Apple Raises Product and Developer Program Prices in Some Countries
With the new year, Apple has made a few price adjustments to its products and services, led by an increased yearly fee for the company’s developer programs in a number of European countries, as first noticed by German blog Apfelpage [Google Translate].
The Apple-focused blog reports that German developers are now facing a €99 ($119) per year subscription charge for Apple’s various developer programs, up from a previous €80 ($96) subscription fee. The price changes presumably affect all EU markets, as Apple typically has consistent pricing across member countries except for occasional differences due to variations in tax rates. Apple’s developer programs are priced at $99 per year in the United States.
The price increase is also in effect for the UK, where the price has been adjusted from £60 ($92) a year to £79 ($121) as noted by 9to5Mac. Across the board, the European developer program has been about on par with or slightly above the cost in the U.S. when adjusted for currency rates. Following the weakening of many world currencies compared to the U.S. dollar in recent months, however, Apple’s price increases in those countries will help reset the company’s desired pricing matrix but increase costs somewhat for developers overseas.
Elsewhere, the prices of Apple physical products are seeing slight hikes in a few countries. Apple Toolbox reports Apple has increased the price of products like the Mac, iPhone, and iPod in Turkey, a country where the company’s products are already among the highest priced in the world. And the increase in prices may not stop there, as the Turkish Minister of Economy recently announced a plan to gain favor for products made in Turkey by introducing taxes on imported smartphones, computers, and tablets.
A MacRumors reader has also pointed out that the Norwegian people will be facing higher prices for Apple products, with the new iMac with Retina 5K Display and iPhone 6 seeing 8.3 and 12 percent increases respectively. The MacBook Pro with Retina Display received the biggest price jump, going from 10,790 kr to 12,590 kr, roughly a 14 percent increase in the cost of the device.
Apple has been known to adjust the price of its products alongside fluctuating currency values, most drastically just last month when the Russian ruble saw a sharp drop in value, causing the company to temporarily shut down its Russian online store and return with significant price hikes days later.
Though far less dramatic, these price inflations seen in other parts of the world appear due to the weakening of the Turkish lira and Norwegian krone in recent months. Even so, it’s not entirely clear why the company instituted the price change to these select few foreign markets, and whether or not other countries could see a similar price hike in the future, as many other currencies have also been weakening against the U.S. dollar.
Opening Apple’s ‘Lucky Bags’ in Japan, where $300 can get you a MacBook Air
Happy New Year. And when it comes to shopping in Japan, the means sales and fukubukuro. These ‘lucky bags’ are sold by all kinds of stores, and typically contain products equal in value to what you pay, but sometimes a whole lot more. Even Apple’s bricks-and-mortar stores have followed the tradition since 2004, with a handful bags housing a coveted MacBook Air. All of the bags cost 35,000 yen, roughly $300: but if you’re shopping for an Apple laptop it’s a gamble. There’s no guarantee on what will be inside yours. This year, for the first time, Apple has added a handful of limited edition products for its crowd of dedicated Japanese fans. We visited the store in Ginza, Tokyo, today, which alone (there’s three stores in the city) managed to attract 900 people before the store even opened. Let’s see what 300 bucks can buy, if you’re willing to risk it.
Lucky bags are a Japanese retail tradition that began at the Matsuya Ginza department store — which conveniently stands directly across the street from Apple Store. The first bags apparently went on sale in the late 1800s: take that Black Friday. This year, Apple’s bags aren’t the paper variety, but a limited edition InCase laptop backpack (15,800 yen, roughly $130). Limited edition items also include Mophie Juice Packs, a speaker unit and laptop cases adorned with the same origami print of the lucky backpack.
Most bags included the battery pack, as well as a pair of wireless Beats headphones. The rest of the contents, well, vary. If you’re not-so-lucky, you’ll find a 16GB Product Red iPod Touch. From there it rolls through to the latest iPad Mini and iPad Air models. If your bag is particularly lucky (and we saw three), then you could find an 11-inch MacBook Air. That’s 88,800 yen-worth of luck. (Or around $730.) According to Japanese Apple blog Macotakara, these were the four patterns for the bags. We managed to see second-in-line Yon (a lucky bag regular) get his bag, which housed an 11-inch MacBook alongside a cover case and travel adapter.
