Chart Suggests Speed-Bumped 15-Inch Retina MacBook Pros with 16GB of RAM Standard Coming Soon

Apple may be planning to launch a slightly refreshed line of 15-inch Retina MacBook Pros complete with faster Haswell processors and 16GB of RAM standard, according to a photo said to have come from the company’s Chongqing, China store (via BBS Feng, Google Translate).

The purported pricing chart shows two standard configurations priced at 14,288 yuan and 18,688 yuan, which is the same as Apple’s current pricing for its 15-inch notebook line in China. If real, this pricing chart would likely indicate that Apple would keep its current pricing instead of offering each new model for less as done for the MacBook Air earlier this year.

The first configuration comes with a faster Intel Core i7 2.2 GHz processor and 16GB of RAM standard compared to the current 2.0 GHz Intel Core i7 and 8GB of RAM found on the current base model 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro. Meanwhile, the second configuration features a 2.5 GHz Intel Core i7 processor and the same 16GB of RAM, up from the current 2.3 GHz Intel Core i7 processor. Both models feature the same graphics, with the first configuration coming with Intel’s Iris Pro graphics and the second coming with both the Iris Pro and NVIDIA’s GeForce GT 750M.

A third high-end configuration priced at 23,688 yuan also appears on the chart, boasting a 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, 1TB of flash storage, and Intel’s Iris Pro graphics plus a NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M.

All of the processors listed on the chart correspond to Intel’s new line of Core i7 Haswell processors launched last week, perhaps indicating that an updated 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro line may be imminent. Apple’s line of 13-inch Retina MacBook Pros should also see an update in the near future, as Intel also launched new Core i5 Haswell processors alongside its refreshed i7 Haswell chips.

A minor refresh of the Retina MacBook Pro line was originally noted earlier this year alongside a rumored 12-inch Retina MacBook. According to the latest reports, the 12-inch Retina MacBook may be pushed back to next year because of Intel’s delayed Broadwell chips.

Apple Stores to Adjust Genius Bar Appointments, Set to Train Employees on New Initiative [Mac Blog]

Apple is planning to make a number of changes at its retail stores ahead of the upcoming holiday season, which include adjustments to Genius Bar appointments and training for its employees on a new initiative, according to 9to5Mac.

The report notes that Apple will do away with the suggested 15 minute time limit for Genius Bar appointments in favor of a system that allows customers to book sessions with time limits based on how many issues they have. A few Apple Retail Stores have already started training for the new measures, as a full rollout of the new policy is expected to take place in the near future.

The company will also reportedly be training its employees on a significant new initiative from Sunday, August 10 to Thursday, August 28, which may pertain to in-store iPhone activations. During the aforementioned time period, Genius Bar employees will receive three hours of training while sales employees will receive five hours or training.

Lastly, Apple will be standardizing its attire for all of its U.S. retail employees, as those on the Apple Store Business Team will switch from their black polo shirts to the blue T-shirts worn by other retail employees.

Bare iPhone 6 Logic Board Surfaces, Claimed to Support NFC and 802.11ac Wi-Fi

Claimed internal components for the iPhone 6 are beginning to surface with increasing frequency as it is now likely less than two months until launch. In line with those developments, a new set of photos [Google Translate] shared by Nowhereelse.fr reveal what appears to be the bare logic board of the iPhone 6, likely the 4.7-inch model.

According to Nowehereelse.fr, the source who shared the photos of the parts claims the iPhone 6 will include support for both near field communication (NFC) and faster 802.11ac Wi-Fi, although neither of those claims can be confirmed from the photos themselves. NFC for the iPhone has been rumored for years, but has yet to come to fruition and rumors are once again split as to whether the iPhone 6 will include the technology. 802.11ac seems to be a natural upgrade for the iPhone now that appropriate chips are available.

The logic board bears a number of similarities to corresponding parts from other iPhones, although this part includes a much longer piece extending across what would be the top of the device. Given the larger body size of the iPhone 6, however, it is unsurprising that internal components could see some changes to their design and layout.

Overlay of logic board and rear shell
Screw holes in the board also appear to line up with ones seen in recent leaks of claimed rear shell parts for the iPhone 6, indicating they are indeed likely from the same device.

Annotation of likely iPhone 6 logic board component locations
(Click for larger)
With the photos showing only the bare printed board and no chips or other components installed, it is difficult to tell much new information from the part, although the locations of some components can be identified based on their similarities to other iPhone logic boards.

The iPhone 6 is expected to see a similar launch timeframe as in recent years, with a September media event introduction followed by a launch shortly after. While the 4.7-inch model is expected to follow this timeline, an even larger 5.5-inch model is said to still be in flux and may not debut until several months later.

