MacRumors

AT&T is following T-Mobile's lead and introducing a new upgrade eligibility program for its customers called 'AT&T Next'. With Next, AT&T customers can purchase a new smartphone or tablet every twelve months with no activation, upgrade or financing fees.

Customers purchase a smartphone or tablet with no money down, making monthly payments equal to 1/20th of the retail cost of the device. After 12 payments, they can trade the device in and upgrade to a new one with no other fees. Or, after 20 payments, they own the device outright.

“With AT&T Next, customers can get the newest smartphone or tablet every year with no down payment. That’s hard to beat, and it’s an incredible value for customers who want the latest and greatest every year,” said Ralph de la Vega, president and chief executive officer of AT&T Mobility.

For customers purchasing a 16GB iPhone 5, they would pay $32.50 per month for 12 months, and could then upgrade to the latest iPhone -- trading in the previous device. They would pay $390 over that time, with the phone being bought back for the equivalent of $260. If the customer makes the 20 monthly payments, they can upgrade to a new phone and keep the old one.

Because there is no activation or upgrade fee, customers save $36 on activating a new line. Depending on the customer's needs, this may be a better option than the old AT&T upgrade system, which requires customers wait 24 months between fully subsidized upgrades.

AT&T customers who still have grandfathered unlimited data plans are fully eligible to participate in this program.

T-Mobile recently announced a similar upgrade plan, and a leak from Verizon today suggested they also had something like it in development.

Technology journalist Jessica Lessin, formerly of The Wall Street Journal, reports that Apple has been negotiating with cable companies and TV networks to allow customers to skip commercials and Apple would compensate programmers for the lost revenue.

Viewers could potentially pay Apple to skip commercials on a per show or per channel basis, get live commercial-free viewing of new episodes with the purchase of a Season Pass on the iTunes Store, or Apple could even offer an entire commercial-free TV subscription service.

Lessin writes:

In recent discussions, Apple told media executives it wants to offer a "premium" version of the service that would allow users to skip ads and would compensate television networks for the lost revenue, according to people briefed on the conversations.

Consumers, of course, are already accustomed to fast-forwarding through commercials on their DVRs, and how Apple’s technology differs is unclear.

It is a risky idea. Ad-skipping would disrupt the entrenched system of television ratings—the basis for buying TV ads. In fact, television broadcasters sued Dish Network when it introduced similar technology last year.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said at the D11 conference earlier this year that the company has a "grand vision" for the television, and that the current TV viewing experience "could be better". It's been previously reported that Apple wants to erase the distinction between live and on-demand video content.

Apple is rumored to have both a full-on television set as well as a more conventional set-top box in the works, in addition to its existing "hobby", as Tim Cook calls the current Apple TV box.

Jobs, the first studio film based on the life of Steve Jobs will be released nationwide on August 16th following an introduction at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.

Ahead of its debut, actor Ashton Kutcher has taken to the Q&A site Quora to explain why he chose to take on the role of Steve Jobs.

"Jobs", which stars Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs and Josh Gad as Steve Wozniak, is one of several Jobs-related films in the works or already released. Back in April, rumor site Funny or Die released a rather poorly received "iSteve" comedy film starring Justin Long, who had played the "Mac" character in Apple's long-running "Mac vs. PC" ad campaign.

A third film is being written by Aaron Sorkin and is the official adaptation of Jobs' authorized biography by Walter Isaacson. The film, which is still in the early stages of development, is planned to encompass three 30-minute scenes showing Jobs backstage just prior to the launches of the original Mac, NeXT, and the iPod.

Apple has sent out a memo to its international Apple Retail Employees, asking for innovative ideas on how to improve the iPhone, the retail store environment, and company sales techniques. According to 9to5Mac, the message was distributed late last week.

Employees are asked to submit an idea, which will lead to an eight-week experience where selected candidates will interact with members from various Apple departments at the company's Cupertino headquarters, including Marketing, Merchandising, Customer Analytics, Mobile Commerce, and more, in order to "solve problems" related to the way Apple sells and supports its iPhones.

Apple occasionally turns to its Apple retail employees for assistance with various aspects of software development. In late 2012 Apple asked its workers to help improve the Maps app and a number of current employees have been given access to the OS X Mavericks beta for testing purposes.

Earlier this month, several Apple executives including Tim Cook spoke with Apple Retail Store leaders about upcoming iPhone incentive programs and discount strategies aimed at selling more iPhones in-house.

Following last week's management shuffle at Microsoft, the company's Surface team has taken over testing its prototype smart watch, including variations with the same connector that Microsoft uses on its Surface tablets. According to The Verge, Microsoft's smart watch prototypes were previously tested by the Xbox accessories team.

The move to the Surface group underlines a recent organizational change at Microsoft that aligns Xbox hardware and Surface hardware into a single division, with former Windows chief Julie Larson-Green now responsible for all of Microsoft's hardware efforts.

