Apple today seeded the third beta of iOS 9.1 to registered developers for testing purposes, three weeks after seeding the first iOS 9.1 beta following its fall "Hey Siri" event and one week after releasing iOS 9.0.1, the first minor update to iOS 9. Apple has also just released iOS 9.0.2, another minor update to iOS.
The new beta of iOS 9.1, build 13B5130b, is available as an over-the-air update and through the Apple Developer Center.
iOS 9.1 includes new features for the iPad Pro, adding support for accessories like the Smart Keyboard and the Apple Pencil, both of which are deeply integrated into the operating system. It also includes features that will allow the iPhone to interact with the new Apple TV.
iOS 9.1 also includes Unicode 8, adding support for emoji like the taco, burrito, cheese wedge, middle finger, unicorn head, and more, plus a new Messages option in the Settings app, allowing users to disable photos for their contacts.
It is not clear when iOS 9.1 will be released to the public, but it's likely it will come in late October, coinciding with the launch of the new Apple TV.
Update: Apple has also released a third iOS 9.1 beta for public beta testers.
Apple introduced Gatekeeper in 2012, creating it as a method of protection for users against malicious threats by adding various layers of security during installation of Mac apps. The feature is intended to ensure that apps users try to install on their Macs are legitimate and signed by a registered developer, minimizing the threat of malware. But now, a security researcher has discovered a simple method of bypassing Gatekeeper using a binary file already trusted by Apple to attack a user's computer (via Ars Technica).
Gatekeeper is meant solely to check the initial digital certificate when an app is downloaded on a Mac, ensuring that the program has been signed by an Apple-approved developer or at least comes from the Mac App Store itself before allowing the installation to proceed.
"If the application is valid—so it was signed by a developer ID or was (downloaded) from the Mac App Store—Gatekeeper basically says 'OK, I'm going to let this run,' and then Gatekeeper essentially exits," Patrick Wardle, director of research of security firm Synack, told Ars. "It doesn't monitor what that application is doing. If that application turns around and either loads or executes other content from the same directory... Gatekeeper does not examine those files."
Even if Gatekeeper is enhanced to its highest level of security settings, the new exploit can take advantage of a computer. Once the trusted file makes its way past the security program, it can then execute a handful of other malicious programs attached with the rest of the installation and gains the ability to install malicious software such as password-stealing programs, apps that can capture audio and video from a Mac's camera, and botnet software.
The researcher who discovered the exploit sent news of it to Apple about 60 days ago and "believes they are working on a way to fix the underlying cause or at least lessen the damage it can do to end users." Since then, an Apple spokesperson has confirmed the company is working on a patch for the issue and has asked that the identities of the specific files used in the exploit not be disclosed. Wardle plans to showcase his research on the Gatekeeper exploit at the Virus Bulletin Conference on Thursday in Prague.
iFixit began its teardown of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus after the new smartphones became available last Friday, discovering the specifics of the smaller batteries, Taptic Engine, and 3D Touch display. After a few iPhone fans began extensive water resistance testing over the weekend, iFixit decided to revisit its teardown of the new devices with a renewed focus on components placed by Apple that could point to the company's interest in a more liquid-proof smartphone.
The site closely inspected a strip of glue that acts as a gasket surrounding the entire inside edge of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, accounting in total for a slight 0.3mm increase in width when in comparison to last year's models. Described as "a string of sticky goop," iFixit theorizes that if Apple hadn't placed the gasket there to hold components in, perhaps "it was designed to keep liquids out."
First, Apple takes this gasket business pretty seriously: they didn’t just run a strip of glue around the existing display like they were caulking a bathtub. Instead, it appears the iPhone’s frame has been subtly reworked to accommodate the new gasket. We noted a slight, but measurable, increase in the width of the lip running along the perimeter of the frame—it’s about 0.3 mm wider than on the iPhone 6, making it just wide enough for that little gasket to land on.
One-third of a millimeter may not seem like much, but given how tight the iPhone’s tolerances are nowadays, the change is big enough to see with the naked eye. And it’s almost certainly enough of a change that other components had to be subtly tweaked to match. Make no mistake, Apple gave this careful thought.
Even the logic boards of the new iPhones appear to be updated to at least partially protect against liquid intrusion, with all cable connectors on the logic board -- "from the battery and display, to the Lightning port and buttons" -- surrounded and reinforced with a small silicone barrier. As iFixit points out, the logic board's various connectors are the most vulnerable to water within the iPhone's body, so the fact that Apple has appeared to safeguard them against liquid damage is definitely notable.
