MacRumors

Following reports that Apple will release a new 4-inch iPhone in March or April, a user named Gijs Raggers has shared a photo of the alleged smartphone next to an iPhone 5 on Dutch website One More Thing. The photo was posted on the website's discussion forums, where anyone can sign up and contribute.

The purported 4-inch iPhone appears to be the same size as the iPhone 5, but otherwise looks identical to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s externally, including its curved glass edges, thinner bezels, relocated FaceTime camera, pill-shaped volume buttons and power button moved to the right side.

The veracity of the photo cannot be confirmed, but Gijs Raggers previously leaked photos of the original iPad Air in August 2013, nearly three months before the tablet was announced. Many other photos and videos of the tablet surfaced around the same time, however, so take that as you will.

While most rumors suggest the new 4-inch iPhone's upgraded tech specs will be similar to the iPhone 6, including A8 and M8 chips, an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and NFC for Apple Pay, the photo conflicts with reports claiming the device will look similar to the last-generation iPhone 5s design.

It also sounds questionable for Apple to call its new 4-inch iPhone the "iPhone 5se" if the device truly resembles an iPhone 6. That may very well be the name, but the oft-rumored "iPhone 6c" name, or even the "iPhone 6 mini" name suggested in our forums, would seem to be more fitting name choices in that scenario.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo issued a note to investors today, a copy of which was obtained by MacRumors, in which he reaffirmed Apple will release a new 4-inch iPhone and iPad Air 3 in the first half of 2016. Both devices, and new Apple Watch bands, could be introduced at a March media event in San Francisco.

Apple VP of Product Design Steve Zadesky, who was believed to be leading Apple's electric vehicle development efforts since 2014, has informed colleagues that he will be leaving the company, according to The Wall Street Journal. He remains at Apple for now.

Zadesky, a former Ford engineer, joined Apple in 1999 and worked on the iPod and iPhone during his 16-year career in Cupertino. He is also named on several U.S. patents and documents related to Liquidmetal, a malleable alloy which Apple owns the exclusive rights to.

His impending departure from Apple is said to be for personal reasons, rather than an indication of his performance at the company, and marks a setback for Apple's electric vehicle plans:

Still, the pending departure marks a setback for one of the most talked-about projects in the technology field. Apple has become the most valuable company in the world making consumer electronics products, but moving into the automotive sector poses big new challenges.

Apple has aggressively recruited engineers and other talent from Tesla, Ford, GM, Samsung, A123 Systems, Nvidia and elsewhere to work on the rumored "Apple Car" project, which has allegedly been called "Project Titan" internally. Just days ago, Tesla CEO Elon Musk even called the "Apple Car" an "open secret."

Last year, Apple also had discussions with a secure Bay Area testing facility for connected and autonomous vehicles, and met with the California DMV to review self-driving vehicle regulations. Further speculation arose when Apple registered a trio of auto-related domain names, including apple.car, apple.cars and apple.auto, earlier this month.

Apple's electric vehicle could be approved for production by 2020, but some employees reportedly believe it "might take several more years" for the iPhone maker to develop a truly differentiated electric vehicle. The project has encountered some challenges internally due to a lack of clear goals, according to the report.

Apple is rumored to be planning to host a March event to unveil new products, but exact details on what will be shown off at the event have been in flux. An early December rumor from 9to5Mac suggested Apple would use the event to unveil a second-generation Apple Watch, but a report from TechCrunch indicated that rumor was false - no Apple Watch 2 is in the works for an early 2016 launch.

Instead, TechCrunch shared information indicating something smaller but still watch-related could be introduced in March, perhaps a minor update to add a FaceTime camera or new bands and partnerships similar to Apple's collaboration with Hermès. In a new report on what may come out at the March event, 9to5Mac backtracks on earlier claims of an Apple Watch 2 and instead agrees with TechCrunch, pointing towards a new Apple Watch lineup with new bands but no hardware changes.

At its September 2015 event, Apple introduced its Hermès partnership and debuted new colors for several Apple Watch bands, and we may see the same kind of update at the March event. New colors for existing bands and bands in new materials may be in the works. Apple is also planning to release watchOS 2.2 at or shortly after the event.

Apple's March event may also see the debut of the rumored 4-inch iPhone, now thought to be called the "iPhone 5se" to reflect its position as a successor to the iPhone 5s. The device is said to have an iPhone 5s-style exterior with iPhone 6-style curved cover. Internally, it will feature an A8 or A9 processor, NFC support for Apple Pay, an 8-megapixel rear camera, and while it won't have 3D Touch, it will be capable of taking Live Photos.

