Apple Facility in Mesa, Arizona Catches Fire [Mac Blog]

Local news affiliate ABC 15 Arizona is reporting that Apple’s facility in Mesa, Arizona, which it acquired through its ill-fated partnership with GT Advanced last year, caught fire this afternoon. While the fire appears to be extinguished on the rooftop, equipped with multiple solar panels, local firefighters and emergency crews remain on the scene and authorities are investigating the cause of the blaze.

Developing…

Apple Seeds Fourth OS X 10.10.4 Yosemite Beta to Developers, Public Beta Testers

Apple today seeded the fourth beta of OS X 10.10.4 to developers, just over two weeks after releasing the third OS X 10.10.4 beta and a month after releasing the first OS X 10.10.4 beta. OS X 10.10.4 has been in testing since mid April, following the early April release of OS X 10.10.3 with the new Photos for OS X app.

The new beta, build 14E26a, can be downloaded through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store or through the Mac Developer Center.

OS X 10.10.3 brought several consumer-facing changes including the new Photos for OS X app, a redesigned emoji picker, and diversified emoji, but OS X 10.10.4 appears to be an under-the-hood update that brings performance enhancements and bug fixes. Thus far, OS X 10.10.4 betas have not included outward facing design changes or feature additions.

The first two updates to OS X Yosemite, OS X 10.10.1 and OS X 10.10.2, were also minor behind-the-scenes updates that improved performance through bug fixes and enhancements.

Apple Considering $1.6 Billion Bond Sale in Japan [Mac Blog]

Apple is considering issuing about 200 billion yen ($1.62 billion) in bonds as early as June in Japan, in what would be the company’s first fundraising activity in the country, according to Nikkei. The report claims that Apple plans to take advantage of low interest rates in Japan to procure the funds, which could be used to boost shareholder rewards and expand Japanese operations.

“Early this month, Apple started gauging potential demand for the yen-denominated bonds among regional banks, life insurers and other institutional investors,” claims the Nikkei Asian Review. “The bonds will target Japanese investors but will likely be sold to overseas investors as well.”

Apple has issued 2.8 billion euros ($3 billion) and 1.25 billion Swiss francs ($1.31 billion) in bonds since last year, and will reportedly benefit from an interest rate on bonds in Japan about 1 percentage point lower than in the United States. It was also reported in February that Apple was planning to raise $6.5 billion in a corporate debt sale. The funds are used for corporate purposes such as repurchasing of common stock and payment of dividends through Apple’s capital return program.

Here’s how Apple’s Force Touch might work on the next iPhone

We’ve been hearing for months that Apple’s upcoming iPhone models will be force-sensitive, just like the Apple Watch and its newer MacBook trackpads. Now we have an idea of how the company’s “Force Touch” technology — which enables pressure sensitivity and haptic feedback — could work on future iPhones, courtesy of 9to5Mac. Sources say that it could be used to replace instances where you typically hold down your finger on the screen, for example, to highlight or paste text. Force Touch on iPhones will also resemble the way the technology is used on new MacBooks: You can press down on the display to drop new location pins in Apple Maps, or use pressure sensitive scrolling in media players. Not surprisingly, 9to5Mac notes that Apple has built in support for iPhone Force Touch on iOS 9, and it’s also working with developers to integrate it into their apps. The technology could also make its way into Apple’s next round of iPads, based on references in iOS 9.

Don’t expect any big changes for the next iPhone models, which will likely end up being called the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. Sources say that the smaller model looks pretty much like an iPhone 6. Apple likely won’t discuss the Force Touch features at WWDC next month, since its new iPhones probably won’t be announced until the fall.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple

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Source: 9to5Mac

iOS 9 to Feature Force Touch With Haptic Feedback, New Keyboard and Group Read Receipts

Following a recent report suggesting that iOS 9 could feature “Rootless” security, “Trusted Wi-Fi” and support for legacy A5-based devices, today 9to5Mac reiterated on a few smaller-scale improvements to Apple’s next major software version that could have a big impact on the overall experience for iPhone and iPad users.