Otherwise, the rest of the internal components of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus -- like the headphone jack, speaker, power, and volume buttons -- didn't showcase any forms of waterproofing by the Cupertino-based company. Today's news follows a few days of water resistance talk about the new iPhones thanks to a handful of video tests created by various YouTubers, along with a new rumor pointing to the "iPhone 7" adopting a fully-waterproof body when it debuts next year.
IHS iSuppli has once again taken apart the newest set of iPhones in an attempt to come as close as possible to estimating the actual component cost of the new devices. According to IHS iSuppli's teardown of the iPhone 6s Plus, the bill of materials for a 16 GB version comes to $231.50, with manufacturing costs and other minor items raising the overall price slightly to $236.
One of the biggest areas of increased cost is related to 3D Touch, which adds about $10 to the overall component cost of the iPhone 6s Plus when combined with Apple's Taptic Engine used to fuel the new feature. It's these improvements that have boosted the new iPhone 6s Plus to cost around $16 more to manufacture than last year's iPhone 6 Plus, according to IHS Technology senior director of cost benchmarking services, Andrew Rassweiler.
“3D Touch and Apple’s Taptic engine are among the more notable feature upgrades found in this latest round of iPhones,” said Rassweiler. “With each generation the company makes measured, incremental technology improvements to its iPhone line, and this time around those changes are increasing Apple’s per-unit material cost.”
Overall, the most expensive aspect of the new iPhone 6s Plus is its display, with the addition of 3D Touch slightly increasing the component cost to $52.50 this year. Other high-cost components include the iPhone's new 12-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front-facing camera that together are estimated to cost $22.50, and the A9 chip at $22.00. IHS also points out the incremental cost differences between each step-up in memory capacity, which sees a small component cost difference when in comparison to Apple's $100 jump between capacities like 16 GB and 64 GB, for example.
“NAND Flash is now so cheap it’s almost irrelevant, but Apple monetizes this difference with consumers, to the tune of $100 for each additional step up in memory capacity,” Rassweiler said. “For example, a 64 GB iPhone now costs Apple about $17 more to make than a 16 GB iPhone, but Apple charges iPhone buyers $100 more for the increased memory. This is part of Apple’s ongoing strategy to improve profits by selling a product mix that is heavier in the higher-end iPhones.”
Overall, IHS iSuppli's teardown concluded that the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus see most of their value additions in the form of overall durability for the new devices. This is thanks to new components like the 7000 Series aluminum case, an upgraded Gorilla Glass 4 cover, as well as "additional gaskets and seals" that IHS says improves the water resistance of the new iPhones, which has been studied in the days since release.
Earlier in the year, Apple CEO Tim Cook went on the record during one of the company's annual earnings calls, denouncing component cost teardowns like IHS iSuppli's of the iPhone 6s Plus. "I've never seen one that is anywhere close to being accurate," Cook said.
Such estimates do not take into account an array of costs, including research and development, software, and licensing costs, making profit margins appear much larger than they actually are. And given the proprietary nature of many of the components, cost estimates can be rough. The estimates can, however, be somewhat useful in comparing differences between generations to get a general idea of the potential cost impact of hardware changes.
Apple today announced that it would be bringing three of its entertainment services -- Apple Music, iTunes Movies and iBooks -- to customers in China today. This marks the first time customers in China will have access to Apple's entertainment ecosystem.
“Customers in China love the App Store and have made it our largest market in the world for app downloads,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services. “One of the top requests has been more great content and we’re thrilled to bring music, movies and books to China, curated by a local team of experts.”
Customers in China will be able to sign up for the three-month free trial of Apple Music starting on September 30. The service will include music from Chinese artists like Eason Chan and JJ Lin in addition to international artists like Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift. Likewise, iTunes Movies will include movies from Chinese film studios in addition to Hollywood blockbusters like Jurassic World and Avengers: Age of Ultron. iBooks will include free and paid Chinese language books.
Apple says that as a token of appreciation, the recent Chinese hit film The Taking of Tiger Mountain will be available for free to all customers in China for a limited time.
China has become increasingly important to Apple in recent years. Recently, the Cupertino company included China in the first wave of countries to be able to purchase the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.
Google today updated its Google Maps app for iOS to version 4.11.0, adding support for the Apple Watch. As of today, there's a Google Maps app that delivers directions on Apple's wrist-worn device.
