MacRumors

The next-generation A7 processor in the iPhone 5S will be roughly 31 percent faster than the current A6, according to a tweet by Fox News' Clayton Morris. His sources have also mentioned a "separate chip devoted to motion tracking".

It's unclear how Apple would use motion tracking abilities, but it could be developing a new control scheme that uses motion gestures like Samsung has built into its Galaxy S series of smartphones. A profile of Jony Ive by Bloomberg earlier this year may support this hypothesis:

Longer term, Ive also has shown interest in altering how people control their computers. He has met with makers of gesture technology that lets people navigate their gadgets by moving their hands -- without touching the screen, said a personal familiar with those interactions.

We’ve independently heard claims that some of the iPhone 5S internal prototypes include 64-bit processors.

It’s unclear if 64-bit will make the cut, but it’s been in testing. We’re told that the 64-bit processing will make animations, transparencies, and other iOS 7 graphical effects appear much more smoothly than on existing iOS Devices…

Last September, semiconductor analyst Linley Gwennap claimed that Apple was working on a 64-bit ARMv8 solution for launch in 2014, and Apple may simply be testing future processor architectures in iPhone 5S prototype units. That report claimed the logical upgrade for the A7 would be a quad-core architecture and continued increases in graphics capabilities.

Previous leaks have shown an A7 chip -- pictured above -- with an Apple model number of APL0698, while the original A6 had a model number of APL0598. The A6X found in the fourth-generation iPad carries an APL5598 model number, demonstrating how Apple varies the first digit for members of a given A-series family and increments the second digit when transitioning to a new family.

The iPhone 5S is expected to be unveiled at a media event on September 10.

A photo of what appears to be dozens of iPhone 5C devices being put through a testing process has appeared on the Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo. The photo was first noticed by the French site NowhereElse, though Engadget has done some additional digging on the image.

Engadget discovered, according to the original poster's Sina Weibo profile, that the shot was taken at a Pegatron plant in Shanghai, China and that she apparently joined Pegatron's quality control department in mid-July.

According to her posts, the cheeky employee -- or more likely an ex-employee at this point -- in question joined the company's quality control department around mid-July. In an earlier comment, she also hinted that her plant is responsible for the latest Mac mini as well. The above photo was published yesterday, and it only came with the following caption:

"The low-end iPhone 5C to be launched for Chinese consumers in September doesn't look much different than the Xiaomi Phone 2, right?"

Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 5C at its media event on September 10, with the 5C -- available in a number of different colors -- replacing the existing iPhone 5 in its lineup.

The iPhone 5S, equipped with a fingerprint sensor in the home button and new 128GB and gold color options, is expected to be the new flagship iPhone.

Apple may be implementing some changes to the way that it ranks apps for its Top Charts in the App Store, reports TechCrunch, citing studies from a number of app analysis services. It appears that new factors, such as app ratings and user engagement, could be influencing app position and preventing developers from artificially inflating the rankings.

According to app marketing service Fiksu, app rankings began fluctuating in late July, favoring apps with ratings of four or more stars in the App Store. While those apps jumped to higher positions without a corresponding increase in downloads, apps with poor ratings saw their rankings fall.

Historically, apps have been ranked based on both download volume and velocity, allowing apps that garnered a high number of downloads in a short amount of time to shoot up the App Store charts. Fiksu also notes that App Store rank positions, which were previously updated in 15-minute intervals, now update once every three hours to prevent underhanded rank-gaming practices.

We suspect they are adding a 'buffer' period to prevent rank manipulation through short download bursts often associated with robotic downloads and other actions not in the best interests of the app ecosystem. Three hours allows enough time to identify anomalies and remove apps before they suddenly appear at the top of the rankings.

Niren Hiro of SearchMan told TechCrunch that user engagement may be a factor as well. Time spent within apps, the number of app opens, and ongoing usage are affecting category rankings, as noted in the chart below.

App Store search algorithms may also be changing, favoring improved app discovery. MobileDevHQ CEO Ian Sefferman cites an example involving a search for iPhone apps from the iPad. While such a search used to return an identical list of apps on both the iPad and the iPhone, the results are now different.

It remains unclear whether Apple is merely experimenting with its App Store rankings with these new inclusions or if it is in the process of making sweeping changes to the ranking process. App discovery has long been a work in progress for the company and efforts to improve its ranking algorithms could help users locate higher quality content.

The Department of Justice today filed a revised punishment proposal for Apple in its ongoing e-book dispute with the company, reports GigaOM.

