MacRumors

iFixit has already taken apart the new iPhone 5s, currently on sale in Australia. It is the second significant teardown of the device, which was taken apart earlier by Australian iPhone repair firm iExperts. Unsurprisingly, there are no drastic changes from the iPhone 5 to the 5s, but there are some new internals like the Touch ID sensor that are worth examining.

In removing the front panel from the rest of the iPhone 5s, the iFixit team notes that a new cable that runs from the Touch ID sensor to the Lightning port assembly, meaning that extreme care must be taken when removing the screen to avoid damaging the cable.

iFixit did express some concern over the amount of glue used to attach the battery -- a 3.8V - 5.92Wh - 1560mAh unit, slightly larger than the iPhone 5's 3.8V 1440mAh battery -- to the casing, noting that the dramatic increase in glue compared to the iPhone 5 could make it exceptionally difficult to replace the battery. The company also wondered if the sapphire home button was enough to protect the sensitive CMOS Touch ID sensor over time.

Looking at the logic board, iFixit could not find a standalone M7 motion coprocessor chip, dubbing it "invisible". The team believes the M7 may be special silicon built into the A7 chip itself.

Also of note was the striking lack of a discrete M7 co-processor. Perhaps the "M" stands for "magical," because it’s not there, folks. The mythical M7 is most likely a combination of motion-oriented components, and not an actual dedicated chip (as Apple implied during last week’s product announcement). Chock it up to savvy marketing.

Apple's iterative design has allowed it to streamline and optimize internal construction of the 5s, including the loss of extemporaneous antenna interconnect cables "leaving one less thing to break or get disconnected".

Overall, iFixit gave the iPhone 5s a repairability score of 6 out of 10 (10 being the easiest to repair), which is one point fewer than the iPhone 5's 7 out of 10. Compared to the iPhone 5, the 5s battery no longer has a convenient pull tab for removal and the Touch ID cable could be ripped out of its socket during front panel removal.

The U.S. Apple Store has gone offline in preparation of the launch of online sales for the iPhone 5s. The iPhone 5s is Apple's new top-end iPhone which incorporates the faster A7 processor, camera improvements and a fingerprint sensor.

Lines have started to form at stores across the country. While the the LA Times claims that lines are "noticeably shorter or nonexistent" as compared to previous launches, CNet reports there were healthy lines internationally.

Supply for the new iPhone appears to be tight with international stores selling out relatively quickly. Apple didn't offer pre-orders for the iPhone 5s, so both online and retail sales begin today.

A few reports from U.S. readers in line also indicate very little stock of White and Gold devices. One reader RiderXTC at the Clarendon, VA store indicates that there is a two device per person limit, and White and Gold devices were all claimed quickly:

An Apple employee just came out and asked everyone in line which color, carrier, and size they desired. After getting to the third person, there are no more gold/white or silver/white in any size for any carrier.

The iPhone 5c will also go on sale at retail stores on Friday, September 20th. Retail sales will begin at 8am local time, while online sales will kick off at 12:01am Pacific time.

Update: Mac4Ever has a gallery of long lines for the iPhone 5s launch in France.

Online sales of the iPhone 5s have kicked off in several different countries, and a number of iPhone 5s models, the gold in particular, seem to be in short supply all around the world.

As the Apple Stores in France, Germany, and the U.K. come back online, it is clear that the shortages extend to European customers as well. Immediately after coming back up, the U.K. Apple Store displayed shipping times of 7–10 days for all colors and capacities, as did both of the online stores for France and Germany.

In Australia and China, online Apple Store shipping times for the iPhone 5s rapidly slipped to 7–10 days for all colors and capacities, with immediate unavailability of the 64GB gold version. Apple’s Hong Kong and Singapore online stores have even longer waiting times, displaying an October shipping estimate for all iPhone 5s models.

Based on the extended shipping times seen around the world, it is likely that iPhone 5s supplies will be tight in the United States as well. Both in-store and online stock are likely to be limited, and customers have already begun camping out at Apple Stores across the country in the hopes of obtaining an iPhone 5s on launch day.

