Apple Strikes Deal for Third Solar Farm at North Carolina Data Center [Mac Blog]

Apple has struck a deal for a new 100-acre solar farm near its Maiden, North Carolina data center, the third such farm providing energy for the facility, reports the Hickory Daily Record. According to the report, Apple will be making an initial investment of $55 million in the solar farm, which will generate 17.5 megawatts of power.

Apple plans to have a grading permit submitted for the property by the end of the year, pending acquisition of the land and other terms of the development agreement. If everything else goes according to plan, the farm is projected to be completed within five years of the commencement date.

Apple’s North Carolina data center is the first in a series of significant data center projects the company has undertaken in recent years, with Apple also working on centers in Oregon and Nevada. Under its promise to run its data centers on 100% renewable energy, Apple has been investing heavily in energy sources such as solar and biogas while purchasing other types of renewable energy from suppliers.

The North Carolina data center was joined by a 20-megawatt solar farm across the street by late 2012, and Apple has also been developing a second 20-megawatt solar farm a few miles away. The data center is also powered by a biogas fuel cell facility that began as a 4.8-megawatt project but was later expanded to 10 megawatts.

Apple’s exact plans for this third solar farm are unclear, as the five-year planning horizon suggests it may be part of a longer-term vision for the site. The current data center primarily consists of a massive 500,000 square-foot building, but plans presented by Apple during the project’s development depicted a second building of equal size ultimately being constructed next door. Apple’s timeline for any expansion of that magnitude for the data center itself remain unknown.

Apple Shares ‘Pride’ Video Featuring Preparation for San Francisco Pride Parade

In late June, San Francisco held its 44th annual Pride parade, which saw several companies, including Apple, marching in support of the LGBT community.

Apple CEO Tim Cook attended the event and walked alongside Apple’s Environment Director Lisa Jackson and thousands of other Apple employees. Employees wore special T-shirts for the event and handed out iTunes gift cards good for a free song download.

Apple has now posted a new video of the event on its YouTube channel, depicting the company’s preparation for the parade, which included the aforementioned T-shirts, a pre-event celebration, special bicycles, and thousands of rainbow-colored flags. The song playing in the background of the video is Coldplay’s “A Sky Full of Stars.”

On June 29, thousands of Apple employees and their families marched in the San Francisco Pride Parade. They came from around the world — from cities as far as Munich, Paris, and Hong Kong — to celebrate Apple’s unwavering commitment to equality and diversity. Because we believe that inclusion inspires innovation

Apple CEO Tim Cook has expressed a deep belief in equality in the past, supporting the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which successfully added LGBT individuals to the U.S.’s existing nondiscrimination law.

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.

Apple’s ‘Health’ App Gains Ability to Track Steps With M7 Motion Coprocessor in New iOS 8 Beta

iOS 8 beta 3, which was released to developers earlier today, allows Apple’s Health app to access the iPhone’s M7 motion coprocessor, letting the app natively track movement like steps taken.

Available in newer devices like the iPhone 5s, the iPad Air, and the Retina iPad mini, the M7 “motion coprocessor” functions alongside the A7 chip in those devices, measuring accelerometer, gyroscope, and compass data for enhanced fitness tracking capabilities.

As noted by 9to5Mac the Health app’s “Steps” section now tallies the number of steps a user has taken as measured by the iPhone 5s. Users accessing the Health app today will be able to access a full week’s worth of data on their devices.

The M7 has been leveraged by several third-party app developers, such as Nike and Strava, but this is the first time the data has been made available directly via Apple’s own Health app and it is also the first real data the Health app is able to display.

Along with M7 integration, the Health app also has a new “Caffeine” section in the Nutrition portion of the Health Data tab. This appears to track how much caffeine is consumed and will likely integrate with third-party caffeine tracking apps such as UP Coffee from Jawbone, which lets users track the amount of coffee, tea, and other caffeinated beverages that are consumed on a daily basis.

