MacRumors

Apple and Samsung are in talks with mobile standards organization GSMA to introduce electronic SIM cards, according to Financial Times. The talks are happening around the GSMA's impending announcement of the creation of a standardized embedded SIM card for consumer devices, which would involve both Apple and Samsung if the talks go through.

Rumors of Apple creating its own SIM card line began in late 2010, when a report from Gigaom claimed the company was working with digital security firm Gemalto to create the custom built-in SIM. The iPhone 4s was even rumored to be "SIM-less," pointing once again to an electronic SIM card pre-built into the device to save space, and inaccessible to the user.

The e-SIM would essentially allow customers to avoid being locked in to a dedicated mobile carrier, letting them sign up to their network of choice and even switch instantly if they changed their minds.

With today's news, the networks expected to be on board with the new e-SIM standard include: AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, Etisalat, Hutchison Whampoa, Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone. GSMA's chief executive, Anne Bouverot, claims all parties are "heading towards an agreement" regarding the standardized e-SIM card. But, as the Financial Times points out, thanks to the technical specifications of the e-SIM, it will be "at least a year" before any devices supporting the new card reach the market.

The GSMA said: “With the majority of operators on board, the plan is to finalise the technical architecture that will be used in the development of an end-to-end remote SIM solution for consumer devices, with delivery anticipated by 2016.”

“We have got everyone back on one point, with Apple and Samsung agreeing to be part of that specification,” said Ms Bouverot. “We have been working with them and others to create an industry solution for machines and will agree a solution for consumer electronics.”

The deal with Apple is yet to be finalized, however, with the GSMA noting it is "continuing to work with Apple to secure their support for the initiative" and an actual agreement with Apple "is still in progress."

Last year, Apple took its first steps toward opening up carrier access on some of its devices, introducing an Apple SIM card for cellular versions of both the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3, allowing users -- particularly in the United States -- to switch easily between AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile, taking advantage of each carrier's short-term data plans as they saw fit. EE in the UK was also included in the Apple SIM program, and just weeks ago a partnership with GigSky expanded Apple SIM service to over 90 countries.

The e-SIM standard has been under consideration for several years, but many carriers have resisted the concept over concerns it will be too easy for customers to switch. Even with Apple's physical Apple SIM card, AT&T moved to locking cards to the carrier's service. The company gave no reason why it decided to prevent the Apple SIM from functioning properly beyond "it's just simply the way we've chosen to do it." With only a handful of carriers currently on board and a 2016 launch date for the new e-SIM cards, it remains to be seen how quickly they will be able to gain momentum in the industry.

Apple manufacturing partners Samsung and TSMC have started volume production of A9 chips for the so-called "iPhone 6s," according to DigiTimes. The report claims Apple requested last-minute changes to the chip layout, requiring both chipmakers to rework wafers, but the modifications are not expected to impact the release schedule of the next-generation iPhone.

TSMC will reportedly begin mass production of A9 chips based on a 16nm process in the fourth quarter of 2015, and is also expected to manufacture fingerprint sensors and audio chips on a contract basis for future iPhones. Conflicting reports have surfaced over the past several months suggesting that Samsung, TSMC or a combination of the two would be responsible for A9 chip production.

DigiTimes has a mixed track record at reporting on Apple's upcoming plans, but it does have close connections with the overseas supply chain, and A9 chip production in July is reasonable with less than two months until the next iPhone is expected to launch. Apple will reportedly order a record-breaking 85-90 million "iPhone 6s" units from suppliers by the end of 2015.

The much-rumored "iPhone 6s" and "iPhone 6s Plus" are expected to be announced in September and could feature the same 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screen sizes, an A9 processor with 2GB of RAM, Force Touch, a faster Qualcomm LTE chip, an improved 12-megapixel rear-facing camera and 7000 Series aluminum. The overall design of the smartphones will likely be nearly identical to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus.

A few days after seeding OS X 10.10.5 to developers for testing, Apple has released the first OS X 10.10.5 beta to public beta testers. With only a few months until the public release of OS X 10.11 El Capitan, OS X 10.10.5 may be one of the last significant updates to Yosemite.

The new beta can be downloaded from the Software Update mechanism through the Mac App Store on Macs enrolled in the Apple Beta Software Program. The pre-release software's build number is 14F6a, the same as the OS X 10.10.5 beta seeded to developers earlier this week.

It also appears that the first OS X 10.10.5 beta is now showing up in Software Update for developers who were unable to see the pre-release software following its release on Tuesday.

OS X 10.10.5 beta includes stability, compatibility and security improvements.

OS X 10.10.4, the current version of OS X Yosemite, was publicly released on June 30 with multiple bug fixes and under-the-hood performance improvements, including the removal of the problematic Discoveryd process.

The new iPod touch with an A8 processor and upgraded 8-megapixel rear camera just launched this morning, but TechCrunch's Matthew Panzarino already has one in hand and has run some benchmarks on the device.

