Shipping estimates for the Mac Pro through Apple's online store continue to rapidly improve, with the company's European stores such as the UK now showing 1-2 weeks for new orders. Online stores for other regions are still listing estimates of 2-3 weeks, but they should be seeing a similar improvement shortly.
After months of shortages for the completely revamped Mac Pro following its December launch, shipping estimates have improved rapidly in recent weeks, although it is unclear how much is due to improved supplies as any kinks have been worked out of Apple's new U.S. production line and how much is due to a slowing of demand after the initial order surge.
Apple has been awarded a patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (via AppleInsider) that details a user interface in messaging apps that dynamically changes its background based on conversation participants. The patent details how this interface would adapt to both single and group conversations, and how it would work with specific data to generate images. Outlining the "Generation of a user interface based on contacts", the patent describes how a conversation can be displayed over a background image associated with a contact. Users have the ability to assign a photo to a single contact to serve as a background, while the image itself can be adjusted to be dimmed or alpha-blended with a background color to ensure greater message readability. If an image is not assigned, the interface could also generate a default male or female image based on contact information.
The concept also carries over into group chats, as one user can be highlighted while others are greyed out to display who sent the last message. Alternative methods described in the patent also include showing contact thumbnails in a Cover Flow or carousel fashion, as well as layouts that center and increase the thumbnail of the most recent contacts with animations for emphasis. The patent also describes a potential API for third party developers to integrate the user interface into their own apps.
As with other software patents, it is unknown whether Apple plans to include this dynamic user interface in future versions of Messages or other apps. However, Apple could make changes to the Messages app in iOS 8, which is expected to be unveiled next month at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). Recent rumors have suggested that iOS 8 will feature a focus on health-related applications along with enhancements to Maps and Siri.
Following reports last week that Apple had purchased Beats Electronics, it was thought the deal would be finalized and announced this week. However, Re/code is reporting the deal may not be finalized until next week.
Apple’s planned deal to buy Beats Electronics for $3.2 billion may not be finalized until next week, according to people familiar with the transaction. That’s a longer timetable than some people expected as recently as a few days ago.
Once the deal is completed, Beats co-founders Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine are expected to take on senior roles at Apple, with Iovine potentially becoming Apple's new music chief. In addition, Iovine and Dre's first official appearance as Apple employees is expected to take place at June's Worldwide Developer Conference.
With the next iPhone widely expected to be available in larger screen sizes, Canalys reports that a third of all smartphones sold worldwide in the first quarter had screen sizes larger than five inches, a full inch larger than Apple's 4" iPhone 5s screen. The five-inch market -- some 90 million units in the quarter -- was the fastest growing portion of the smartphone market in the first quarter.
Internal documents released during the Apple v. Samsung trial show how Apple has been aware of consumer interest in larger screened smartphones for quite some time, and the iPhone 6 is expected to have 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch options to compete in this market.
Smart phones with 5" and larger screens grew 369% - a substantially greater rate of growth than the overall market. Worldwide, they represented just over a third of shipments (34%), and in Greater China the figure hit 39%, and 43% in Asia Pacific.
"This is still a market segment led by Samsung, but the trend is unmistakably toward larger-screen handsets at the high end of the market. It held a 44% share of devices with displays of 5" and above, and 53% if the view is narrowed to look at 5.5"-plus displays," said Canalys Analyst Jessica Kwee.
[...]
Consumers now expect high-end devices to have large displays, and Apple’s absence in this market will clearly not last long. It is notable that 5" and above displays featured on almost half (47%) of smart phones with an unlocked retail price of US$500 or more. Of the remaining 53% of high-end smart phones, 87% were iPhones.
Only 12 percent of smartphones sold had screens of 5.5-inches or larger, with 22% between 5 and 5.4-inches and the rest smaller than 5-inches, including all iPhones.
The iPhone 6 is widely expected to be launched this fall with a a 4.7-inch option, perhaps at 1704x960 pixels, and a larger 5.5-inch version that may launch later due to supply constraints.
