Apple’s Arizona Sapphire Plant May See Expansion to Bolster Yields

As construction on Apple and GT Advanced’s sapphire manufacturing plant in Mesa, Arizona, progresses, the two companies are already looking at expanding their available space.

According to AppleInsider, several companies in the area are currently bidding on a potential expansion, which would possibly allow GT Advanced to put out even greater quantities of sapphire for use in Apple’s products. While it remains unclear just how Apple will use the sapphire, there have been several strong hints and equipment orders pointing towards sapphire displays for the upcoming iPhone 6.

Aerial view of Apple’s existing facility (via AppleInsider)
Announced in November, the Mesa, Arizona facility currently under construction will house approximately 700 employees with enough sapphire-making equipment to supply screens for Apple’s entire line of iPhones – capacity is at 100 to 200 million sapphire displays per year, according to an analyst estimate. If the proposed expansion is also used for sapphire manufacturing, GT Advanced’s output capabilities could increase even further.

Public records from the U.S. International Trade Administration suggest that there are several vacant parcels of land adjacent to the area where Apple is already building.

Although the exact purpose of the second unit is unknown, the build would likely be similar to Cascade’s building as project planners are said to be fielding bids from existing construction companies and material suppliers. Firms actively working on the project include Rosendin Electric, Wesco Distribution and Graybar Electric, among others.

While documents filed with the Foreign-Trade Zone Board in January suggested Apple was aiming to open the plant in February, construction is ongoing. The site does appear to be functioning in a partial capacity, however, powered by an array of temporary generators, possibly already producing sapphire for future products.

Apple Seeds OS X Mavericks 10.9.3 Build 13D28 to Developers [Mac Blog]

Apple today seeded build 13D28 of OS X 10.9.3 to developers, a little over one week after releasing the third OS X 10.9.3 beta, build 13D21 and three weeks after the first 10.9.3 beta. The beta is available through the Software Update mechanism in the Mac App Store as well as through the Mac Dev Center.

Apple is currently asking developers to focus on Graphics Drivers and Audio. As was discovered with the first beta, 10.9.3 adds new support for 4K displays, offering “Retina” resolutions that improve readability along with support for 60Hz output from the Retina MacBook Pro.

Swiss Watchmakers Rebuff Apple’s Partnership and Hiring Advances

Apple allegedly is trying to tap Swiss watchmakers for their technical and metallurgy expertise as the company works to brings its rumored iWatch to the market, reports the Financial Times. Though Apple is reaching out to several companies, most are not willing to work with the Cupertino company.

Swatch chief executive officer Nick Hayek confirmed the watchmaker has talked to several companies about their wearable products, but he is not interested in forging a partnership with any group.

We have been in discussions – not ever initiated by us – with practically all players in smart wearables up until today,” Swatch chief executive Nick Hayek told the Financial Times. “However, we see no reason why we should enter into any partnership agreement.”

Hayek says his reluctance to work with Apple and similar companies comes from his desire to protect Swatch’s advancements in ergonomic design, longevity and battery life, but he also has been critical of the iWatch, proclaiming publicly the smartwatch won’t be “the next revolution” for Apple.

iWatch concept from Hungarian freelance designer Gábor Balogh

Jean-Claude Biver, president of Watches and Jewelry at LVMH, claims Apple unsuccessfully tried to poach employees from his Hublot brand as well as from other manufacturers who make precision parts for these luxury watches.

“Apple has contacted some of my employees – I saw the emails personally,” Mr Biver told a Swiss publication, claiming that all those who had been contacted refused the iPhone maker’s advances.

Apple allegedly may launch the iWatch later this year as it prepares to expand its lineup of mobile devices to the wrist. The iWatch possibly may have a fitness focus with biosensors that enable users to track vital health statistics like heart rate, blood pressure and more. It is believed the band could share this data with Apple’s Healthbook app, a health and fitness title expected to debut alongside iOS 8.

Apple to Open First Turkish Retail Store in Istanbul on April 5

Apple is ready to open its first retail store next week in Turkey, with a grand opening gala that may feature Apple CEO Tim Cook and Turkish President Abdullah Gül. Located in Istanbul’s Zorlu Center Shopping Center, the retail store will open at 10:00 AM on Saturday, April 5, 2014, reports Elma Dergisi.

The Turkish store occupies approximately 20,000 square feet in the heart of Istanbul’s popular, multi-use shopping center. The Zorlu Center store is thought to feature a cubic glass ceiling, glass sides and in-store services such as a dedicated “Family Room” floor and dual Genius Bars, reports 9to5Mac. The structure is currently hidden behind barricades until its official debut.