According to early testing, the A8 processor in the new iPod touch appears to be running at 1.10GHz per core, which is slower than the 1.39GHz per core the iPhone 6 runs at, presumably to manage battery life. In Geekbench 3, the iPod touch scored 1379 on the single-core test and 2440 on the multi-core test right out of the box. The previous-generation A5 iPod touch scored 215/410 on Geekbench's single and multi-core tests, so the new sixth-generation iPod is six times faster and a massive improvement over the fifth-generation iPod.

Labeled as iPod7,1 instead of iPod6,1 as expected (the previous-generation iPod's model ID was iPod5,1), the new iPod touch ships with Apple's latest operating system, iOS 8.4, so it works with Apple Music out of the box. Like the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the iPod touch has 1GB of RAM to go along with its A8 processor.

The new iPod also includes an M8 motion coprocessor for recording motion activity that's uploaded to the Health app, and it supports 802.11ac wireless. Its 64-bit A8 processor is a major improvement over the A5 processor in the older iPod touch, and it includes support for Metal, bringing much-improved games to the device.

The iPod touch has one feature that hasn't yet made it into other Apple products -- Bluetooth 4.1. It's the first of Apple's devices to offer the new specification. Bluetooth 4.1 is more reliable, offering less interference with LTE bands, improved power management, and better data transfer.

Available in several new colors, the iPod touch is priced at $199 for the 16GB model, $249 for the 32GB model, $299 for the 64GB model, and $399 for the 128GB model. It's available from the Apple online store beginning today.

Apple's also released new iPod nano and shuffle models in updated colors, but the internal components of those devices have not changed.

For many years running, Apple has offered a Back to School promotion for students and educators, providing discounts on Apple products ahead of the coming school year. Back to School promotions have kicked off on the first Tuesday of July for the last two years, so when July 6 came and went without a Back to School announcement, many people began wondering when Apple would launch the 2015 promotion.

We've been receiving questions about the Back to School program for several weeks now, and in mid-July, there's still no sign of an imminent launch. Some have wondered whether Apple is canceling the program all together, but it's too early to say. It may be late in the month, but there are still several weeks to go before kids and teachers begin returning to classrooms.

Historically, the latest Apple has launched a previous Back to School program was July 2, and that was in 2013. From 2006 to 2012, Back to School kicked off in May or early June, while it launched in July in 2013 and 2014. It's entirely possible that Apple has simply decided to launch the promotion a bit later in the year, once again adjusting the dates as it did in 2013.

MacRumors has spoken to several retail employees who often hear word on Back to School a few days ahead of its debut, but so far, no one we've contacted has heard anything from Apple. The last Back to School promotion Apple introduced was for Australian customers in January of 2015.

Apple's Back to School promotion is highly anticipated because it's one of the few times a year that Apple offers deals to customers, and many hold off on summer purchases until the event begins. Last year, Apple's Back to School offer included a $50 to $100 Apple Store Gift Card with the purchase of a Mac, iPhone, or iPad, while years past included a $50 to $100 App Store Gift Card.

In the early days of the Back to School promotion, deals were offered in the form of rebates that provided a free iPod with the purchase of a Mac, but Apple has offered gift cards instead of iPods since 2011.

Apple today introduced the sixth-generation iPod touch with a 4-inch display, 64-bit A8 chip and M8 motion coprocessor, 8-megapixel rear-facing iSight camera and new colors: blue, pink, silver, space gray, gold and red. 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models are available through the Apple Online Store starting today for $199, $249 and $299 respectively, while a new larger 128GB model was introduced for $399.

The new iPod touch also features 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth 4.1, no longer has a loop attachment and comes with iOS 8.4 preinstalled for access to Apple Music and Beats 1. The 128GB and (PRODUCT)RED models will be sold exclusively through Apple, while all other colors and storage capacities should be available through authorized resellers such as Best Buy and Walmart in the near future.

Apple also updated the iPod shuffle and iPod nano with a matching lineup of colors, but no other hardware or storage capacity changes to the devices were made. iPod nano and iPod shuffle maintain their prices of $149 and $49 respectively and currently ship within 1 business day on the Apple Online Store.

"iPod touch gives customers around the world access to Apple Music, the App Store and iOS, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, starting at just $199,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of iPhone, iPod and iOS Product Marketing. “With big advancements like the A8 chip and the 8 megapixel iSight camera, customers can experience next-level gameplay, take even more beautiful photos and enjoy their favorite music, TV shows and movies.”

iPods have become an increasingly minor business for Apple over the past several years, with only 2.6 million units sold in Q4 2014, the last quarter when Apple reported iPod sales. Beyond new colors and storage capacities, Apple had last updated the iPod touch and nano in October 2012 and the iPod shuffle in September 2010.

