Apple Releases Sixth OS X Yosemite Public Beta

Apple today released the sixth Yosemite public beta for its beta testers, following the release of the fifth Yosemite public beta on Tuesday of last week alongside the second golden master candidate of OS X Yosemite. The new public beta carries build number 14A388b, very close to the third Yosemite golden master candidate build 14A388a seeded to developers late last week.

The software update can be downloaded through the software update function of the Mac App Store.

OS X Yosemite brings a flatter, more modern look to OS X, with an emphasis on translucency and redesigned dock, windows, and more. It also includes a multitude of new features, such as improved integration with iOS 8 through Continuity, a new “Today” view in Notification Center that offers integration with third-party apps, a retooled Spotlight search with new data sources, and several new features for apps like Mail, Safari, and Messages.

Over the course of the beta testing period, each Developer Preview has added new features and refined the look and performance of OS X Yosemite, although changes have become less obvious in more recent builds as Apple begins finalizing Yosemite ahead of its public release.

Apple is expected to launch Yosemite soon after the iPad event that it is planning to hold this Thursday.

More Second-Generation iPad Air Part Leaks Point to A8X Chip, 2GB RAM, 16GB Storage Option

A fairly clear image of what is said to be the logic board for the second-generation iPad Air suggests that the device will indeed come with an A8X chip, as hinted at in earlier images shared over the weekend.

Furthermore, the new image published by Apple.club.tw [Google Translate] seems to point towards 2GB of RAM for the device. Though the image of the RAM on the logic board is low resolution and fuzzy, enhancing the contrast and the brightness reveals a bit of information about the numbers on the chip. While the first letter is entirely blurred, it is the second character that is key to determining whether the chip is 1GB or 2GB.

A 1GB Elpida chip would have an “8” in the second character slot, while a 2GB chip would have an “A” in the same spot. Because of the quality of the image, it is difficult to say for certain what the character is, but it does appear to be an “A” rather than an “8” given that it is narrower at the top and wider at the bottom.

Multiple rumors have suggested that Apple will double the memory in the second-generation iPad Air, which would give it the power to support split-screen multitasking. Last week, an image depicting a 2GB Elpida RAM module surfaced, and it appears that photo showed a set of the same chips seen in the logic board.

Apple has stuck to 1GB of RAM for several generations of devices, including the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, but Apple may have big plans in mind for the second-generation iPad Air 2 as it also appears to be gaining an A8X chip.

While Apple used an A6X chip in the fourth-generation iPad, the iPad Air used the same A7 chip as the iPhone 5s clocked at a higher speed. The company was widely expected to utilize the same strategy in the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus for the iPad Air 2, but a faster A8X chip may have been utilized to power features like split-screen multitasking. There have also been some rumors of a “Retina HD” resolution for an upcoming iPad, which would likely require a more powerful chip.

Along with 2GB of RAM and an A8X processor, the logic board image appears to depict a 16GB Hynix flash module (denoted by the “TDG” characters on the chip), suggesting that the second-generation iPad Air will continue to be offered with 16GB of storage at the low end. It’s possible Apple could do what it did for the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, offering a 16GB solution along with 64 and 128GB options, doing away with the 32GB tier of storage space and sliding the 64 and 128GB tiers down $100 from their current levels.

Apple is expected to unveil the second-generation iPad Air at a media event that it is holding this Thursday on its Cupertino campus. The event may also see the debut of Retina iMacs and another preview of OS X Yosemite ahead of its public release.

Retina iPad Mini 2 Reportedly Coming Alongside iPad Air 2, New Smart Cover and Case Colors

While the second-generation iPad Air has been the subject of a number of rumors ahead of its expected unveiling this Thursday, there has been less information about the Retina iPad mini, which is currently more or less identical to its larger sibling with the exception of display size.

Apple has generally been assumed to be planning a parallel upgrade for the iPad mini this month, but an early September report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo expressed some uncertainty, saying the iPad mini would receive only a minor upgrade such as Touch ID, “if any”, this year. Kuo’s report was followed by another from Taiwanese media claiming the Retina iPad mini 2 was likely to launch early in 2015 ahead of the rumored 12.9-inch “iPad Pro”.

But now a new report from Mac Otakara [Google Translate] claims the second-generation Retina iPad mini does indeed appear set for an introduction alongside the iPad Air at this Thursday’s press event.

As part of this introduction, Apple also may update its Smart Cover and Smart Case lineup with new colors and a tweaked design compatible with these new tablets.

While leaked iPad Air 2 components have been abundant, details on the upcoming Retina iPad mini 2 have been sparse, with a few reports claiming the device will receive only a modest upgrade as compared to the flagship iPad Air 2. The Retina iPad mini 2 is rumored to include only a Touch ID fingerprint sensor and the A8 processor, as compared to the iPad Air 2, which may ship with a more powerful A8X processor, 2GB of RAM, Touch ID, a new gold color option, and more.