This Zorlu Center store is the first of several retail stores planned for Turkey as Apple makes inroads into this new market. Apple also met with Turkish government officials to equip Turkish school children with 10.6 million tablets in a new education initiative to bring cutting-edge technology into schools.

Though negotiations appeared to be favorable for Apple, this bid eventually was awarded to Turkish company Telpa, which is providing tablets from General Mobile, a Turkish-owned company operating out of the United States.

Roku CEO Calls Apple TV a ‘Money Loser’, Says Product is ‘Essentially’ an Accessory for iPad

Speaking at the inaugural Code/Media event held by technology website Re/code (via CNET), Roku CEO and founder Anthony Wood called the Apple TV “a money loser” for Apple, liking the product to an accessory for the iPad and questioning why Apple would want to sell more units of the device. Wood’s remarks come as Apple is said to be preparing a new version of the Apple TV that will integrate with Comcast’s network to enable a streaming TV service for users.

“Apple TV is essentially an accessory for the iPad. They lose money, which is unusual for Apple,” he said Thursday, speaking at the Recode conference here. “If you’re losing money, why would you want to sell more?”

Wood also commented on Amazon’s upcoming set-top box debuting next month, as well as overall competition in the set-top media box market:

“Every year about this time, the Amazon box comes up that they’re about to launch. And the new Apple TV is about to launch … We’ve been competing with Apple TV for six years now, and every year, we’ve grown,” Wood told Kafka. ”We’re in the TV platform business. Our goal is to be the operating system for TV.”

The CEO also went on to tell the crowd that sales of the Roku doubled after Apple dropped the price of the Apple TV from $249 to $99 two years ago. Wood’s comments are notable given that the Apple TV reportedly generated $1 billion last year, which was revealed by Apple CEO Tim Cook during the company’s 2014 shareholder’s meeting.

Roku refreshed its set-top box line with three new models joining its flagship Roku 3 last September, and also introduced a $50 HDMI streaming-stick to compete directly with Google’s Chromecast and the Apple TV. Despite the Apple TV’s growing popularity, however, a report last August from Parks Associates indicated that the Roku has proven to be more popular than Apple’s set top box, as 14% of U.S. broadband households were said to be using streaming media boxes.

Apple is expected to launch a new Apple TV sometime in the near future, with some rumors pointed to a refined set-top box that may include gaming and cable box-like capabilities in addition to the aforementioned streaming TV integration.

A report from The Information also added details to the forthcoming device, claiming that it will feature a dramatically overhauled interface, which will blend TV listings with apps and video from the web, with Apple asking iOS game developers to make their titles compatible with its new product so that users can play games on their TV using iOS devices as controllers.

Philips Expanding ‘Hue’ LED Lighting Line with White Bulbs, Tap-Powered Switch [iOS Blog]

Back in October 2012, Philips launched its “hue” line of iOS-compatible LED light bulbs, giving users the ability to set and control light colors and intensities right from an iPhone app. With various “recipes”, users can select from preset and customized lighting scenes to fit a variety of situations, from reading to relaxing to concentrating and more.

Philips has expanded the Hue family several times since the initial launch, including a “Friends of hue” accessory line of light strips and table lamps, as well as new BR30 light bulbs for recessed lighting fixtures.

The Hue family is set to expand again, with Philips today announcing three new upcoming products. The first is known as “hue lux”, a light bulb similar to the existing hue bulb but which can only emit white light. While hue lux lacks the color options available with the original hue, users can remotely control the brightness of hue lux, set schedules, and more.

hue lux
Hue lux launches this summer with a starter kit consisting of two hue lux bulbs and a required bridge device to set up the hue network for $100. Additional hue lux bulbs will be available for $40 each, compared to the $60 price tag for the original hue with colors.

hue tap
The second product Philips is announcing today is “hue tap” a round mountable switch to make it easy to control hue lights without needing to access the hue iPhone app. The hue tap includes four buttons to store lighting recipes that are accessible with a simple tap. The hue tap requires no wiring or batteries and is powered simply by the kinetic energy from users tapping on the switch. The hue tap will be available in the second half of this year and will be priced at $60.

For the more adventurous, the final hue products being announced today are new 3D-printed luminaires. Available in both table and hanging pendant versions, the lights serve as art pieces that integrate with the hue system with palettes of over 16 million colors. Pre-orders for the luminaires begin on March 31, with the pendants priced at 2999 euros and table lamps priced at 2499 euros.

Microsoft Paying Apple 30-Percent Cut on In-App Office 365 Subscription Purchases

Microsoft is paying a 30-percent cut to Apple on Office 365 subscription purchases made within the Office for iPad apps released today, in line with Apple’s in-app purchase requirements required of other brands reports Re/code. This was previously a sticking point between the two companies, and was rumored to be a large part of why Microsoft wouldn’t release Office on the iPad.

