weibo.com

By MacRumors Staff

'weibo.com' Articles

Sketchy Video Shows Possible iPhone SE 2 With Glass Back and Headphone Jack

Thursday April 26, 2018 6:36 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
A video shared on Chinese social media website Sina Weibo this week has possibly revealed a second-generation iPhone SE, but the device could easily be a knockoff, so treat this rumor with a healthy dose of skepticism. The short clip, which we've reuploaded to YouTube, shows what appears to be an unreleased iPhone SE with a glass back, a design change that would enable support for wireless charging. The rear shell on the current iPhone SE is largely aluminum, with small glass panels along the top and bottom. Sina Weibo via Letem světem Applem Otherwise, the device looks virtually the same as the current iPhone SE, retaining an iPhone 5s-like design with a four-inch display sandwiched between top and bottom bezels housing Touch ID, an earpiece, and a front camera. The device also retains a 3.5mm headphone jack, despite a report last week claiming it will be removed. It would make sense for Apple to keep it if the new iPhone SE continues to have virtually the same design and thickness, as rumored, but removing it could perhaps lead to improved water resistance. One other minor difference on the device in the video is the absence of all regulatory labels and text on the rear shell, beyond a single "iPhone" word mark, in line with the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X. iPhone knockoffs are common in China, and the source of the video is unclear, so we stress that the footage's authenticity is unconfirmed. One possibility is that the device is an accurate dummy model based on supply chain information, but it's also very possible that this device isn't the
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Possible Leak Suggests Next iPhone SE or iPhone 7s Could Have Strengthened Ion-X Glass Display

Wednesday May 10, 2017 6:59 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
A new photo depicting what could be the rear shell for the next-generation iPhone SE or "iPhone 7s" has surfaced on Chinese social network Sina Weibo. The photo was later submitted to leak aggregator Slashleaks. There's no way of telling whether this photo is real or not, but it appears to show a bump-less cutout for a single-lens camera with another cutout for what might be a vertically-aligned LED flash. The document in the photo suggests the iPhone, codenamed N79, could have a strengthened Ion-X glass display like the Apple Watch. If real, the paperwork likely belongs to one of Apple's contract manufacturing partners in Taiwan, such as Foxconn, Pegatron, or Wistron. There's not much else that can be gleaned from the photo, asides from what appears to be more of an iPhone 7-like design, which would be a shift away from an iPhone 5s design if this is indeed for the iPhone SE as Slashleaks suggests. This would be the first next-generation iPhone SE design rumor we've seen so far this year, so treat it with a healthy dose of skepticism. Last year, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple is unlikely to release a new iPhone SE in the first half of 2017, suggesting a refresh won't occur before the end of June. If that timeline is accurate, Apple could be planning to announce the next iPhone SE alongside the tentatively named iPhone 7s, iPhone 7s Plus, and iPhone 8 in September. Or, it could wait until spring 2018, given the original iPhone SE launched in March 2016. At this point, it's too early to say. Apple doubled the iPhone SE's storage capacities
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Potential 'iPhone 8' Render Shows Vertical Camera and Rear Touch ID, But Likely One of Several Designs

Thursday April 13, 2017 7:27 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
A user on Weibo has shared an image of what appears to be a manufacturing-related design drawing of Apple's rumored 5.8-inch iPhone with an OLED display, which is tentatively named the iPhone 8 or iPhone X. The drawing, which surfaced on /LEAKS earlier today, appears to be on a computer belonging to an Apple manufacturing partner such as Foxconn. It's unclear when the photo was taken, or if it's authentic, so treat this rumor with some caution until actual parts start to leak from the supply chain. The drawing appears to be from the EVT, or Engineering Verification Testing, stage. In other words, this could be one of over ten iPhone prototypes that Apple has supposedly been testing this year, and the iPhone that ultimately enters mass production later this year might have an entirely different design. The drawing shows an iPhone with a larger display that takes up nearly the entire front of the smartphone, as widely rumored. However, while many sources suggest the display will resemble the Galaxy S8 with only top and bottom bezels, the drawing shows very slim bezels along the left and right edges as well. On the rear of the iPhone, the drawing shows a vertically aligned dual camera system, which has been rumored only once before by Japanese website Mac Otakara in December. Touch ID has also been relocated to the rear shell, in line with multiple reports claiming the iPhone 8 won't have a Home button on the front. It has been more frequently rumored that Apple will integrate Touch ID underneath the iPhone 8's display glass, but Cowen and Company analyst
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First Photo of Apple's A10 Chip for iPhone 7 Appears With Mid-July Production Date

Wednesday August 10, 2016 9:24 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Less than one month before Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, Chinese repair shop GeekBar has shared the first photo of what appears to be the next-generation A10 chip destined for the smartphones on Weibo. The number of pins appears to be consistent with the A9 chip's 64-bit LPDDR4 interface. While the photo could easily be faked, the chipset is labeled with a 1628 date code, corresponding with mid-July production. Additionally, GeekBar has accurately leaked components for unreleased Apple products in the past, including the iPhone 6s display assembly and iPhone 6 schematics showing a 128GB storage option. What is pictured here is not the complete A10 chip and may be the RAM layer that is stacked on top of the A10 wafer as one system-on-a-chip, rather than the processor itself. Apple A-series chips are typically labeled on all four edges, suggesting this chipset is in a mid-production state. TSMC is expected to be the sole supplier of Apple's faster A10 chip based on its 16nm FinFET WLP process. The new processor should bring performance improvements to the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The smartphones are expected to be announced on September 7 and released on September 16. Last year, TSMC-built A9 chips were found to outperform Samsung-built A9 chips in early iPhone 6s battery benchmarks, but subsequent tests showed less significant impacts that Apple later said amounted to only a 2-3% difference in "real world" battery life. Samsung is not expected to be an A10 chip
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China Telecom iPhone 6 Ad Suggests Simplified Model Lineup for Different Carrier Technologies

