Apple Homepage Now Redirecting to Event Countdown Ahead of Tomorrow’s Announcements

With less than 24 hours to go until tomorrow’s major media event, Apple has begun redirecting its entire homepage in the U.S., Apple.com, to Apple.com/live, which displays a countdown to the event. Apple’s move to redirect all homepage traffic to its event countdown is undoubtedly an effort to ramp up anticipation for its upcoming announcements.

Apple’s promotion of the event along with its location at the Flint Center, where the original Mac was unveiled, suggests that Apple has something huge in the works for tomorrow’s announcements. While Apple’s media events are always major affairs, Apple has made an extra effort this year to build up hype for the big unveiling.

Apple has plans to live stream the event on its website and the company will likely stream the event to the Apple TV with a dedicated channel, as it has done for past events. MacRumors will be providing live coverage of the event, both on MacRumors.com and on the MacRumorsLive Twitter account for those unable to watch Apple’s live stream.

Tomorrow’s event kicks off at 10 a.m. Pacific Time at the Flint Center at De Anza College in Cupertino. Apple is expected to unveil a multitude of new products and services, including two versions of the iPhone 6, its much-rumored wearable device, and its mobile payments initiative.

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Apple’s Mobile Payments Initiative May Include Rewards Program

Apple may be developing a rewards program as part of its mobile payments initiative, reports Bank Innovation. Apple is reportedly working on a pilot program that will see it developing partnerships with multiple retailers, which goes hand in hand with several previous loyalty program rumors. A proprietary rewards program could give Apple a way to distinguish itself from other mobile payment services.

According to sources with knowledge of Apple’s plans, the company has been in talks with InterContinental Hotels Group (seemingly incorrectly referred to as “IGH International” in the report), a global hotel chain, about a possible partnership for a loyalty program and has been hiring to fill positions related to the pilot program, which may be built into iTunes.

Bank Innovation specifically points towards an Apple job opening seeking a “Senior World Wide Partner Marketing Manager,” who will create programs and training materials for “external partners” and who will focus on driving customer adoption of “existing and new features.” Other similar job postings also hint at the development of a major program focused on third-party partnerships, which may be a loyalty program.

The site suggests that the company is just now beginning to hire for the division, which means a possible loyalty program is unlikely to be available right when its payments service launches.

Sources close to Apple say the company has just started hiring for this division, and that, before the recent high-profile iCloud hack, the plan was to announce the pilot on Tuesday along with Apple’s other announcements. That very well may happen, or the announcement could be postponed until a later date — when more deals are in place and the mainstream media moves on from the iCloud cyberattack. Since Apple’s hiring for positions for this program now, but we don’t expect this program to be fully ready in the near future.

If a rewards program is indeed in the works, it appears to be in the early stages. There’s no word yet on the scope of the program or how it might work, but more information may be revealed tomorrow, when Apple unveils its mobile payments initiative for the first time.

Rumors about Apple’s payment plans have been leaking out in recent weeks, and the company has reportedly signed deals with major credit card companies including Visa, MasterCard, and American Express, as well as major credit card issuers. Apple is also said to be partnering with multiple retailers for the service, including Walgreens, CVS, and Nordstrom.

Apple’s payment service is said to rely on NFC, which will be built into both the iPhone 6 and Apple’s upcoming wearable device. It will also integrate with Touch ID for security purposes, and it will take advantage of tokenization to provide additional security and to prevent theft.

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Both 4.7-Inch and 5.5-Inch iPhone 6 Models Reportedly Launching on September 19

A new report [Google Translate] from French site iGen.fr claims Apple may begin selling both of its iPhone 6 models at the same time. According to the report, which is based on the same source who accurately predicted previous Apple product launches, the two models would go on sale starting Friday, September 19. That has been the most widely expected date for the first wave of launches given Apple’s previous announcement and launch patterns.

Perhaps in line with a lack of significant leaks of parts for the larger model, a separate source indicates that the 4.7-inch model is likely to be available in higher quantities than the 5.5-inch model. MacRumors has heard similar news from a reliable source, who has indicated that two different iPhone models are incoming with the larger model shipping at only half the rates of the smaller one.

