MacRumors

Apple today released the fourth beta of iOS 7.1 to registered developers for testing purposes, following the release of the third iOS 7.1 beta at the beginning of this month. The update has a build number of 11D5134c and is available via an over-the-air update or through Apple’s developer center website.

The last version of iOS 7 available to the public, iOS 7.0.4, was released back in November. There are still several known issues for Apple's engineers to address, so iOS 7.1 will likely not be released to the public without at least one more round of beta testing.

Today's update also includes Xcode 5.1 Developer Preview 4 and a new version of the Apple TV beta software. Earlier today, it was rumored that Apple would soon be releasing the next beta of iOS 7.1.

While there were a wide array of UI tweaks in Beta 3, it appears that Beta 4 focuses much more on behind-the-scenes changes. The only UI change our readers have been able to find so far is a modest tweak to the Slide to Unlock animation to make it "shinier".

Apple may be close to releasing iOS 7.1 beta 4 to developers, according to a report by BGR. The new beta is reportedly in the hands of testing partners and is slated to be released to developers as soon as tomorrow. The beta will be the fourth of a reported six planned developer builds for iOS 7.1.

We are told there are various fixes in this latest version, including fixing keyboard issues, problems with the contacts app, more changes to the phone UI, and other changes. We have heard from sources that with iOS 7.1, Apple is working very hard to address some large memory bugs and other issues in iOS 7 that have caused crashes and restarts for a lot of people. Additionally, iOS 7.1 should help unify iOS 7 better graphically, with various user interface updates across the entire system and in apps for a more cohesive feel.

BGR has a bit of a hit-or-miss track record when it comes to predicting iOS releases, but the timing for a new iOS 7 beta release makes sense. Apple tends to release new beta versions every few weeks, and tomorrow would be two weeks since the release of iOS 7.1 beta 3. It should be noted that the build number mentioned by BGR for the fourth beta, 11D5127c, is actually for the current iOS 7.1 beta 3. A possible typo, however, doesn't invalidate the entire rumor, and therefore it remains plausible that the beta 4 is still in the pipleline for a developer release tomorrow.

According to a report [Google Translate of cached version] from Korean publication Digital Daily that was published and then pulled (via G 4 Games), Apple has inked a deal with LG to provide flexible, plastic OLED displays for the company's iWatch product. LG is allegedly the sole supplier of the 1.52-inch panels for Apple's rumored smart watch device.

LG is said to be starting mass production of these flexible panels starting in July 2014 with an initial target volume of 2 million units, and Apple chose these panels because they are thin, light, and provide adequate brightness with minimal power consumption, insiders claim. LG introduced the display technology in early 2013 and incorporated the panel in its curved LG G Flex smartphone, which was unveiled in October of last year.

Besides a flexible display, other rumors have suggest the iWatch will be launched in the second half of 2014 with wireless charging as a possible feature. OLED has been a commonly rumored technology for the iWatch, but other sources have pointed to different display sizes for the device, including the possibility of separate sizes in the 1.3-inch and 1.6-inch ranges for men and women.

Apple is said to be continuing to work through issues with battery life, display technology, and manufacturing on the iWatch, with the device said to feature biosensors and mapping features and run a "full" version of iOS.

The reason for the removal of today's report about the claimed deal with LG is unclear, and with no rumor track record for Digital Daily it is difficult to assess the reliability of the claims.

Shipping estimates for new orders of stock configurations of the redesigned Mac Pro have now moved to March in many of Apple's online stores around the world.

The change in shipping estimates does not necessarily reflect a worsening supply situation given that estimates have been listed at "February" essentially since launch last month, but they do indicate that Apple is not making up significant ground as lead times appear to be remaining in the six-week range.

The new March shipping estimates are in effect for stock and build-to-order configurations throughout Apple's online stores for Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific (APAC) operational regions. Estimates in Apple's stores for the Americas remain at February for the time being.

Update: As of January 21, Mac Pro shipping estimates in the United States, Mexico, and Canada have also slipped to March.

Previous rumors hinted that Samsung's next flagship device would leapfrog the iPhone 5s with new iris scanning technology, but that rumor may be inaccurate. A recent report from The Korea Herald claims the Korean handset maker instead is working on fingerprint sensor technology for its upcoming flagship Galaxy S5 phone.