However, Microsoft’s new CEO, Satya Nadella, is apparently more willing to work within Apple’s requirements than ousted CEO Steve Ballmer. Year-long Office 365 subscriptions are available for in-app purchase for $100, with the subscription good for downloading Office on up to five tablets and five computers, Mac or PC computers, and Android, Windows or iOS tablets.

Indeed, Microsoft does offer Office 365 subscriptions within the just-released Word for iPad and the other Office apps and, yes, it is paying the 30 percent cut, Apple confirmed to Re/code. Microsoft declined to comment on the matter.

Apple has taken a hard line with all manner of publishers that want to sell things, even subscriptions that go well beyond the iPad content — if anything is sold in the app, they have to use Apple’s method and hand over 30 percent.

Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted to welcome Office for iPad to the App Store, with Nadella tweeting back that Microsoft was “excited to bring the magic of Office to iPad customers”. During Nadella’s press conference today, he said the company was looking to “empower people to be more productive” and to “do more across all devices”.

Microsoft Office for iPad is a free download from the App Store, with Office 365 Home Premium available for $10/month or $100/year good for five tablets and five computers, with an Office 365 Personal subscription good for one computer and one tablet coming later this year for $7/month or $70/year.

There are also separate business options available as well, with billing based on total seats.

– Microsoft Word for iPad [Direct Link]
– Microsoft Excel for iPad [Direct Link]
– Microsoft PowerPoint for iPad [Direct Link]

Macworld 2014: Avegant Shows Off ‘Glyph’ Mobile Personal Theater [iOS Blog]

Avegant’s Glyph headset originated as a Kickstarter project that ended in February, earning more than 1.5 million dollars. The company is showing off the Glyph at Macworld, giving users a first look at the head-worn mobile theater.

The Glyph, which is currently in the alpha stages of development, is essentially a set of headphones with a built-in screen that flips down for a fully immersive media experience. Rather than using a traditional display, Glyph incorporates a Virtual Retinal Display that uses an array of micromirrors that reflect an image directly onto the retina of the eye, which produces a very clear image.

Avegant’s demo headset at Macworld was showing a 3D underwater scene complete with a jellyfish floating around, all of which looked ultra crisp after the headset was properly adjusted to eye width. The image seemed much clearer than traditional 3D images, though the display itself felt a bit small. According to the company, the device is designed to emulate an 80-inch screen approximately eight feet away with a 45 degree field of view.

Glyph is individually adjusted for each user and it is even able to incorporate glasses prescriptions for optimal viewing. The company also says that the micromirror technology prevents eye strain and nausea commonly associated with other conventional headset displays.

The product is being designed to work with all kinds of media input, plugging into any HDMI source including iPhones and MacBooks to display video games (complete with head tracking), streaming movies, and more. The final version will be powered via battery, and the company’s goal is to have enough battery life for a full-length movie to be watched — approximately two to three hours.

The Glyph uses a simple HDMI input to display anything in your content library, from the movies that you already own to streamed Netflix over your iPhone to the desktop environment in your Mac or PC. The Glyph is also great for gaming, whether in playing Call of Duty Ghosts on your Playstation or Real Racing on your mobile phone. And with an integrated 9 Degree of Freedom head-tracker, a whole world of interactive gaming, Point of View (PoV) imaging and interactive storytelling is within our reach.

While the alpha model that is being used for demonstrations is quite bulky and weighs in at 1.5 pounds, the company says the finished product will be quite a bit slimmer. During a demo, Glyph’s creators also emphasized its ability to be worn as a traditional set of headphones, flipping down the screen when appropriate, as a way to distinguish it from other headset-style displays such as the Oculus Rift.

Glyph can be preordered for $499 from the Avegant website. The product is expected to ship during the first quarter of 2015.

Macworld 2014: BearExtender Shows Off iOS Compatible Edge Wi-Fi Extender [iOS Blog]

BearExtender, known for its Wi-Fi enhancing products like the BearExtender Turbo, is demonstrating its new no-frills Edge Wi-Fi extender for iOS devices, Macs, and other electronic devices at Macworld.

Compatible with 802.11ac networks, the easy-to-use Edge is a long range Wi-Fi boosting device that is able to plug into an outlet in any room where existing Wi-Fi signal is weak. Unlike its previous boosting products that were limited to Macs, the Edge is BearExtender’s first product that is compatible with iOS devices like the iPad and the iPhone.

Both Macs and iOS devices can connect to the BearExtender Edge through a simple setup screen with no software to install. Edge will ship in the summer of 2014, and interested customers can visit the BearExtender website to sign up for a notification when it is available.

Though pricing has yet to be announced, BearExtender says the Edge’s price will be in line with its BearExtender Turbo device, at approximately $70.