After leaving the store to write up how the madness went down, this editor discovered a friend in the queue. Nothing quite like the emotional roller-coaster of a lucky bag, right? So we asked Masa to take us through it all. He was customer number 1035, according to his entry card, and the line for lucky bags closed almost immediately after him. He was hoping for an iPad mini — the bag was (kinda tragically) a Christmas present to himself, so we were hoping that his gamble would pay off. After handing over the money (around $300), he was ushered to a table that had the remaining bags on display. The nature of lucky bags ensures the contents are pretty random. the staff doesn’t know what’s in them, nor does Apple offer up a specific number of bags that’ll go for sale, or number of MacBooks hiding within.
Did he get his Christmas wish? Let’s take a look.
Starting with the limited edition backpack, (15,800 yen), there was also:
- Power Beats 2 Wireless headphones (20,600 yen)
- Apple TV (9,800 yen)
- iPod Touch 16GB (20,800 yen)
- Mophie Juice Pack power station (8,800 yen)
- iTunes credit (unknown value)
No iPad. But such is the life of a lucky bag shopper. However, racking up the retail prices of the contents totals 75,800 yen (around $630 dollars), far in excess of the 35,000 yen paid for it. That said, my friend was… disappointed. The bags offer up a great value, as long as you’re happy with the contents. Lucky bags are likely going to remain a Japan-exclusive. (Apple Japan said it doesn’t comment on future plans.) Would you take the risk?
Filed under: Cellphones, Laptops, Tablets, Apple
Japan Apple Stores Kick Off ‘Lucky Bag’ Sales with MacBook Air, iPads, iPod Touch Featured
Apple’s retail locations in Japan have begun sales of the “Fukubukuro”, also known as a “lucky bag”, which offer an assortment of products at a steep discount. Japanese blog Mac Otakara (Google Translate) was present at the Apple Store in Nagoya to discover the exact content of the various bags among customers, with some shoppers receiving big-ticket items like iPads and MacBooks.
MacBook Air Lucky Bag (Source: App Bank, Google Translate)
This year’s lucky bags sell for 36,000 yen ($300) and come in four different configurations, with common items including an Apple TV, a 4000 mAh Mophie Powerstation external battery pack, an Incase Icon backpack, an iTunes gift card, and Beats by Dre Powerbeats2 wireless earbuds. For the most valuable Fukubukuro bag, Apple included an 11-inch MacBook Air with a Power Support Air Jacket and a Twelve South PlugBug dual charger along with the common items.
iPad Air 2 Lucky Bag (Source: Mac Otakara)
Other variants of the bag offer a fifth-generation 16GB iPod touch, a 16GB iPad mini 3 or a 16GB iPad Air 2 alongside the common items. The iPad lucky bags also feature Logitech’s UE Boom portable speaker.
iPod touch Lucky Bag (Source: App Bank, Google Translate)
Apple’s grab bags are sold as is, and returns are not allowed unless a product is defective. The promotion is limited to Apple Stores in Japan, although they are usually met with long lines of shoppers hoping to purchase their own lucky bag.
Samsung beats Apple in consumer satisfaction smartphone study
For years now, the press and consumers alike have been on Samsung’s case about plastic parts on its flagship phones. While things are changing dramatically these days, it seems that when push-comes-to-shove, the presence of plastic has little effect on consumer satisfaction, at least according to a recent survey conducted by the University of Michigan.
The American Consumer Satisfaction Index looked at 230 different brands in the country, and interviewed approximately 70,000 individuals. With respect to smartphones, it concluded that Samsung has a “satisfaction score” of 81, a 6.6% increase from last year’s rating of 76. While one could argue about the relevance of these results and their ability to account for the population at large (something that could be said of any survey), the fact that Samsung not only has an above average score, but actually managed to increase its standing in the past year might offer a bit of pleasant news for a change these days. Likewise, the score would also serve to indicate that American consumers on the whole, are pleased with the service and products Samsung provides.
Perhaps the more interesting finding this study revealed, is that Samsung managed to overtake Apple, which actually dropped from 81 (in 2013) to 79 this year. Given that Apple faced “bendgate” shortly after the release of its Plus-sized hardware earlier this year, there is a chance that the decline was a result of a perception of diminished product quality. On the other hand, it is also likely that the consumers polled simply had different answers, experiences, or even allegiances this year.