Flappy Bird creator Dong Nguyen today announced plans to return Flappy Bird to the App Store in August in a new interview with CNBC's Kelly Evans. According to Nguyen, the new version of Flappy Bird will be a multiplayer title that is "less addictive."
Back in February, Nguyen unexpectedly pulled Flappy Bird from the App Store after it became wildly popular, due in part to the attention he was receiving. "Please give me peace," he tweeted just a week before removing the app from the App Store. At the height of its popularity, the game was generating approximately $50,000 per day in revenue from in-app ads, causing a media frenzy.
In a March interview with Rolling Stone, Nguyen confessed that the reason he pulled the app was in part due to the overwhelming amount of attention he garnered from the media, but also because of troubling messages he received from Flappy Bird players about the game's addictiveness. One woman told him he was "distracting the children of the world."
Nguyen noted that he had trouble in school in his own youth because of an addiction to video games, and admitted to feeling guilty that Flappy Bird was an "addictive product."
After Flappy Bird was removed from the App Store, hundreds of other Flappy-style apps flooded the App Store as developers attempted to clone some of Nguyen's success, and at one point towards the end of February, one-third of new games released over a 24-hour period were heavily influenced by Flappy Bird.
Though the prominence of Flappy Bird clones has died down in recent weeks, fans will likely welcome the return of the original game. As Nguyen has said, "People can clone the app because of its simplicity, but they will never make another Flappy Bird." While Nyugen has mentioned multiplayer as one new aspect of the game, it is unclear how he plans to make it "less addictive."
During today's interview, Nguyen also relayed some details about his next game, which is said to be a jumping game where players control a character that leaps from building to building.
Apple is facing a complaint from the Norwegian Consumer Council over the terms and conditions for its iCloud service, reports ZDNet. The consumer watchdog group claims the agreement violates the Norwegian Market Act, which governs marketing practices in the country.
The complaint arose from a study of seven cloud storage providers offering service in Norway and was part of a broader investigation into how digital services are being offered to Norwegian consumers. The Norwegian Consumer Council cited Apple for its 8,600 word iCloud terms of service, which it claims is "convoluted and unclear."
Particularly troubling to the Consumer Council were terms that allow Apple to modify the agreement at its discretion without notifying customers of the changes.
"Cloud storage services rely on users' trust and confidence. However, the current terms undermine this. It is important that consumer rights and privacy also apply to online services. We are convinced that all parties are better served with more user-friendly terms. Apple offers to store valuable information on behalf of its users, but gives itself the right to amend the agreement at its sole discretion. As consumers, we are left with no real rights or security. Receiving notice when terms change should be a bare minimum requirement. The fact that this can be done without informing the users is unacceptable," Finn Myrstad, head of digital services unit at the Consumer Council, said in a statement.
This is one of several overseas complaints Apple has faced recently, including a Belgian claim that Apple misled consumers about warranty information and an accusation of tax fraud by Italian authorities.
Despite these occasional hurdles, Apple continues to operate a strong global business with international sales accounting for 66 percent of revenue in Q2 2014. Apple also opened its first stores in Brazil and Turkey this year, and now has a retail presence in 15 countries worldwide.
There is a long-standing problem with lost iMessages for select users when they switch from an iPhone to another device. Apple allegedly is aware of the problem and not able to provide a fix, claims former Lifehacker editor-in-chief Adam Pash, whose iPhone was affected by this message delivery problem.
After disabling their iPhones, some users experience an issue where iMessages sent from other iPhone owners are routed to the now-disabled iPhone and not forwarded as a text message to the active phone. The recipient never receives the text message, creating a situation that is frustrating for both people involved in the conversation.
Pash spoke to Apple's customer support after he stopped receiving messages from iPhone-owning friends when he switched to an Android phone. The support personnel confirmed "this is a problem a lot of people are facing" and "added that engineering team is working on it but is apparently clueless as to how to fix it."
