Mac Otakara

Earlier this week, a well-known research firm that requested confidentiality told us that, based on their own sources, it expects Apple to announce new products later this month, most likely during the week of March 20. The research firm did not say which products it expects, or the manner in which they will be announced. Following our report, some Japanese analysts have predicted that a...

Apple may call the 2017 iPhone 8, rumored to be announced alongside the iPhone 7s and 7s Plus at a September event, the "iPhone Edition," according to a new report from Japanese website Mac Otakara. The name would reportedly signal that the phone is a higher end model, similar to how Apple names the Apple Watch Edition. The "Edition" moniker lines up with reports that the model could cost upwards ...

Apple will host a March event to introduce a new iPad Pro lineup and other products, according to Japanese website Mac Otakara. In terms of the iPad Pro lineup, the report claims Apple will announce new 7.9-inch, 9.7-inch, 10.5-inch, and 12.9-inch models. The 10.5-inch model may not ship until May, while the other sizes are said to ship in March. If the report is accurate, it would...

Apple is planning to release three new iPhone models later this year, including 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models and an all-new 5-inch model with an OLED display and glass casing, according to Japanese blog Mac Otakara. iPhone 8 concept by visual designer Moe Slah The report, citing "reliable sources" within Apple's supply chain, insists that only the OLED model will adopt glass casing and...

Apple may be preparing to launch an iPhone 6 battery exchange program for undisclosed reasons, according to Japanese website Mac Otakara. It is unclear if the iPhone 6 program would be related to Apple's existing iPhone 6s battery replacement program. Apple launched that program in November after it determined that a "very small number of iPhone 6s devices may unexpectedly shut down" due to...

Apple may introduce a new 5-inch iPhone model that sports a unique vertical dual-camera system that sits alongside the existing 4.7- and 5.5-inch models, according to Japanese blog Mac Okatara. The 5-inch model would act as the medium size in the 2017 lineup. The report, which comes from a Taiwanese supplier, says that the new models, dubbed the iPhone 7s, would be an updated version of the...

Apple will release updated versions of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus next year, aptly called the "iPhone 7s" and "iPhone 7s Plus," according to Japanese blog Mac Otakara. The report claims the smartphones will retain the same aluminum design as the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, with only internal changes, including the addition of a faster A11 chip. The report added it is highly probable the ...

Apple has a nearly bezel-free 10.9-inch iPad Pro under development without a Home button, according to Japanese website Mac Otakara. The report said the nearly bezel-free design will allow for the 10.9-inch model to have the same overall footprint as the current 9.7-inch iPad Pro. A top bezel will remain in order to provide space for the front-facing FaceTime camera, but the bottom bezel...

Apple plans to add a "Jet White" color option for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models, according to Japanese website Mac Otakara. The report did not outline when Apple might add the sixth color to the lineup, and it also warned the information obtained from supply chain sources "may be unreliable." Mac Otakara has accurately leaked information about Apple's upcoming plans in the past,...

Apple will ship three new iPad Pro models around Spring 2017, including 7.9-inch, 10.1-inch, and 12.9-inch models, according to Japanese blog Mac Otakara. The report, citing "reliable sources," said the 12.9-inch model will feature a True Tone display like its current 9.7-inch counterpart, using advanced four-channel ambient light sensors to automatically adapt the color and intensity of the ...

Japanese website Mac Otakara, which previously said Apple would introduce a darker color option to replace Space Gray for the upcoming iPhone 7 series, has shared a photo of an alleged SIM tray for the smartphone that suggests the color will be glossy black like the exterior of the 2013 Mac Pro. The website now believes the new glossy black option will be part of a five-color lineup,...

The assumed names of this year's iPhone lineup -- "iPhone 7" and "iPhone 7 Plus" -- have been confirmed by "reliable sources" speaking with Japanese site Mac Otakara. The sources said that Apple is following this name scheme to avoid confusion of having back-to-back iPhones with "S" in the name, even though the iPhone 7 will largely be a minor update over the iPhone 6s. The new report nixes...

Apple's iPhone 7 may not include a physical home button, instead adopting a touch-sensitive "3D Touch" home button, reports Mac Otakara [Google Translate]. Such a home button would be flush with the body of the iPhone and would not actually depress when a finger is placed on it. Instead, when a user presses on the home button, haptic feedback will mimic a press, much like the Force Touch...

Following a sketchy rumor last week that said Apple is planning to introduce a "Deep Blue" color option for the upcoming iPhone 7, Japanese blog Mac Otakara has clarified to AppleInsider that the new color will actually be a "much darker" variant of space gray that is "close to black, though not quite black." Black and slate iPhone 5 on left vs. space gray iPhone 5s (Mike Cronin via YouTube) Mon...

Some minor changes are coming to the front of the iPhone 7 that will render protective LCD films made for other devices unusable on the new iPhone, reports Japanese site Mac Otakara. According to the site, manufacturers of LCD films have stopped receiving orders as the iPhone 7 is expected to feature some front panel changes that will require new film designs. Mockup of what the iPhone 7 ...

Apple's iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be manufactured without a 3.5mm headphone jack, leading to speculation about the accessories that will be included alongside the two devices. Lightning-equipped EarPods and wireless EarPods are two rumors that have been bandied about, but a new report from Japanese site Mac Otakara suggests Apple may ship the iPhone 7 with standard 3.5mm headphones and a ...

Apple is planning to introduce a "Deep Blue" color option to replace the Space Gray color option for the upcoming iPhone 7, according to a new report from Japanese website Mac Otakara. The new color will stand alongside the already available Silver, Gold and Rose Gold. Mac Otakara says Apple plans to discontinue the "Space Gray" color, which was introduced with the iPhone 5s in 2013. The...

Apple plans to announce new MacBook Air models within the month of June, and begin shipping the notebooks to retailers in August, according to Japanese website Mac Otakara. The conflicting report also claims that Apple will announce a refresh to its entire MacBook Pro series this month, although it did not specify when shipments of those models would begin. The report, citing "a reliable...

A Smart Connector has been one of the features rumored for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, but a new report from Japanese site Mac Otakara suggests Apple has decided not to include a Smart Connector on the upcoming devices. The Smart Connector, first introduced with the iPad Pro, is a new type of port designed to transfer both data and power between the iPad Pro and accessories like the Smart...

Apple is working on enhancing the Photos app in both iOS 10 and OS X 10.12, reports Japanese site Mac Otakara. The apps will reportedly be updated with new features to put them on par with the now-discontinued iPhoto 9.6.1 for Mac and iPhoto 2.0.1 for iOS. It is not clear exactly what features will be added to the apps, but Mac Otakara says iPhoto 2.0.1 included tools for editing EXIF...