While one might take any survey with a few sprinklings of salt, at the very least this one suggests that Samsung has had a favorable year among Americans buying its products, something that it needs for momentum as 2015 approaches and the market becomes even more competitive.
Apple Hit With Class Action Lawsuit Over Large iOS 8 Storage Space
A new class action lawsuit was filed against Apple on Tuesday in a U.S. federal court, alleging the company’s newest version of iOS doesn’t properly inform its users just how much storage space it will occupy once downloaded.
As reported by Siliconbeat, the lawsuit is claiming that iOS 8 can take up as much as 23.1 percent of the overall storage capacity of an iOS device, but that fact isn’t actively advertised when customers purchase a new Apple product, or go to download the new software update. The plaintiffs point to personal moments akin to sporting events or weddings where users are desperate for more storage as Apple preying on consumers for more profit.
“Using these sharp business tactics, defendant gives less storage capacity than advertised, only to offer to sell that capacity in a desperate moment, e.g., when a consumer is trying to record or take photos at a child or grandchild’s recital, basketball game or wedding,” alleges the plaintiffs in the case.
William Anderson, the plaintiffs’ attorney of Cuneo Gilbert & Laduca, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm, seeks both damages and changes to Apple’s policies specifically under California state law.
“We feel that there are a substantial number of Apple consumers that have been shortchanged,” Anderson said in a statement. “And we’ll be pursuing the claims vigorously.”
Anderson continued to sound off support not only for consumers facing storage issue following the download of iOS 8, but those who purchased an iPhone or iPad with iOS 8 already installed.
iOS 8 launched back in September, including a bevy of new features like Continuity and allowing third-parties to access Touch ID and its keyboard functionality. A few days after launch, problems such as battery drain and slow Wi-Fi began cropping up for some iOS 8 users. Apple’s further attempts to remedy the rocky launch with steady updates caused even larger problems with cell service outage and spotty Touch ID issues.
A late-October update brought much-anticipated support for Apple Pay, amongst other features, and began putting the service back on track. As of early November the newest operating system was installed on 60 percent of active iOS devices.
Despite the company’s continued efforts to address iOS 8 bugs, the plaintiffs of the new class action are attempting to use Apple’s own branding of iOS 8 – “The biggest iOS release ever” – as a hidden piece of subtext hinting at the hefty amount of storage the operating system requires.
Phones4U iPhone and iPad Inventory Being Liquidated at Low Prices by UK Auction House [iOS Blog]
UK retailer Phones4U shut down its online store and closed its retail operations earlier this year when the struggling company entered administration, the UK equivalent of bankruptcy. Now in the middle of the administration process, Phones4U is ready to liquidate its existing stock of products, including its entire inventory of iPhones, iPads and Beats headphones.
UK auction house John Pye Auctions is handling the liquidation of Phones4U stock, which includes more than 600,000 items worth £10.8m in what is the UK’s biggest auction of the year. Among the auction items are Beats headphones, iPhone 5/5c units, iPad Air and iPad mini models.
The items are being sold in individual lots for public purchasing and not wholesale trade job orders. Online bidding is active now with many auctions listed with zero bids. For auctions that do have bids, prices are currently very low. Some entry-level iPad mini and iPad Air models are available for as little as £2 ($3USD).
It appears that the auction site will accept bids from both within the UK and from international buyers, but the auction house will not be shipping items. Buyers must pick up items in person or make their own arrangements for shipment.
Bidding on the auction ends Tuesday, January 6, 2015 with a public showing available on Monday, January 5, 2015 from 10am to 2pm at John Pye & Sons warehouse in Staffordshire.
What’s Coming From Apple in 2015: Apple Watch, iPad Pro, iPhone 6s, 12-Inch MacBook and More
Thanks to the iPhone 6, the iPad Air 2, the iPad mini 3, OS X Yosemite, and iOS 8, 2014 was a major year for Apple. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus brought new screen sizes and a radical redesign, while iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite introduced deep integration between Apple’s mobile and desktop operating systems.
The past year has seen an impressive display of innovation and new ideas, but upcoming product releases and rumors suggest that 2015 may be an even more monumental year for Apple.
