All-New Mac Pro Launches Thursday, December 19 Starting at $2999

Apple today announced that its redesigned Mac Pro will go on sale tomorrow through the company’s online and retail stores, as well as select authorized resellers.

Apple today announced the all-new Mac Pro will be available to order starting Thursday, December 19. Redesigned from the inside out, the all-new Mac Pro features the latest Intel Xeon processors, dual workstation-class GPUs, PCIe-based flash storage and ultra-fast ECC memory.

Designed around an innovative unified thermal core, the all-new Mac Pro packs unprecedented performance into an aluminum enclosure that is just 9.9-inches tall and one-eighth the volume of the previous generation.

Pricing for the Mac Pro begins at $2999, with a second stock configuration available for $3999. Apple has yet to announce full build-to-order pricing, but earlier this week we outlined expected retail pricing based on price quotes being offered to some business customers. Based on these quotes, a fully loaded Mac Pro will cost approximately $9999.

Camera+ Updated With Redesign, New Tools and Filters [iOS Blog]

Popular iPhone photography app Camera+ was updated to version today, adding a new design and a slew of new tools and filters. Along with a revamped app icon, Camera+ has gained an iOS 7-style redesign that also includes all new in-app icons.

In version 5 of Camera+, the exposure compensation and exposure lock controls have been split for greater control over camera shots and a more streamlined shooting experience. Several new tools have been added, like adjustable Clarity and Vibrance controls, manual straightening, color tinting, and duotone tinting.

The app has also gained adjustable Soft Focus and Film Grain filters, along with controls for sharpening blurry photos, creating blur, tinting photos, changing the temperature, fixing exposure, manipulating highlights and shadows, and altering brightness and contrast. Essentially, there are a huge number of new tools to work with in the app, which are listed below.

Clarity Pro
At the head of The Lab you’ll find Clarity Pro, which gives you adjustable Clarity and also adds a Vibrancy Boost adjustment which really brings out the life in your photos.

Straighten
Not only can you manually straighten your photos in The Lab… we’ve also included a slick auto-straighten feature.

Tint
Easily tone your photos whatever color you please. Go just a tad to set a subtle mood, all-out to make a bold statement, or anything in-between. And if you’re having a hard time choosing a color, simply roll the dice to get a random one… will it come up lucky seven or snake eyes??

Duotone
This takes the Tint adjustment and brings it to a whole other level. Try it. We’ll leave it at that.

Soft Focus
Give your photos a beautiful, ethereal quality with Soft Focus. This one’s addictive so promise not to overuse it, ok?

Film Grain
For the look of analog film. Fully adjustable so you can get the exact look you want.

Sharpen
This can often be the answer to a photo that came out a bit blurry.

Blur
Soften harsh pics. Or go to the extreme to make the perfect iOS 7 wallpapers. More on this later…

Saturation
Take it down for a cool, faded look. Or crank it up to make your pics pop.

Temperature
Easily enables you to make your pics look “warmer” or “cooler”. It can be used for a simple compensation, or turned way up for a bold look.

Exposure
Photo overexposed? Underexposed? This is the fix.

Brightness & Contrast
Two classic photo adjustments. You’d think that not much needs to be said about these two… but we went out of our way to make them look really good.

Highlights & Shadows
Boost or cut the bright and/or dark parts of your photos. Compensate for imperfect lighting conditions, or go for an intense, artistic effect.

Vignette
Top-off the perfect set of adjustments with a stylish Vignette. Not only can you put on a traditional dark one, you can also go light for an airy feel.

Camera+ is an iPhone-only app that can be downloaded from the App Store for $1.99. [Direct Link]

Australian watchdog forces Apple to offer 24-month warranties as standard

Apple’s had its hand slapped over its product warranties more times than it cares to remember. In its latest brush with competition regulators, the company has been hit with a court order from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) following claims it was misleading customers over their rights to a replacement, refund or repair on faulty products. Similar to its actions in Europe, the ACCC alleges that staff incorrectly applied the company’s own warranty policies, including its 14 day return policy and 12 month manufacturer warranty, instead of guarantees required by Australian consumer law.

The ACCC says Apple has agreed to bring its return and repair policies in line with local laws and will now provide consumers with a minimum of 24 months coverage — like it does in Europe and other parts of the world. It’s not the first time Apple has had run-ins with the ACCC either, last year it was fined AU$2.29 million ($2 million) for “deliberately” misleading customers over the 4G capabilities of its new iPad. Australian customers will soon be able to visit a new webpage on the Apple Store which clarifies the differences between the company’s own policies and those set out by law, putting an end to warranty confusion once and for all.