Apple Reportedly Acquired ‘Pandora for Books’ Startup BookLamp In April

Apple has acquired BookLamp, a “Pandora for books” startup that aimed to provide personalized book recommendations to readers via specialized algorithms, reports TechCrunch. BookLamp first shut down in April.

BookLamp was known for its Book Genome project, a book discovery engine that analyzed the text of books to break them down by various themes and variables to let readers search for books similar to books they liked.

For example, analyzing The Da Vinci Code, the search engine would break it down to elements of 18.6% Religion and Religions Institutions, 9.4% Police & Murder Investigation, 8.2% Art and Art Galleries, and 6.7% Secret Societies and Communities, and then it would be able to recommend a book similar to The Da Vinci Code based on that data.

BookLamp screenshot via Mashable
This type of analytics service could be directly used to improve recommendations and search in iBooks, and as noted by TechCrunch, BookLamp’s technology could be used to create a competitor to Amazon X-Ray, which lets readers see where in the book certain terms or characters appear.

BookLamp also provided content analysis services to a number of e-book distributors like Amazon, Apple, and other publishers, screening books for categorization and providing a platform for publishers to screen manuscripts. The acquisition will see Apple ramping up its focus on books, according to one source with knowledge of the acquisition.

Part of the reason that Apple made the move to acquire BookLamp was because of this long list of clients. “At first Apple and BookLamp talked about growing their contract, but then they talked more from a strategic standpoint,” a source says. “What Apple wanted to do was, instead of contract, they wanted to make sure whatever work was done was done just for them.”

And what is that work? The details are not clear yet, but the source says, “in broad strokes, the goal that [founder Aaron] Stanton and three of the folks he was working with from the original BookLamp crew is to beat Amazon at their own game.”

BookLamp was purchased for a sum between $10 million and $15 million and while Apple has yet to confirm the purchase, a large amount evidence gathered by TechCrunch suggests several former BookLamp employees have relocated to Cupertino and are now working for Apple.

Buyer’s Guide: Discounts on MacBook Air, Retina MacBook Pro, AppleCare, and Apple Accessories [Mac Blog]

This week’s Buyer’s Guide includes deals on the MacBook Air, the Retina MacBook Pro, and AppleCare, as well as an array of Apple-related accessories that are currently on sale.

MacBook Air

Apple’s MacBook Air is currently available for up to $150 off at Best Buy, with Adorama, Amazon, and B&H Photo offering similar deals on some models.

The entry-level 11-inch MacBook Air with 128 GB of storage can be purchased for $799 from Best Buy, Adorama, or B&H Photo. The higher-end 11-inch MacBook Air with increased storage is available for $949 from Best Buy and Amazon.

The entry-level 13-inch MacBook Air with 128 GB of storage is available for $849 from Best Buy and the higher-end model with more storage can be purchased for $1,099 from Best Buy, Adorama, or B&H Photo.

Best Buy’s MacBook Air discount is only available until July 26, but it can be combined with the site’s educational deal that offers $100 off all Macs, making it a solid choice for students. Buying from Adorama and B&H Photo gives the benefit of no sales tax in many states, as these two stores only charge tax in New York/New Jersey and New York, respectively.

Retina MacBook Pro

Apple’s Retina MacBook Pro has seen ongoing discounts for the past several weeks, with many of the price cuts, in the range of $100 to $150 off, still available this week.

The lower-end 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro with 4GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage is $1,199 at Adorama and B&H Photo. The lower-end 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro with 8GB of memory and 256GB of storage is $1,829.99 at Amazon, Adorama, and B&H Photo, while the higher-end model with 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage is $2,449 at Amazon, Adorama, and B&H Photo.

iMac

The end of July has brought some of the best iMac deals we’ve seen this month, with Best Buy offering the new low-cost 21.5-inch iMac for $949.99, a savings of $150. Best Buy is also offering the 21.5-inch 2.7GHz iMac for $1,149, while Best Buy, Adorama, and B&H Photo are offering the 21.5-inch 2.9GHz iMac for $1,349.99.

As for the 27-inch iMac, the 3.2GHz version is on sale for $1,649.99 at Best Buy and the 3.4GHz version is on sale for $1,849.99 at Best Buy and B&H Photo.

iPad

Best Buy is offering a discount on all of its 16GB fourth-generation iPads, both Wi-Fi and cellular, selling them for $329.99, a discount of $70.

