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
Apple Stops Airing 'Genius' Ads on Olympic Television Broadcasts
Late last month during the Opening Ceremonies for the Summer Olympics, Apple debuted a series of three ads focused on an "Apple Genius" helping customers in unusual situations. The ads received a relatively poor reception, with some observers objecting to the portrayal of customers as clueless and others simply not finding the ads as humorous as they were clearly intended to be.
While Apple ...
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iOS 6 Beta 4 Removes Dedicated YouTube App [Updated]
As noted by several users in our forum, Apple's new iOS 6 Beta 4 just released to developers removes the dedicated YouTube app that has been included on the iPhone operating system since its launch in 2007.
The reason for the removal is unclear, although speculation naturally turns to the strained relationship between Apple and Google. Aside from YouTube, Apple's iOS 6 contains another...
Apple Seeds iOS 6 Beta 4 to Developers
We're receiving numerous report that Apple today released the fourth beta of iOS 6, the company's next-generation mobile operating system set to launch "this fall", presumably alongside new iPhone hardware with an official announcement at Apple's September 12 media event.
As with previous builds, the new one is arriving as an over-the-air update first, and it is generating some confusion since ...
Apple's Smaller Dock Connector Reportedly Coming to Entire iOS Device Lineup Including iPad This Fall
iMore, which was the first source to report that Apple will be moving to a smaller dock connector with the launch of the next-generation iPhone, now claims that Apple will be moving its entire lineup of iOS devices to the new connector later this year. This includes the current 9.7-inch iPad, which was just updated in March.iMore has learned that Apple intends to update their entire lineup of...
AT&T's 'Mobile Share' Service Plans Launching August 23
Last month, AT&T announced that it would join Verizon in offering shared data plans including unlimited talk and text on phone while allowing users to share their monthly data allotments across multiple devices. The plans are structured with two basic components: a monthly cost for a data allotment and a per-device charge that varies from $10 to $45 depending on the type of device and the data...
Claimed SIM Tray for Next-Generation iPhone Points to Nano-SIM Standard
In line with recent claims that European carriers have been stockpiling nano-SIMs with some carriers even working with Apple to test the new, smaller cards ahead of the next-generation iPhone launch, Nowhereelse.fr shares [Google translation] a set of comparison photos showing what is claimed to be a nano-SIM tray for the next iPhone next to the current micro-SIM tray used in the iPhone 4S. If...
Eddy Cue Worked to Convince Steve Jobs of Need for 7-Inch iPad in Early 2011
Back in October 2010, Steve Jobs appeared on an Apple earnings conference call to address the Android-based iPad competitors that were just then coming to the market. With the majority of those tablets carrying 7-inch displays, Jobs noted that the screens were only 45% as large as the iPad's and that Apple believed the iPad's 9.7-inch display was the minimum necessary for an acceptable user...
Sketchy Photos of Claimed 'iPad Mini' Rear Shell Show No Camera Hole
Apple.pro points [Google translation] to several images posted to Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo showing what is claimed to be the rear shell of the "iPad mini". We certainly can not speak definitively to the authenticity of the images, and anything posted randomly to a microblogging site is clearly suspect until additional supporting evidence is discovered, but we have elected to share...
Phil Schiller on History of the iPhone, Advertising, and Market Research
Phil Schiller is currently on the witness stand in the trial of Apple versus Samsung, and Apple's marketing chief is offering a bit of insight into the history of the iPhone, making the argument that Apple revolutionized the smartphone industry with its contributions. AllThingsD has a summary of Schiller's comments, which reveal Apple's wide-ranging thoughts on what project to pursue following...
Detailed Photo and Video Comparison of iPhone 4S and 'iPhone 5' Front Panels
iPhone parts company ETrade Supply posts a detailed comparison [via iPhoneinCanada.ca] of the front panels of the iPhone 4S and what has been claimed to be the next-generation "iPhone 5". As with numerous other leaks, the new front panel shows a taller display and the FaceTime camera being moved to above the earpiece.
The blog post contains a number of images and a nearly 7-minute video...
