iPhone 6 Roundup Update

Our iPhone 6 roundup has been updated with the latest information, including several details about the 4.7-inch model divined from a completed logic board, and an official September 9 unveiling date.

Check our our full roundup for details.

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Buyer’s Guide: Labor Day Deals on the iPad Air, Retina iPad mini, Apps, and More [Mac Blog]

There are quite a few deals on Apple products, apps, and accessories this week due to the upcoming Labor Day holiday in the United States. Retailers have discounted the iPad Air, Retina iPad mini, and more, and several app developers are cutting app prices.

While there are few deals on Apple’s lineup of Mac products, Apple’s own back to school program is still ongoing until September 9, offering EDU customers a gift card with the purchase of a Mac, iPad, or iPhone. Best Buy is also continuing to offer EDU customers $100 off all MacBooks and the iMac.

iPad Air

Staples is offering $30 off all models of the iPad Air for Labor Day weekend, dropping the price of the entry-level 16GB Wi-Fi only model to $469, for example. The company is also offering $100 off select computers that are regularly priced at $499 or more with the coupon code 11605, which applies to all iPads priced over $499, for a total discount of up to $130 on some iPad Air models.

Retina iPad mini

Best Buy is offering $50 off most models of the Retina iPad mini, dropping the price on the Space Gray entry-level 16GB Wi-Fi only version to $349. The discount applies to both Wi-Fi and Cellular models across the board, with almost all versions getting the price cut. Entry-level Cellular models, such as the 16GB Silver version from AT&T, are priced at $480 with the discount.

In addition to iPad Air discounts, Staples is offering $30 off all models of the Retina iPad mini for Labor Day weekend, dropping the price of the entry-level 16GB Wi-Fi only model to $399, for example. The company is also offering $100 off select computers that are regularly priced at $499 or more with the coupon code 11605, which applies to all iPads priced over $499, for a total discount of up to $130 on some Retina iPad mini models.

Apps

The Labor Day holiday is often a popular time for app discounts, and this year is no exception. Many app developers are already offering their apps at reduced prices, and additional discounts are expected before Monday. Our sister site TouchArcade has made a list of games already discounted, which includes Another World, Impossible Road, Pathogen, LEGO The Lord of the Rings, Strata Super Lemonade Factory, VVVVVV and more. Other apps on sale include Instacast 4 GoodReader 4, and Clone Magic.

Apple Accessories

Best Buy is offering a $100 iTunes gift card for $85, a discount of $15. Groupon is also offering a $15 iTunes card for $10, a discount of $5.

Woot is selling Sennheiser’s MM—50-IP In-Ear Headphones with Apple Control for $24.99, a $25 discount. Woot is also offering a refurbished Jawbone Big Jambox Bluetooth speaker for $159, down from $299 new.

Groupon has the Logitech Folio case for the iPad Air for $19.99, a discount of $30. Groupon is also offering the Beats By Dre Tour In-Ear Headphones for $109.00, a discount of $40 off the regular price.

MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors.

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iPhone 6 Built From Parts Apparently Shown Booting to ‘Connect to iTunes’ Screen

Following its leak of photos showing the iPhone 6 logic board that have revealed the device’s NFC chip and 16 GB of storage, luxury modified iPhone vendor Feld & Volk [Instagram page] has now shared some photos and a video showing the device in operation and booting to a black screen requesting the user to connect the device to iTunes.

Feld & Volk says it has been able to piece together this iPhone from various components it has obtained as part of its effort to build its own luxury version of the iPhone 6 for its customers, and remarkably enough, the device is at least capable of turning on.

While it seems surprising that a functional iPhone 6 could be built from individual components, Feld & Volk has demonstrated that it has been able to get its on rare parts, and thus it is possible they may have acquired everything necessary to build the device.

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Inside Apple’s PR Practices, From Media Control to Attitude Shift Under Tim Cook

In a lengthy 9 part exposé, 9to5Mac‘s Mark Gurman delves into the inner workings of Apple’s PR team. While much of what Gurman covers is already fairly well known, his coverage provides an expansive look at the way Apple’s PR team operates, from its organizational structure to its efforts to control Apple’s perception through media manipulation.

