MacRumors

Apple may be enhancing the iconic look of its Apple logo on upcoming products, claims Digitimes in a report sourced from Taiwan-based supply chain insiders. While the site has a sketchy history with Apple rumors, it does sometimes offer accurate information and this is a rather specific and unique claim that could mark an interesting visual change for Apple's future products.

According to these anonymous sources, Apple has been developing new cutting and etching technology that will give the Apple logo a "3D-like" appearance.

Apple is also planning to upgrade the technologies used for printing its logo onto devices and will use laser cutting and unique embedded technologies to make the logo 3D-like and shine at the edges. All Apple's products will feature the new logo in 2015, starting with the next-generation iMac, the sources detailed.

Apple is actually expected to introduce the new iMac, which is presumably the machine the report refers to as the first with the new logo, at tomorrow's media event.

The site also claims Apple will unveil its new 12-inch Retina MacBook Air at tomorrow's event, but this is all but confirmed to be false, as a report from the very reliable Re/code noted earlier this week that the Retina MacBook Air will not be introduced at the event.

Apple will kick off its media event on Thursday at 10:00 AM Pacific Time. Apple is expected to unveil new iPads, new iMac models and the final details on OS X Yosemite. The possibility of a new Mac mini also was mentioned in one report earlier this year, but further details on this potential desktop refresh have been nonexistent.

Apple's September iPhone 6 and Apple Watch event marked the first time the company held an event at the Flint Center on the campus of De Anza College since the introduction of the original iMac in 1998, and The Wall Street Journal reports the latest event resulted in Apple paying the college over $1 million for the privilege, including costs for campus disruption and security.

According to the records, the cost included a “disruption fee” to the college of $500,000, rental fees for campus buildings and around-the-clock security involving more than 35 officers from three departments. [...]

The agreement was dated Aug. 14, almost a month before its event, but it refers to a confidentiality agreement signed in June by the district and Apple.

The agreement specifies that confidentiality is a “key element,” in order to achieve the “surprise and delight that characterize” Apple’s marketing.

Apple agreed to pay $55,000 to use the college’s Media and Learning Center, $92,000 for the Campus Center and nearly $10,000 for two parking lots. Apple was also responsible for restoring the balustrades surrounding the sunken garden where the temporary structure was located, at an estimated cost of $400,000 to $450,000.

Campus police, Santa Clara County sheriffs, and Mountain View police all contributed to the security detail that was on site for nearly a month leading up to the event.

Apple's next event takes place tomorrow, but will be a much smaller affair held in the Town Hall auditorium on the company's headquarters campus in Cupertino. The event kicks off at 10:00 AM Pacific Time, and the company is expected to unveil new iPads, introduce updated iMacs with a Retina display on at least the larger model, and offer a final look at OS X Yosemite before its public launch.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has landed the contract to produce Apple's A8X chip that will be featured in the company's forthcoming 12.9-inch iPad, according to Digitimes. The report notes that the processors will be intended for "Apple's next-generation iPad to be released in early 2015," and lines up with a report earlier year from Taiwan's TechNews which shared similar details.

Sources close to the production of the A8X also state that the chip is being manufactured with the same 20-nanometer process used for the A8 chip that is found in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. However, the report also notes that the A8X's bigger system-on-a-chip may create potential yield rate issues for TSMC.

Recent part leaks have indicated that the A8X chip will likely debut with the iPad Air 2, which is expected to be unveiled alongside the next-generation Retina iPad mini at an event this Thursday.

It is unknown as to whether the company will also unveil the 12.9-inch iPad at the event, however the The Wall Street Journal noted that Apple was delaying mass production of the 12.9-inch iPad to deal with strong iPhone 6 Plus demand. A report from Bloomberg in August also claimed that the 12.9-inch iPad would be launching in 2015.

Update: While the report was presumed to be referring to the rumored 12.9-inch iPad based on the expectation the device will be "released in early 2015", it is possible it could actually be referring to the second-generation iPad Air, which is all but confirmed to be unveiled tomorrow and has already been seen to carry the A8X chip in leaked logic board photos.