In the meantime, Apple has completely hijacked my text messaging and my phone number portability (portability between devices, not networks). No one can fix this but Apple because it’s a problem at the device level, which means people in my position have no recourse but to wait for Apple to figure out what the problem is. But Apple isn’t offering any public support on the issue that I’ve been able to find (and it’s worth repeating that proper support is behind a $20 paywall for most people who’ve switched devices, who would also be the most commonly affected by this problem)
This issue with iMessage has been reported as far back as 2011, shortly after the messaging service debuted as a flagship feature of iOS 5. iPhone owners are advised to disable iMessages before they deactivate their phone in order to remove the device from Apple's system and allow messages to be forwarded properly as text messages to their new handset. This precautionary step of disabling iMessage apparently works for some, but not all iPhone owners who switch to another smartphone platform.
With an expected transition to a larger screen on the iPhone 6, MacRumors forum member pgiguere1 has taken a look at how non-optimized apps would appear on a rumored 1704 x 960 display that would move from the current "2x" pixel doubling technique to achieve Retina quality to a "3x" technique.
In Apple's earlier transition to 2x Retina displays, it was relatively simple for non-Retina assets to be scaled up using automatic pixel doubling techniques to represent a single non-Retina pixel as a 2x2 grid of Retina pixels until developers could get up to speed. But with a potential move to 3x (or 1.5 times current Retina), many have wondered if that transition would be awkward.
As pgiguere1 shows, while developers will undoubtedly want to optimize their apps with new 3x graphical assets, automatic scaling of current 2x assets will look considerably better on this new iPhone display than non-Retina assets did during the transition to 2x.
Keep in mind however that unlike with the @1x -> @2x transition we had in 2010, this time we’d only have a 50% enlargement rather than 100%.
The thing is, a 50% enlargement with interpolation doesn’t look worse than a 100% enlargement with pixel-doubling, despite the loss of details due to the interpolation. [...]
As you can see, older non-@3x-optimized apps would actually look better on an @3x iPhone than non-@2x-opitmized apps did on an @2x iPhone. Add to this the fact that the screen's pixel density would be higher this time around, and the perceived image quality difference would be even smaller.
While Apple is unlikely to announce a new resolution for the iPhone 6 at next month's Worldwide Developers Conference, the company is likely to begin providing more tools and encouraging developers to speed a push toward resolution-independent vector graphics and other changes that will facilitate a smooth transition to denser displays. But for those developers who are not ready by iPhone 6 launch day, their users are likely to still have a decent experience with unoptimized apps.
Automatic and Jawbone today announced a new partnership that will see Automatic's car-tracking data integrated with the UP by Jawbone iOS app that connects to Jawbone's fitness band. By incorporating data from Automatic, a connected driving assistant system that measures car information like miles traveled and gas used, Jawbone will be able to give users an idea of how their car usage impacts their overall fitness.
Physical activity and driving are related to each other, but its not always easy to see exactly how. When you are driving, you are not generally physically active. More time driving leaves less time for walking and exercise. Automatic and Jawbone have teamed up to provide drivers insights on how their physical fitness and wellness is connected to their driving behavior.
Automatic data will be imported into the UP by Jawbone app automatically, which will provide insights on the relationship between driving and walking. It allows users to compare movement collected by the Jawbone UP band with driving times from Automatic on the same timeline, with the overall goal of encouraging more walking and physical activity.
In addition to Automatic integration, the Jawbone UP app is able to incorporate data from a wide range of popular apps, though most are notably more fitness related. For example, the app connects to MyFitnessPal, RunKeeper, Strava, Withings, Lose It, and more.
