Mac Pro Ship Times Improve to 24 Hours as Some Retail Stores Begin Carrying Stock [Mac Blog]
Nearly six months post launch, base configurations of the new Mac Pro are now available to ship within 24 hours from Apple’s online store for its North American and Asia Pacific regions. Base models in other countries are still listed at 3-5 business days, but those should also move to 24 hours soon. Custom-configured models are listed as available to ship in 1 -2 weeks in most countries.
In addition to orders for shipment, base Mac Pro systems are now also available for same-day Personal Pickup in select U.S. Apple retail stores.
Apple’s latest Mac Pro model is assembled in the U.S. at an Austin, Texas facility run by Flextronics. Tim Cook and Eddy Cue recently visited the factory, which has been receiving praise for bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. The plant is approximately a mile away from Apple’s expanding Northwest Austin campus that has added more than 700 workers with the recent first expansion phase and eventually will add 3,600 employees to the previous 3,100 employee campus by the end of 2021.
Since the Mac Pro debuted at the end of 2013, Apple has been quiet on the hardware front in 2014, pushing out a small upgrade to the MacBook Air and a new 8 GB iPhone 5c for some markets. Apple is rumored to be working on a Retina MacBook Air and new iMac models, perhaps including a more affordable iMac that will address growth in foreign markets.
Synaptics to Acquire iPhone Display Chipmaker Renesas SP Drivers for $475 Million [iOS Blog]
Earlier this year, Apple was rumored to be in negotiations with chipmaker Renesas Electronics to acquire its Renesas SP Drivers division, which produces chips for smartphone displays including the iPhone. Talks between the companies reportedly “failed to make progress,” with touchpad and touchscreen maker Synaptics entering the picture as the likely acquirer. As noted by Reuters, that deal is now official, with Synaptics paying $475 million for Renesas SP Drivers.
Synaptics previously supplied the scroll wheel for the first iPod, but lost Apple as a customer when the Cupertino company decided to bring its touch technology in house. Synaptics hopes to bring back Apple as a customer now that it will be acquiring Renesas SP Drivers in a deal expected to close later this year.
“Our better opportunities are really complementary technologies to what they do internally. And at this junction I don’t believe they do any driver chips internally so that would really be an opportunity for us,” Synaptics Inc Chief Executive Rick Bergman said to Reuters.
Synaptics reportedly will use this acquisition to develop a single-chip solution that combines its touch technology with Renesas SP’s display technology. This combined chipset is projected to improve display performance and lower component cost for smartphone makers such as Apple and Samsung. Synaptics also manufactures fingerprint sensors and controls 90 percent of the market after it acquired fingerprint ID provider Validity for $255 million last year.
Taiwanese Star Jimmy Lin Gaining Attention for iPhone 6 Mockup Photos
Taiwanese media star and race car driver Jimmy Lin has once again surfaced showing what he seems to be passing off as a legitimate iPhone 6, although the device is more likely to be one of many physical mockups seen in recent months.
Lin has a history of such postings, having shared what he claimed was a mini iPad back in 2010 two years before the real iPad mini debuted, what was clearly an iPhone 5 mockup, and what appears to have been a knockoff iPhone 5c shell or dummy unit based on accurate design specs that were circulating ahead of the device’s release last year.
In his latest “iPhone 6″ photos, Lin shows the device next to the iPhone 5 and 5s, comparisons that have been seen in a number of different settings already. Among the suspect aspects of his unit are what appears to be a nonfunctional yellow blank in place of the rear flash, a larger than expected FaceTime camera hole, and a lack of any photos with the unit turned on.
Lin’s unit appears very similar to one we’ve seen in photos sent by a supplier to screen protector and stylus firm Halo-Direct, although this unit lacks the Apple logo seen on Lin’s.
The 4.7-inch iPhone 6 is expected to debut around the September timeframe, with an even larger 5.5-inch model reportedly also in the works. It is unclear, however, where that larger model will debut alongside or up to several months later than the smaller version.