Just about a day before Apple's October 16 media event, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has issued a new report, saying that he expects supplies of iPad Air 2s to be constrained. His report also suggests that the 27-inch Retina Display iMac will have shipments begin before the end of the year and reiterates that the new iPad minis won't be a significant upgrade.

Of the new products, we think the market will be more interested in iPad Air 2. However, as the poor yield rate of anti-reflective coating cover lens has delayed mass production, we estimate 2014 shipments of iPad Air 2 of 7- 9mn units, lower than the 12mn units of the then-new iPad Air shipments in 2013. We thus expect iPad Air 2 to contribute less to the supply chain than iPad Air did last year. We also don’t expect the event to boost supply chain shares much.

Kuo goes on to once again suggest that a significant update to the iPad mini isn't likely due to the iPad Air's larger "contribution to Apple's sales and earnings" and that iPad mini is seeing limited development resources because Apple is working on a brand-new 12.9-inch iPad.

The 27-inch Retina Display iMac is likely to begin shipments before the end of 2014, with the 21-inch Retina Display arriving sometime in the second half of 2015. The delay between the two models, Kuo suggests, is because of how difficult it is to develop two different sized high resolution panels at the same time.

Finally, Kuo corroborates reports that new MacBook models will not make an appearance at the October 16 event as Apple is waiting on Intel's Broadwell chips before significantly upgrading its laptop line. This includes the rumored 12-inch MacBook Air.

Apple is holding its press event this Thursday, October 16 at 10:00 AM PT on its Cupertino campus. Besides new iPads and iMacs, Apple is also expected to announce the public launch date for OS X Yosemite. MacRumors will provide live coverage of the event.

In a Facebook interview where U2 band members answered questions asked by their fans, U2 frontman Bono apologized to iTunes users that were upset after the band's new album "Songs of Innocence" was automatically downloaded on their devices without their consent.

In the apology, Bono says that the group "got carried away" with themselves and were worried that songs they had spent two years working on "might not be heard."

Oops. Um. I'm sorry about that. I had this beautiful idea and we got carried away with ourselves.

Artists are prone to that kind of thing. Drop of megalomania, touch of generosity, dash of self-promotion, and deep fear that these songs that we poured our life into over the last few years might not be heard.

There's a lot of noise out there. I guess we got a little noisy ourselves to get through it.

U2's newest album, "Songs of Innocence," was provided for free to 500 million iTunes users as part of Apple's September 9 iPhone event. As part of the promotion, Apple pushed the album to iTunes accounts, causing some devices to download the album without user permission.

The automatic downloads caused quite a bit of backlash, prompting Apple to create a tool to allow users to remove the free U2 album from their devices.

Despite the negativity over the auto downloads, U2's partnership with Apple appears to have been wildly successful, with "Songs of Innocence" seeing 26 million downloads from iTunes users. Additionally, more than 81 million users are said to have "experienced" the album, via iTunes, iTunes Radio, and Beats Music.

Apple's deal with U2 and Universal Music Group is worth an estimated $100 million and is said to be part of a "long-term relationship" that will see Apple and U2 continuing to partner up to promote innovation in music.

GT Advanced Technologies, Apple's sapphire partner, may have been seeing production problems and missing technical milestones as early as February, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal that examines GT's securities filings.

It's widely known that Apple did not provide GT Advanced with a fourth and final $139 million loan payment aimed at giving the sapphire supplier a means to purchase vital equipment, but Apple also delivered its third payment to the company two months after it was expected.

GT was set to receive a $103 million payment in February of 2014, but did not receive the payment until April 2014, two months later, as it had failed to meet Apple's requirements on time.

The third payment, of $103 million, was due in February, but Apple did not make it until April, according to GT's securities filings. The final installment of $139 million was due in April, according to a GT securities filing. In August, GT said it expected the payment by October. But Apple never made the payment, because GT did not meet certain requirements, according to people familiar with the matter.

