Apple Debuts New ‘Gigantic’ TV Ad Focusing on iPhone 5s

Apple has debuted a new TV ad alongside Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD tonight on ABC called “Gigantic”. The ad, which was first spotted by 9to5Mac, showcases iPhone 5s owners using the device to enhance their lives in multiple ways.

With “Gigantic” by the Pixies [iTunes] playing in the background, the app has users using the iPhone 5s to check their health, check for directions, create short monster movies, record videos, create art installations and more, including the Pixies preparing to play their song. The ad ends with the tagline “You’re more powerful than you think”.

Apple has not aired an iPhone 5s ad since the seasonal holiday ad “Misunderstood”, which has since been removed from its YouTube channel. In the meantime, Apple has instead focusing its advertising efforts on the iPad’s “Your Verse” ad campaign.

iWatch May Ultimately Replace iPod, No iPod Updates Expected in 2014

A research note (via Barrons) from Christopher Caso, an analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group, reiterates previous analyst reporting about the iWatch, saying Apple is looking to enter production with a pair of screen sizes in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Caso says Apple has production targets of 5-6 million units, but believes the iWatch will “essentially replace the iPod in the consumer portion of AAPL’s product lineup” and will see lowered iPod sales as a result of customers choosing the iWatch instead. The note says the iPod is not expected to be updated this year.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said earlier this year that the iPod “is a declining business”, with sales dropping to under $5 billion in 2013, down from a peak of more than $8 billion in 2008. Apple’s iPod lineup has not seen a significant update since Fall 2012, other than a minor color change to match the rest of Apple’s portable offerings. The iPod Classic has not been updated in several years.

Apple has worked hard to have products at a variety of price points, from the $49 iPod Shuffle up to the 128GB iPad Air at $799, and then to the various Mac products.

Steve Jobs’ Infamous Temper Lives on at Apple in Bug-Wrangler Kim Vorrath [Mac Blog]

Steve Jobs was infamous for his temper, with a famous story about him blowing up at the MobileMe team following a rocky rollout of that service in 2008.

However, Jobs isn’t the only employee at Apple with a short fuse. A profile in The Information studies Kim Vorrath, Apple’s vice president in charge of “program management” for both iOS and OS X. She supervises Apple’s thorough testing process to discover bugs and is the final arbiter of deadlines to ensure that software updates come out on time.

One story in particular, relayed by Business Insider, tells of Vorrath’s displeasure when she found out a co-worker was leaving work early before the launch of the first iPhone in 2007.

Ms. Vorrath, who has worked on all seven iOS releases, generally operates by asking lots of questions of engineers, sticking to the facts and getting them to explain in plain English why a particular feature should be included in the operating system. She’s easy to get along with, say former colleagues, who recall playfully mocking her 1990s feathered hairstyle and late 1980s fashion sense. But she isn’t known for chitchat and has been known to “blow up” on occasion when people miss deadlines or make excuses, colleagues say.

During a tense time before the first release of iOS software in 2007, Ms. Vorrath grew irate when a colleague was heading home early before another marathon weekend meeting. She slammed her office door so hard that the door knob broke, and she locked herself in. Mr. Forstall grabbed a baseball bat to try to break her out, people who worked at Apple at the time recall.

The Information says Vorrath has been working at Apple since 1987, starting as an intern and eventually becoming chief of staff for Scott Forstall. Now, she is said to be working directly beneath Apple executive Craig Federighi, who is in charge of Apple’s software engineering teams.