Apple is holding its press event this Thursday, October 16 at 10:00 AM PT on its Cupertino campus. Besides a new iPad Air and Retina iPad mini 2, the company also is expected to introduce new iMacs as well as unveil the launch date for the final version of OS X Yosemite.

Apple Opening New Retail Stores in Florida and New Hampshire This Week [Mac Blog]

Apple is opening two new retail locations in Sarasota, Florida and Manchester, New Hampshire this week, with the Florida location opening on Thursday, October 16 and the New Hampshire location opening on Saturday, October 18.

Apple’s new Sarasota location, at the brand new $315 million University Town Center mall, will open on a Thursday rather than a Saturday as that day marks the grand opening of the shopping center. The University Town Center mall is an indoor facility that features an array of retail stores and restaurants.

The upcoming Sarasota Apple Store will be Apple’s 17th store in Florida, and its Thursday debut date falls on the same day as Apple’s media event where it is expected to introduce both new iPads and Retina iMacs.

Apple’s new store in Manchester, New Hampshire is located at the Mall of New Hampshire, a multi-story indoor shopping center that is home to 125 retail stores and restaurants. Occupying a space that spans about 6,800 square feet, the Apple store joins two other retail locations in New Hampshire, in Nashua and Salem.

Both stores will open at 10:00 a.m. local time and as is common with new store openings, employees will likely hand out T-shirts to the first customers to visit each new location. The Manchester store and the Sarasota store have both begun accepting reservations for workshops and Genius Bar appointments.

Finnish Prime Minister Again ‘Blames’ Apple for Country’s Economic Struggles

Finland’s Prime Minister Alexander Stubb told CNBC in an interview that Apple is to blame for the decline of the country’s two primary export industries, information technology (led by Nokia) and paper. “The iPhone killed Nokia and the iPad killed the paper industry, but we’ll make a comeback,” said Stubb in response to a question about Finland’s business environment following the country’s recently downgraded credit rating. While the comment certainly appears to be more of a pithy jest than an outright accusation against Apple, it does aptly describe how several of the country’s major boom industries have seen their fortunes slip in the face of a changing marketplace.

As noted by TechCrunch, this isn’t the first time Stubb has singled out Apple in reference to his country’s economic decline since he took over as Prime Minister in June of this year. Speaking in July, Stubb made a similar comment mentioning Apple.

“We had two pillars we stood on: one was the IT industry, the other one was the paper industry,” Stubb told Swedish financial newspaper Dagens Industri.

“Nalle Wahlroos, president of (Swedish bank) Nordea, described it quite well when he said the iPhone knocked out Nokia and the iPad knocked out the forestry,” accelerating the fall of paper demand.

In the same conversation with Dagens Industri, Stubb quipped “Steve Jobs took our jobs,” with the promise that “this is beginning to change.”

Apple may be an easy scapegoat for politicians to blame, but the Cupertino company is not responsible for Finland’s struggles. While Apple did lead a revolution in the mobile phone industry with the iPhone, the Cupertino company did so by focusing on high-end handsets and not the entry-level phones that Nokia was selling by the millions. With a plethora of Android handset options at a variety of price points, Samsung instead was much a greater threat to the long-term survival of the Finnish company. Nokia has since sold its devices unit to Microsoft, tying its future to that of Windows Phone.

Apple’s iPad also is not to blame for the downturn in the paper industry, which has been in decline for years. The reasons for the slowdown in paper manufacturing are myriad and include the increasing use of email over traditional mail, the adoption of digital documents, and the steady decline in print magazine and newspaper subscriptions. With tablet shipments reaching only 200 million globally, the proliferation of Kindles and tablets, such as the iPad, are not yet significant enough to decimate the paper industry as Stubb implies.

Ironically, Apple and other technology companies have been supporting Nokia even as its mobile phone sales decline. In 2011, Apple ended an ongoing patent battle with Nokia and has been paying the Finnish company an undisclosed amount to license cellular technology owned by the company. This intellectual property may be netting Nokia a collective $685 million per year from Apple and other technology companies.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

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No Retina MacBook Air Introduction Planned for Apple’s October 16 Media Event

With rumors of a new 12-inch Retina MacBook Air circulating in recent months and the latest reports suggesting small-scale production has already begun, many have been wondering about Apple’s plans for introducing the product. According to a new report from Re/code, the Retina MacBook Air will not be unveiled at this Thursday’s media event.

Apple may well have a new MacBook Air with Retina Display in the pipeline, but it’s not going to unveil it this week. Sources familiar with Apple’s plans tell me that the company’s latest reimagining of the ultralight laptop won’t be shown off at its Thursday event.

In line with previous rumors, the report claims Thursday’s event will focus on new iPads, Retina iMacs, and OS X Yosemite. One source has also claimed updated Mac minis could appear at the event, but there has been little additional chatter about the possibility.

Apple’s media event kicks off at 10:00 AM Pacific Time on Thursday, and MacRumors will have full live coverage of the proceedings. There are likely to be additional leaks and rumors in the final lead-up to the event, so stay tuned as Apple prepares to finalize its product lineup for the holiday shopping season.

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