Shortly after GT Advanced missed its February payment, the company's CEO, Thomas Gutierrez and its Chief Operating Officer, Daniel Squiller, set plans in motion to begin selling off stock. While the timing of their subsequent sales was subject to the schedules laid out in their trading plans, it is clear those plans were established after GT began having difficulties meeting its milestones.

Gutierrez set up a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 sale in March, which saw him selling more than 9,000 shares of GT Advanced stock on September 8, a day ahead of Apple's iPhone announcement. Gutierrez also sold off stock throughout the year, netting more than $10 million before stock prices faltered after it became clear Apple was not using sapphire in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

Squiller sold $1.2 million worth of stock in May and made plans to sell off additional shares throughout 2014, garnering another $750,000 before the company filed for bankruptcy. Squiller continues to hold more than 200,000 shares of GT stock, which have lost much of their value.

Apple did end up making a total of three loan payments to GT Advanced totaling $440 million after signing an agreement in October of 2013, and the company also reportedly tried to help the supplier meet the requirements to receive the fourth payment ahead of GT's surprise Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

GT Advanced's deal with Apple was highly favorable to the Cupertino-based company, with the sapphire supplier taking on all of the risk. Apple supplied the facility and the loan for the company to purchase equipment, but GT was required to meet technical milestones to receive the money and it also signed contracts that prevented it from selling its sapphire to other companies. Apple, meanwhile, was under no obligation to purchase GT's sapphire.

Details about the deal's deterioration have been coming out bit by bit, making it difficult to piece together exactly what went wrong. It appears that GT's failed to produce sapphire up to Apple's standards, leading the company to stick with Gorilla Glass instead of sapphire screens for its iPhones. GT Advanced has been able to supply little information on its bankruptcy filing, as it is bound by non-disclosure agreements that could see it paying $50 million in fines for each violation.

Apple and GT Advanced have asked to keep court documents sealed, but The Wall Street Journal today filed a motion asking the court make the documents public.

Following its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, GT Advanced last week asked for permission to begin winding down operations at its Mesa, Arizona sapphire plant, suggesting the company plans to cease its sapphire production all together. Apple has said that it plans to focus on "preserving jobs" in Arizona, and is working with local and state officials as it considers its next steps.

IDG today announced plans to put its annual Macworld/iWorld Expo on hiatus, which means the San Francisco event planned for 2015 will no longer take place. Macworld/iWorld, held annually, has long been one of the major Mac-based trade shows, dating back to 1985.

Macworld/iWorld will not take place in 2015 and the show is going on hiatus. The show saw a remarkable 30 year run that changed the technology industry, provided an important forum for Apple developers to bring new companies and products to market, delivered world class professional development to Apple product enthusiasts, and fostered the development of one of the most dynamic professional communities in the tech marketplace.

Though the shuttering of Macworld/iWorld comes as a surprise, the expo's popularity has been on the decline in recent years. Prior to 2009, Apple attended the event and used it to unveil new products, drawing thousands of attendees, but the company pulled out of the conference after 2009 and instead began hosting all of its own events.

Along with the Macworld/iWorld hiatus, Macworld also recently laid off several of its editorial staff members and shut down its print magazine. IDG's wording "hiatus" in the statement suggests that Macworld/iWorld could potentially return in the future, and the company still plans to hold its enterprise-focused MacIT event in 2015.

With Apple's October media event coming up later this week, the company has reportedly already begun shipping mass quantities of new product into the U.S. and appears to be setting up for a Friday, October 24 availability date, according to a source that has provided accurate information to MacRumors in the past.

The specific product being shipped was not identified by the source, but it likely is Apple's rumored upcoming iPad, though it is not clear which model -- the iPad Air 2, the Retina iPad mini 2, or both -- is being transported.

The timing would be consistent with Apple's usual strategy for such launches, coming just over a week after the product's introduction. With the exception of major new category products like the Apple Watch or those for which there are severe production constraints, Apple typically unveils a product and ships it within a short period of time if not on the same day. Last year, Apple announced the iPad Air and Retina iPad mini on October 22 and launched the iPad Air on November 1, with the Retina iPad mini landing a few weeks later due to short supplies.