Along with a new Apple Watch app, today's update also includes a tool for comparing estimated travel times across driving, transit, walking and biking directions, and it adds a feature for calling businesses and getting directions from a list of places. As with most updates, there are also unspecified bug fixes.
What's New - Easily compare ETAs across driving, transit, walking & biking - Call business & get directions directly from a list of places - Get directions to places now on your Apple Watch - Bug fixes
This isn't Google's first app for the Apple Watch, but it will arguably be the most useful as there are many iOS users who still prefer to use Google Maps over Apple Maps.
Teardowns of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus have revealed two different A9 chips inside the devices, one created by TSMC and one developed by Samsung, which is slightly smaller in size, having been manufactured on a 14-nanometer process instead of a 16-nanometer process.
There was early some speculation that the chips were divided by model, with the iPhone 6s getting the smaller Samsung chip and the iPhone 6s Plus receiving the larger TSMC chip, but new data collected by an iOS developer suggests that is not the case.
Hiraku Wang has created an app that's able to determine whether an iPhone has a TSMC chip or a Samsung chip, and has shared some data on results gathered from users who have installed his app.
According to results from approximately 2,500 iPhones, there are more TSMC chips than Samsung chips. TSMC chips were found to be installed on 58.96 percent of devices, compared to 41.04 percent for Samsung chips.
The iPhone 6s Plus appears to have relatively equal split of Samsung and TSMC chips, with slightly more Samsung chips. Of 1,329 iPhone 6 Plus devices, 56.81 percent have the Samsung chip while 43.19 percent have the TSMC chip.
With the iPhone 6s, the numbers skew heavily towards the TSMC chip. Of 1,086 devices, 78.27 percent have the TSMC chip while 21.73 percent have the Samsung chip.
At this point in time, there is no evidence that the two chips perform differently, as more extensive testing must be done to determine any performance discrepancies. Though the chips are two different sizes, it's highly unlikely there are going to be performance differences large enough to be noticeable during daily usage.
It is possible for users to check which chip version is installed in their iPhones using Wang's utility, but users should be cautious about installing an app via enterprise certificate from an untrusted developer. We do not recommend MacRumors readers install the app.
Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming OS X El Capitan update to developers for testing purposes, more than a week after releasing the first OS X 10.11.1 beta and one day before the scheduled public release of OS X El Capitan on September 30.
The new beta is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store and through the Apple Developer Center.
The first beta of OS X 10.11.1 introduced support for Unicode 8 and new emoji like taco, burrito, cheese wedge, hot dog, middle finger, and unicorn head.
It is not clear what other improvements the first update to OS X El Capitan will bring, but it's likely to be a minor update that includes bug fixes and performance improvements for issues encountered following the operating system's official release. According to Apple's release notes, the beta offers stability, compatibility, and security improvements.
Twitter is planning to introduce a new solution that will allow users to create tweets that exceed 140 characters in length, reports Re/code. Twitter will implement longer tweets through a new product, but it is not yet clear what that product will look like or how it will work.
There are existing services designed to let users publish long-form content on Twitter, like TwitLonger, which directs users to a website to read a full tweet, or OneShot, which lets users post images of text, but Twitter may have a better solution in mind for its own product.
Twitter is also said to be considering removing links and usernames from character counts, which would also expand the allowed length of tweets.
In addition to the long-form product, execs have been openly discussing the idea of tweaking how Twitter measures its 140-character limit by removing things like links and user handles from the count, multiple sources say. In the past, Twitter has tinkered with the limit in other ways. Twitter Cards are still beholden to the 140-character limit but are intended to help people (and advertisers) share lots of information, and Twitter added a "retweet with comment" option in April to give people more room to comment on tweets they share.
Twitter has already been making moves towards expanding its signature limitations. Earlier this year, the company officially removed the 140-character limit from Direct Messages, allowing for unrestricted conversation much like other chat and messaging apps.
Apple CEO Tim Cook is participating in a "fireside chat" today with Box CEO Aaron Levie at BoxWorks 2015, following Apple's record-breaking iPhone launch weekend.
Given that this is an enterprise conference, the interview naturally begins with a discussion of Apple's enterprise efforts, although Cook notes that to some degree there is no such thing as an "enterprise phone" any more than there are enterprise cars and that Apple has been quietly numerous phones and tablets to companies.
