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
'Almost Bezel-Free' Redesign for iPad Mini Coming, but Still No Retina Until Early 2014?
In the wake of continuing reports suggesting that Apple's Retina iPad mini may not be ready to launch until early next year, Digitimes has now added its thoughts on the matter, claiming that Apple will be releasing a slightly redesigned non-Retina iPad mini later this year before launching the Retina iPad mini early next year. According to the report, the Retina iPad mini will see an...
Read Full Article • 121 comments
Apple Reportedly Signs Deal with Samsung for 14-nm A9 Chips Starting in 2015
The Korea Economic Daily reports that Apple and Samsung today officially signed an agreement that will see the two companies working together on future A-series chips for Apple's iOS devices, with the deal specifically covering A9 chips based on a 14-nanometer process node starting in 2015. The claim comes just weeks after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) confirmed a deal with Apple to...
Apple 'Aggressively' Hiring for Smart Watch Project, Looking Toward Late 2014 Launch
Financial Times reports that Apple is "aggressively" hiring new employees to help with its smart watch effort, suggesting that the company needs additional expertise to tackle the project's challenges. Sources also indicate that the "iWatch" may not appear until late next year, as has been previously rumored.The company has begun hiring “aggressively” for the project in recent weeks, say...
Apple Reportedly Buys Into a Chip Fab, Looking to Produce Its Own Chips
SemiAccurate reports that Apple is ramping up its efforts to control its own supply chain, seeking to produce its own chips and buying into a chip fabrication facility to accomplish that goal.Apple has just done something that SemiAccurate has been expecting for months and entered the fab industry. No we are not joking, Apple just bought into a fab, and not in a trivial way either.With the...
More Claims of No Retina iPad Mini Until Early 2014
Taiwan's Economic Daily News reports [Google translation] that shortages of Retina display panels for Apple's planned second-generation iPad mini have forced the company to push back its internal launch plans into early 2014. The company reportedly had been planning to launch the device during the fourth quarter of 2013, in time for the holiday shopping season. The report also appears to...
Verizon Could Face Up to $14 Billion in Unsold iPhone Purchase Commitments for 2013
Bloomberg yesterday reported on a research note from analyst Craig Moffett pointing out that Verizon could potentially face a massive bill from Apple of up to $14 billion this year based on current iPhone sales rates and the carrier's commitment to purchase a minimum number of iPhones from Apple.Under a multiyear deal signed with Apple in 2010, Verizon Wireless is obligated to buy $23.5 billion...
U.S. PC Shipments Continue to Slide in 2Q13 as Apple Lags Overall Market
Research firm Gartner today released its preliminary calculations of PC shipments for the second quarter of 2013, finding that worldwide shipments fell by 11% over the year-ago quarter, the fifth straight quarter of year-over-year declines. According to Gartner's numbers, the U.S. market held up significantly better than the global market, but still declined by 1.4%. Gartner continues to...
Enhanced Google Maps App with iPad Support 'Coming Soon'
At its Google I/O conference back in May, Google showed off enhancements to its mapping services, announcing an all-new desktop experience as well as significant improvements to the company's mobile apps, including an iPad app. Early today, Google announced that the revamped mobile map experience is now rolling out to Android smartphones, with the iOS updates "coming soon". Among the...
Apple Found Guilty of Conspiring to Fix Prices in E-Book Trial [Updated]
Reuters briefly reports that a U.S. federal judge has found Apple guilty of price fixing in the lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and state governments.A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that Apple Inc conspired to raise the retail prices of e-books, and said a trial for damages will follow. The decision by U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan is a victory for the U.S....
iOS 7 Leverages Retina iPhone App Assets to Improve '2x' Mode on Non-Retina iPads
One of the more subtle changes surfacing in Apple's iOS 7 beta 3 released to developers yesterday is a move to leverage the Retina assets included in iPhone-only apps to improve the viewing experience in "2x" mode on non-Retina iPads such as the iPad mini and the iPad 2. Since the launch of the iPad, Apple has supported the use of iPhone-only apps on its tablet platform, allowing users to...
