Eric Slivka
Eric is the Editor-in-Chief of MacRumors and has been writing for the site since 2008.
An avid swimmer and former biophysicist, Eric has been using Apple products for over 35 years and has been interviewed for pieces by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters, BBC, CNBC, and other publications.
Eric's current primary role involves day-to-day oversight of the editorial operations at MacRumors, but he also contributes occasional news and review articles while handling various other duties related to the site's operation.
An avid swimmer and former biophysicist, Eric has been using Apple products for over 35 years and has been interviewed for pieces by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reuters, BBC, CNBC, and other publications.
Eric's current primary role involves day-to-day oversight of the editorial operations at MacRumors, but he also contributes occasional news and review articles while handling various other duties related to the site's operation.
Eric Slivka's Articles
Sharp Catches Up on iPhone 5 Display Production
Back in late August, Reuters reported that Sharp had been experiencing low production yields on the iPhone 5 display, putting the company behind Apple's other two suppliers, Japan Display and LG Display.
MarketWatch now reports that Sharp has apparently ironed out its issues and has now begun shipping iPhone 5 displays into Apple's supply chain.Mass production of the screens for the iPhone 5,...
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Cricket and C Spire to Offer iPhone 5 Beginning September 28 [Updated]
While the three major U.S. iPhone carriers AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint will be launching the iPhone 5 on Friday, September 21, it will not take long for availability to extend to other carriers. Cricket Communications and C Spire Wireless have both announced that they will begin offering the iPhone 5 one week later on Friday, September 28.
Both of the carriers were pioneers in the U.S. iPhone ...
Panorama Photo Mode Coming to iPhone 4S with iOS 6
One of the highlighted features of the iPhone 5 during today's media event was a new Panorama mode for stitching together multiple photos to create a single large panoramic image up to 28 megapixels in size. As rumored yesterday, the feature is also included on the new fifth-generation iPod touch.
iSight camera specs for iPhone 5 (left) and iPhone 4S (right)
According to Apple's iPhone...
iPhone 5 Confirmed to Use New Nano-SIM Standard
As had been rumored and shown in leaked images, the iPhone 5 does indeed use the new Apple-backed nano-SIM standard that is 40% smaller than the micro-SIM standard found in the iPhone 4 and 4S. Apple did not mention the change during its media event, but the company has confirmed it in an iPhone model comparison.
The iPhone 5 appears to be the first device to use the new nano-SIM standard,...
Apple Details iPhone 5 LTE Carrier Compatibility
In order to help customers understand which iPhone 5 models will support LTE in which countries and on which carriers, Apple has posted a new guide outlining the three different model variants and their compatibility.
The North America-focused GSM model is compatible with LTE service on AT&T in the United States and Bell, Rogers and Telus in Canada. The CDMA model is compatible with LTE on...
iPhone 5 Logic Board Shows A6 Chip, Qualcomm MDM9615M LTE Modem, Hynix Flash
Late last month, a photo surfaced showing what was claimed to be the iPhone 5 logic board with an A6 chip prominently displayed. There were some questions about the validity of the photo, but now a new pair of photos posted by HDblog.it [Google translation] show in greater detail not only the A6 chip but also other chips included on the logic board.
Click for larger
Beyond the A6, the new...
Updated iTunes, iPod Touch, and iPod Nano Coming Alongside iPhone 5 Today
With Apple having prematurely confirmed the "iPhone 5" name in search results on its website, users have been scrambling to try to find evidence of additional announcements today. Several other press release links have been found indicating that Apple will be releasing an updated version of iTunes, as well as new iPod touch and iPod nano models.
One search pulls up results for both the iPhone ...
'iPhone 5' Name Prematurely Revealed on Apple's Site [Updated]
As noted by several MacRumors readers, searches for "iPhone-5" on Apple's site are currently yielding a number of search results revealing that Apple will indeed be calling the new iPhone the "iPhone 5". The results point to several currently-inactive iPhone 5 pages including the press release announcement and a "tips" page.
(Thanks, Johan!)
Update 6:45 AM: 9to5Mac has also spotted a...
iCloud Mail Outage Enters Second Day for Some Users
Just about 24 hours ago, we began receiving the first reports of users having difficulties accessing their iCloud mail. Apple acknowledged the outage on its iCloud system status page relatively soon afterward, but noted that the issue only affected about 1% of customers.
Unfortunately for that small fraction of users, the issue has become a relatively major one, as their outage is now...