Two controller makers are teasing MFi "Made for iPhone" game controllers following the public release of iOS 7. The new OS includes special APIs for third-party hardware game controllers, turning the iPhone and iPad into gaming systems on par with other handheld consoles.

ClamCase has published a trailer for its GameCase iPhone controller, which connects via Bluetooth, includes its own battery, and supports all iOS 7-compatible iOS devices.

At the same time, Logitech is teasing its new hardware controller on its Facebook page. The position of the hands strongly suggests the leaked iPhone enclosure controller that surfaced from Logitech back in June.

Games designed specifically for iOS 7 will be able to tie into Apple's Game Controller framework, allowing for seamless connectivity to authorized third-party MFi devices.

There appears to be a lock screen vulnerability in iOS 7 that allows access to a device’s photos, email, and social networking accounts. According to Jose Rodriguez, who provided a video of the bug to Forbes, a simple set of gestures gives unwarranted access to a device running iOS 7.

The exploit can be initiated by swiping upwards on the device's lock screen to access the Control Center and open the Clock app. Once the clock app is open, holding the phone's sleep button will cause the "Slide to Power Off" option to appear. Tapping on cancel at this juncture and then double clicking on the home button will open the phone's multitasking screen, providing access to the camera and the photos on the device. The key to the trick, however, is to access the camera app from the lock screen first, causing it to appear in the recently used apps list.

Because the photos from the camera app can be shared via Flickr, Twitter, Facebook, and email, an intruder can also gain access to those apps using the sharing tools.

I tested the technique on an iPhone 5 running iOS 7, and it worked. Rodriguez’s video shows it working on an iPad, too. It’s not yet clear if the same exploit can bypass the lockscreen of an iPhone 5s or 5c, but Rodriguez tells me he believes it will. I’ve reached out to Apple for comment and I’ll update this post if I hear from the company.

Apple has been plagued by lock screen vulnerabilities multiple times over the course of the year, with a bug appearing in iOS 6.1 that allowed lock screen access to the phone when the emergency call function was manipulated.

The current iOS 7 vulnerability can be avoided by preventing the Control Center from appearing on the lock screen. The setting can be turned on by opening the Settings app, selecting "Access on Lock Screen" and toggling it off.

Update: Apple has told AllThingsD that it is working on a fix.

"Apple takes user security very seriously," Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller told AllThingsD. "We are aware of this issue, and will deliver a fix in a future software update."

A pair of prosecutors, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón, have been pressing Apple for months over a rash of thefts of mobile devices, including iPhones and iPads. Gascón in particular had been pushing for a 'kill switch' that could permanently disable stolen iOS devices.

Today, Gascón and Schneiderman praised Apple's release of the Activation Lock feature in iOS 7, calling it the "world's first attempt to implement a technological solution to the global smartphone theft epidemic".

"After months of pressure from a global coalition of elected officials and law enforcement agencies, we are pleased that Apple is set to release a new mobile operating system that includes a theft deterrent feature called Activation Lock. This is an important first step towards ending the global epidemic of smartphone theft.

“In the months ahead, it is our hope that Activation Lock will prove to be an effective deterrent to theft, and that the widespread use of this new system will end the victimization of iPhone users, as thieves learn that the devices have no value on the secondary market. We are particularly pleased that – because Activation Lock is a feature associated with Apple's new operating system as opposed to a new device – it will be available to consumers with older phone models who download the free upgrade.

The release goes on to note that while Activation Lock is a "step forward", it is ultimately too early to tell if it will cut down on the so-called "Apple Picking" crimes.

36 percent of active iOS devices are already using iOS 7 according to information published by Mixpanel, a mobile analytics firm.

Apple has frequently touted the rapid adoption of new operating system upgrades as a significant strength of its mobile operating system, ensuring that developers who adopt new APIs and features like iCloud or Passbook will see a large market for their wares.