"Among the different types of biometric sensors that Samsung is testing for its Galaxy S5, the tech giant will go for fingerprint authentication rather than unintuitive user experience of iris recognition," said an industry source who declined to be named.

"Who would want to put their handset up close to their eyes for authentication in places like movie theaters and bed, or even while they are driving?," the industry source added.

Samsung Vice President Lee Young-hee said in a recent Bloomberg interview that the company was looking into the possibility of using an iris scanner, but can't confirm that the technology would be incorporated into the Galaxy S5.

“Many people are fanatical about iris recognition technology. We are studying the possibility but can’t really say whether we will have it or not on the S5.”

The Korea Herald report cites industry sources who claim the iris scanning technology would provide an unfamiliar and uncomfortable user experience. It also is technically challenging as it would require a long-range camera, in addition to a rear camera and a front-facing camera. The inclusion of three camera modules would force Samsung to redesign both the internal layout and form factor of its Galaxy S phones.

Apple has also been rumored to be working on iris scanning functionality, but industry insiders predict it will take several years before a single camera module will be able to serve dual functions as a front-facing camera and an iris scanner. In the interim, manufacturers like Samsung are expected to adopt display-wide fingerprint scanners that would unlock a phone by allowing a user to tap on the screen. Apple has revealed its own interest in such technology, including the ability to turn display areas corresponding to app icons such as those for banking or email apps into fingerprint sensors.

Apple will announce its quarterly earnings for fiscal Q1 2014 next week on January 27, 2014, and in advance of the earnings report both professional and amateur analysts are releasing their iPhone sales estimates for the holiday quarter. Apple had two new iPhones, the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c, in its product lineup during the quarter, and supply of the phones was fairly strong after some significant early shortages of the iPhone 5s.

As reported by Philip Elmer-Dewitt of Fortune, the iPhone sales consensus among 27 professionals and 17 amateurs is a record 55.3 million units, up 16% from fiscal Q1 2013 when Apple set its current record of 47.8 million units. The average sales estimate among amateurs was 57.1 million units, while professionals were slightly lower with 54.1 million.

Estimates for the quarter are relatively narrow, with only 9.7 million units separating the highest individual estimate of 59.73 million from Faizal Kara of the The Braeburn Group from the lowest estimate of 50 million by Ilari Scheinin, also of The Braeburn Group. This differs from last year when the gap between the highest and lowest estimates was 20 million.

Results for the iPad also are expected to be strong, as Apple introduced two new iPads early in the quarter and dropped the price on the original iPad mini. Early indicators from Black Friday and Christmas Day suggest sales of the iPad Air and iPad mini were robust. Sales of the Retina iPad mini likely trailed the other iPad models as supply was constrained for the first few weeks after the device's launch. Apple does not, however, break down sales by model in its official announcement, so there will not be any definitive information about which models were most popular among consumers.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata stated in a press conference that the company is now considering a "new business structure" that involves smart devices, reports Bloomberg.

The news comes as Nintendo reported a third consecutive annual loss, slashing the global sales forecast for its flagship Wii U game console from 9 million units to 2.8 million consoles. The company also scaled back its expectations for its 3DS portable game console from 18 million units to 13.5 million, with Iwata also claiming that there are no short term plans to reshuffle management.

"We are thinking about a new business structure," Iwata said at a press conference yesterday in Osaka, Japan. "Given the expansion of smart devices, we are naturally studying how smart devices can be used to grow the game-player business. It’s not as simple as enabling Mario to move on a smartphone."

Nintendo has faced fierce competition from mobile platforms in recent years, with App Annie recently finding that consumer spending on games for iOS and Android rose to 4x that of dedicated gaming handhelds. In 2010, Iwata reportedly told his senior executives to regard Apple and its devices as "the enemy of the future", and also stated to CVG last August that he would "never think about providing [Nintendo’s] precious resources for other platforms at all."

Investors have also called for Nintendo to develop titles for iOS and other platforms in August 2011 after lower-than-expected demand for the 3DS. Alternatively, some also suggested that Nintendo should "buy its way into" the smartphone platforms by acquiring companies and technology or developing their own. Iwata's newest comments reveal that Nintendo is now seriously considering supporting smartphones in some manner.

With Apple CEO Tim Cook suggesting that Apple will use its skills building software, hardware, and services to create "great products" in product categories that Apple does not currently participate in, the company is making a number of potentially significant hires related to the development of next-generation medical sensors.