Apple Designer on Why Curved Glass and Extruded Aluminum iPhone Designs Were Rejected
With court documents in the ongoing legal dispute between Apple and Samsung having yielded a remarkable number of design concepts and prototypes from the development of the iPhone and iPad, Network World has taken a look at testimony that explains why Apple rejected some of the ideas. The testimony comes from Doug Satzger, who spent 12 years in industrial design at Apple before moving on to Palm ...
Apple Requests Sanctions Against Samsung Delivering Default Victory in Design Patent Case
The ongoing court case between Apple and Samsung over alleged patent and design infringement has continued to take strange and interesting turns, with Samsung having been chided earlier this week for publicly releasing evidence that it had already been barred from presenting in court. But in taking its case to the media, Samsung raised the ire of the judge overseeing the case and caused Apple to ...
Aerial Photos of Recent Work at Apple's North Carolina Data Center
Several weeks ago, we noted that Apple was already undertaking a minor expansion of its massive data center in Maiden, North Carolina, having received permits for a roughly 20,000 square-foot "tactical data center" located adjacent to the existing 500,000 square-foot facility.
Wired has now obtained aerial photos of the site taken earlier this week, showing not only the new tactical data...
iPad Outnumbers Samsung Tablets 7-to-1 in 2Q 2012 Shipments
Last week, we pointed to tablet estimates for the second quarter of 2012 from research firm Strategy Analytics, results that shows Apple continuing to dominate the tablet market with 68% of shipments during the quarter. Google's Android platform accounted for most of the remaining shipments, taking 29% of the market.
Worldwide Tablet Shipments in 2Q12 in Millions of Units (Source: IDC)
IDC ...
Apple Researching iPad Smart Covers with Secondary Displays, Keyboards, Solar Cells
Engadget points to a newly-filed patent application from Apple showing ideas for a significantly enhanced iPad Smart Cover that could contain such features as a secondary display, a keyboard, and power collectors in the form of solar cells or RF energy antennas.An accessory device that is arranged to communicate with a host device by way of a communication channel is claimed. The host device...
Retina MacBook Pro Shipping Estimates Improve to 5-7 Business Days
Just a day after Apple added new build-to-order configuration options to the low-end Retina MacBook Pro, shipping estimates have improved from 1-2 weeks to 5-7 business days in the company's online stores. The faster turnaround time is showing up in the company's online stores in the Americas, and should spread to its Asia-Pacific and European distribution channels shortly.
Shipping...
Sharp President Confirms Shipments of Displays for New iPhone this Month
Reuters reports that Sharp president Takashi Okuda today made a rare public reference to an unreleased Apple device, acknowledging that his company will begin shipping displays for the next-generation iPhone this month.Japan's Sharp Corp. said it will start shipping screens destined for a new Apple iPhone that is widely expected to be released in October ahead of the pre-Christmas shopping...
Apple-Twitter Talks Focused on Product Partnership, More iTunes Integration Likely
Late last week, The New York Times reported that Apple and Twitter had had discussions "in recent months" about Apple making a significant investment of several hundred million dollars in Twitter, but The Wall Street Journal and other sources moved quickly to downplay the rumor with claims that the talks had taken place over a year ago and did not lead to any serious consideration of an...
Apple Officially Ends MobileMe Transition and Shuts Down iWork.com
Yesterday, we noted that Apple was preparing to close the door completely on its MobileMe service, bringing to an end the grace period that had allowed users to retrieve their Gallery photos and iDisk files and to transition their accounts to iCloud following the June 30 shutdown of the service.
As of today, visitors to MobileMe.com are no longer given the option to convert their accounts to...
Key Apple Chip Designer Jim Keller Returns to AMD
AMD today announced the return of Jim Keller, who has spent the past four years as a director in the platform architecture group at Apple after joining the company as part of the 2008 acquisition of P.A. Semi.
Keller, who previously was a key contributor to AMD's Athlon 64 and Opteron 64 projects before moving on to positions at other companies, will be returning to the company as corporate...