The Apple Online Store was taken offline moments ago ahead of an expected refresh to the iPod touch, iPod nano and iPod shuffle lineup of portable media players. The sixth-generation iPod touch will likely feature a 64-bit processor, new colors and other hardware improvements, while the iPod nano and iPod shuffle are expected to be released in new colors only.

iPods in unreleased colors were first spotted in iTunes 12.2 earlier this month, including a darker blue for the iPod touch, a new gold color for the iPod nano and a brighter pink color for the iPod shuffle. MacRumors subsequently discovered a full lineup of six new colors for the iPod touch, nano and shuffle hidden within iTunes resource files, including silver, space gray, red, bright pink, deep blue and light gold.

With Apple said to unveil its long-rumored 12.9-inch iPad Pro in November, many assumed that both the iPad mini 3 and iPad Air 2 would see refreshes as well. However, a new report from Economic Daily News [Translation] (via Macotakara [Translation]) says that no new iPad Air will be revealed.

While the iPad Air 2 may not see a refresh, the iPad mini 4 and iPad Pro will see introductions. Liaoxian Li, investment advisor at Fubon Hardware, tells Economic Daily News that Apple may want the attention on the new iPad Pro and thus will let its main assembly plant for iPads, Foxconn, focus on the Pro to maximize deployment capacity. Li believes a new iPad Air might not be released until 2016. Economic Daily News has a mixed track record on rumors and the accuracy of this particular analyst isn't known.

Additionally, the report claims that the new iPad mini might be the last one as the Apple wants to focus on the two larger iPads in the future. Many people were disappointed with the iPad mini update in 2014, which essentially added Touch ID to the existing iPad mini 2. The next iPad mini will likely be more of an upgrade, with a rumored rear shell featuring iPad Air 2 design elements already making the rounds.

While it's possible Apple won't upgrade the iPad Air 2 this year, the company has been constraining supplies of the iPad Air to third-party retailers, suggesting the iPad Air 2 would become the lower-cost option as an iPad Air 3 slots into Apple's tablet lineup. However, it's possible Apple introduces an iPad Air 3 with minimal additions, as it did with the iPad mini 3.

Chevron has kicked off an Apple Pay pilot program in the Bay Area that allows customers to use Apple Pay to pay for their gasoline directly at the pump, according to the company's Twitter account. Apple Pay can currently be used at a Chevron location in San Ramon, with a second location in Cupertino becoming available in the near future.

Chevron first announced plans to expand its use of Apple Pay to gas pumps in late 2014, but company did not have a clear timeline for the rollout of Apple Pay at the pump. Following the pilot program testing, it's likely Chevron will expand Apple Pay to other locations across the United States.

Though support for Apple Pay at the pump is just now rolling out, Chevron was listed as an early Apple Pay partner. The payments service is supported at Chevron and Texaco gas stations, but can only be used at the in-store cash register, a considerably less convenient option than paying right at the pump.

Apple Pay, which recently expanded to the United Kingdom, has been adopted at more than 700,000 locations across the United States. Dozens of major retailers support the payments service, with more retailers adding Apple Pay payment options each month.

Ahead of the launch of Apple Music, Taylor Swift made headlines when she wrote a scathing open letter to Apple, criticizing its decision not to pay artists for their work during its three-month free trial. Her letter, combined with pushback from indie labels, led Apple to reverse course and opt to pay artists during the three months that customers can listen for free.

Record label exec Scott Borchetta, who serves as the head of Big Machine Records and signed Swift when she was 14, recently spoke at Fortune's Brainstorm Tech conference and shared some backstory on the negotiations that eventually led Swift to write the letter. According to Borchetta, he'd been in talks with Apple and told the company that his label couldn't support no compensation during the three-month free trial, but wasn't making headway.

Borchetta hadn't spoken to Swift about the negotiations and was caught unawares by her letter, which she didn't clear with her record label. He wasn't angry, though, because her post, as we know, caused Apple to change its policy and made negotiations easier.

"She literally texted me and said, 'Don't be mad,' with the link," Borchetta said. "She was in Europe. I responded and said, 'You don't have any idea how good your timing is right now.'"

A day after Swift's letter, Borchetta had a conference call with Jimmy Iovine and Eddy Cue, where they capitulated and agreed to the demands of both Swift and many other artists who had been resisting signing on with Apple Music due to the free trial.

Scooter Braun, Justin Bieber's manager, was also at the Fortune event and said that Swift's letter gave Apple the push the industry needed to secure a better deal. "Everyone was fighting that fight," he said. "Taylor pushed it over the edge. She made them aware it wasn't just the executives. Sometimes it's good to hear the artists saying it."

Shortly after Apple changed its policy, the company secured a deal with Swift and signed deals with thousands of indie labels a week ahead of Apple Music's launch. Apple Music became the first and only streaming music service to offer Swift's most recent album, 1989.