The next-generation iPhone will feature some form of Force Touch as one of the biggest new additions to the hardware, a rumor that has been circulating since the beginning of the year and only gaining forward momentum. The report today, however, specifically mentions that Apple has designed iOS 9 “to be Force Touch-ready” and is already hard at work with developers to integrate the technology into various apps.

Since Apple’s work on Force Touch runs the gamut of iOS devices, there’s also a possibility of updated Force Touch displays on new iPad models sometime this year. All iOS versions of Force Touch are also expected to provide the real-time haptic feedback buzz similar to that of the Apple Watch to provide users a physical response when their deep presses have been noticed. As 9to5Mac points out, however, since any new Force Touch on iOS announcement automatically requires the confirmation of new hardware, any iPhone and iPad support for the feature is unlikely to happen at WWDC.

Next, Apple is rumored to be working on a new keyboard experience for iOS 9, with the company experimenting on multiple designs, like one that is “slightly longer than the current keyboard” and provides users with a more robust suite of editing options while in portrait mode. Also in the works is a more accessible way to access the QuickType keyboard and a redesign to the unpopular Shift Key to provide an easier visual understanding of when shift or caps lock is engaged.

Today’s report also falls in line with previous rumors reporting that Canada will be the first country outside of the United States to support Apple Pay, with the report claiming that iOS 9’s Passbook app includes a “necessary foundation” to support various banks, credit and debit cards, and credit unions within the country. Although Canada is well-prepared for such a service, with many retailers and businesses across the country equipped with the contactless payment terminals needed for Apple Pay, such an expansion outside of the United States has proved difficult for Apple, especially in places like China, so a WWDC announcement yet again seems unlikely.

The final minor update to iOS 9 reported today includes the addition of read receipts to both group chats in iMessage as well as on a per-contact basis. Users will in turn be able to turn on the read receipt functionality for specific recipients while leaving the read status of a message in the dark for other contacts. The company also seems to be considering removing the little-used Game Center app altogether in iOS 9, and minor data points suggest a few additions and updates to the new Health app, as well.

Apple Patents Hybrid Keyboard With Touch-Sensitive Mechanical Keys [Mac Blog]

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today published a patent application filed by Apple in September 2011 (via AppleInsider), detailing a new keyboard that includes inputs for both traditional mechanical keystrokes along with a new touch-sensitive interface laid over each individual key.

The so-called “Fusion keyboard” would be able to detect the traditional swipe and zoom inputs of a MacBook trackpad, simply spread across the touch-sensitive interface of individual keys. The keyboard – noted to be both an integrated or external accessory, meaning the feature could come to both iMac and MacBook – could also allow for a sort of multi-touch input, meaning a user could simultaneously type something with their left hand while using a touch gesture for cursor control, for example, with the other.

Notably, the new keyboard patent also includes two-position mechanical switches that perform certain tasks at different levels of pressure, unlike the single-position design of not only the Mac line but most keyboards used today. The first level of pressure could act as a normal text input, while the second level could generate some alternative command similar to that of a mouse click. Although no indication of increased forceful pressure is described in the new patent, the two-position switches do sound akin to Apple’s new Force Touch technology which debuted on the Apple Watch and is now found on the company’s MacBook trackpad.

Although Apple debuted a new kind of lighter butterfly mechanism keyboard with the new 12-inch Retina MacBook, the patent described today could be aimed at either the beefier line of MacBook Pro and iMac models, or some unannounced update yet to come. Like with every other patent, it’ll be quite a long time before we see any tangible manifestations of today’s patent, if ever, but it’s still an intriguing glimpse at the company’s possible future.

Microsoft Announces Cortana For iPhone Available Later This Year

Microsoft today announced that its Cortana personal digital assistant will be available for iPhone and Android smartphones later this year, after multiple rumors hinting at cross-platform expansion of the service over the past year. Windows 10 will also feature a new “Phone Companion” app as a central place for PC users to install Cortana and other Windows-related apps for iPhone, Android and Windows Phone.