Europe opens investigation into Apple’s tax deals
Apple has said on more than one occasion that it pays its fair share of taxes, but it appears that the European Commission isn’t so sure. Today, the regulator confirmed it’s launched an investigation into whether the company is enjoying better tax deals than are warranted under EU law. It all centers around Apple’s Irish subsidiaries, Apple Sales International and Apple Operations Europe, which may have benefited from pricing arrangements that allowed it to minimize the overall amount of tax it paid. At 12.5 percent, Ireland’s business tax rate is lower than most EU member states, but Apple has previously been accused of securing rates as low as 2 percent.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has been questioned over Apple’s accounting practices before. Last year, Cook noted that Apple’s “effective tax rate” was 30.5 percent and it paid a total of $6 billion, which he claimed was more than any other company in the US. Due to its massive size, the company stores most of its cash overseas as it would cost billions in taxes to repatriate it. “I’ve seen something where people think we have a special deal with the Irish government where we get a two percent flat tax rate,” Cook has also said, referencing Apple’s operations in Ireland. “We don’t have that. Let me just set that aside.” Now the probe is official, the Commission says it will look to gather more information from Irish authorities and from Apple itself, no doubt following up on Cook’s claims in the process.
Filed under: Apple
Source: Europa
Apple Reportedly Launching Updated iMacs with Faster Processors Next Week
Apple is planning to update its iMac line next week with faster processors and lower prices, according to a new report from MacGeneration (Google Translate). Citing the same sources that correctly predicted the MacBook Air refresh this past April, the website also notes that Apple may also include Thunderbolt 2 ports on the new iMacs and will launch them later in the week instead of the usual Tuesday release day as done for other Apple products.
Like the MacBook Air refresh, Apple will reportedly increase the processor speed of each standard configuration by 100 MHz by using a number of just-launched processors, including the 3.3 GHZ i5-4690, the 3.5 GHz i5-4690, and 3.6 GHz i7-4790 for the 27-inch model as well as the 3.0 GHz i5-4590S and 3.2 GHz i5-4790S for the 21.5-inch model. It is also likely that Apple will cut the price of the standard iMac configurations to go along with these minor spec bumps.
KGI Securities Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted last year and earlier this year that Apple would be launching a lower-cost iMac in the near future to address growth in foregin markets.
Meanwhile, recent evidence in the OS X Yosemite developer preview has also indicated that Apple is gearing up to launch Retina Display-equipped iMacs in the near future. It is possible that Apple may then initially move to split the iMac lineup, selling the Retina models at higher price points alongside cheaper non-Retina models. A lower price point for the non-Retina models may also help address growth in critical foreign markets such as China.
iTunes Radio expands sports and news offerings with ESPN and local NPR stations
NPR came to iTunes Radio in March, but at the time it was only one national station. Now there are over 40 local stations like WBEZ in Chicago, WBUR in Boston and WNYC in New York. You can pull in the fresh streams of these local affiliates AM or FM options so you can get all your regional gems in addition to national hits like Radiolab and On the Media. Perhaps more exciting though (since you could always get the best of NPR in podcast form and through its dedicated app) is the addition of ESPN Radio. You can enjoy all the sports-talk you want and you won’t get blacked out on nationally broadcast events like the World Cup, the World Series or the Stanley Cup Finals. All you have to do is fire up the iTunes Radio app and you’ll find all the new content ready and waiting for you.
iPhone Photography Awards Showcase Best iOS Photos of 2014 [iOS Blog]
Photos from the winners of the seventh annual iPhone Photography Awards have been posted on the IPPA website, offering a look at some of the best pictures taken with the iPhone over the course of the past year.
Like last year, the photos include a range of subjects, from landscapes and animals to people and macro shots. The winning photo, featuring a hiker on a snowy mountain comes from photographer Julio Lucas. The second and third place photos feature a shadowed man and a spotted dog on a matching background.
Along with three top winners, the IPPA also has awards for several different categories, including animals, architecture, children, flowers, food, landscape, nature, and more. A closeup snapshot of a fox won in the animal category and a fantastic shot of an incoming storm won in the panorama category.
According to the rules of the contest, all of the photos were taken with an iPhone. While photo editing apps like Instagram, VSCO, and Snapseed were permitted, no external manipulation was allowed.