At the current point in time, the Health app is rather limited, but by the time iOS 8 is released, dozens of device manufacturers and app developers will likely have built HealthKit into their apps, allowing the Health app to aggregate data from multiple sources into one easy-to-access spot. Health is also rumored to be heavily tied to Apple’s upcoming health-tracking wearable device, the iWatch.

As described by Apple, Health aims to be a one-stop dashboard for health and fitness data, tracking metrics measured by various devices and apps, including heart rate, food consumed, cholesterol, sleep quality, and more. Apple’s iOS 8 Health page says “It might just be the beginning of a health revolution.”

iOS 8 is currently available only to registered developers and will likely be released to the public in the fall, after several more beta iterations to refine the look and feel of the operating system.

iPhone 6 Front Panel Subjected to Scratch Test, Significant Bending [iOS Blog]

Earlier today, we shared a video of what appeared to be the front panel of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 subjected to a limited bending stress test, but YouTube user Marques Brownlee has now acquired the same front panel and subjected it to additional stress tests, including more significant bending and scratching.

In the video, Brownlee scratches and stabs at the panel with a set of keys and a knife, but is unable to cause any discernible damage to the display. He then goes on to bend it quite forcefully, both with his hands and under a shoe, but the panel does not break.

Though Brownlee describes the front panel as being made of sapphire crystal in his video, there is no way to confirm that the panel, which has been seen in previous videos and images, is indeed made of sapphire. Corning’s Gorilla Glass, which is currently used in iOS devices, also has many of the same properties — it is both highly scratch resistant and somewhat flexible.

Rumors have suggested Apple plans to utilize a sapphire display in the iPhone 6 for increased durability and scratch resistance, but it has also been suggested that sapphire could be limited to the larger 5.5-inch iPhone 6 due to supply constraints. In that case, the front panel of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 would likely continue to use Gorilla Glass.

Apple’s 4.7-inch iPhone is expected to be released this fall, likely in September. A larger 5.5-inch iPhone is also in the works, but it is unknown whether the device will launch alongside the 4.7-inch version or later in the year. Both devices are said to include an A8 processor and camera improvements.

Target Offering Gift Cards Up to $100 With Purchase of iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch [iOS Blog]

As part of a new July promotion, Target is offering Target gift cards with the purchase of any iOS device, including the iPad Air, the Retina iPad mini, the 32 GB iPod touch, and the iPhone 5s/5c.

Customers who purchase a $499 iPad Air or a $399 Retina iPad mini in any storage capacity (WiFi and WiFi + Cellular) will receive a $100 gift card, while those who buy a $249 32 GB iPod touch will receive a $30 gift card.

Target has discounted its 16 GB iPhone 5c to $30 and its 16 GB iPhone 5s to $100, and is also offering a $20 Target gift card on top of the discount.

Target customers can also get an additional five percent off of their purchases when using the Target REDCard. Target’s gift card with purchase deal will last through July 12.

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Tim Cook’s Impact on Apple Detailed in New Profile Along With Plans for New Board Members

The Wall Street Journal has released a new profile of Apple under Tim Cook, highlighting the changes the CEO has made to the company following the long and famous reign of Steve Jobs. While most of this information was previously known, it is a solid overview of the changes Cook has introduced to Apple and it does give a few new details on Cook’s plans.

Described as a “kinder, gentler” workplace, Apple under Tim Cook has a new focus on deep collaboration between employees. Cook is said to be less involved in product development and more willing to delegate tasks to employees, expanding the roles of several executives and giving design chief Jonathan Ive more control over product development. He’s also made major moves like acquiring Beats and hiring high-profile executives like Angela Ahrendts, and he’s also said to be working on adding new board members.

According to people familiar with the company, Mr. Cook is actively seeking new directors to add to Apple’s eight-person board, known for its loyalty to Mr. Jobs. Six of the seven outside directors are aged 63 or older. Four of them have served for more than a decade, including two who have been on the board since the late 1990s: former Intuit Corp. Chief Executive Bill Campbell and J. Crew Group Inc. Chief Executive Millard S. “Mickey” Drexler.