While the new proposal is largely the same as the original, it includes an expanded section on Apple's in-app purchasing policies along with the accusation that Apple initiated the rules specifically to "retaliate against Amazon for competitive conduct that Apple disapproved of" and to "make it more difficult for consumers using Apple devices to compare ebook prices among different retailers."

When Apple debuted App Store subscriptions back in 2011, it instituted a rule that prevented developers offering subscription and purchased content from including direct links to stores that would bypass the in-app purchase system. As a result, e-book retailers like Amazon and other digital media providers were forced to remove links to outside content.

Though Apple has argued that its App Store policies are unrelated to the e-books case, the Department of Justice disagrees and maintains that Apple should be forced to re-allow links to outside bookstores within apps. As part of its own argument, the DoJ points out that Apple does not receive a 30 percent cut for all goods sold through its App Store and likens digital e-books to physical goods.

During the August 9 conference, Apple's counsel argued that the provision should not be adopted because it was “absurd” to suggest that Apple had changed its apps policy to discriminate against e-book retailers.

These statements are incorrect. Apple misrepresented the factual circumstances surrounding this matter, including how the App Store operated and operates. It simply is not true that Apple receives a 30 percent commission from all retailers for all goods sold through apps. To use Apple's counsel's own examples, one can buy shoes today on an iPad using a Zappos app.

As evidence that Apple was conspiring to raise prices to punish Amazon, the Department of Justice submitted an email from Steve Jobs to Phil Schiller and Eddy Cue, which specifically mentions an Amazon Kindle commercial and suggests Apple force books, newspapers, and magazines to use Apple's "far superior payment system."

Along with the new evidence, the DoJ continues to insist that e-book retailers should be allowed “costless hyperlinks” in their App Store apps for a two-year period.

Effectuating the provision requires Apple to make no change whatsoever to its iBookstore or App Store. However, returning to the pre-conspiracy policy will result in greater price transparency, and keep Apple from continuing to reap profits from its collusive behavior.

The revised proposal also cuts the proposed injunction time against Apple in half, but continues to require the nullification of existing agency model deals and the implementation of a third party monitor to ensure Apple's continued adherence to internal antitrust compliance policies.

According to Bloomberg, Apple has objected to the revised government proposal, saying that an outside compliance monitor isn’t necessary.

Major third-party Mac retailers such as B&H and Amazon have begun offering discounts on various iMac configurations in recent days as Apple may be beginning to slow shipments of the computer in advance of a refresh featuring Intel’s Haswell processors, reports AppleInsider. The company seems to be slowing the flow of iMac units coming into its various sales channels as the next-generation iMac will likely be announced later in the fall after its September iPhone media event to allow Apple, its customers, and the media to focus on its flagship mobile device.

The discounts join sales efforts initiated earlier this month by Best Buy, Amazon, and MacMall -- all of which are similarly offering the four standard iMac retail configurations at discounts between $100 and $150. Given the new inventory management measures Apple adopted after January's MacBook Pro surplus scare, the discounts are likely the start of a multi-week effort to run its iMac channel fairly bare.

Previous reports indicated that the iMac would be updated to include Haswell processors in June or July as shipments sank, but an update to the computer was not announced at or soon after Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference.

Earlier this year, a new Broadcom Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card supporting the latest 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard surfaced, with the card appearing nearly identical in size and shape to the custom card currently used in the iMac. The inclusion of 802.11ac support on the next-generation iMac is all but certain as the standard has already made its way into Apple's latest MacBook Air models and new AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule base stations.

Yesterday, a report surfaced that refreshed MacBook Pro models with Haswell chips would be coming in September, backed by evidence that Apple vendors may be trying to run down existing MacBook Pro stock. Data from U.S. research firm NPD released last month also indicated that U.S. Mac sales were down in June compared to the previous June, despite the introduction of the new MacBook Airs, with the lack of a refreshed MacBook Pro lineup cited as a primary contributing cause.

After sending beta invites to a number of users in recent weeks, Apple has apparently decided to open the iWork for iCloud beta to all registered users with an Apple ID. The beta, which can be accessed through the standard iCloud login page, contains full access to in-browser versions of Apple’s iWork software suite, including Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, in addition to existing iCloud services.

Apple first introduced iWork for iCloud during its annual Worldwide Developers Conference back in June, and sent invites to registered developers soon after before gradually adding non-developer users. The web services work on both Mac and Windows computers in various browsers with support for Chrome, Safari, and Internet Explorer, as well as mobile devices. iCloud itself also received an iOS 7-inspired makeover earlier this month on the beta site, although iWork for iCloud icons on the beta site have so far retained their iOS 6 look. The revamped iCloud site with iWork for iCloud is expected to officially launch this fall.