Apple's In-Car Technology Ambitions Revealed in 'Digital Dash' Patents
Earlier today, the U.S Patent and Trademark Office granted a patent to Apple (via AppleInsider) addressing in-vehicle navigation and information systems based on touchscreens offering tactile feedback. The feedback would allow users to operate their vehicle's systems in a safer manner while keeping their eyes on the road.The disclosed invention, including co-pending applications incorporated by...
Next-Generation 15-Inch MacBook Pro Shows Up in Benchmarks
Last month, a new entry in the results database for popular benchmarking tool Geekbench 2 appeared to reveal Apple's next-generation 13-inch MacBook Pro. Many observers had expected the update to come at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference last month, but Apple has yet to release the new machines. A new Geekbench result posted earlier today now appears to reveal Apple's next-generation...
Apple Seeds iOS 7 Beta 3 to Developers
Exactly two weeks after releasing the second beta of iOS 7 to developers, Apple has just pushed out a third beta version for testing. The update is arriving as both an over-the-air update to existing beta testers and through the iOS Dev Center. The new beta arrives as build 11A4414e, up from the second beta at build 11A4400f. Apple has also released a third developer preview of Xcode 5. A ...
Apple Kicks Off New Printer Promotion with Instant Discounts on HP Printers
Apple for many years offered Mac customers the ability to save $100 on eligible printer purchases, but the company discontinued that program in early 2012 as the devices have become less popular with the proliferation of digital access to documents through smartphones, tablets, and other means. But as noted by 9to5Mac, Apple is once again promoting printers with new in-store displays and an...
iPhone Tops T-Mobile USA's Smartphone Sales as Carrier Expansion Drives Growth for Apple
Research firm Kantar Worldpanel has released a new report (via The Next Web) highlighting U.S. smartphone sales over the March-May period, finding that Apple's share of the market rose by 3.5 percentage points compared to the prior-year period. The report attributes that growth to the iPhone becoming available on T-Mobile USA, the last of the four major U.S. carriers to begin offering the device.C...
Apple Reportedly Prepping for September Launch of New iPad, but iPad Mini Still in Flux
Digitimes reports that Apple has finalized plans for its fifth-generation iPad, targeting a September launch for the redesigned device that is rumored to be taking design cues from the iPad mini with narrower side bezels and a thinner body.Since upstream suppliers have mostly finished preparing for the production of the new 9.7-inch iPad, there is unlikely to be any changes in terms of...
Several Top Apps Go Free Ahead of App Store's Fifth Anniversary [Updated]
As first noted by The Verge, a number of popular paid App Store apps have been discounted to free for the first time in their histories today. While no specific announcement regarding the sales has been given, Wednesday marks the App Store's fifth anniversary and it is possible that Apple will be rolling out a special promotion in honor of the occasion. With no additional information...
High-Quality Video and Photos Reveal What Apple's Plastic iPhone Will Look Like
Over the past several weeks, a number of leaks about Apple's rumored lower-cost plastic iPhone have surfaced, including design drawings from a case maker and photos of alleged rear shells in a number of bright colors. Based on these leaks, earlier this week we released our own high-resolution renderings showing what the device might look like in its entirety. Techdy now reports that it has...
Leading Japanese Carrier NTT DoCoMo Losing Customers as iPhone Deal Remains Elusive
Reuters reports on difficulties being faced by NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest mobile carrier with 60 million customers, as it has yet to reach a deal with Apple to offer the iPhone. The major hurdle to a deal has been DoCoMo's insistence on allowing its own services to be preloaded on devices it carries.It is paying heavily for that obstinacy - with a net 3.2 million users jumping ship to its two...
Apple Seeds OS X 10.8.5 Build 12F17 to Developers
Apple today seeded build 12F17 of OS X 10.8.5 to developers, offering a third version of the next Mac operating system update for testing. The release comes one week after the appearance of the previous beta of OS X 10.8.5, build 12F13. As with previous betas, the update comes with no known issues and can be downloaded via Apple's Developer Page or through the software update tool in the Mac ...