Cook is labeled as more of a manager and less of a visionary, causing current and former Apple employees to worry that without Steve Jobs, Apple is losing its “frenetic pace and focus” on new products. Employees also worry that the company may be working on too many projects at once.

Under Mr. Cook, current and former employees say Apple may be spreading itself too thin, pursuing too many ideas and compromising the “laser focus” that Mr. Jobs used to create the iMac, iPhone and iPad.

“It was Steve’s job to say no,” one of these people said. “Tim is not as comfortable doing that.”

The Wall Street Journal‘s full report has a much more detailed comparison of Cook and Jobs and it offers insight on other changes Cook has brought to the company, including lessening its impact on the environment and pledging to match employee charity donations.

Apple Releases OS X Yosemite Developer Preview 3

Alongside iOS 8 beta 3, Apple today released a new version of OS X Yosemite, three weeks after releasing the second Developer Preview and over a month after introducing the new operating system at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference.

The update, build 14A283o, can be downloaded from the Mac App Store or the Mac Dev Center.

OS X Yosemite brings a flatter, more modern look to OS X, with an emphasis on translucency and redesigned dock, windows, and more. It also includes a multitude of new features, such as improved integration with iOS 8 through Continuity, a new “Today” view in Notification Center that offers integration with third-party apps, a retooled Spotlight search with new data sources, and several new features for apps like Mail, Safari, and Messages.

Ahead of today’s new beta release, Apple announced plans to wipe all CloudKit data for the iOS and Yosemite betas, including data from iCloud Drive, iCloud Photo Library, and Mail Drop.

OS X Yosemite is currently only available to developers, but Apple plans to offer a beta version of the software to Mac users at some point during the summer. A public release of OS X Yosemite is expected in the fall, after several additional beta iterations.

New Features:

Dark Mode – First previewed during WWDC, Dark Mode is now officially available as of the third developer preview of Yosemite. Previously, Dark Mode could only be enabled via terminal command.

Interface tweaks – System Preferences, Mail, and iCloud Preferences have all seen some interface tweaks in DP3 as noted by 9to5Mac. There are also larger App Icons for Notifications and a new font in the Notification Center/Safari Favorites Bar.

QuickTime – QuickTime has an updated icon.

iOS 8 Beta 3 Tidbits: iCloud Drive Access, New Handoff Setting, and More

Apple today released the third beta of iOS 8, which brings a number of improvements, changes, and bug fixes to the beta software that was first introduced on June 2.

iOS 8 beta 3 also includes several minor interface tweaks and modifications that make the beta feel both faster and more polished. We’ve gathered up a comprehensive list of the enhancements that have been bundled into the release below, and to find out about all of the under-the-radar tweaks in iOS 8, make sure to check out our iOS 8 Hidden Features Roundup.

Find My Friends – iOS 8 beta 3 includes a new beta version of the Find My Friends and Find My iPhone apps. According to the release notes, Find My Friends allows users to move their friends list to an iCloud account if necessary.

iCloud Drive – There’s a new popup window in beta 3 giving users the option to upgrade to iCloud Drive for the first time. Introduced at WWDC, iCloud Drive lets users store any type of file.

Handoff – There’s a new Handoff setting in the General menu of the Settings app that allows users to toggle Handoff on and off. Handoff allows users to seamlessly transfer tasks between iOS and OS X.

QuickType Keyboard – There’s a new option in the Keyboards section of the General menu in the Settings app that lets users toggle QuickType on and off.

Wallpapers – iOS 8 beta 3 includes new wallpaper options in solid and gradient colors.

Weather – Some minor changes have been made to the way information is displayed within the Weather app.

New interface on the left, previous interface on the right.
App Analytics – After installing the beta, there’s a new option to opt into App Analytics. Users can choose to share crash data with app developers along with statistics about how apps are used.

Additional features in iOS 8 beta 3 will be added here as they are discovered. Apple is likely to continue pushing regular updates to iOS 8 at two or three-week intervals to bring minor performance boosts and changes ahead of the operating system’s launch. iOS 8 is expected to be released to the public in the fall. For more information on iOS 8′s features, major and minor, make sure to check out our roundups.