Apple’s iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s continue to be, by far, the most popular cameras on photo sharing site Flickr and Apple has remained committed to improving the iPhone’s camera with each new iteration. Several camera improvements were introduced with the iPhone 5s, including a True-Tone flash and an improved sensor, and even more camera improvements are expected with the upcoming iPhone 6.
Photos from all of the winners of the iPhone Photography Awards can be found on the IPPA website.
Progress on Apple Campus 2 Continues as Walls Go Up
Construction at Apple’s Spaceship campus continues, with the circular building beginning to take shape according to an image posted to Twitter by KCBS news and traffic reporter Ron Cervi (via 9to5Mac).
In the most recent shot, a wall has been built around the perimeter of the building, outlining where the foundation will be poured. A different tweet by @DawnMortensen notes that Pruneridge Avenue, a road that runs through the campus itself, has been permanently closed.
Street-level photographs back in December revealed several buildings still standing, but another aerial photo from February suggested a large portion of the demolition work had been completed. During construction, Apple has closed off sidewalks and built a large green privacy fence to keep the area hidden.
Progress on #ApplesNewHQ, a small wall around the foundation of the spaceship has sprouted. #sky1hightechtour pic.twitter.com/iM3JrIQUBH
— Ron (@Sky1Ron) June 10, 2014
Cervi has been posting a number of images of the campus over the past few months, tracking the progress of construction. Campus 2 is expected to open in 2016.
Apple turns up its advertising push with plans for 1,000-person internal agency
Few companies have had advertising campaigns as iconic as Apple’s — from the infamous 1984 ad to the more recent PC vs. Mac commercials — but there’s a general perception that the outfit’s latest efforts haven’t been quite as impactful. Even Phil Schiller, Apple’s Senior VP of Global Marketing, admitted in a private email (revealed as part of a recent patent lawsuit) that Samsung has been beating it in the marketing game. However, it appears that the folks over at Cupertino are attempting to recapture some of that marketing mojo by building out its own in-house agency. In fact, according to Ad Age, it’s already staffed the internal group with big names from some of the top advertising companies in the country and hopes to eventually fill out the department with as many as 1,000 people.
That doesn’t mean it’s cutting out outside agencies altogether, however. Indeed, it’s still collaborating with long-time cohort TBWA/Media Arts Labs — the firm behind most of those iconic ads — on its advertising projects. But instead of just letting them handle all the creative decisions, Apple is actively pitting TBWA/MAL against this internal agency in order to get the best ideas, which is a relatively controversial method in advertising circles. It’s even invited other advertising firms to join in on the pitching process to make it even more competitive. According to Ad Age‘s sources, this competition has existed for awhile, but has grown even fiercer in recent months as the in-house agency seems to be winning more often than not. It remains to be seen if Apple can ever regain the glory of its past campaigns with this recent push, but as the competition heats up, it probably behooves the fruit company to think differently.
[Image credit: Getty Images]
Source: Ad Age
‘Ringly’ Smart Ring Relays iPhone Notifications Over Bluetooth [iOS Blog]
Ringly, a new iPhone-connected smart ring designed for women, uses Bluetooth LE to connect to a phone, lighting up and buzzing to alert users of calls, messages, emails, and other app notifications.
Billed as the first connected ring, Ringly aims to allow users to continue to receive notifications even while a phone is put away in a bag or otherwise unavailable. The ring, which lasts for up to three days on a single charge, connects to an accompanying iPhone app to deliver notifications.
Ringly creates jewelry and accessories that connect to your phone and notify you about the things that matter most. Put your phone away and enjoy the moment.
Ringly is designed to light up or vibrate when a notification is received, and it is entirely customizable by the end user. It features four vibration patterns and five colors that can be assigned to different notifications. Incoming Twitter notifications might buzz in a certain way, for example, while a phone call might light up. The ring is also able to sync with reminders, letting users know when a meeting or appointment is coming up.
Ringly is available in three sizes (6,7, and 8) with four different designs that feature precious and semi-precious stones in 18K matte gold settings. Three of the rings can be pre-ordered for $145, while a fourth ring sells for $180. The rings will retail for considerably more, starting at $195. The first 1,000 rings sold are also advertised as having a real diamond in the side.
AIVAnet 