Cook does, however, highlight some of Apple's enterprise partnerships, including Cisco and Box, emphasizing how transformational mobile is for businesses. Mobility enables significant increases in productivity and gives companies the opportunity to rethink their business processes. But nobody, including Apple, is way out in front on this.
Levie then gives Cook a "layup" question, asking why this sort of transformation can't happen on Android, with Cook responding that users want to use the best hardware with security built in from the start and a unified ecosystem.
Talking about ecosystem growth, Cook talks about how iOS has pulled the Mac along for the benefit of both operating systems, emphasizing the smooth transition between devices enabled by Apple's Continuity features. "We think people want some similarity, but clearly these operating systems are different things. So we have no intention to blend them."
Turning to partnerships, Levie and Cook discuss how Apple is working with former rivals like IBM and Microsoft to deliver better solutions for customers, something that will definitely benefit enterprise. Pointing toward Microsoft's Office demo at Apple's media event earlier this month, Cook notes "Apple and Microsoft can partner on more things than we can compete on. And that's what the customer wants. [...] I'm not a believer in holding grudges."
With Apple's strong financial performance of nearly $200 billion in revenue over the past year, Levie asks why Apple doesn't just "throw down the mic" and declare victory, Cook notes "we haven't started yet," pointing to potential in enterprise, Apple Watch, television, and more.
Building on Apple's new iPhone Upgrade Program, Levie jokes that Apple should create a subscription program where users automatically get a new iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and more every year. Cook gets a laugh out of Levie's proposed pricing of $64/month, but notes how the iPhone Upgrade Program is designed to remove a lot of the friction of the buying process.
The conversation then turns to equality and other issues, with Cook noting it's something Apple and its customers care about and it's something Apple is going to "evangelize" about all over the world. "It's shocking to me that we're in 2015 and we're even having this subject." Cook also points to public education and the environment as areas of emphasis.
Moving on to Dr. Dre and Beats, Cook notes he and Dr. Dre haven't talked enterprise issues, but he takes the opportunity to push Apple Music, noting "there's a lot of joy coming out of Apple Music." Levie asks about the possibility of enterprise radio, and he and Cook begin spitballing ideas for a mix of music, talk, and news.
With that, the interview wraps up Cook and Levie leave the stage, kicking off the remainder of the conference.
Following the release of the golden master version of OS X 10.11 El Capitan to developers earlier in the month, the first reviews for the newest iteration on Apple's desktop operating system have begun to hit this morning, ahead of the wide public release tomorrow, September 30. After testing El Capitan for a few weeks, most sites agree that while OS X 10.11 isn't a massive overhaul, its performance enhancements and speed boosts make upgrading to the free new OS essentially a no-brainer.
Macworld calls El Capitan "solid as a rock," noting improvements to features like Mission Control and the introduction of Split View as big positives. Overall, Macworld views the upgrade as "routine", a welcome refresh amid Apple's continued push towards performance and security improvements.
Should you update to El Capitan? Unreservedly yes—I’ve found it to be stable, it’s free, it’ll download and install itself on your Mac with nearly no intervention, and it’ll bring with it improved security, speed, and functionality.
The days of dramatic operating-system updates are over. El Capitan is as solid as the giant granite monolith that towers over Yosemite Valley. Upgrade, and get an improved Mac. It’s really that simple.
Engadget gives El Capitan an 87/100 score, calling it a "modest update" after Yosemite last year, but with solid new introductions like multitasking and noticeable improvements to Spotlight, Safari, and Photos. In particular, the site points out the exciting possibilities that will come from the addition of third-party extensions for Photos, allowing users to take advantage of the editing tools of other photo apps within Apple's own Photos experience.
While Apple promised third-party extensions when it first unveiled the new Photos app earlier this year, extensions won't actually be available to download until tomorrow. Extensions can be downloaded from the Mac App Store, either bundled with an app or distributed on their own. Although some developers, like the folks behind Pixelmator, have gotten a head start, most developers are only just getting the chance to access these tools for the first time. So, we should be seeing more extensions hit the App Store as the season wears on. Personally, as an Engadget editor posting lots of hands-on photos, I'd really like to see one for batch-watermarking.
The Verge commented on the small but noticeable improvements brought by El Capitan, such as the ability to pin tabs in Safari and even mute them from the address bar, which the site says should cause Google Chrome users to give Apple's browser another look. Overall, The Verge views OS X 10.11 as Apple's evolutionary in-house solution for a handful of problems and shortcomings third-party software has addressed over the years, making the update feel both minor and substantial at the same time.