For comparison, ad network Chitika currently estimates iOS 7 adoption at just 18 percent, showing the serious variances in estimating iOS upgrade patterns. After the iOS 6 launch, Chitika estimated iOS 6 adoption at 15 percent 24 hours after release. iOS 5 took five days to reach 20 percent adoption.

iOS 5 added over-the-air updates, allowing customers to upgrade their iOS operating system without needing to plug it into a computer first. This means iOS 6 and iOS 7 upgrades were easier to perform than the jump from iOS 4 to iOS 5.

For one more data point, 44% of visits from iOS devices to MacRumors yesterday were from devices running iOS 7.

As we've been documenting in updates to our article about shortages of gold iPhone 5S models in Australia, shortages of all models of the device are rapidly coming apparent as Apple's online stores in the Asia-Pacific region are coming back online.

In both Australia and China, all models in all colors are showing shipping estimates of 7-10 business days at launch, with Hong Kong and Singapore seeing even longer estimates simply stating "October".

The extended shipping dates suggest that supplies are likely to be tight around the world, meaning that those looking to order through Apple's online stores will need to consider their plans if they hope to have a device in hand quickly. In-store stocks are also likely to be quite limited, with perhaps more customers now electing to camp out at their local stores once they've seen the delays they may encounter ordering online.

With Apple's official Australian launch for the iPhone 5s just a short time away, evidence of significant shortages of gold models is beginning to surface, with one Twitter user at the Doncaster retail store sharing word from store staff that they have no gold models on launch day and may not have any for up to three weeks.

In a similar vein, it appears that the Apple Store iOS app has begun taking orders for the iPhone 5s in Australia, with Sonny Dickson sharing a screenshot showing that the gold 64GB iPhone 5s debuted with a shipping estimate of 7-10 business days.

It is unclear if the dearth of gold models will extend to other first-wave markets, but signs are increasingly pointing to the new color being very difficult to find at launch.

Update: The Australian Apple Store is now back online and showing 7-10 business days for colors and capacities of the iPhone 5s.

Update 2: Apple's Hong Kong and Singapore online stores are showing shipping estimates of October for all iPhone 5s models.

Australian iPhone repair firm iExperts has already gotten its hands on the new iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c models (via TUAW), working to perform teardowns of the two devices to examine their internals. While the company has yet to start digging into the chips on the main logic board, it has been able to reveal a few details about the devices.

Unsurprisingly, the internal layouts of the new devices are consistent with that seen in leaked part photos and generally in line with that of the iPhone 5. Battery capacities have increased from 5.45 Whr in the iPhone 5 to 5.92 Whr in the iPhone 5s and 5.73 Whr in the iPhone 5c. That iPhone 5s number is slightly different than what appeared in regulatory documents last week but is consistent with what we saw on a December 2012 prototype, albeit with a newer part number on the battery.

A direct comparison of the logic boards from the three devices also shows how Apple has slightly narrowed the boards on the new devices compared to the iPhone 5, making room for a slightly larger battery.

Other tidbits discovered during the teardown include a metal clip holding in the new cable providing a connection for the Touch ID sensor in the home button, as well as a new coating on the power button believed to be designed to increase durability.

More information from the new iPhones is undoubtedly forthcoming, with the teardown experts at iFixit also drawing upon their own extensive experience to delve into the details on the various components.

Apple has unveiled a new Kids category on the App Store [Direct Link], MacStories noted. The page includes multiple sections, including the best apps for certain ages, games specifically for kids, and different types of learning apps like 'Create & Play' and 'Shapes & Colors'.

First announced at WWDC in June alongside iOS 7′s developer debut, the Kids category is aimed at facilitating the process of finding apps and games based on age ratings. The category is curated by Apple editors, who, according to the company, “search the App Store for the best apps in each age group — up to 11 years old”.

Back in August, Apple sent emails to developers asking them to submit apps for the new category.

The Kids section is viewable on the App Store on iOS devices, as well as iTunes on Macs and PCs.

While Apple design guru Jony Ive and software engineering chief Craig Federighi were included in a Bloomberg Businessweek cover story published today, much of the focus of that piece was on CEO Tim Cook and his thoughts about Apple and the competition.

Ive and Federighi now get some attention for themselves in an interview with USA Today in which the two discuss their partnership that led to the development of iOS 7.