Previous rumors have suggested we could also see the next-generation iPad Air at the March event, as it is said to be debuting in the spring of 2016.

Though no Apple Watch 2 update is planned for early 2016, a second-generation update is undoubtedly in the works. It's possible Apple could be planning to release a new Apple Watch in the fall months alongside the iPhone 7.

Apple's plans for a March event remain tentative, and should products not be ready for release, there's a possibility that it could be canceled in favor of an online-only unveiling and announcement for the 4-inch iPhone and new Apple Watch bands.

Rumors suggesting Apple is working on an updated 4-inch iPhone have been circulating since the launch of the iPhone 6, but information that's leaked out about the device has varied quite a bit between news sources. While some rumors pointed towards a 4-inch iPhone equivalent in power to the iPhone 6s, others suggested it would be a lower-end device modeled after the iPhone 5s.

New information shared by 9to5Mac and Chinese website MyDrivers [Google Translate] adds to the growing body of evidence pointing towards an iPhone 5s-style device that's a step down from the iPhone 6s, potentially set to be called the "iPhone 5se" to denote its position as an upgraded version of the iPhone 5s.

With the iPhone 5se, Apple may be aiming to introduce a device that's going to deliver up-to-date features to customers who prefer smaller devices while still refraining from competing with its flagship 4.7 and 5.5-inch iPhones.

Recent rumors have suggested the 4-inch iPhone will have a body that's similar enough to the iPhone 5s that the two devices will be able to share cases and other accessories, but there will be some design differences. The shiny edges that were featured on the iPhone 5s will be replaced with a curved cover glass like the iPhone 6 and 6s.

The iPhone 5se is expected to incorporate the same 8-megapixel rear camera and 1.2-megapixel front camera used in the iPhone 6, along with an improved autofocusing ability, support for larger panoramas, and the ability to capture Live Photos (but no 3D Touch). As has been rumored, it will include an NFC chip to enable Apple Pay, and features like Bluetooth 4.2, VoLTE, and 802.11ac WiFi. It may be available in Silver, Space Gray, Gold, and Rose Gold, or just three of those colors. Rumors are unclear.

According to 9to5Mac, the iPhone 5se will use the same A8 and M8 chips that are in the iPhone 6, while the report from MyDrivers suggests it could come with an A9 chip. Rumors about Apple's 4-inch iPhone have consistently disagreed on the chip that it will use, split between the A8 and the A9.

MyDrivers supplies additional information on RAM, pricing, and battery life. In a somewhat questionable claim, the site says that Apple is sourcing 1GB and 1.2GB RAM from two suppliers. Previous rumors have said the 4-inch iPhone will include 1GB RAM.

The iPhone 5se may include a 1,624 mAh battery, which would last longer than the battery in the iPhone 5s, and according to MyDrivers, it may only be available in 16 and 64GB capacities at prices that start at 3688 Yuan or $560.

Mass production on the 4-inch screen for iPhone 5se is said to have kicked off this week, and while iPhone 6c/5se rumors have disagreed on many prospective features, all rumors have pointed towards an early 2016 release date. Apple is said to be planning a March event to unveil new products, and it's possible that could be where Apple is planning to debut its 4-inch iPhone.

AnandTech today published an in-depth iPad Pro review with detailed hardware and software analysis, including an interesting performance comparison between the tablet's dual-core A9X chip and Intel's Core M processors.

The test was conducted to determine to what level Apple's custom ARM chips have caught up to the performance of Intel's Core M lineup, given Apple's continued advancements in architecture and manufacturing, compared to Intel's slower rate of growth over its last few generations of Core processors.

The review pitted the iPad Pro's A9X chip against various Core M devices, including the Broadwell-based 12-inch Retina MacBook with a low-end Core M chip and ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi with a high-end Core M chip, and Skylake-based ASUS ZenBook UX305CA with a base-tier Core m3 CPU.

The SPECint2006† benchmark results reveal that the iPad Pro is competitive with the Retina MacBook and Asus ZenBook UX305CA in certain tests, winning half of the benchmarks against each device, but the tablet lags behind in overall performance. Meanwhile, the high-end ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi unsurprisingly beat the iPad Pro in every category.

Evidently, Intel's Core M lineup continues to lead in overall performance, but Apple is quickly closing the gap.