[Image Credit: jwy, Flickr]

Filed under: Cellphones, Laptops, Tablets, Apple

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Via: Wall Street Journal

Source: ACCC

Apple Forced to Change Refund Policy Under Australian Consumer Law [Mac Blog]

Apple is being forced to change its refund policy to fit under Australian consumer law after it was found to be lying to consumers about what they were entitled to by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

Apple and its suppliers told Australian consumers they were only entitled to what Apple wanted to offer them when products failed, rather than what they should have been entitled to under Australia’s new consumer laws.

Under Australian consumer protection law, Apple is required to provide either a full refund or replacement for products with “major failure” and to offer free repairs, refunds or replacements for products with “minor faults”. Apple is also responsible for non-Apple products sold in Australian Apple Stores. Apple’s warranty practices and AppleCare packages must offer services in addition to Australian consumer law, rather than replacing them.

Instead, the ACCC found that Apple was telling Australian consumers they were only entitled to a full refund if the product was returned within two weeks rather than the two years under Australian law. Apple was also apparently telling consumers they could only get a full refund or replacement on products within a year of purchase, rather than two years. Finally, Apple was saying it was not responsible for non-Apple products they sold and only offered store credit rather than full refunds or replacements.

In response, Apple will start reassessing all claims about faulty products purchased over the past two years starting on January 6, and will provide customers with new warranty benefits once reviewed. The older claims will take 90 days to review, with the ACCC potentially taking further action if Apple does not follow through. In addition, Apple will publish a note on its website detailing Australian consumer rights and stock ACCC consumer rights brochures in their retail stores. They will also retrain its staff and resellers.

Apple has run into trouble with its warranty practices in the past. In March, Apple adjusted its policies to fit under Australian consumer law as well. Apple has also faced fines over AppleCare practices in Italy and lawsuits from other countries in the European Union.

Mac and iOS users can now gift iBooks

Your chances of buying tangible gifts for the holidays may be fading fast, but your digital options are now wider than ever. Apple has just enabled full gift support on the iBookstore for both iOS and Mac users; you can buy someone a specific book rather than giving them iTunes credit. As with apps and media, it’s simple to either time the gift delivery or attach a message. An iBook may not be quite as elaborate as a present under the tree, but we doubt that many iPad-toting readers will mind.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Internet, Mobile, Apple

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Source: 9to5 Mac

Apple to Require New App Store Submissions to be ‘Optimized for iOS 7’ on February 1 [iOS Blog]

Apple has published a new announcement for developers on its dev center website notifying them that all new App Store submissions must be built with the latest version of Xcode 5 and optimized for iOS 7.

Starting February 1, new apps and app updates submitted to the App Store must be built with the latest version of Xcode 5 and must be optimized for iOS 7. Learn more about preparing your apps by reviewing the iOS Human Interface Guidelines.

The new rule goes into effect on February 1, 2014 and means that any apps built on older versions of Xcode or non-iOS 7 optimized apps will be rejected from the App Store.

In addition, this also applies to app updates, providing some inspiration for developers to update their developer tools and optimize their apps for iOS 7 as the updates will be rejected otherwise. Optimizing an app for iOS 7 does not necessarily mean it needs to look different, but that the underlying construction of the app must be optimized for the new OS.

Earlier this month, Apple’s App Store usage numbers indicated that iOS 7 had been installed on 74 percent of devices connected to the App Store. The new rule indicates Apple is eager to get developers to take advantage of iOS 7′s high adoption rate and make their apps compatible with it to ensure higher user satisfaction.

Real Racing 3 Gains Real-Time Online Multiplayer and Two New Supercars [iOS Blog]

Popular iOS racing game Real Racing 3 has been updated with a real-time online multiplayer mode through Game Center, a significant update for the game. EA has also added a pair of new super cars, the McLaren P1 and the Lamborghini Veneno.

Our sister-site TouchArcade has a brief first impression of the new multi-player mode:

We haven’t dove into the new multiplayer mode just yet, but our own forum moderator Killer Cow offers his own first impressions, saying “It’s actually pretty cool. You can only use certain types of car, there are tournaments where you can earn up to 500 gold ($60) and you can see the total number of players online.” Hey, sounds good. The multiplayer is only for up to 4 players, which is kind of disappointing compared to what was on offer in previous Real Racing titles, but at least it’s a start.