As Microsoft experiments with its smart watch, it appears Apple is in the prototype stages as well. According to a report yesterday, Apple has begun "aggressively" hiring new employees to help with the smart watch, which is now expected to be released in late 2014. Apple's own smart watch is expected to run the full version of iOS and could include a heavy focus on biometrics and health related applications.

Along with Microsoft and Apple, both Google and Samsung are said to be working on smart watches of their own. At this point in time, it seems all companies are in the testing phases with no indication of which smart watch might hit the market first.

The Next Web summarizes a series of reports from out of China relating an incident in which a 23-year-old Chinese woman was allegedly electrocuted while answering a call on her iPhone 5 as it was plugged in and charging. Details on the incident are somewhat sketchy, but the woman's family insists that the iPhone was purchased from Apple in December and that the woman was using Apple's official charger at the time of the incident.

The South China Morning Post reports that Apple has issued a brief statement expressing its condolences and committing to investigate the situation.

A spokeswoman for the technology company said: "We are deeply saddened to learn of this tragic incident and offer our condolences to the ... family. We will fully investigate and co-operate with authorities in this matter."

According to mainland media reports, Ma Ailun, a 23-year-old flight attendant with China Southern Airlines, was picking up her iPhone 5 to answer a call while the battery was being charged when she was electrocuted and killed.

Experts note that any device presents a more risky situation when being used while charging, but that either multiple significant issues between the device and electrical system or environmental factors such as the presence of water would generally be required for a dangerous incident to occur.

But while the woman's family claims that she was using a genuine Apple charger, the dangers of knockoff chargers are well-known, with many of those devices failing to meet standards for adequately separating electrical input and output.

In the wake of continuing reports suggesting that Apple's Retina iPad mini may not be ready to launch until early next year, Digitimes has now added its thoughts on the matter, claiming that Apple will be releasing a slightly redesigned non-Retina iPad mini later this year before launching the Retina iPad mini early next year.

According to the report, the Retina iPad mini will see an "almost bezel-free" design, presumably referring to the sides of the device, which are already fairly narrow. The report is somewhat confusing about just what aspects of the redesign will appear when, also mentioning a lighter and thinner design for the new non-Retina model later this year.

Apple is reportedly aiming to use Retina panel technology equipped with 2,048 by 1,536 resolution in the next generation 7.9-inch iPad mini. Apple is also said to be revising the design of the chassis to give the next-generation iPad mini an almost bezel-free look.

While the new iPad mini may not be availabe during the year-end shopping season, Apple reportedly may first release a slightly updated version of the current iPad mini in the second half of 2013, which is expected to be lighter, thinner and equipped with improved specifications, the sources said.

Digitimes' report is very similar to claims from NPD DisplaySearch analysts, who have flip-flopped several times but now point to a thinner non-Retina iPad mini arriving later this year and a Retina iPad mini following in early 2014.

Today's report also reiterates claims that Apple's fifth-generation iPad is on its way with a thinner and lighter design inspired by the iPad mini. Apple's supply chain is reportedly beginning small-scale production on the new iPad this month, ramping up through October.

The Korea Economic Daily reports that Apple and Samsung today officially signed an agreement that will see the two companies working together on future A-series chips for Apple's iOS devices, with the deal specifically covering A9 chips based on a 14-nanometer process node starting in 2015. The claim comes just weeks after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) confirmed a deal with Apple to begin producing A-series chips in 2014.

Samsung Electronics had supplied the AP [application processor] to Apple since 2007 but lost the contract to supply 20 nano AP A8 chips to Apple to Taiwan's TSMC last year when it was engaged in patent disputes with Apple. Samsung Electronics developed state-of-the-art 14 nano models ahead of its rival TSMC, regaining the order from Apple.

A previous report about Apple's agreement with TSMC had indicated that it was a three-year deal covering not only Apple's future A8 chip but also A9/A9X chips. The Wall Street Journal's report had indicated that Samsung would remain Apple's primary supplier through next year as TSMC began ramping up its production.

As a result, it is unclear whether today's deal will see both TSMC and Samsung producing A9 chips for Apple or if Apple has already shifted gears to return to Samsung as its primary supplier as part of its long-term roadmap.

Apple has reportedly been seeking to reduce its reliance on Samsung as a component supplier as the two companies have become fierce rivals in both the mobile marketplace and in the courtroom. The two companies have, however, continued working together in several areas, particularly where Samsung's competitors in the component market are unable to match its technology, production capacity, or pricing.

The shift to TSMC for production of the high-profile main chips for Apple's iOS devices had been viewed as breaking one of the most significant remaining ties between Apple and Samsung, but it appears that Samsung has been able to bring Apple back into the fold by leading the charge to 14-nm chips. With partnerships with both Samsung and TSMC, it appears that Apple should be well-positioned to take advantage of whichever company takes the lead in developing the latest technologies.