Reports of a simultaneous launch for both iPhone 6 models contradicts some earlier reports, including a recent research note from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who believes Apple will stagger the launch of the two iPhone models. According to Kuo, Apple will begin selling the 4.7-inch in September and the 5.5-inch before the end of the year. This staggered launch is attributed to production issues with the 5.5-inch model.

Apple is expected to announce the iPhone 6 tomorrow at a press event being held at the Flint Center in Cupertino. Besides a larger display, the new iPhone may include a faster A8 processor, up to 128 GB of storage, an updated Touch ID and an improved camera module with image stabilization and a round True Tone flash.

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Apple’s Larger Phones May Be Called iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus

Though Apple is planning to unveil two iPhones tomorrow, in 4.7 and 5.5-inch varieties, there’s been surprisingly little information on what the two devices might be called. According to a new report from Mac Otakara [Google Translate], Apple will refer to the smaller 4.7-inch iPhone as the “iPhone 6,” while the larger 5.5-inch version will be called the “iPhone 6 Plus.”

It is unknown what source Mac Otakara derived its information from, but the site has provided accurate predictions in the past. MacRumors has also heard the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus monikers from a second source, but it remains unclear if that is indeed Apple’s naming plan.

iPhone 5s next to physical mockups of 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone 6

Interestingly, the “plus” naming schematic actually dates back to very early iPhone rumors, where the device was reportedly referred to as the “iPhone Math” in a mistranslation that many assumed meant “iPhone Plus.” Other possible names for the 5.5-inch iPhone included “iPhone Air,” a term that surfaced from Chinese media sources and seemed to fit in with the rest of Apple’s “Air” lineup, including the MacBook Air and the iPad Air.”

With approximately 24 hours to go until Apple’s September 9 media event, it won’t be long before we find out the official names for the two devices. Along with the iPhone 6, the event is also expected to see the unveiling of the much-anticipated “iWatch” and Apple’s mobile payments service.

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Microsoft Preparing to Add Share Extension Support to OneNote for iOS 8

When iOS 8 is released to the public this fall, users will be able to take advantage of several new operating system features, including app extensions. App extensions are designed to allow third-party apps to share services with other apps, letting apps work together and interface in ways that they never have before.

We’ve shared a brief look at app extensions in the iOS 8 version of 1Password, but as the launch date of the new operating system approaches, developers are hard at work integrating Apple’s APIs into their apps and have been sharing more information on some of the ways app extensions will work.

Microsoft will be updating OneNote for iPhone and iPad to take advantage of Apple’s iOS 8 share extension, adding useful new capabilities to the note taking app through built-in share sheets.

As demoed in the video above, a OneNote button in Safari (accessed via the share sheet) will let users quickly clip articles and information from the web, automatically inserting content into the OneNote app. The OneNote Share Extension will also allow users to export files to OneDrive, Microsoft’s cloud storage service, and it’s also possible to save photos from the device’s camera roll to the app.

The sharing functions built into the OneNote app will undoubtedly become common features in many iOS apps in the future, making it easier than ever to share content between apps and services. In addition to offering inter-app sharing features, Apple’s Extensibility APIs let apps access system-wide third party keyboards, add widgets to the Notification Center, share photo editing extensions, and more.

Microsoft plans to release its OneNote update on the same day that iOS 8 becomes available to the public, which should be shortly before the iPhone 6 begins shipping to customers.

Microsoft OneNote can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link: iPad/iPhone]

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Apple’s iPhone and wearable event is tomorrow — get your liveblog here!

Last year was a banner year for iPhone and iOS, in that Apple broke from its traditional mold: It unveiled not one but two new iPhone models, running a revamped version of its mobile operating system. It was a significant change from the norm, but it’s small compared to what we’re going to see this year. Yes, we’re predicting the same number of new iPhones, but both of them will depart from the 5 and 5s design, and are much bigger than what we’re used to — they’ll have 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch screens, compared to the usual 4-inch. But there are also a lot of credible rumors that claim we’ll get the first glimpses at a set of new wearables that will come out either later this year or sometime early next year (more likely the latter, from what we’ve heard). Regardless of what rumor excites you the most, don’t forget to bookmark our liveblog because that’s where all of the action is going to be taking place tomorrow, starting at 1pm ET. See you there!