Based on these shipping estimates, Apple likely will announce its new iPad Air 2 and possibly an updated Retina iPad mini on Thursday with a target launch date of October 24. There is no word yet on the possibility of pre-orders, but if Apple does offer a pre-order period, it will likely start very soon after the event in order to allow shipments to be positioned for delivery on launch day.

Apple service providers will apparently soon be responsible for offering post-sales support for Beats headphones and speakers, reports Greek blog techingreek.com. The news comes from an internal memo dated today alerting official service providers to upcoming contract changes and future training documents regarding Beats products, and Apple's own retail stores will undoubtedly offer similar levels of support.

This move to support Beats music hardware is a necessary part of Apple's broader integration of Beats' products and services into the Cupertino company following the recent merger of the two companies. Apple is stocking its online and retail stores with Beats products and also is expected to overhaul and rebrand the Beats streaming music service early next year.

Apple acquired Beats Electronics and the Beats streaming music service earlier this year in a deal worth roughly $3 billion. As part of this merger, Apple gained a popular line of headphones and music accessories, a streaming music service, and the combined talent and music industry connections of Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre.

The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) launched a lawsuit against the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last Friday in protest over the FAA's decision to allow passengers to use their iPads, iPhones, and other small portable electronic devices in nearly all phases of flight.

As outlined by the Associated Press (via TechCrunch), the lawsuit alleges that the FAA "acted improperly" and failed to follow proper protocol implementing the changes. A lawyer for the Association of Flight Attendants argued that portable electronic devices distract passengers from safety announcements and can "become dangerous projectiles."

Dure argued that in greenlighting the expanded use of electronics, officials violated the federal Administrative Procedure Act. The act requires government agencies to give the public notice and the ability to comment when a rule is changed. That didn't happen properly, the union argues.

FAA lawyer Jeffrey Sandberg responded to the AFA's allegations by suggesting portable electronic devices are "no more dangerous" than the books passengers have been allowed to keep out during landing and takeoff. The government agency also suggested that the policy change did not trigger the requirements for public notice.

Officially implemented in October of 2013, the FAA's policy change on portable electronic devices allows smaller electronics, like iPhones and iPads, to be used during all phases of flight. Prior to the rule change, all electronics were required to be stowed away until an altitude of 10,000 feet was reached.

Though devices can now be used during landing and takeoff, passengers are still required to place them into airplane mode, restricting cellular access. Usage of larger devices, like laptop computers, continues to be restricted for safety reasons.

While the FAA enacted the policy change that allows passengers to use their devices in all phases of flight, airlines have always had control over the implementation of the rule. Individual airlines, as the FAA points out, have control over when and if passengers are able to use their electronic devices in flight. A judge hearing the case expressed a similar sentiment, telling the AFA that "Airlines have always had discretion on how to handle this."

Thus far, the FAA has cleared 31 airline operators to allow passengers to use portable electronics during landing/takeoff and combined, those operators carry 96 percent of all U.S. commercial passengers.

While the second-generation iPad Air has been the subject of a number of rumors ahead of its expected unveiling this Thursday, there has been less information about the Retina iPad mini, which is currently more or less identical to its larger sibling with the exception of display size.

Apple has generally been assumed to be planning a parallel upgrade for the iPad mini this month, but an early September report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expressed some uncertainty, saying the iPad mini would receive only a minor upgrade such as Touch ID, "if any", this year. Kuo's report was followed by another from Taiwanese media claiming the Retina iPad mini 2 was likely to launch early in 2015 ahead of the rumored 12.9-inch "iPad Pro".

But now a new report from Mac Otakara [Google Translate] claims the second-generation Retina iPad mini does indeed appear set for an introduction alongside the iPad Air at this Thursday's press event.

As part of this introduction, Apple also may update its Smart Cover and Smart Case lineup with new colors and a tweaked design compatible with these new tablets.