Late last week, it was reported that Apple had bought into a fab, perhaps with an eventual goal of producing its own chips for its mobile devices, although any such move is almost certainly years away given the need to ramp up expertise and facilities for such production.

Financial Times reports that Apple is "aggressively" hiring new employees to help with its smart watch effort, suggesting that the company needs additional expertise to tackle the project's challenges. Sources also indicate that the "iWatch" may not appear until late next year, as has been previously rumored.

The company has begun hiring “aggressively” for the project in recent weeks, say people familiar with Apple’s plans for the wearable device, a move that shows it has stepped up development but which raises questions over the ability of its own engineers to develop wearable technology.

As Apple moves from iPods, iPhones and iPads into an entirely new category of product, it is looking beyond its existing staff in Cupertino for the talent required to build it – an indication that the endeavour involves “hard engineering problems that they’ve not been able to solve”, according to one source.

The report indicates that Apple has been looking at acquiring smaller firms with expertise that would be valuable to its smart watch effort, and has also been working hard to retain key employees related to the project.

Rumors of an Apple smart watch have been circulating for some time now, with the company reportedly putting over 100 designers to work on the project. Earlier this month, it was revealed that Apple has hired Paul Deneve, formerly the CEO of fashion house Yves Saint Laurent, to work on "special projects", with speculation suggesting he may involved with the iWatch and other wearable computing projects at Apple.

Apple has been filing trademark applications on the iWatch name in a number of countries, something the company typically does relatively close to its product launches, but it appears in this case that Apple may still have significant work left to do before it can bring its smart watch to market.

(Photo: HEX Vision Metal Watchband for 6th-generation iPod nano)

Yesterday it was reported that users who purchased the new game Deus Ex: The Fall were unable to properly play the game on jailbroken devices because of an anti-piracy measure. Users were prevented from firing any guns, a key part of the game.

Today, Square Enix has apologized for not properly communicating that the game would not work on jailbroken devices and has announced that it will rectify the issue in a future software update, Eurogamer reports.

Publisher Square Enix issued this statement:

We have not been clear in our communication earlier this week when we launched Deus Ex: The Fall. We did not state clearly that the game would not support jailbroken devices and so we will be switching this off via an update, so that all the supported iOS devices will be able to play the game in the near future.

We feel it's the right thing to do in this situation and apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused. No customer should be out of pocket when we were not clear from the start, so we'll get the game updated as soon as possible so that everyone who wants to play Deus Ex: The Fall can do regardless of whether their device is jailbroken or not. As soon as this update is live we will communicate this via the Eidos Montreal Community channels.

SemiAccurate reports that Apple is ramping up its efforts to control its own supply chain, seeking to produce its own chips and buying into a chip fabrication facility to accomplish that goal.

Apple has just done something that SemiAccurate has been expecting for months and entered the fab industry. No we are not joking, Apple just bought into a fab, and not in a trivial way either.

With the majority of the report behind a paywall, details remain scarce, but the teaser walks through how Intel, TSMC, Global Foundries, and IBM are unable to entirely meet Apple's chip needs as it looks to move away from Samsung as the manufacturer of A-series chips for its iOS devices.

Tags associated with the article include all of those companies, as well as "UMC", which undoubtedly refers to United Microelectronics Corporation, a Taiwanese semiconductor company with a focus on the foundry business, hinting that UMC may be involved in Apple's effort in some manner. UMC currently operates a number of fabs in Taiwan, and also has a facility in Singapore that the company just weeks ago designated as its Center of Excellence for advanced specialty process technologies.

Any move by Apple to produce its own chips is almost certainly years in the future given the difficulty of building up that expertise, and so Apple will need to continue relying on manufacturing partners for its A-series chips for the foreseeable future. Just last month, TSMC reportedly confirmed that it has struck a deal to produce A-series chips for Apple, offering the iOS device maker a path to minimize its reliance on Samsung. The TSMC deal comes after years of rumors as TSMC suffered from technical glitches and other issues that kept Apple from committing to the chipmaker.

SemiAccurate has a mixed track record, having correctly predicted Apple's shifts in graphics chip suppliers for its Mac lines several times, but also incorrectly claiming in May 2011 that Apple would soon be moving its Macs to ARM processors. More recently, the site has been keeping on top of Apple's work to recruit AMD engineers for its "Orlando GPU Design Center".

Update: CNET says that the report cites Globalfoundries as Apple's partner in the fab project. CNET's own sources indicate that the two companies are still "kicking the tires" and that no deal has been yet been reached.

"This isn't the first time. [Apple and Globalfoundries] have kicked the tires before. But [Apple] is doing this again to look at a fab to offset risk," said the source.

The source continued: "Globalfoundries and Samsung have the same technology foundation based on an IBM joint development agreement. So that gives [a possible deal] a little less risk if they're looking at a secondary option to offset [the current chip manufacturing] with Samsung. Samsung's fab in Austin and GF's fab in New York could both ramp a similar product and GF could offset capacity that Samsung can't fulfill."