Along with the Apple Watch, which Apple has said will launch in early 2015, we will likely see major updates across the Mac lineup due to the availability of Intel’s next-generation Broadwell chips. An Apple TV update has long been in the works and could see a 2015 debut, and as it has done every year, Apple will undoubtedly update its iPad and iPhone lineup, along with releasing new versions of iOS and OS X.
As we did last year, we’ve highlighted Apple’s prospective 2015 product plans, outlining what we might see from Apple over the course of the next 12 months based on current rumors.
Apple Watch (Early to Mid 2015)
Announced in September of 2014, the Apple Watch (or Watch) is Apple’s first wearable device and one of the first Apple products that may launch during 2015. Available in two sizes of 38mm and 42mm, the Apple Watch has a heavy focus on fashion and will be offered in six different casing materials with a range of interchangeable band options.
The Apple Watch is an amazing design feat, with a tiny S1 processor that integrates several different components onto one tiny chip, including a gyroscope, accelerometer, and a heart rate monitor. It has a unique haptic feedback system for relaying notifications, and it uses Force Touch to allow for a new range of contextually specific controls.
Apple’s wearable device is not a standalone device and is in fact heavily reliant on the iPhone. Many apps are powered entirely by the iPhone in order to preserve battery, and the watch relies on the iPhone for functions like GPS and relaying notifications.
We have a detailed roundup that covers all of the Apple Watch features, but there are many unknowns about the device that won’t be revealed until its release. Pricing, for one, is ambiguous. Apple has said the lower-end Sport models will sell for $349, but the price of the higher-end models has yet to be shared. Speculation has suggested that the solid gold Edition watches could sell for upwards of a thousand dollars.
The other major unknown about the Apple Watch is its battery life, but it seems that it will need to be charged on a near daily basis. According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, people will use the device so much that it will need to be charged each day, much like other smart watches on the market.
We don’t know when the Apple Watch will be released, but at its debut, Apple said the device would launch in “early 2015.” Subsequent comments from retail chief Angela Ahrendts have hinted at a spring release, indicating a launch could come between March and June of 2015. Other rumors have corroborated her timeline, with Apple employees reportedly commenting that Apple would be “lucky” to ship the device in February.
Click to read the full Apple Watch roundup
iPad Pro (Mid to Late 2015)
The major iPad product that could come in 2015 is the iPad Pro, a 12.2 to 12.9-inch tablet that may be aimed at enterprise customers. Rumors have failed to come to a solid conclusion on screen size, suggesting Apple could be experimenting with multiple sizes for the larger tablet, but they seem to agree that a bigger device is definitely in the works.
Apple’s rumored larger-screened tablet has been dubbed the “iPad Pro” by the media, but a recent rumor has suggested it could also be called the “iPad Air Plus.”
Rumors on the iPad Pro are somewhat scarce, but it’s believed the tablet will closely resemble the iPad Air 2, offering a thin chassis and slim bezels. It may measure in at 7mm and it will likely include several iPad Air 2 features like 2GB of RAM, Touch ID, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi.
Rumors have disagreed on the device’s processor, with some pointing towards an A8X iPad Air 2 processor and others suggesting the “Pro” device will come equipped with a new A9 processor. Apple’s iPad Pro may also ship with an “ultra” high-resolution display and speakers and microphones and both the top and bottom edges of the device for stereo audio.
iPad updates have traditionally come in the fall, but with a new tablet in the mix, a launch date is up in the air. Current rumors indicate mass production of the iPad Pro has been delayed in order to allow Apple suppliers to focus on building up supply of the iPhone 6 Plus, but a recent report suggests it could launch between April and June of 2015.
Apple’s ‘Start Something New’ Campaign Expands to U.S. and Other Countries
Earlier this week, Apple debuted a new “Start Something New” campaign on its Japanese site, showcasing individuals using its latest products and creative apps to make art and capture photos.
As of today, the company’s new campaign has been expanded to several other countries, including the United States and many locations across Europe and Asia.
The “Start Something New” micro site includes a gallery that features art made with Apple products like the iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air 2, and iMac. A range of photography, painting, and sketching apps like Procreate, VSCO Cam, iDraw, Waterlogue, and Brushes 3 are also featured on the site.