- Automatic is automatic -- Drive data from Automatic is synced automatically with the Jawbone Up app. - Integrated travel -- See your walking and driving compiled in one place. Discover the impact that walking to work once a week has on your fitness. - Share with friends -- Automatic trip summaries can be shared with other Jawbone Up users. - Prevent road rage -- Jawbone Up tracks your mood and diet. Compare this to the time spent in the car each day and routes traveled to see what makes you happiest. - iPhone or Android -- The Automatic Jawbone integration works on both iOS and Android
Using the Automatic with the Jawbone UP will require both pieces of hardware. The Automatic can be purchased from the Automatic website for $99.95, while the Jawbone UP is available from the Jawbone website starting at $129.99. The UP by Jawbone app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Apple's next generation iPhone 6 may adopt a higher resolution display, jumping from the current iPhone 5s resolution of 1136 x 640 to a sharper 1704 x 960 resolution, reports 9to5Mac. On the rumored 4.7-inch model, this would result in a display with 416 ppi and the same 16:9 ratio of the iPhone 5/5s/5c, while a 5.5-inch model at the same resolution would carry a density of 356 ppi.
With Apple's rumored move to larger displays in the iPhone 6, much discussion has been centered around what resolution Apple will use and how any changes would affect developers. Some speculation had suggested Apple might simply maintain the same resolution as on the iPhone 5s, making a seamless transition for developers. This stretch process would, however, drop the pixel density of the display below Apple's criteria for a "Retina" display.
Alternatively, Apple could boost the resolution to maintain or increase the pixel density, although this move would require work from app developers to maintain compatibility with the new devices. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested last month that Apple would maintain the current 326 ppi density, which could be achieved by bumping a 4.7-inch display to 1334 x 750, and we previously explored how that might work.
But according to 9to5Mac, Apple may adopt an even higher-resolution display that triples the base number of pixels of the iPhone screen in both length and width. This "3x" mode would take the base "1x" resolution of 568 x 320 and expand it to 1704 x 960. Using this method, Apple would retain the Retina branding at 416 ppi and keep the current 16:9 ratio of the iPhone 5/5s/5c.
This means that Apple will likely be tripling the aforementioned “base resolution” (568 x 320) of the iPhone screen in both directions, and that the iPhone screen resolution will be scaled with an increase of 150% from the current 2X resolution of 1136 x 640. Of course, Apple tests several different iPhones and display technologies, so it is possible that Apple chooses to take another route for display specifications for the 2014 iPhone upgrade.
Apple has allegedly been testing this 1704 x 960 resolution and while the design specs for the iPhone 6 are undoubtedly complete, it is not known for sure if Apple has elected to proceed with this resolution. Apple may be preparing to launch the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 sometime this fall with a faster A8 processor and improved camera technology.
Following the leak of a simple case for the rumored 5.5-inch iPhone 6, Nowhereelse.fr today pointed to [Google Translate] a pair of posts on Rocket News 24 sharing photos of a physical mockup of the larger iPhone 6 model alongside an iPhone 5s. While there have been numerous renderings, cases, and physical mockups of the rumored 4.7-inch iPhone 6 in recent weeks, this is one of the first comparison shots of the 5.5-inch version.
The resin-based mockup was printed on a MakerBot Replicator 2 3D Printer using design drawings published earlier this year by MacFan. The comparisons show just how much larger the 5.5-inch device is than the iPhone 5s, with the mockup measuring 157 mm in length, 77 mm in width and just 6.7 mm in thickness. It is longer and wider than the iPhone 5s (123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm), but has a thinner profile that matches more closely to the iPod touch fifth generation (123.4 x 58.6 x 6.1 mm).
The mockup adopts the iPod touch-style curved edges, which are markedly different from the hard corners of the iPhone 5s, and elongated volume buttons. Unlike previous high-quality mockups of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 model, this mockup is relatively crude, providing few details beyond the basic form factor.
Apple is rumored to be preparing a 4.7-inch version of the iPhone 6 for release in the fall, while the 5.5-inch version may debut several months later due to production issues that may have delayed its release.
GBA4iOS, the popular Game Boy emulator for iOS, has been removed by its creator Riley Testut on GitHub after Nintendo filed a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown request, reportsThe Next Web. First sharing the news through his Twitter, Testut stated that the emulator will continue to function normally on iOS devices, as in-app ROM downloads will be "temporarily suspended."