Friday August 22, 2014 7:55 am PDT by Kelly Hodgkins
According to a Sina News report (via ZDNet), China Telecom this week briefly announced plans to sell an unlocked version of the iPhone 6 in order to compete with rival carriers. The Sina report sources a Weibo post from China Telecom's Shanghai office that was posted earlier this week and later deleted. The move suggests Apple is planning to sell a version of the iPhone 6 that will support all wireless networks in the country, including dual 4G (TDD-LTE and FDD-LTE), WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, and CDMA1X. This opens up LTE to China Telecom subscribers and makes the country's number three carrier more competitive with its bigger rivals China Unicom and China Mobile. Apple currently sells three different models each of the iPhone 5s and 5c in China in order to accommodate the different technologies used by the country's carriers. But with updated modem and antenna technology for the iPhone 6, Apple may be able to streamline its model lineup to more efficiently support the various carrier technologies. As part of its advertisement, China Telecom used an iPhone 6 rendering from a Behance gallery posted early last month by Tomas Moyano and Nicolas Aichino. The renderings have been fairly popular around the web, including in our own stories, but differ from most recent leaks in some aspects such as omitting a protruding camera ring and showing rear shells featuring different colors at top and bottom. Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 6 at a press event to be held in early September. The handset may include larger 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch display options, a faster A8
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Unverified iPad 3 Rumors: Price List Suggests Price Hike Over iPad 2, Shipments to U.S. En Route?

Monday February 27, 2012 7:53 am PST by Arnold Kim
Over the past several days, several unverified rumors about the iPad 3 have been showing up on Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo, offering tidbits of information about Apple's plans for the device. One post seems to depict a price comparison between the iPad 2 and iPad 3 possibly revealing a price increase for the iPad 3. The headings are labled left to right: "Apple iPad Model", "iPad 2 US Price", "iPad 3 US Price", "iPad 3 RMB equivalent price". The final column is calculated on the exchange rate. The iPad 2 prices are in U.S. dollars at the present pricing, which starts at $499 for the 16GB+WiFi model. The iPad 3, meanwhile, is listed at a starting price of $579 for the $16GB+WiFi model and goes as high as $899 for the 64GB+WiFi+3G model. According to the chart, the iPad 3 costs $80 more for the equivalent Wi-Fi models, and $70 more for the equivalent 3G models. A second post from Sina Weibo [via Apple.pro] shares an apparently now-removed image from WeiPhone depicting what is claimed to be details on a series of high-security cargo flights from Chengdu, China, where Foxconn has iPad assembly plants, to Shanghai. The six flights, which are taking place between yesterday and March 9, are said to be part of itineraries moving iPad 3 units to the United States, with three flights ultimately headed to Chicago's O'Hare airport, two headed to Los Angeles, and one headed to New York's Kennedy airport. A separate flight on March 5 appears to be planned to position units through Tokyo's Narita airport. 9to5Mac also posts a photo of what one Sina
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Photo of Possible iPhone 5 Display Assembly Production Surfaces

Wednesday August 17, 2011 12:50 pm PDT by Eric Slivka
Yesterday, as part of a report detailing a rumored timeframe for iPhone 5 pre-order and launch dates, 9to5Mac included an image of what appears to be an iPhone display assembly production line that had been posted to Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo. The photo was also posted to the forums at Chinese site WeiPhone.com with a different watermark, so it is unclear what the original source of the image is. While the image is not of high enough resolution to make definitive statements about the display might look like, the front panels appear very similar to those of the iPhone 4 but may be slightly larger. Suggestions of an elongated home button area have also been made, although it looks to us more like a sticker in the general vicinity of the home button hole due to an irregular shape and an inconsistent appearance from panel to panel presumably due to slight differences in the placement of the sticker. M.I.C gadget reports that a reply to the original message on Sina Weibo claimed that the picture must have been taken at display manufacturer Wintek's facilities, although it is unclear if that is a specific claim or simply speculation. It seems impossible to make any definitive statements about whether the display assemblies shown in the photo differ from those used in the iPhone 4, and so we are primarily posting the photo for interest and
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A Possible Photo of the Back Part of the iPhone 5

Monday May 23, 2011 5:49 pm PDT by Arnold Kim
Apple.Pro publishes an unverified image of what claims to be the back cover of the iPhone 5. The shell is white with 2 distinct holes in it. One for the camera, and the other presumably for the camera flash. Apple.Pro can't verify the authenticity of the image. The origin of the image appears to be a microblogging site Weibo. The image comes a week after the revelation of a iPhone 5 case which also had an extra hole that was believed to be for the camera flash. That case has since been removed from the original vendor site. Parts like this, of course, are easy to fake, especially after the possibility of a separate camera flash was revealed last week. Still, we've frequently seen prototype parts leak out of China in the weeks to months before a new iPhone
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