During today's earnings call, Pandora CFO Mike Herring said the company will again allow unlimited listening via mobile devices, eliminating its recently implemented monthly cap. First introduced in February, Pandora's 40-hour per month limit was put in place as a direct result of increased royalty rates.

While desktop Pandora listeners were able to listen to unlimited music, mobile users that exceeded 40 hours had to subscribe to the Pandora One service at $36/year or pay a small fee.

According to Herring, both increased advertising income and and tighter control over other cost saving techniques have allowed the cap to be lifted. TechCrunch has a transcript of the call:

Our investment in advertising infrastructure and implementing smart levers such as reducing song skipping and limiting mobile listening have helped us drive monetization and manage content costs, as reflected by the increase in RPM and a decrease in content costs as a percentage of revenue

As our results have shown, the continued strong growth in our advertising revenue allowed us to cover the increased royalty costs with dollars left over to invest back into the business. With these tools in hand, and insight into how they work, we are resetting our levers in September. Notably, Pandora plans to eliminate the blanket 40-hour-per-month limit on free mobile listening effective September 1st.

September will also see the debut of Apple's iTunes Radio, which is bundled into iOS 7. iTunes Radio will be ad-supported for all subscribers, though ad-free service is available for iTunes Match subscribers. iTunes Match includes iCloud syncing for music acquired outside of iTunes and is priced at $25 annually -- significantly cheaper than the $36 Pandora One.

Pandora CEO Joe Kennedy told AllThingsD that the company is not worried about the launch of iTunes Radio:

"We've now been around for eight years. We've seen competitors large and small enter the market and, in some cases, exit the market. I've never seen an analysis that identifies an effect from any competitor … we don’t see the picture changing."

Pandora has reported revenues of $162 million, up 58% year over year. Its 40-hour listening cap will be eliminated on September 1, less than two weeks before iTunes Radio and iOS 7 are expected to be unveiled at Apple's September 10 iPhone event.

Former Wall Street Journal reporter Jessica Lessin reports that Apple has acquired Embark, a small Silicon Valley company focused on apps for navigating mass transit. The acquisition is Apple's third in recent months focused on mapping services, following transit navigation service HopStop and local business search firm Locationary last month.

We don’t know how much Apple paid for the several-person team it acquired very recently. But we heard from people knowledgeable about the deal that the company plans to directly integrate Embark’s technology into Apple Maps.

Embark, founded in 2011, builds apps for mobile devices powered by Android and Apple’s iOS with information about transit systems in about half a dozen U.S. cities such as New York, San Francisco and Chicago. Its iOS apps are still available for download, but its Android apps aren’t, according to our checks.

Apple has confirmed the acquisition, but declined to comment beyond the company's usual statement about acquiring smaller companies "from time to time".

Embark currently has ten iOS apps in the App Store, focused on transit systems in the Boston, New York City, Washington D.C., Chicago, and San Francisco Bay areas.

Apple has launched (via The Loop) a newly redesigned "Apple and Education" page on its website, with a simplified design and re-imagined categories that tout iPads, Macs, Special Education, and "Real Stories."

"We believe that technology has the power to transform the classroom. It can pave new ways of thinking. New ways of sparking ideas. Yet the foundation never changes: A dedication to learning that's always been part of our DNA. We've been proud to work alongside educators and students to reinvent what it means to teach and learn. And together we're going things we never thought possible."

Each individual section on the site offers resources for both teachers and parents. In the iPad section, for example, Apple shares information on teaching with the iPad, apps for lesson planning, and teacher stories. The Mac section highlights productivity apps in the iLife and iWork software suites, along with the Mac App Store.

In its Special Education section, Apple promotes the accessibility options available with both iOS and OS X and the Real Stories portion of the site offers up teacher experiences and profiles of schools that have successfully incorporated Apple products into their classrooms.

Apple's revamped education site comes as the company prepares to implement sweeping changes to its educational program with the introduction of iOS 7. As part of its efforts to increase device usage in schools, Apple will permit children under age 13 to own and operate individual iTunes accounts for the first time. The company is also adding a number of new tools for teachers, including new Mobile Device Management options.

In recent months, Apple has been involved in several large deals that will see expanded iPad use in classrooms. In June the company won a $30 million contract from the L.A. Unified School District and Tim Cook has also been in talks with the Turkish President over a $4.5 billion educational deal.