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.

Eric Slivka's Articles

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iOS 7 Beta 7 Reportedly Launching for Developers Today [Updated]

Monday August 19, 2013 7:20 am PDT by
BGR reports that Apple is planning to launch the seventh beta version of iOS 7 today.We are told by our trusted sources that Apple has once again seeded a new build of iOS 7 to partners, and that it should be released to developers later today. We can confirm the build number is much higher than the previous beta, and we would assume that iOS 7 beta 7 should be distributed and made available for...
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Apple Could Still Be Planning Television-Related Announcement for Late This Year

Friday August 16, 2013 6:55 am PDT by
Back in February, former TechCrunch writer and Google Ventures partner MG Siegler reported that he was hearing "chatter" about Apple making a significant push into television in the fall of this year. While Siegler was unable to say whether the push would include an actual television set from the outset, he believed that something was indeed happening, whether it be opening up the existing Apple...
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iOS 7 Beta 6 Arriving Next Week as Final Seed Before Golden Master?

Thursday August 15, 2013 7:30 am PDT by
BGR reports that its sources have laid out a rough timeline for the final developer seeds of iOS 7, unsurprisingly noting that Beta 6 should arrive sometime next week, roughly two weeks after the release of Beta 5. The report indicates that Beta 6 is planned to be the final developer release before Apple finalizes iOS 7 with a golden master build. That golden master is expected to be seeded to ...
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Upcoming 12-Core Xeon CPU Destined for Apple's New Mac Pro Posts Impressive Benchmark Scores

Wednesday August 14, 2013 8:23 pm PDT by
Just days after Apple teased its upcoming radical redesign for the Mac Pro back in June, a Geekbench 2 result appeared to offer some data on just such a Mac Pro running a 12-core 2.7 GHz Intel Xeon E5-2697 v2 processor, 64 GB of RAM, and a custom build of OS X Mavericks. Many observers were disappointed to see that the machine received a Geekbench 2 score of just under 24,000, only marginally...
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Yellow iPhone 5C Rear Shell Shown in High-Quality Video

Wednesday August 14, 2013 8:31 am PDT by
Sonny Dickson shares a new high-quality video of a yellow rear shell allegedly from Apple's upcoming "iPhone 5C". Similar parts have been seen in previous video and photo leaks, but this new video provides another good closeup look at the shell, including some comparisons to other iPhone models. Dickson has released several other photo sets of iPhone 5C rear shell parts in recent days,...
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iPhone 5S Changes Highlighted in New Rear Shell Comparison Photos

Wednesday August 14, 2013 6:44 am PDT by
With the expected introduction of Apple's iPhone 5S now less than a month away, French site Nowhereelse.fr has shared some new photos [Google translation] of an alleged iPhone 5S rear shell. While the part has been seen a number of times in the past, the site has put together some overlays and iPhone 5 comparison photos to help provide an overview of some of the changes expected for the device. ...
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iPhone Media Event All But Confirmed for September 10

Monday August 12, 2013 7:20 am PDT by
Over the weekend, AllThingsD reported that Apple will hold an iPhone-focused media event on September 10, introducing its next-generation iPhone 5S and perhaps a lower-cost "iPhone 5C". AllThingsD has an excellent track record with such reports, suggesting that the event will indeed take place on that date, but in case there was any doubt, The Loop's Jim Dalrymple is now confirming the report...
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iPhone 5S to Include Sapphire-Covered Convex Home Button with Fingerprint Sensor?

Saturday August 10, 2013 6:49 pm PDT by
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has on a number of occasions offered accurate information on Apple's product plans, has issued a new research note indicating that the iPhone 5S may include a sapphire-covered convex home button housing a fingerprint sensor. The iPhone's home button has had a concave shape since its introduction in 2007, but Kuo believes that moving to a convex shape...
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Size Comparison of a 12.9-Inch iPad with Smaller iPad Models and 13-Inch MacBook Air

Friday August 9, 2013 1:50 pm PDT by
Back in May, Korean site ETNews.com reported that Apple was looking at the possibility of launching a 12.9-inch iPad in early 2014 as a larger sibling to the original 9.7-inch iPad and the 7.9-inch iPad mini. The rumor, which included a claim that the device would be called the "iPad Maxi", was quickly brushed aside as a likely inaccurate claim, but late last month The Wall Street Journal brought ...
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DOJ Says Publishers Are Again Colluding in Objecting to Proposed Apple Penalty in E-Book Case

Friday August 9, 2013 9:07 am PDT by
With Apple and the U.S. Department of Justice headed back to court today for a hearing on the government's proposed penalties for Apple, GigaOM highlights several developments in the case. Of particular interest is a letter from DOJ attorney Lawrence Buterman arguing that an objection to the proposed penalties by the publishers that were part of the case is direct evidence of why the penalties...
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Cincinnati Bell to Begin Offering iPhone 5 on August 16