Despite Apple’s size and its position as one of the most profitable companies in the world, its PR team is relatively small, comprised of approximately 30 employees in Cupertino along with a few dozen scattered around the world. In Cupertino, Apple PR is divided into seven teams: Momentum, Mac, Corporate Communications, iPhone, iPad, iTunes, and Events.

Along with organizing events and controlling product placement, Apple’s PR teams keep a close eye on the media, despite its apparent indifference, and take steps to correct negative perceptions when deemed necessary.

So it’s a surprise that Apple actually isn’t that detached from the media: it’s more like a teenage girl obsessively keeping her fingers on the pulse of coverage. Members of Apple PR seek tabloid photos of celebrities holding iPhones, while others read Apple-focused blogs actively, and keep tabs on prominent Apple beat writers using anonymized social media accounts. […]

This oversight is so important to Apple that a few times a week, top executives are sent a document detailing the company’s latest press coverage. When Apple is not pleased with coverage, it sometimes works to shift the narrative, even attempting to undermine giant news organizations.

For example, Gurman claims that Apple recently attempted to discredit Reuters over a story about Apple’s accessibility practices that the company was not happy with. Gurman also points Apple’s penchant for discrediting competitors, pointing towards an email Apple PR sent to 9to5Mac on an anti-Android story.

Along with giving tidbits of information to various reliable media outlets, Apple also gives review units and review guides to columnists and journalists who Gurman claims have a largely positive view of the company and its products.

Also likely contributing to which publications get early access to products is the nature of pre-coverage — angles taken by writers during the product rumors cycle. As Brian Lam put it, “Apple can already tell what a review is going to say from [a publication’s] pre-coverage, and they’re not going to give you a review unit if you’re not going to play ball.” In other words, Apple feeds the writers who will do its bidding, and starves the ones who won’t follow its messaging.

In addition to delving into details about Apple’s apparent media manipulation, Gurman also covers the shift in attitude as the company has transitioned from Steve Jobs’ leadership to Tim Cook’s. This has included the retirement of Katie Cotton, who was reportedly seen as a “tyrant” by her employees. Cotton, who was close to Steve Jobs, apparently did not mesh well with Tim Cook’s desire to portray Apple as a “friendlier” company, leading to her departure.

Apple is said to be searching for a new head of PR to replace Cotton, and in the meantime, Apple’s PR teams are run by two longtime employees who report directly to Cook. Under Cook, Apple’s internal policies have shifted somewhat, from his direct apology for the Apple Maps app to his efforts to discredit Yukari Iwatani Kane’s anti-Apple narrative Haunted Empire: Apple After Steve Jobs.

Gurman’s full examination of Apple’s PR team is well worth a read and covers a large range of topics. A list of links to the 9-part series is below:

– Apple Events and Shredded White Booklets
– Introducing the Teams: How PR is Organized at 3 Infinite Loop
– Strategies: The “Art of Deep Background” and Controlling the Press
– The Departure of a “Tyrant”
– Two Heads in Place of One
– Controversies: From Maps to Beats to Haunted Empires
– Product Reviews, Briefings, & Reviewer’s Guides
– Steve Jobs and the Process Behind Press Releases
– A Friendlier, More Transparent Future?

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A8 Chip From 4.7-Inch iPhone 6 Appears to Carry 1 GB of RAM

Last week, a wiring schematic said to be for the iPhone 6 was initially interpreted to be referring to the device’s RAM, showing the same 1 GB of memory for the A8 as found in the current A7 chip. That was quickly determined to be an incorrect interpretation of component being shown in the schematic, however, and Apple’s plans for RAM in the iPhone 6 have remained uncertain.

A new photo leak from Feld & Volk [Instagram page] and Sonny Dickson showing an assembled logic board from the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 has revealed a number of pieces of information already, and it appears from one of the photos that the A8 chip on the board does indeed include 1 GB of LPDDR3 RAM.

As pointed out by MacRumors forum member commander.data, a silk-screened part number on the A8 reveals that the package-on-package contains Hynix RAM. Based on Hynix’s part number format, the character in the eighth position reveals the amount of RAM in the package, with an “8″ denoting 8 Gb (1 GB) and a “B” denoting 16 Gb (2 GB). While it is a bit difficult to read the part number clearly given the distance and angle in the photo, our staff and several posters in our forum agree that the character very much appears to be an “8″, indicating 1 GB of RAM.