El Capitan takes the sorts of things that experts have been doing with third-party apps and utilities for years on the Mac and builds them right into the OS. Spotlight is becoming more than just a simple file search box. Window management is becoming easier. Notes is more than just a raw text box. Most of it left me nonplussed because all of these things didn't feel new and different to me — I've been finding ways to fix all of those problems for years with third party apps and add-ons. But with El Capitan, Apple's made the learning curve you usually have to climb to become a "power user" (whatever that is) much more gradual.
Everyone will be able to get in on experiencing El Capitan for themselves starting tomorrow, when the new version of OS X launches for the public. Before the update goes live, a handful of other sites have posted reviews for El Capitan, including: The Wall Street Journal, The Next Web, CNET, and SlashGear. For a more technical overview of OS X El Capitan, Ars Technica also has an excellent review.
With publicity for the new Steve Jobs movie ramping up ahead of its October 9 release, a new video was shared by ScreenSlam over the weekend, showing a few behind-the-scenes moments of the creation of the film, along with some cast and crew interviews.
Seth Rogen, who stars as Steve Wozniak, praises screenwriter Aaron Sorkin's unique approach to the story and describes the movie as so "cinematic" and different from any other biopic, that it almost feels more like fiction than reality. Director Danny Boyle also described the movie as a natural extension of Sorkin's previous movie, The Social Network, with both films centering around individuals who "create this modern world" and the repercussions their innovations have on themselves, their friends and family, and everyone who uses what they built.
ScreenSlam also posted a lengthier 37-minute video -- of which the original video is a truncated version -- that houses in-depth interviews with more cast and crew members including Katherine Waterston, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Aaron Sorkin himself. The glimpses behind the cameras of the movie's shoot can only be found in the shorter video, however.
The film has been the subject of some controversy over the last week, when Aaron Sorkin gave a heated response to Apple CEO Tim Cook's initial negative impression of the yet-to-be released movie. The next day, Sorkin backtracked slightly on his comments, saying that "Tim Cook and I probably both went a little too far," and hoping that Cook enjoys the movie when he sees it as much as Sorkin enjoys Apple's products.
Apple today updated the privacy section of its website with a noticeable expansion that CEO Tim Cook said is aimed at explaining how the company handles each user's personal information, "what we do and don't collect," and why that is. In an introduction letter for the new site expansion, Cook stated that Apple has always been upfront and honest with the sharing and distribution of a user's data, only doing so when they were well aware of each time it happens. He, and the company, hopes this site continues to reassure customers of Apple's trustworthiness.
We believe in telling you up front exactly what’s going to happen to your personal information and asking for your permission before you share it with us. And if you change your mind later, we make it easy to stop sharing with us. Every Apple product is designed around those principles. When we do ask to use your data, it’s to provide you with a better user experience.
We’re publishing this website to explain how we handle your personal information, what we do and don’t collect, and why. We’re going to make sure you get updates here about privacy at Apple at least once a year and whenever there are significant changes to our policies.
The website is segmented into four different tabs, the first being "Our Approach to Privacy," detailing the process Apple takes in building privacy and encryption into everything it makes, including apps like iMessage and services like Apple Pay. "Manage Your Privacy" reminds users of the suite of tools Apple has created to ensure their own security when using an Apple device, thanks to features like Touch ID and passcode lock. The page even goes so far as to instruct customers in the steps of being aware of a phishing scam and how to limit ad-tracking on your iPhone.
In the "Government Information Requests" portion of the updated website, the company ensures that when a government agency requests data to be revealed to them from an Apple device, they "require that it be accompanied by the appropriate legal documents such as a subpoena or search warrant." The company also promises it's never worked with a government agency to install a "backdoor" into one of its devices or apps, nor has it allowed government access to its servers, stating finally that it "never will."
The final section is simply Apple's updated Privacy Policy, which the company promises to update at least once a year, or "whenever there are significant changes to our policies."
Cowen and Company analyst Timothy Arcuri claims the second-generation Apple Watch will arrive in mid- to late-2016, reportsAppleInsider. The report also claims that the second Apple Watch would be thinner than its predecessor.
Arcuri's research memo, based on a recent trip of Asian suppliers, also says Apple will ship 18 million Apple Watches by the end of 2015, with at least 45 million shipped in 2016. Although he also notes the figures for 2016 may be pessimistic based on the current data.