GBA4iOS saw its last major update in February, which added iPad support, controller skins, iOS 7 controller support, Dropbox integration, and an in-app web browser that could used to download Game Boy games from any ROM website. The emulator was also notable for bypassing Apple's App Store restrictions as it could be installed directly on an iOS device by visiting the project's official website and tapping a download link.
Traditionally, Apple has taken a strict stance on emulators in the App Store, which has caused apps like GBA4iOS to seek alternative methods for user downloads. For instance, open emulators such as iMAME and iDOS have made their way onto the App Store only to be pulled a short time later likely because of potential legal issues.
Despite the removal of GBA4iOS, the 'NDS4iOS' Nintendo DS emulator for iOS devices released last month remains available on its respective web page. However, it is unknown if Nintendo will file a similar takedown notice in efforts to prevent potential piracy.
Apple will look to restrict vacation days for its German retail employees this September ahead of a likely launch for the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and other products, reports German site iFun.de (Google Translate). The move will likely also be enacted at the company's other stores across the globe, and follows a similar move last year in which Apple restricted vacation time for AppleCare employees from September 15 to 28 for the launches of the iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, and iOS 7 in that time period.
The majority of rumors throughout the past few months have indicated a September release for the 4.7-inch iPhone 6, with the larger 5.5-inch version of the device to launch towards the end of the year or in early 2015 due to productionissues. However, this latest report contrasts a rumor from earlier this month that stated Apple will launch the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 in August and the larger 5.5-inch version in September, which would be a different strategy compared to past iPhone launches that have traditionally come in the fall for the past three years.
In addition to a larger display, Apple's next-generation iPhone is said to feature a thinner profile, a faster A8 processor, and an upgraded rear-facing camera in the form of either optical or electronic image stabilization.
The report also gives an update on the progress of Apple's upcoming retail store in Hanover, Germany, which is now on track to open sometime this fall. A previous report in March estimated that the store would open sometime in April, however multiple structural problems and mold have resulted in a delay for Apple's move into the location. When the store eventually opens, the location will mark Apple's 14th in the country, following stores in Düsseldorf, Berlin, and Frankfurt.
Apple saw its share of the Japanese mobile phone market rise to 36.6% in the first quarter of 2014 amid surging sales on the country's largest carrier, NTT DoCoMo, reportsBloomberg. The company shipped 14.43 million phones in Japan in the past fiscal year and saw its market share increase 11.1% from 25.5% in the year-ago quarter.
Apple's market share in the country was followed by Sharp and Sony, which accounted for 13% and 12.3% of the market, respectively. Rival Samsung owned the sixth-biggest market share with 5.7%.
The debut of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c on NTT DoCoMo last Fall marked the first time that Apple's phones were offered on the carrier. Citing the absence of the iPhone, a report last July pointed to a loss of 3.2 million users for NTT DoCoMo over the last four and a half years. DoCoMo's troubles continued in September with a record loss of 66,800 subscribers, which was attributed to a lack of iPhone 5s stock.
Since then however, DoCoMo has enjoyed surging sales of the iPhone, as Apple's device now accounts for more than 40% of phone sales on the network. Last October, the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c also accounted for 76% of smartphone sales in Japan, marking a record high.
All three major Japanese carriers including DoCoMo, SoftBank, and KDDI have been offering the iPhone 5s free on contract through special offers since its launch in September.
One of the side effects of the tremendous popularity of iPhones and iPads has been the counterfeit Apple product market, which looks to lure in consumers who want to purchase items like chargers for less money than Apple's official offerings.
Apple's official iPad charger (left) vs counterfeit (right).
He compared the differences between Apple's real $19 iPad charger and a $3 he found on eBay. While they look exactly the same on the outside, he found major differences on the inside. Apple's charger is crammed full of bigger, higher quality components while the counterfeit has low-quality components and more space. Another difference was a safety measure:
One safety difference is obvious: the Apple charger has much more insulation. The upper (high-voltage) half is wrapped in yellow insulating tape. Some components are encased in shrink tubing, there are plastic insulators between some components, and some wires have extra insulation. The counterfeit charger only has minimal insulation.