According to a report from 9to5Mac, Apple has hired a pair of personal health sensor hardware experts in recent months.

Apple recently hired Nancy Dougherty as a hardware engineer, according to her LinkedIn page. Dougherty was previously a hardware developer at Sano Intelligence, a biosensor startup that was profiled by The New York Times back in 2012.

According to a Google cache of her LinkedIn page -- the current page reads slightly differently, with less detail about the projects she worked on -- Dougherty worked on a hardware product to monitor blood chemistry via a wearable device.

Hardware Lead
Sano Intelligence
November 2012 – December 2013 (1 year 2 months) San Francisco Bay Area

- Hardware Lead in a very early stage company designing a novel system to continuously monitor blood chemistry via microneedles in the interstitial fluid. Brought system from conception through development and board spins to a functioning wearable pilot device.
- Solely responsible for electrical design, testing, and bring-up as well as system integration; managing contractors for layout, assembly, and mechanical systems
- Building laboratory data collection systems and other required electrical and mechanical systems to support chemical development

Before working at Sano, Dougherty worked at Proteus Digital Health on a "Bluetooth-enabled electronic "Band-Aid" that monitors heart rate, respiration, motion, and temperature".

Separately, Apple hired Ravi Narasimhan away from Vital Connect, a biosensor technology firm where he was "responsible for biosensor technology and algorithms for remote physiological monitoring with wearable medical devices". His devices could process a number of functions including heart monitoring, respiration, fall detection, posture and activity. He has been prolific writer, with a number of papers published in technical journals and he is listed as an inventor in dozens of patents.

Both Dougherty and Narasimhan have electrical engineering degrees from Stanford. Last year, Apple made a number of other hires related to the health sensor field and 9to5Mac says both have joined the iWatch team.

Aside from the hires, 9to5Mac reports that Apple is actively investigating iris scanning technology and is looking at using other sensors already built into the iPhone, like the accelerometer and compass, to improve facial recognition. Apple increased the iPhone's security significantly with the addition of the Touch ID sensor in the iPhone 5s.

Adobe's professional editing software Lightroom may soon make its way to the iPad, according to a product listing on Adobe's website that appeared briefly before being pulled. The mobile software was listed with a $99 cloud subscription, to be renewed on a yearly basis.

Originally discovered by 9to5Mac, Adobe's tagline for Lightroom for mobile is "Take Lightroom anywhere," and according to an Adobe support employee, the software has been designed for the iPad and includes many of the same features found in the desktop version of Lightroom.

Like Apple's own Aperture software, Lightroom is designed for post production work, allowing its users to edit and manage high volumes of digital images.

Lightroom for mobile devices has been in the works for several months now, and back in May of 2013, Adobe demonstrated a concept for a Lightroom-style photo editing app for the iPad.

The app was cloud-based, and while it was designed to serve as a companion app to the full Lightroom software, it did offer features for on-the-go photo editing. In the demo, the app was able to edit raw photos imported from a camera, implementing changes to exposure, clarity, shadows, highlights, and white balance.

Changes made within the app synced with the desktop version of Lightroom, allowing the same photos to be edited on desktop computers, laptops, and on the iPad. Based on the reoccurring subscription fees for Lightroom mobile listed above, it is likely that the finished product works in much the same way, storing photos and edits in the cloud.

In May of 2013, Adobe abandoned its standard Creative Suite of apps, electing instead to offer cloud-based versions of all its apps. Lightroom 5 was later released in June of 2013 and offered both standalone and as a part of the Creative Cloud service.

It is likely that the upcoming Lightroom for iPad will be able to sync with both versions of the software and it is possible that it will be included for free to Creative Cloud subscribers that pay for Adobe's full suite of software.

Though it is unknown when Lightroom for iPad might launch, its brief appearance on the Adobe website suggests that a release is imminent.

Many early and late–2011 MacBook Pro owners with discrete graphics cards seem to be experiencing GPU failures and system crashes on their machines. In addition to several tips received by MacRumors, there's a lengthy thread on the issue on the Apple Support Communities, a Facebook group, and many reports of trouble on our own forums.

It appears that the MacBooks, first released on February 28, 2011, are displaying screen glitches primarily during graphics-intensive work or games. MacBook owners have noted visible striations and image distortion or an entirely blank screen, which can often be temporarily fixed with a reboot.