AppleCare

Like last week, B&H Photo is offering several discounts on AppleCare. The AppleCare Protection Plan for the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro and the 15-inch MacBook Pro is available for $244, $105 off Apple’s regular price.

The AppleCare Protection Plan for the MacBook Air and the 13-inch Retina Macbook Pro is available for $174, $75 off Apple’s regular price.

The AppleCare Protection Plan for the Mac Pro is available for $174, $75 off Apple’s regular price, while the AppleCare Protection Plan for the iMac is available for $129, $40 off Apple’s regular price.

Apple-Related Accessories

Best Buy is offering the Jawbone UP24 for $99.99, a discount of $50 off the regular price. Best Buy is also offering $100 iTunes gift cards for $85 and the site has refurbished AirPort Extreme Wireless Base Stations on sale for $120, a discount of $80.

The Mophie Juice Pack Helium rechargeable battery case for the iPhone 5/5s is available for $59.99 from Groupon, a savings of $20. Groupon also has a solid deal on a dual stylus/pen from Belkin, offering it for $9.99, a savings of $25.

Daily Steals has Apple EarPods on sale for $15, and the site is offering Apple’s Lightning to 30-pin adapter for $15. Finally, Griffin has a sitewide sale going on, offering 25 percent off all products with the code GT25. The deal is only good today.

MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors.

U.S. House Approves Bill Making Smartphone Unlocking Legal, Obama Pledges to Sign it Into Law

We’re one step closer to being able to legally unlock smartphones again, as the United States House of Representatives today passed legislation that legalizes cell phone unlocking, unanimously voting in favor of the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act.

The Act was approved by the Senate last week, which means the final step is presidential approval. Obama has long supported making cell phone locking legal again, and today pledged to sign the bill into law.

I applaud Members of Congress for passing the Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act. Last year, in response to a “We the People” petition from consumers across our country, my Administration called for allowing Americans to use their phones or mobile devices on any network they choose. We laid out steps the FCC, industry, and Congress should take to ensure copyright law does not undermine wireless competition, and worked with wireless carriers to reach a voluntary agreement that helps restore this basic consumer freedom.

The bill Congress passed today is another step toward giving ordinary Americans more flexibility and choice, so that they can find a cell phone carrier that meets their needs and their budget. I commend Chairmen Leahy and Goodlatte, and Ranking Members Grassley and Conyers for their leadership on this important consumer issue and look forward to signing this bill into law.

The Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act came about following a 2013 “We the People petition” that called for cell phone unlocking to be made legal. Cell phone unlocking first became illegal in January of 2013, after an exception in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act expired, restricting U.S. customers from shifting service to other carriers or using their devices abroad with local SIM cards.

Under the terms of the bill, consumers and third-party services will again be able to unlock cell phones and tablets without receiving express permission from carriers and without facing criminal penalties.

In December of 2013, U.S. cellular carriers and the FCC also came to an agreement over a set of voluntary principles that make it easier for wireless customers to unlock their devices and switch from carrier to carrier after a contract has been fulfilled.

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.

OS X Yosemite’s Share of Mac Traffic Doubles Following Public Beta Launch

Following the launch of yesterday’s public beta for OS X Yosemite, the operating system’s share of global Mac traffic has nearly doubled according to installation numbers from GoSquared.

The site has been tracking the usage of OS X Yosemite in real time since its initial developer launch on June 2. Yesterday, ahead of the beta launch, Yosemite accounted for 0.26 percent of all Mac traffic globally and as of today, that number has crept up to 0.49 percent.

In just over 24 hours, the number of Yosemite users has doubled, and those numbers will likely grow even further today and over the weekend as additional testers download the beta OS. Many users are still having issues downloading the software, which is preventing Yosemite from reaching all prospective beta testers.

Earlier this month, analytics from Chitika suggested developer interest in Yosemite was higher than usual, with early adoption rates outpacing Mavericks adoption rates by a significant margin. High interest in OS X Yosemite can be attributed to both the operating system’s redesign with a focus on simplicity and translucency and its new features that offer deep integration with iOS 8, including Continuity.

Last year, OS X Mavericks was adopted at a rapid pace, seeing 7 percent installation in under 24 hours after its public launch. Based on the public beta numbers and the high developer interest, Yosemite adoption may be even more rapid when the software is released to the public this fall.

OS X Yosemite is currently available to registered developers and those who signed up to beta test the software. Beta users who are new to the operating system can check out our first impressions post and get troubleshooting tips and information on Yosemite’s new features in our Yosemite forums.

GoSquared’s Yosemite numbers are gathered from the percentage of page views across all sites using GoSquared’s analytics and updated on a minute-by-minute basis.