to 4.9 inches) made up 35 percent of activations. Full-sized tablets like the iPad (with only cellular models counted here) were responsible for 8 percent of activations. Interest in larger devices has grown significantly over the course of the last two years.

To gather its data, Flurry measured smart device activations and app downloads from the more than one million mobile apps that use the Flurry Analytics service. Flurry says it has insight into more than 2.1 billion devices around the world.