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Apple’s anticipated wearable reportedly won’t ship until 2015

With event invites floating around and a whopper of a structure apparently in the works, Apple seems intent on making sure September 9 is a doozy of a day. Alas, it seems like one of the most anticipated parts of the show won’t actually hit our doorsteps for a while — according to a new report from Re/code (who, you’ll remember was right about the event’s date way in advance), Apple’s long-rumored wearable won’t actually start shipping until some time next year. It’s not exactly a surprise for Apple to put months between a device’s unveiling its and first appearance on store shelves, but just think of how the already buzzy wearable space will shift and swell before then. After all, IFA will assuredly bring a slew of smartwatches and fitness trackers with it (we’ve already seen a few), and a better sense of what Apple is up to only means competitors will have more time to try and steal Cupertino’s thunder. Will they succeed? That’s a completely different story, but one thing seems clear — the next few months are going to be a hell of a ride.

Filed under: Mobile

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Source: Re/code

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Apple’s Upcoming Wearable Device Not Likely to Ship Until Early 2015

While Apple is expected to unveil its new wearable device, popularly referred to as the iWatch, at its media event scheduled for September 9, the device will likely not begin shipping until early next year, according to Re/code.

Sources in position to know tell me it won’t arrive at market for a few months. “It’s not shipping any time soon,” said one. So when does Apple plan to ship its eagerly anticipated wearable? That’s not clear, but my understanding is that we’re unlikely to see it at retail until after the holiday season — think early 2015.

Word of a significant gap between unveiling and launch is not a surprise, considering the company’s history when entering new product segments. The iPhone and iPad both launched a number of months after their unveilings. With no existing Apple product of its type to see sales plummet ahead of a launch, Apple has more flexibility to announce early and ship somewhat later.

KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo is among those who recently reported that a 2015 launch is likely for the iWatch, also having predicted last month that production on the device would not begin until November. Part leaks for the device have also been non-existent, supporting the notion that production has not yet begun.

Apple’s September 9 event is expected to focus on the iPhone 6, with the iWatch sharing the stage. Early rumors had suggested Apple was looking to show off the iWatch in October, but it may have altered its plans to better position the device as an iPhone accessory rather than a standalone product.

(Image: 2.5-inch iWatch concept by SET Solutions)

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NFC Chip From NXP Confirmed for iPhone 6

With rumors claiming the iPhone 6 will include a near field communications (NFC) chip from NXP to potentially support a mobile payments initiative from Apple flying in recent days, the existence of the chip now appears to have been confirmed. Russian luxury modified iPhone vendor Feld & Volk, which has shared a number of claimed parts from the iPhone 6 in recent weeks, has now gotten its hands on a complete logic board for the device.

iPhone 5s logic board (left) and 4.7-inch iPhone 6 logic board (right)
The firm has shared a few photos of the logic board with Sonny Dickson, revealing the board’s NFC chip from NXP.

Apple has confirmed that it will be holding a media event at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts in Cupertino on September 9, and the company is naturally expected to introduce the iPhone 6 at the event with a launch coming shortly after. Apple is also said to be showing off its wearable device, commonly referred to as the iWatch, although it is unclear when that device will be available for sale.

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4.7-Inch iPhone 6 Logic Board Shown With 16 GB Flash Storage

Over the past several months, there have been a few rumors of Apple increasing storage capacities for the iPhone 6, perhaps doing away the 16 GB option at the low end and introducing a 128 GB model at the high end, at least for one of the two rumored models.

A set of schematics leaked in pieces over the past week and a half has included reference to various 16, 64, and 128 GB flash storage modules from several vendors for the iPhone 6, although it is unclear why there is no 32 GB option included on that list.

A new set of photos from Feld & Volk and Sonny Dickson today that revealed the NFC chip present on the logic board of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 also offers a good look at the flash storage module on this board. Based on the Toshiba part number, as seen on similar modules, the “7″ indicates that this is a 16 GB module, suggesting the low-end iPhone 6 will continue to offer that amount of storage.

There are a few caveats, however, such as the possibility of this being a prototype or testing board using a 16 GB module not intended as a production option. Also, being a board for the 4.7-inch model, it is not yet known whether the rumored larger 5.5-inch iPhone 6 model will offer the same capacity options as the smaller model.

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