Flipping the boards over reveals another obvious safety difference: Apple's charger includes red insulating tape while the counterfeit does not. One not-so-obvious difference is the space between high and low voltage currents running through the boards. While Apple's charger includes a safe 4mm separation between the two, the counterfeit only features a 0.6mm separation. Shirriff notes this means a simple drop of condensation could cause the charger to zap the user.
Another key difference is the power output. Apple's charger outputs 10W at a steady rate while the counterfeit outputs 5.9W with frequent spikes, which means that Apple's charger charges the iPad quicker with a higher quality of energy.
Shirriff goes into far greater detail with extensive images and graphs detailing the specific differences between Apple's real iPad charger and the counterfeit. The full comparison is available on his blog. Users who believe they have a counterfeit charger may take part in Apple's third-party charger takeback program.
Apple has published its iOS Human Interface Guidelines to iBooks. The guidelines are Apple's recommendations and suggestions to developers for designing cohesive and usable apps that follow similar user interface principles to other iOS applications.
The company has long offered user interface guidelines, dating back to the original Macintosh, but has recently only offered its iOS 7 guidelines on the Developer Portal. By making them available to anyone via iBooks, the company appears to be looking to inform and inspire more designers.
An excerpt from the book:
Designing for iOS 7
iOS 7 embodies the following themes:
- Deference. The UI helps users understand and interact with the content, but never competes with it. - Clarity. Text is legible at every size, icons are precise and lucid, adornments are subtle and appropriate, and a sharpened focus on functionality motivates the design. - Depth. Visual layers and realistic motion impart vitality and heighten users’ delight and understanding.
Whether you’re redesigning an existing app or creating a new one, consider approaching the job in the way that Apple approached the redesign of the built-in apps:
- First, strip away the UI to expose the app’s core functionality and reaffirm its relevance. - Next, use the themes of iOS 7 to inform the design of the UI and the user experience. Restore details and embellishments with care and never gratuitously. - Throughout, be prepared to defy precedent, question assumptions, and let a focus on content and functionality motivate every design decision.
Tim Cook's second CharityBuzz auction, for a one hour lunch meeting with Cook at Apple's Cupertino headquarters, ended today at $330,001. Bids for this year's auction were quite a bit more reserved than the coffee charity meeting Cook auctioned last year, which brought in $610,000.
The money earned from the auction will benefit the RFK Center for Justice & Human Rights, a charity that aims to achieve "a just and peaceful world by partnering with human rights leaders, teaching social justice and advancing corporate responsibility."
The winner of the auction will be able to meet with Tim Cook for approximately one hour at Apple's Cupertino campus, on a "mutually agreed upon date." The cost of the meal is included, but travel to Cupertino must be paid by the auction winner.
On May 10, Tim Cook added an additional benefit for the auction winner -- a VIP guest spot at an upcoming Apple event, announced on Twitter.
Following multiple shill bids last year, CharityBuzz implemented a credit card authorization requirement for all bidding customers, a policy that may explain why this year's auction was ultimately less popular with bidders.
Apple today updated its professional audio software Logic Pro X to version 10.0.7, adding support for 24 processing threads on 12-core Mac Pro models along with several new features to enhance the functionality of the app and an array of bug fixes.
What's new
- Now supports 24 processing threads on 12-core Mac Pro models - The current volume, pan, and send values for all selected tracks can now be inserted at the playhead position - Enabling Low Latency Mode no longer creates sync issues for Drummer, Ultrabeat, Native Instruments Machine and other plug-ins with integrated step sequencers - Automation can now be copied and pasted to any location using the Marquee tool - Adds an option for MIDI volume and pan data to control the instrument plug-in instead of the channel strip - Resolves several snap and alignment guide issues - Various fixes that improve XML import and export with Final Cut Pro X - Contains multiple enhancements to Accessibility
Apple is facing a complaint from the Norwegian Consumer Council over the terms and conditions for its iCloud service, reports 
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