Microsoft unveiled Cortana on Windows Phone 8.1 last April as the company’s answer to Siri and Google Now, and the company is also bringing the personal digital assistant to the desktop as part of Windows 10 this summer. Cortana’s features include contextually-aware reminders, routing and mapping, current weather and traffic conditions, sports scores, biographies and more.

Some of Cortana’s features on Windows Phone won’t initially be available on iPhone and Android smartphones, including toggling settings, opening apps or “Hey Cortana” hands-free invoking of the personal digital assistant. Microsoft will also release an updated version of its Xbox Music app for iOS with free streaming playback of your music files and playlists from OneDrive.

Jony Ive Named Chief Design Officer at Apple, Alan Dye and Richard Howarth Take Over Day-to-Day Design Management

Apple today announced the appointment of Jony Ive to a newly created position of Chief Design Officer, allowing him to continue overseeing design aspects of numerous projects within the company while turning over the day-to-day management of the design teams to Richard Howarth and Alan Dye, who have both been elevated to vice president positions. Apple CEO Tim Cook announced the changes today in a company-wide email.

Alan Dye, Jony Ive, and Richard Howarth (Gabriela Hasbun for The Telegraph)

Team,

I have exciting news to share with you today. I am happy to announce that Jony Ive is being promoted to the newly created position of Chief Design Officer at Apple.

Jony is one of the most talented and accomplished designers of his generation, with an astonishing 5000 design and utility patents to his name. His new role is a reflection of the scope of work he has been doing at Apple for some time. Jony’s design responsibilities have expanded from hardware and, more recently, software UI to the look and feel of Apple retail stores, our new campus in Cupertino, product packaging and many other parts of our company.

Design is one of the most important ways we communicate with our customers, and our reputation for world-class design differentiates Apple from every other company in the world. As Chief Design Officer, Jony will remain responsible for all of our design, focusing entirely on current design projects, new ideas and future initiatives. On July 1, he will hand off his day-to-day managerial responsibilities of ID and UI to Richard Howarth, our new vice president of Industrial Design, and Alan Dye, our new vice president of User Interface Design.

Richard, Alan and Jony have been working together as colleagues and friends for many years. Richard has been a member of the Design team for two decades, and in that time he has been a key contributor to the design of each generation of iPhone, Mac, and practically every other Apple product. Alan started at Apple nine years ago on the Marcom team, and helped Jony build the UI team which collaborated with ID, Software Engineering and countless other groups on groundbreaking projects like iOS 7, iOS 8 and Apple Watch.

Please join me in congratulating these three exceptionally talented designers on their new roles at Apple.

Tim

Alongside the announcement, Stephen Fry has published an exclusive interview with Cook and Ive at The Telegraph that addresses the legacy of Steve Jobs at Apple and Ive’s continually expanding role with the company, among other topics. That expansion of Ive’s duties, which has seen him add user interface design and increase emphasis on retail store and Campus 2 design leadership to his previous position as head of industrial design over the last several years, has led to today’s restructuring that will free up some of Ive’s time.

Stephen Fry, Tim Cook, and Jony Ive at Apple Campus 2 (Gabriela Hasbun for The Telegraph)

When I catch up with Ive alone, I ask him why he has seemingly relinquished the two departments that had been so successfully under his control. “Well, I’m still in charge of both,” he says, “I am called Chief Design Officer. Having Alan and Richard in place frees me up from some of the administrative and management work which isn’t … which isn’t …”

“Which isn’t what you were put on this planet to do?”

“Exactly. Those two are as good as it gets.

Apple’s design team is a small, tight-knit group, many of whom have been working at Apple for many years. Last October, it was revealed Ive’s close friend Marc Newson had been officially hired part-time for the design team at Apple, but Newson is not publicly taking on any expanded role in the latest shuffling of responsibilities.