Real Racing 3 is a free download for the iPhone and iPad from the App Store. [Direct Link]

iPod and AirPort Roundups: What’s Next for Apple

Continuing our series of roundups summarizing the latest news and rumors about each of Apple’s products, today we are publishing five new roundups covering the company’s iPod and AirPort lineups. The new roundups include iPod touch, iPod nano, iPod shuffle, iPod classic, and AirPort.

Apple’s iPod lineup has not seen much in the way of updates recently, with a September refresh seeing only a slight change to color offerings for the iPod touch, iPod nano, and iPod shuffle with the previous slate color option being replaced with a new space gray option carried over from iPhone 5s. The new color later made its way to the iPad Air and iPad mini as well. Given that Apple typically updates its iPods in the fall each year, new iPods are not expected until late next year.

The AirPort line of Wi-Fi base stations is currently divided, with the larger AirPort Extreme and AirPort Time Capsule models having been updated in June with new designs and support for the latest 802.11ac networking standard. The AirPort Express has not been updated to support 802.11ac and was last updated in June 2012 when it received an Apple TV-like redesign.

As with our previous roundups, the goal of our iPod and AirPort roundups is to simply answer the question of “What are you expecting” for Apple’s future products at any given time. That opinion evolves over time as new rumors surface, and our roundups will be updated regularly to reflect the latest rumors.

All of our roundups remain accessible through a dedicated index page showing a time-ordered list based on the last date each roundup was updated, as well as directly through the “Roundups” tab in the navigation bar on all MacRumors pages.

Apple Adds Gifting to iBookstore

Apple has added the ability to gift ebooks to friends and family through the iBookstore, reports Macworld. Users have long been able to purchase songs, movies or TV shows through iTunes, as well as standard gift cards, but the ability to gift a particular book is new.

Books can be gifted immediately, or the gift email notification can be held for a particular date, making holiday shopping particularly easy. Apple added the ability to gift App Store apps back in 2010.

Gifting in the iBookstore works identically to Apple’s iTunes and App Store counterparts: Just choose the book you’d like to gift, then tap either the dropdown arrow next to the price (on a Mac) or the Share button (on an iOS device). On a Mac, select “Gift This Book”; on iOS, choose “Gift”—then add the recipient’s email, the sender’s name, a brief message, and the date you want it sent (now, or later). One note: On iOS, it looks like you have to tap the “Today” field under “Send Gift” in order to change to a different date.

Users can only purchase gifts for recipients using their same country store; there is no ability to gift books internationally.

Samsung Hires Apple Retail Store Designer in Retail Push

Samsung has hired Tim Gudgel, a senior Apple Retail Store designer and five-year veteran of the company, reports The Information. Gudgel, who has worked for Apple since March of 2008 according to his LinkedIn page, previously worked for Novartis, and as an architect at Gehry Partners. Earlier this year, Samsung hired another former Apple Retail executive who had previously been hired away by Microsoft for its retail efforts.

Earlier this year, Samsung and Best Buy announced that the electronics maker would open 1,400 store-within-a-store concepts at Best Buy locations across the country. Apple has a number of similar dedicated “Apple Shops” inside Best Buy locations.

The Information suggests that the hire is part of a continued retail push by Samsung. The New York Times looked at the efforts of technology companies like Samsung, Microsoft and Google as they attempt to build up their own retail efforts.

Forget the floating Google showrooms. When it comes to retail, Samsung Electronics is contemplating a bigger plunge.

The South Korean company’s U.S. telecom unit recently hired a senior Apple store designer, Tim Gudgel, as it ponders a deeper investment in U.S. retail, according to two people close to the company. Mr. Gudgel specializes in store design and planning.

Gudgel is mentioned in a patent application as one of the inventors of the glass design of the Upper West Side Apple Store in New York City.

For comparison, Apple has more than 400 retail stores worldwide, with more than 250 located inside the United States. Microsoft currently operates 81 stores, including 31 temporary locations, though the company has not found significant success with its retail efforts.

Samsung’s hardware products are significantly more popular than the Windows-based devices that Microsoft sells at its stores, and the company could see more foot traffic and sales as a result. Currently, the vast majority of Samsung’s U.S. smartphone sales occur at the thousands of cellular carrier stores across the U.S.