Filed under: Announcements, Cellphones, Wearables, Wireless, Mobile, Apple

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Purported Schematics and Details on iWatch Show Rectangular Body, Round Sensor Plate

With just one day to go until Apple’s media event where it is expected to show off not only the iPhone 6 but also its much-rumored “iWatch” wearable device, last-minute leaks and rumors are continuing to roll in. The latest involves schematics and details on the iWatch, and while it is difficult to assess the validity of the claims and images (which have been reposted to Imgur) given that they come from an anonymous Reddit post, the slide images are detailed enough that they are worth highlighting as a possibility.

The poster claims the iWatch will include a microphone, speaker, and support for Siri, and be waterproof to 20 meters with battery life of over a day. The device will reportedly come in eight different varieties as four “colors” in two sizes each.

Purported schematics are labeled as coming from Quanta, which has been reported to be Apple’s manufacturing partner for the device. The majority of the slides appear to show comparisons of how various parts have evolved between an earlier prototype stage (P2B) and the engineering validation test stage (EVT).

As shown in one poor-quality and obviously manipulated picture of what is said to be the device’s housing, the body would be somewhat rectangular in shape, with a large circular region centered in the bottom where the device’s health and fitness sensors are to be located to contact the skin.

While an assortment of iWatch rumors have pointed to displays of around 1.5 inches or as high as 2.5 inches, there have yet to be any leaks of claimed physical parts for the device, making it difficult to assess schematics such as these. At any rate, their validity will apparently become clear tomorrow as Apple officially takes the wraps off of the iWatch.

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Apple Now Sending Alert Emails When iCloud Accounts Accessed via Web [Mac Blog]

In an interview last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook noted that Apple would be beefing up iCloud security measures in response to the recent disclosure of compromised celebrity accounts. Among the additional security features said to be rolling out over the following two weeks were new email alerts whenever there is an attempted password change, a device restore from the account, or a login from a new device. Password change and login alerts had previously only been sent when the event took place on an unknown Apple device.

As noted by Letem světem Applem and confirmed by MacRumors, Apple has already begun sending out alert emails when iCloud accounts are accessed via web browsers. The alerts are being sent out even if the specific browser has been used previously to access iCloud, but this is presumably a one-time measure that will not be repeated for future logins with that combination of browser and machine.

With Apple rumored to be announcing a mobile payments service at tomorrow’s event, it is clear the company needs to reassure users that the company is taking security seriously. While the compromised celebrity accounts were targeted attacks rather than a wholesale breach of Apple’s iCloud systems, the company’s move to enhance security and keep users informed is an important one.

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Older iPhone 5 and iPad 2 Models Still Lead Apple’s iOS Device Lineups in Usage [iOS Blog]

As Apple prepares to launch its new iPhone 6, the iPhone 5 remains the company’s most popular model in use, claims Localytics in a report that examines both mobile and web app analytics data from over 100 million iOS devices for the month of August 2014. According to the report, the iPhone 5 has 27 percent market share, edging out the year-old iPhone 5s, which has 25 percent. The now free on contract iPhone 4S rounds out the top three with 21 percent of the iPhone market.

With a new iPhone 6 on the horizon, these iPhone numbers will undoubtedly shift as owners upgrade their phones. The biggest change will likely be in the iPhone 5, which will lose market share as customers take advantage of upgrade offers.

The iPhone 5, launched in 2012, is Apple’s most popular phone with a 27% share, but only leads its successor, the 5s, by a small (2%) margin. This is likely because most iPhones come with a cheaper price if the consumer locks into a two-year contract, putting the average consumer on a two-year upgrade cycle. With the new iPhones expected to be available for purchase later this month, the iPhone 6 will likely eat into the iPhone 5’s market share.

While consumers tend to upgrade their iPhone on a regular basis, the latest Localytics data suggests the iPad has a longer lifespan. Though it is more than three years old, the iPad 2 remains the most popular iPad model in the company’s lineup with 29 percent market share. Though it is heavily advertised and has received rave reviews, the current iPad Air occupies fifth place with 13 percent market share, beating only the original iPad.

In the past couple of years, Apple has launched the iPhone in September and the iPad in October, but one recent rumor claimed the company may unveil both devices during its press event tomorrow. But while numerous have pointed toward introduction for both the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone 6, along with the iWatch, new iPads are less certain.

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