A9X can compete with both Broadwell and Skylake Core M processors, and that’s something Apple couldn’t claim even a generation ago. That it’s only against the likes of Core m3 means that Apple still has a way to go, particularly as A9X still loses by more than it wins, but it’s significant progress in a short period of time and I’ll wager that it’s closer than Intel would like to be, especially if Apple puts A9X into a cheaper iPad Air in the future.

Apple's progress is notable given multiple rumors that suggest the company may release ARM-based Macs in the future.

In this scenario, Apple would replace the Intel chips it currently uses in Macs with custom designed A-series chips, allowing the company to better time processor upgrades with new product launches. On multiple occasions, Apple has had to hold off on updating its Mac lineup while waiting for Intel's latest generations of processors.

In January 2015, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo projected that Apple could begin launching ARM-based Macs within one or two years based on its custom chip designs. As these A9X benchmarks show, however, the use of A-series chips in Macs would very likely be limited to lower-end devices like the 12-inch Retina MacBook at first.

In May 2014, French website MacBidouille reported that Apple has prototyped several ARM-based machines, including an iMac, Mac mini and 13" notebook with 4-8 64-bit ARM quad-core processors, and new keyboards with large-format Magic Trackpads, but many doubted the feasibility of moving forward with such a plan.

Nearly two years later, the prospect of Apple releasing ARM-based Mac remains questionable, especially for high-end Macs, but the A9X chip is evidence that Apple's A-series processors are increasingly rivaling the performance of Intel's entry-level offerings. At the very least, it gives Apple options moving forward.

† SPECint2006 is a CPU-intensive cross-platform benchmark that tests processors based on a wide range of real-life usage scenarios, ranging from video compression to PERL execution to AI. For a detailed technical explanation of the SPEC CPU benchmark and its 12 sub-benchmarks, read the full review.

As reported earlier in the week, the special edition Apple Watch Hermès collection today became available for purchase online, letting customers purchase the high-end editions from the online storefronts of both Apple and Hermès. The collection comes in ten models, all branching off of three band varieties -- the Single Tour, Double Tour, and Cuff -- and was introduced by Apple at its September iPhone event.

Each model of the Hermès collection includes a stainless steel Apple Watch case, and gives users a unique Hermès clock face for the wearable device. The pricing for the collection begins with the Single Tour band for $1,100, Double Tour for $1,250, and Cuff for $1,500. The Single Tour is the only one of the collection available in both 38mm and 42mm case sizes, with the Double Tour exclusively sold in 38mm and the Cuff only available in 42mm.

To purchase one of the Apple Watches in the Hermès collection, visit the online store of Apple or Hermès.

Japan Display today announced that it will begin the mass production of OLED panels in 2018 (via Reuters), confirming a rumor from December that the company would do so in attempts to be the supplier of OLED panels in a future iPhone model. This would put Japan Display -- a joint venture between Sony, Toshiba, and Hitachi -- in direct competition with LG Display and Samsung in the production of the rumored OLED-supported iPhone.

"We will take advantage of our advanced thin-film transistor technology in developing OLED screens," Akio Takimoto, chief of Japan Display's research center, told reporters on Friday.

Japan Display, in addition to rival Sharp, already supplies the manufacturing of LCD panels for Apple's iPhone. In 2015, estimates of an iPhone supporting OLED panels -- which would be the first non-LCD model since the original iPhone -- put it off for at least the next three years, aligning with Japan Display's plans for the mass production of OLED panels.

Recent OLED rumors suggested that Apple's new Taiwanese lab could potentially focus on adopting OLED and micro-LED technology for future iPhone models. Towards the end of last year, a report also claimed that Apple is "close" to signing a final agreement with Samsung and LG Display in regards to OLED manufacturing for the so-called "iPhone 8." According to that report, both manufacturers are planning to spend $12.8 billion combined to prepare for the production of OLED in 2018's iPhone.

Apple CEO Tim Cook traveled to Europe this week to meet with European Commission antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager in Brussels on Thursday, before heading to Rome on Friday to meet Pope Francis and Italian developers.

Cook first met with Vestager to lobby against an European tax investigation that could force the iPhone and iPad maker to pay more than $8 billion in back taxes on overseas earnings, according to Bloomberg.

Apple is accused of operating multiple subsidiaries in Ireland to avoid paying higher taxes outside the United States, where it earns just under 60% of its revenue. Apple books its taxes in Ireland using low operating costs, allowing it to pay a foreign tax rate of only 1.8%, according to the report.