Along with graphical issues, MacBook Pro owners are also seeing frequent reboots to a gray screen. Apple has several suggestions for customers seeing a gray screen, including booting into safe mode and reinstalling OS X, which has not managed to solve the problem for MacBook Pro owners experiencing issues.

Apple has done logic board replacements in some cases for affected users, but reports indicate that the issue has reoccured after a logic board replacement as well. It is unclear why the MacBook Pros are experiencing problems, but Apple forum users have speculated that it could be heat related.

The issue appears to affect 15 and 17-inch MacBook Pros that have discrete graphics cards. All of the 2011 MacBooks use AMD cards, including the AMD Radeon HD 6490M, the AMD Radeon HD 6750M (both 512MB/1GB variants) and the AMD Radeon HD 6770M.

Mid–2011 iMacs with AMD Radeon HD 6970 graphics cards experienced similar failures and in August of 2013, Apple initiated a Graphics Card Replacement Program for the computers, replacing the graphics cards of affected iMacs at no cost.

Apple's long-awaited store in Brisbane, Australia finally opened its doors to customers today. The flagship store was announced in 2011, but problems with contractors and the historical nature of the site delayed completion.

Customers started waiting in line almost 15 hours before the store was schedule to open its doors at 10 AM local time, with many hoping to score one of the limited edition Brisbane store T-shirts that were handed out. The dedicated fans were allowed in by exuberant store employees who greeted them with high-fives and cheers. Store leader Jonny Walker told PerthNow that he is proud of what Apple has done with the historic site.

"We are so proud of this store at Apple, it's got a stunning space now and we're really extremely proud to call it our home. When we took over the store a lot of the original historic elements were missing or in disrepair. What we've done is we've painstakingly restored it to its original glory."

The store is located within the impressive MacArthur Chambers building, which was General Douglas MacArthur's South West Pacific headquarters for the Allies during World War II. The new retail space occupies the entire bottom floor of the building. It includes 200 display units and is staffed by over 100 employees, says a report by Brisbane Times, which toured the location before it opened.

(Thanks, David!)

As outlined in our feature highlighting Apple's possible product plans for 2014, a number of rumors have suggested Apple may be working on a 12.9-inch iPad model that could launch later this year. The company is allegedly accelerating development on this device in response to Samsung's introduction of two competing 12.2-inch tablet models, with market sources cited by Digitimes claiming that Apple is now prepping the so-called "iPad Pro" for a late Q3 2014 launch at the earliest.

The claim that Apple's timeline is motivated by a perceived need to match Samsung's recent introductions seems doubtful given that Apple has routinely taken its time coming to market even in the face of competitors rushing to beat Apple to its own rumored products, but at a minimum the claimed launch target offers one more data point for those trying to predict a release. Some sources have predicted a launch as soon as early this year but such a timeline seems very unlikely given the absence of part leaks and other substantiating evidence.

Earlier reports suggested the 12.9-inch iPad Pro could be a hybrid device that would appeal to enterprise customers looking for a machine that bridges the gap between tablet and notebook. Based on display panels currently under development in the supply chain, research firm DisplaySearch believes that the iPad Pro could ship with a 12.9-inch Retina display with a resolution of 2732 x 2048 and 265 ppi.

Besides the iPad Pro, Digitimes' sources unsurprisingly also claim Apple is working on new 7.9-inch and 9.7-inch models to replace the current Retina iPad mini and iPad Air. These models will likely debut in Q3 2014, keeping with Apple's current late fall release schedule for the iPad. Demand for the iPad is expected to be strong again in 2014 with the company selling between 80 and 90 million units over the course of the year.

After nearly six years of negotiations, the iPhone is finally available on China Mobile, which is the largest mobile carrier in the world with around 763 million subscribers. Apple CEO Tim Cook was on hand with China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua at the carrier's headquarters store in Beijing at launch, according to Bloomberg.

Tim Cook with China Mobile's Xi Guohua and a customer. Image via Eunice Yoon

Cook handed out autographed iPhones to the first few customers before he once again praised Apple's new cooperation with China Mobile.

“Today is just the beginning of China Mobile and Apple coming together to deliver the best experience in the world,” Cook said as a few dozen people came in to look at the iPhones on display. China Mobile said Jan. 15 it signed a multiyear agreement with Apple containing “broad potential” for future cooperation.

Cook was soon asked whether the next iPhone would launch with a bigger screen, and responded that Apple does not like talking about future projects, but that they are working on "great things" and want to keep them secret because "you will be so much happier when you see it."