While leaked iPad Air 2 components have been abundant, details on the upcoming Retina iPad mini 2 have been sparse, with a few reports claiming the device will receive only a modest upgrade as compared to the flagship iPad Air 2. The Retina iPad mini 2 is rumored to include only a Touch ID fingerprint sensor and the A8 processor, as compared to the iPad Air 2, which may ship with a more powerful A8X processor, 2GB of RAM, Touch ID, a new gold color option, and more.

Apple is holding its press event this Thursday, October 16 at 10:00 AM PT on its Cupertino campus. Besides a new iPad Air and Retina iPad mini 2, the company also is expected to introduce new iMacs as well as unveil the launch date for the final version of OS X Yosemite.

A fairly clear image of what is said to be the logic board for the second-generation iPad Air suggests that the device will indeed come with an A8X chip, as hinted at in earlier images shared over the weekend.

Furthermore, the new image published by Apple.club.tw [Google Translate] seems to point towards 2GB of RAM for the device. Though the image of the RAM on the logic board is low resolution and fuzzy, enhancing the contrast and the brightness reveals a bit of information about the numbers on the chip. While the first letter is entirely blurred, it is the second character that is key to determining whether the chip is 1GB or 2GB.

A 1GB Elpida chip would have an "8" in the second character slot, while a 2GB chip would have an "A" in the same spot. Because of the quality of the image, it is difficult to say for certain what the character is, but it does appear to be an "A" rather than an "8" given that it is narrower at the top and wider at the bottom.

Multiple rumors have suggested that Apple will double the memory in the second-generation iPad Air, which would give it the power to support split-screen multitasking. Last week, an image depicting a 2GB Elpida RAM module surfaced, and it appears that photo showed a set of the same chips seen in the logic board.

Apple has stuck to 1GB of RAM for several generations of devices, including the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, but Apple may have big plans in mind for the second-generation iPad Air 2 as it also appears to be gaining an A8X chip.

While Apple used an A6X chip in the fourth-generation iPad, the iPad Air used the same A7 chip as the iPhone 5s clocked at a higher speed. The company was widely expected to utilize the same strategy in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus for the iPad Air 2, but a faster A8X chip may have been utilized to power features like split-screen multitasking. There have also been some rumors of a "Retina HD" resolution for an upcoming iPad, which would likely require a more powerful chip.

Along with 2GB of RAM and an A8X processor, the logic board image appears to depict a 16GB Hynix flash module (denoted by the "TDG" characters on the chip), suggesting that the second-generation iPad Air will continue to be offered with 16GB of storage at the low end. It's possible Apple could do what it did for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, offering a 16GB solution along with 64 and 128GB options, doing away with the 32GB tier of storage space and sliding the 64 and 128GB tiers down $100 from their current levels.

Apple is expected to unveil the second-generation iPad Air at a media event that it is holding this Thursday on its Cupertino campus. The event may also see the debut of Retina iMacs and another preview of OS X Yosemite ahead of its public release.

Apple today released the sixth Yosemite public beta for its beta testers, following the release of the fifth Yosemite public beta on Tuesday of last week alongside the second golden master candidate of OS X Yosemite. The new public beta carries build number 14A388b, very close to the third Yosemite golden master candidate build 14A388a seeded to developers late last week.

The software update can be downloaded through the software update function of the Mac App Store.

OS X Yosemite brings a flatter, more modern look to OS X, with an emphasis on translucency and redesigned dock, windows, and more. It also includes a multitude of new features, such as improved integration with iOS 8 through Continuity, a new "Today" view in Notification Center that offers integration with third-party apps, a retooled Spotlight search with new data sources, and several new features for apps like Mail, Safari, and Messages.

Over the course of the beta testing period, each Developer Preview has added new features and refined the look and performance of OS X Yosemite, although changes have become less obvious in more recent builds as Apple begins finalizing Yosemite ahead of its public release.

Apple is expected to launch Yosemite soon after the iPad event that it is planning to hold this Thursday.