"When we sat down last November (to work on iOS 7), we understood that people had already become comfortable with touching glass, they didn't need physical buttons, they understood the benefits," says Ive. "So there was an incredible liberty in not having to reference the physical world so literally. We were trying to create an environment that was less specific. It got design out of the way."

Federighi goes on to note that the technological advances over the past few years have finally reached the point where Apple is able to tackle something like iOS 7.

"This is the first post-Retina (Display) UI (user interface), with amazing graphics processing thanks to tremendous GPU (graphics processing unit) power growth, so we had a different set of tools to bring to bear on the problem as compared to seven years ago (when the iPhone first launched)," he says. "Before, the shadowing effect we used was a great way to distract from the limitations of the display. But with a display that's this precise, there's nowhere to hide. So we wanted a clear typography."

Ive jumps in. "Yes, we wanted to defer to the content, and just get out of the way."

The piece also includes a bit of a biography on Ive, discussing how he came to join Apple and the freedom and power he holds at the company. It also reflects on his focus on simplicity, with Ive pointing to the new Touch ID fingerprint scanning system on the iPhone 5s as an example of a feature that is useful but almost invisible in how it functions.

Teasing future products from Apple, Ive notes that he would "love, love, love" to reveal what he and his design team have been working on, but that he would lose his job if he did.

Finally, Ive addresses the topic of competition, noting that his work is driven by Apple's own tastes and those of its customers. He says that he keeps a close eye on what competitors are doing with their designs, but that their work does not influence his designs "at all".

In a lengthy cover story interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, Apple CEO Tim Cook, along with Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi and Senior Vice President of Design Jonathan Ive, discussed a number of topics with the magazine, such as the launch of the new iPhones including the upcoming lower-cost iPhone 5c, and thoughts on competitors, and the recurring accusation of the lack of innovation that the company is said to have had in recent years.

Speaking about the iPhone 5c and the opinion of Apple selling a “low-cost” phone, Cook stated the following:

“We never had an objective to sell a low-cost phone,” says Cook. “Our primary objective is to sell a great phone and provide a great experience, and we figured out a way to do it at a lower cost.”

Cook also spoke about Android devices and topics such as the market share between the two mobile operating platforms, stating that “It’s even more a two-operating-system world today than it was before,” and adding to that point “when you look at things like customer satisfaction and usage, you see the gap between Android and iOS being huge.” Cook also spoke about Android’s device fragmentation, an issue Apple has long pointed to as being a problem for both users and developers:

In Cook’s view, the incompatibilities between various Android versions make each an entirely different species. The Android operating systems are “not the latest ones by the time people buy,” he says. A recent survey of smartphones sold by AT&T showed 25 Android handsets; six did not have the latest operating system. “And so by the time they exit, they’re using an operating system that’s three or four years old. That would be like me right now having in my pocket iOS 3. I can’t imagine it.

Fragmentation creates complexity and what Cook calls a “compounding problem.” “It will show up in developers,” he says. “It will show up for people that no longer have access to certain apps. It will show up in security issues because if you’re not moving your customer base to the latest version, then you have to go back and plug holes in all of this old stuff, and people don’t really do that to a great degree.”

The Apple CEO also spoke about the rise and fall of mobile electronics maker Nokia:

If one part of Nokia’s story is validating, the other is cautionary. When Apple got into the mobile business, it was Nokia’s world. The Finnish company was considered something of a miracle worker. “I’m old enough to remember when Nokia had margins of 25 percent, and there was absolutely no way they were going to be dislodged from their leadership position,” says Kuittinen of research firm Alekstra. Says Cook, “I think [Nokia] is a reminder to everyone in business that you have to keep innovating and that to not innovate is to die.”

Cook last spoke to Bloomberg Businessweek in December 2012, and discussed the management shakeup at Apple initiated by the departure of former iOS chief Scott Forstall, stating that the changes were “driven by desire for increased collaboration.” Apple will begin selling the lower-cost iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s tomorrow, September 20, throughout its retail stores and online store.