China Mobile is focused on attracting premium customers for the iPhone, Canalys analyst Nicole Peng told Bloomberg, because the carrier is concerned the high subsidy on the iPhone would impact their profitability. Fellow Chinese carrier China Telecom reported a 10 percent drop in net income in the first year of offering the iPhone, largely because of the higher subsidy.

On January 15, China Mobile said that 1 million iPhones had been pre-ordered in advance of launch. Estimates of Apple's potential iPhone sales have varied from 10-30 million units, with some claiming demand is lower due to satisfaction with China's other two carriers China Telecom and China Unicom as well as waning interest in iPhone because of increased smartphone choices in the country.

Apple will begin offering in-store screen replacements or repairs for iPhone 5c displays next week, starting on Monday, January 20, according to 9to5Mac.

Apple has begun conducting iPhone 5c screen replacements in a small number of stores in the United States over the past couple of months, but the January 20th rollout will represent a full-scale launch in all of Apple’s retail regions aside from Hong Kong and Canada.

Broken displays that aren't covered under AppleCare+ will likely cost $149 per device to replace or repair, while displays that are covered under AppleCare+ are likely to cost $79 per device, similar to the pricing structure Apple employs for broken iPhone 5 displays.

In-store replacements/repairs for iPhone 5s displays are still in Apple's plans and are "coming soon", though are not expected to roll out next week alongside iPhone 5c replacements/repairs. The moves are part of Apple's larger shift to lower repair costs.

T-Mobile will expand its recently introduced "Un-Carrier 4.0" initiative, which saw the company offering to pay up to $350 in early termination fees for Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T customers who switched to T-Mobile. As part of the expansion, first detailed by Re/code, T-Mobile will pay the same contract termination fees for customers currently with U.S. Cellular and a dozen other small regional carriers.

T-Mobile also has plans to entice additional customers by accepting a larger number of handsets for trade-in, including damaged phones, albeit for a lower trade-in credit.

"This is not just a promotion," T-Mobile marketing chief Mike Sievert told Re/code on Thursday. "What we are trying to do is bring an end to unfair one-way onerous contracts in this country."

First unveiled last week, T-Mobile's early termination deal pays up to $350 per line in fees for individuals and families with up to five lines who switch from their current carriers and trade in their phones to T-Mobile.

Under the terms of the program, customers have to leave their current carriers, trade in existing phones (T-Mobile offers up to $300 per trade-in), sign up for a new T-Mobile plan and port a phone number. After the above qualifications are met, customers can send the final bill from their previous carrier (with termination fees listed) to T-Mobile for reimbursement via prepaid MasterCard.

According to T-Mobile, upwards of 80,000 "break-up" letters have been shared on social media sites in the last week by customers leaving their carriers for T-Mobile and signups have increased as a result of the program.

Sonnet today announced the first Thunderbolt 2 expansion chassis, allowing owners of late 2013-era MacBook Pro and Mac Pro models to add two or three PCIe cards to their machines.

There are three new options, desktop and rack mount three-slot chassis, plus a two-slot desktop version.

The Echo Express III-D, Echo Express III-R, and Echo Express SE II incorporate ultra-fast Thunderbolt 2 technology, which delivers twice the throughput of 10 Gb/sec Thunderbolt and provides sufficient bandwidth to support many of the highest-performance and most-demanding PCIe cards. The new expansion chassis support every kind of Thunderbolt-compatible PCIe card available — enabling the use of professional video capture, audio interface, 16Gb and 8Gb Fibre Channel, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, SAS and SATA HBA, and RAID controller cards with Thunderbolt-enabled iMac®, Mac® mini, Mac Pro®, MacBook Air®, and MacBook Pro® computers. Plus, the Sonnet systems' dual Thunderbolt 2 ports support full-bandwidth connectivity with Thunderbolt 2-equipped host computers, full backward compatibility with 10 Gb/sec Thunderbolt-equipped computers and devices, and daisy-chaining of other Thunderbolt 2 and Thunderbolt devices.

Customers who purchased Thunderbolt 1 equipped expansion chassis can get free upgrades to the Thunderbolt 2 version. All the Thunderbolt 2 chassis are fully backwards-compatible with older Thunderbolt equipped Macs.

The desktop three-slot version is available for $979, the rack mount three-slot is $1,199, and the two-slot desktop is $499.