Thus far, very few rumors have emerged about Apple's next Apple Watch. In June, it was reported that the second Apple Watch would feature a FaceTime camera, expanded Wi-Fi and new materials. The new Wi-Fi chip would allow the Watch to do more without an iPhone.
Earlier today, we noted Apple had recently removed older versions of OS X and other discontinued software from the Purchased tab of the Mac App Store for users who had previously purchased or downloaded them. The apps, which included Aperture, iPhoto, OS X Lion, OS X Mountain Lion and OS X Mavericks, have now returned to the Purchased tab.
The disappearance of the ability to re-download older software irked users, with some calling the action "user hostile." It's unclear if Apple pulled the software intentionally or whether the Mac App Store experienced a temporary bug in advance of the availability of OS X El Capitan. However, the software was unavailable for several days before returning tonight.
Only one of the apps, Aperture, will continue to be compatible with OS X El Capitan.
Update: As noted by several readers, some discontinued software including Logic Pro 9 and older versions of OS X Server remain unavailable for re-download from the Purchased tab.
Apple today added several new Flyover locations to Apple Maps on Mac and iOS, highlighting landmarks and features in several countries in Europe, including Spain, Italy, Germany, and France. Apple has also added a single location in Mexico and two new locations in Japan.
For those unfamiliar with the Flyover feature in Maps, it lets users see photo-realistic 3D videos of select areas, which they can zoom, pan, and rotate through to get a close up look at notable landmarks and points of interest. Some of the locations listed may have been previously available as Flyover destinations, but were just officially added to Apple's official list of Flyover locations.
The full list of new Flyover additions:
- Angers, France - Carcassonne, France - Florence, Italy - Genoa, Italy - Pavia, Italy - Stuttgart, Germany - Mannheim, Germany - Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany - Mexicali, Mexico - Murcia, Spain - Nagasaki, Japan - Shizouka, Japan
Flyover was first introduced alongside iOS 6 in 2012, and over the course of the last three years, Apple has been steadily adding new Flyover locations to the Maps app. As of February, some Flyover locations have been updated with real-time animated landmarks, making the Flyover experience more immersive, and many Flyover locations have an additional City Tour feature that walks users through different landmarks in each city.
Apple updated its investor relations page today to note that it will announce its earnings for the fourth fiscal quarter (third calendar quarter) of 2015 on Tuesday, October 27. The quarterly earnings statement will be released sometime 1:30 PM Pacific/4:30 PM Eastern, with a conference call to discuss the report taking place at 2:00 PM Pacific/5:00 PM Eastern.
The earnings report will provide a look at early iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus sales. Apple this morning announced launch weekend sales of 13 million for the two devices, outpacing iPhone 6 and 6 Plus sales during launch weekend in 2014.
For the third quarter of 2015, Apple reported earnings of $10.7 billion on $49.6 billion revenue, selling 47.5 million iPhones, 10.9 million iPads, and 4.8 million Macs. Apple's guidance for the fourth quarter includes expected revenue of $49 to $51 billion and gross margin between 38.5 and 39.5 percent.
MacRumors will provide coverage of both the earnings report and conference call on October 27.
Ahead of the launch of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, there were rumors suggesting both TSMC and Samsung were developing Apple's A9 chip for the device. There was some confusion over how the split would work, because the two companies used different technologies - TSMC was rumored to be using a 16-nanometer process while Samsung used a 14-nanometer process.
Chipworks has now confirmed via several iPhone 6s teardowns that the new devices do indeed contain application processors from both Samsung and TSMC. Comparatively, the die size of the Samsung processor is smaller than the die size of the TSMC processor.
The APL0898 chip was developed by Samsung and measures in at 96 square millimeters, while the APL1022 chip manufactured by TSMC measures in at 104.5 square millimeters. Chipworks suggests Apple's decision to use processors from both companies points towards "major sourcing problems," but over the last few years, Apple has opted to diversify its supply chain to prevent manufacturing hurdles that can potentially lead to delays.
It is not yet clear how the size difference between the chips will affect the performance of the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, but Chipworks plans to benchmark each of the processors to figure out whether iPhones equipped with Samsung chips and those equipped with TSMC chips perform differently.
Apple today 
Twitter is planning to introduce a new solution that will allow users to create tweets that exceed 140 characters in length, reports 
Earlier today, we noted Apple had recently 