Apple's New iOS Device Marketing: 'Lightning' Dock Connector, 'Earpod' Headphones, 'Loop' Accessory
9to5Mac shares some new details about Apple's updates planned for today, outlining some of the marketing terms the company appears to be using for aspects of its new devices. Among the details:
First, Apple is said to have been referring to its new dock connector as "Lightning" internally, and that branding is now said to be the public name for the feature as well. The term is suggestive of...
'Biggest Upgrade Ever' for iPod Touch to Bring New Colors, GPS, Camera Improvements?
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has released a last-minute research report outlining his expectations for the updated iPod touch said to be being introduced today alongside the iPhone 5. Calling the 2012 version of the iPod touch the "biggest upgrade ever" for the device, Kuo outlines a number of features he expects the new model to offer.
- New colors: Beyond the traditional black model...
Apple's Designers Clashing Over 'Tacky' Software Skeuomorphisms
Fast Company reports on ongoing internal strife at Apple over the company's use of software skeuomorphism, the inclusion of certain ornamental elements in a product that are carried over from previous tools addressing the same task for which the elements were required for functionality. Daring Fireball's John Gruber has linked to the article, noting that he has heard similar word of an "internal...
Apple Staffing Up for iPhone 5 Pre-orders Beginning on Morning of Friday, September 14?
Apple's policies for pre-orders of its popular iOS devices have varied over the years, with the iPhone 4S being scheduled for a 12:01 AM Pacific Time launch on the Friday following the media event, although Apple's pre-orders didn't actually begin until nearly 45 minutes after the appointed time.
Last month, iMore reported that pre-orders were scheduled to begin on the same day as the media...
Updated iPod Touch to Carry 1136x640 Display, 32-Nanometer A5 Chip?
In addition to his disclosure that the updated iPhone and iPod touch are likely to support a panorama photo mode, developer Will Strafach has also posted several Tweets sharing hardware details on the updated iPod touch.
According to Strafach, the updated iPod touch will carry a taller 1136x640 display, the same dimensions said to be coming to the iPhone 5 and in line with leaked photos from...
iPhone 5 and Updated iPod Touch to Support Panorama Photo Mode?
iOS developer Will Strafach posted a Tweet a few minutes ago stating that the iPhone 5 and the updated iPod touch reportedly due for introduction at tomorrow's media event will support a new panorama photo mode that will enable users to capture multiple photos that can be automatically stitched together into a single panoramic image.[iPod touch] also has that Panoramic photo feature enabled as...
New Photos Show 'iPad Mini' Physical Mockup in Hand
Over the past several weeks, a number of renderings and even physical mockups of Apple's rumored "iPad mini" have surfaced, offering a good idea of the device's size and appearance should the leaked specs being used by case makers prove accurate. While a number of the renderings and mockups have shown the iPad mini next to existing devices like the full-size iPad or iPhone, a new set of photos [G...
OS X 10.8.2 Restores Notebook Battery Life to OS X Lion Levels
Just over a month ago, Ars Technica reported that many users had noticed a significant decrease in battery life on their notebooks after upgrading from OS X Lion to OS X Mountain Lion. In its own testing, Ars Technica saw a 38% decrease in battery life following the upgrade.
The Mac Observer followed up with more extensive testing showing a similar 33% drop in battery life on a test machine...
T-Mobile USA Launches Effort to Attract 'Bring Your Own iPhone' Customers
While T-Mobile USA is preparing to refresh its employee training on "selling against the iPhone" later this month as Apple rolls out the iPhone 5, the carrier is also seeking to embrace those who already own an unlocked iPhone. T-Mobile today announced a new "Bring Your Own iPhone" initiative including demo iPhone units in its stores, new apps, and enhanced staff training to help iPhone owners...
Apple's Chief Patent Litigator Profiled as Samsung Threatens Lawsuits over iPhone 5
Bloomberg Businessweek publishes a profile of Noreen Krall, Apple's chief patent litigator handling the growing number of lawsuits and other disputes involving Apple, including the high-profile U.S. case that saw Apple win a $1 billion verdict against Samsung late last month. The article offers an interesting look at how Krall has managed to become one of the "masters of the chessboard" in...
Production of 13-Inch Retina MacBook Pro and Updated iMacs Reportedly Ramping Up
Late last month, NPD DisplaySearch analyst Richard Shim reported that suppliers had begun production on 2560x1600 display panels destined for a 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro. The machine has been rumored to be launching in October.
Digitimes now reports that full production on the 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro is underway with shipments from Apple's supply chain beginning to ramp up ahead of a...