If the European Commission finds wrongdoing with Apple’s corporate arrangement in Ireland, the company's $64.1 billion in profit generated from 2004 to 2012 could be subject to a higher 12.5% corporate tax rate -- just over $8 billion in back taxes.

A decision in the probe could be made by March, but may take longer due to additional information requested by European regulators. Apple continues to deny any wrongdoing, and vows to take the European Commission to court over any negative verdict.

Meanwhile, the agenda of Cook's meeting with Pope Francis remains private. The 15-minute discussion was held at 11:30 a.m. local time.

Pope Francis is known to incorporate technology into his position and takes to Twitter fairly regularly to share messages, and his old iPad was auctioned for $30,500 last year.

On Thursday, Cook tweeted about Apple's newly announced iOS development center in Italy, and said the company has created over 1.4 million jobs across Europe.

Cook met some of those iOS developers on Friday alongside Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi.

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.

It's common knowledge that Apple and Google have a monetary agreement that ensures Google's position as the default search engine on Apple's iOS devices, but the details of that deal have been kept under wraps, until now. A recent court transcript from Oracle's copyright lawsuit against Google was obtained by Bloomberg and sheds some light on the agreement, suggesting Google pays out a lot of money to keep its search bar on Apple's iPhones and iPads.

Apple receives a percentage of the revenue that Google earns from searches made on iOS devices, and in 2014, Apple's payout from Google totaled $1 billion. That information mirrors a similar rumor from 2012 that also suggested Google was paying Apple upwards of $1 billion.

The current cut Apple receives from the advertising revenue Google collects isn't known, but according to a Google witness questioned during the Oracle-Google lawsuit, the revenue share was at 34 percent "at one point in time." According to Bloomberg, it was not made clear in the transcript if 34 percent is the amount Apple received or the amount Google got to keep.

An attorney for Google objected to the information being disclosed and attempted to have the judge strike the mention of 34 percent from the record.
"That percentage just stated, that should be sealed," lawyer Robert Van Nest said, according to the transcript. "We are talking hypotheticals here. That's not a publicly known number."

Both Google and Apple attempted to have the court records blocked from public review because the information is "extremely confidential," but a judge denied the request. Google went on to ask the court to seal the transcript because the release of the information could affect its negotiations with other companies. The company's request was presumably granted, as Bloomberg says the transcript is no longer available.

Apple and Google's search contract was reportedly set to end in 2015, sparking speculation that Apple could terminate the agreement in favor of working with Microsoft or Yahoo. Yahoo and Microsoft were both interested in inking a deal with Apple to overthrow Google as the default search engine on iOS devices, but as no shift to another search engine has been made, it appears Google and Apple may have established a renewed agreement.

In a May 2015 interview, Google's chief business officer Omid Kordestani said Google wanted to continue its partnership with Apple. "We'd love to continue our partnership with them and doing our best to work with them, and that's all I can say for now," he said.

Apple has hired Doug Bowman, one of the U.S.' leading virtual reality experts, according to a new report from the Financial Times. Bowman joined Apple after going on sabbatical from his job as a computer science professor at Virginia Tech.

His experience spans both fully immersive VR, as used in Facebook’s Oculus Rift and HTC’s Vive headsets, as well as augmented reality, where transparent visors such as Microsoft’s Hololens, Google Glass and secretive start-up Magic Leap mingle digital images with the real world still visible.

Bowman has been director of Virginia Tech's Center for Human-Computer Interaction for the past five years. He's also the lead author of the book "3D User Interfaces: Theory and Practice." His past experience also includes serving as a User Experience Consultant for Walt Disney Imagineering and honors like numerous IEEE awards for 3D user interfaces and technical achievements in virtual reality. Bowman's LinkedIn page had not been updated to reflect the hiring and has since been deleted.

In the past year, Apple has acquired three companies with experience in either augmented reality or virtual reality. It acquired augmented reality startup Metaio last may, real-time motion capture firm Faceshift last September and expression analysis startup Emotient a couple weeks ago.

It's unclear what Apple could have Bowman and its acquired companies working on, but there have been persistent rumors the company has been interested in VR. Apple has filed several patents for VR products, including video goggles, motion-sensing 3D virtual interfaces for iOS and 3D "hyper reality" displays. It's also been reported that the company has a "small team" working on virtual reality projects.