Friday August 9, 2013 7:30 am PDT by
Earlier this week, The Cincinnati Enquirer took a look at the history and future of Cincinnati Bell, the 140-year-old telecommunications company serving the Cincinnati, Ohio area. Included in that report was a mention that the company's wireless division will begin offering the iPhone for the first time later this month.Cincinnati Bell plans to start carrying Apple’s iPhone 5 this month, which...
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New Photos of the Black iPad 5 Front Panel and Digitizer Assembly

Thursday August 8, 2013 8:51 pm PDT by
Back in April, a pair of photos surfaced showing what was claimed to be a white front panel from Apple's fifth-generation iPad, showing narrower side bezels as had been rumored as part of a redesign inspired by the iPad mini. A brief video that surfaced over this past weekend also appeared to show the next-generation iPad's front panel and digitizer paired with a rear shell. Now, a new...
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T-Mobile USA Looking to Expand Apple Product Offerings Beyond the iPhone

Thursday August 8, 2013 10:51 am PDT by
Following his company's earnings release earlier today, T-Mobile USA CEO John Legere told AllThingsD that the carrier is looking forward to expanding its Apple product offerings beyond the iPhone. Back in April, T-Mobile became the last of the four major U.S. carrier to begin selling the iPhone.Legere said it is a good sign that the iPhone is only a portion of the company’s sales growth,...
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Lodsys Agrees to Dismiss Patent Case Against Small Developer for a Charitable Donation

Thursday August 8, 2013 8:40 am PDT by
Back in May 2011, patent holding firm Lodsys began threatening lawsuits against a number of small iOS developers, alleging infringement of a Lodsys-held patent through the use of Apple's in-app purchase and upgrade functionalities. The case was an interesting one because small developers were being held liable for their use of Apple's supported tools for iOS apps, with Apple agreeing to back the...
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iTunes in the Cloud for Movies Goes Live in Japan and 7 New European Countries

Thursday August 8, 2013 3:40 am PDT by
Apple today added movie support to its iTunes in the Cloud service in Japan and seven additional European countries, enabling customers in those countries to re-download content previously purchased from the iTunes Store. New support for Austria and Switzerland was noticed by iFun.de [Google translate], but the full list of new countries includes Austria, Estonia, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, ...
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Apple Preparing to Upgrade AppleCare with 24/7 Chat Support, Revamped Website

Wednesday August 7, 2013 8:33 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to launch several enhancements to its AppleCare services including 24/7 access to chat support services, reports 9to5Mac . The company is reportedly planning to launch the expanded chat services on August 12, although that target date may not yet be firm. Alongside the expanded chat services, Apple will also be launching a redesigned AppleCare support website, featuring...
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John Carmack Joins Oculus VR as Chief Technology Officer

Wednesday August 7, 2013 7:47 am PDT by
Oculus VR, the company behind the highly anticipated virtual reality gaming headset Oculus Rift, has announced that legendary game programmer John Carmack is joining the team as Chief Technology Officer. Carmack co-founded id Software, where he has led development of a number of popular gaming franchises, including Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake. He will remain with id Software, although Oculus...
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Apple Seeks Patent on Fused Glass Enclosures for Use on iPhones, iPads, iPods, Displays, and Televisions

Tuesday August 6, 2013 9:20 am PDT by
Apple last week filed for a European patent (via Patently Apple) on methods for fusing glass pieces together to create various types of glass enclosures for a number of products. While the patent application specifically addresses the general concept of such devices, examples and drawings included in the application outline how the process could be applied to such products as iPhones, iPads,...
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Apple's Share of Tablet Market Sinks on Lack of Product Launches in Early 2013

Monday August 5, 2013 9:00 am PDT by
Research firm IDC today announced its preliminary estimates of worldwide tablet shipments for the second quarter of 2013, finding that Apple's share of the market has fallen to under a third. According to IDC's numbers, Apple held a 32.4% share of the market for quarter, compared to 39.6% in the previous quarter and a 60.3% share in the year-ago quarter. While other top tablet manufacturers...
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Apple E-Book Price Fixing Decision Could See Return of Direct Links from Kindle and Other Apps to Their Stores

Friday August 2, 2013 7:04 am PDT by
The U.S. Department of Justice today announced its proposed remedy in the e-book price fixing case that saw Apple found guilty last month. The proposed remedy includes nullification of Apple's existing "agency model" deals with a number of major publishers, as well as a requirement that competitors such as Amazon allow direct links to their own e-book stores from within their iOS apps.The...