Apple also highlights individual artist stories, sharing the tools that each person uses to create their works of art. Japanese artist Nomoco, for example, uses an iPad Air 2 and the Brushes 3 app to make paintings.
Nomoco’s approach to making art is organic and tactile. She is inspired by movement and light, and even the way an ink drop splashes can guide her next move. So when she painted digitally for the first time, it was natural for her to use her fingers. With iPad Air 2 and the Brushes 3 app, Nomoco was able to create this ethereal series exactly as she had imagined it.
Other artists, like Marcelo Gomes and Jingyao Guo use various photography and sketching apps to make stylized photos and drawings. Several photographers like Jared Chambers and Christian Weber use popular photo editing app VSCO Cam to edit photos, and Apple apps like iMovie and Final Cut Pro are used by videographers Matt Pyke and Thayer Allyson Gowdy.
Several iOS tools are featured as well, including Exposure Control, Burst Mode, and HDR, which various photographers use in the art creation process. Apple’s “Start Something New” campaign follows in the footsteps of its previous “Your Verse” iPad campaign, which demonstrated the many ways people have incorporated Apple’s iPad into their daily lives.
Users Reporting with Apple Pay Problems After Changes in iPhone Security Status
Several iPhone 6 owners on Apple support forums and in MacRumors forums are reporting an issue with Apple Pay after making changes to the their phones that automatically reset the Apple Pay service (via 9to5Mac). These activities include restoring a phone, logging out of iCloud and possibly removing a passcode from the device.
Following such changes, Apple automatically removes the associated credit cards from Apple Pay as a security measure to protect a user’s sensitive financial information in case of loss or theft of the phone. Users are then required to repeat the setup process and re-add their credit cards to the mobile payment service. It is during this restoration step, however, that the process fails for some users.
Upon failure, users are greeted with an alert advising them to contact their card issuers. Subsequent calls to banks confirmed the cards not associated with the Apple Pay service, but the phone still fails to accept the card information. Apple support is typically unable to fix the issue and, in many cases, Genius Bar technicians have replace the phones with new or refurbished units in order to restore Apple Pay functionality.
The issue likely involves the secure enclave on the iPhone that stores the Apple Pay information. It is possible that the automatic removal of Apple Pay information does not clear the enclave properly, leaving behind details that block the addition of credit card information. This apparent glitch in the service appears to only affect users who made changes that disabled Apple Pay and removed cards automatically. Users who manually remove their cards are able to add new and previously used cards back to Apple Pay without an issue.
It is not clear how many iPhone 6 owners are affected by this issue. It could be a system-wide glitch affecting all Apple Pay users or an issue with only a small number of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus handsets. Not surprisingly, Apple has yet to comment officially on the matter.
PDF Reader ‘GoodReader’ Removes iCloud Drive Functions to Comply with ‘Mandatory’ Apple Policy
PDF reader app GoodReader has removed a number of operations related to iCloud Drive to comply with Apple’s guidelines. Specifically, developer Good.iWare has disabled GoodReader‘s ability to create and delete new folders inside iCloud along with the ability to move iCloud files. The developer called the iCloud usage policy “mandatory” and also included VoiceOver compatibility along with a big fix for opening iCloud containers.
Important iCloud functionality change:
– to ensure the compliance to Apple’s iCloud usage policy, the following operations have been disabled: creation of new folders inside iCloud, deletion of folders inside iCloud, moving of files and folders inside iCloud.
We apologize for the inconvenience, but the iCloud usage policy is mandatory.
The changes to GoodReader come a week after Panic’s file management app Transmit was forced to disable its send to iCloud Drive feature which also led to the removal of all Share Sheet file transfers to other third-party services. However, Apple later reversed its course on Transmit as the app reinstated its sending feature in an update shortly after.
While Apple introduced a number of new features with iOS 8, a number of developers have been forced to remove key features from their apps for reasons that are unclear. For instance, Notification Center widget Launcher was removed after the launch of iOS 8 in September, and Apple has also asked apps like Drafts and Neato to remove widget functionality. Apple also asked calculator app PCalc to remove the calculator functionality from its Notification Center widget, but later reversed its decision.
GoodReader is a $4.99 download for the iPhone and iPad. [Direct Link]
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