Despite many assumptions to the contrary, it seems that Apple hasn’t forgotten iWork altogether as the company has today posted a job advertisement looking for a software QA engineer to work on the next generation of iWork software. The position advertisement is specifying a software engineer who can ‘work on the next generation of Desktop, Mobile and Web application/services‘. The position appears to be focused on bug detection, isolation and reporting in the iWork suite.
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Apple is recruiting for an engineer who will be able to help develop novel gesture and handwriting recognition technologies for their future products. An advertisement appeared today on the Apple recruitment website for a Multitouch Sensor Algorithms Engineer who has expertise in developing algorithms for sensor pattern, gesture or handwriting recognition systems. It’s unclear if the engineer would work on a specific handwriting recognition application or if the algorithms would be hard-baked into the OS to add to the user experience.
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A new report is suggesting that a new version of the iPad mini will be announced this summer, and then again early next year. According to analyst Richard Shim of NPD DisplaySearch, the iPad mini could be refreshed twice in the coming twelve months (via CNET). Notably the analyst suggests that the first time a Retina Display will appear in the device will be this year, indicating that the next variant of the iPad mini will have a Retina Display. The analyst also suggests that another version of the iPad mini would arrive in Q1 of 2014.
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A new report is suggesting that Apple is targeting a launch for iOS 7 ‘as soon as September’ but that testing major new features, including a new user interface, could mean that this target is pushed back or that the software is released without all intended features. According to Bloomberg, Apple has been making a major push, under the direction of Jony Ive, to remove the skeuomorphic elements to their iOS user interface, removing drawn textures like wood and leather. The new iOS software will apparently contain significant changes to Newsstand, to the E-mail app and to the Calendar app.
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The next generation iPhone 5S will apparently be destined for a launch in September or October of this year, rather than the June launch date which had previously been postulated. According to a new report from Reuters, Apple is spending more time developing the coating for the new fingerprint sensor situated under the Home button on the new device. As such, the development timetable has been pushed back slightly, but there is no detail offered on when the device will now launch
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The first image of what is claimed to be the rear panel for the rumored lower cost iPhone has appeared today showing a completely new design for the iPhone. The image, published by Tactus (via MacRumors) shows a white polycarbonate rear panel that has a flat backing and rounded edges. The design looks much like that adopted in the iPad mini, with a read panel that is more square than that found in the initial iPhone 3G design and more rounded than the iPhone 4 through 5. The volume buttons on the side also appear to be elongated like the iPad mini rather than the round buttons on the iPhone 5, and the camera looks to have a flash.
There is no detail offered on the device but the site indicates that the new iPhone could be around 9mm thick, 120mm in height and between 62-65mm in width, indicating a larger size than the iPhone 4 and 4S. The site further suggests that it would be priced at around $300 and go on sale on October 15, in black, white, red, blue and yellow rear panel colors.
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A new report from the Wall Street Journal is suggesting that Apple is starting mass-production of a new iPhone model, tentatively named the iPhone 5S, in Quarter 2 of 2013. The report suggests that the new device will likely be released in the Summer of this year and that it will be similar in design to the current generation iPhone 5. The sources for the information are apparently people that are familiar with the production of the device, and also suggests that a less-expensive iPhone will be launched in the second half of 2013.
According to the report, the less expensive model will have a 4 inch screen, like the iPhone 5, but will be built with different, likely plastic, case materials. The report notes that Apple is looking to launch the lower priced iPhone with a number of different colors of cases, although no further specifics are offered.
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The long-rumored iRadio streaming music service from Apple will apparently be launching this summer, according to a new report from The Verge. The company has apparently made some significant progress on negotions with two of the major music labels; Universal Music and Warner. As such, one of the sources from the report have said ‘iRadio is coming. There’s no doubt about it anymore’ noting that Apple is working hard for a summer 2013 launch of the service.
Previous rumors had suggested that one of the reasons that the iRadio service had not launched thus far is because Apple was looking to significantly limit the amount of royalties that it would pay music labels per song played. For example, existing music streaming service Pandora pays around 12 cents per hundred songs streamed, Apple was negotiating on a 6 cents per hundred song rate. This is in contrast to services like Spotify, which pay around 35 cents per hundred songs (although reports suggest that Spotify is looking to lower this rate).
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T-Mobile USA has today announced that they will now be offering the iPhone 5 on their own 4G network from April 12. The company has issued a press release stating that the iPhone 5 will be made available for $99 plus an additional monthly payment, and there will be no annual contract restrictions to fulfill. The Phone 5 will be offered with only one option for a rate plan, namely $50 per month for unlimited talk, text and web with 500MB of 4G data. Users can then add 2GB of data at LTE speeds for an additional $10 per month, or unlimited data for $20 per month, with no caps or overages.
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A report giving a small update on the progression of iPhone 5S development has appeared today from Digitimes who suggest that components required for the construction of the new device will begin shipping at the end of May. The site suggests that the next generation iPhone may appear in the third quarter of this year according to supply chain sources. The site further reports that there will not be any major new features and that the 5S will be a performance upgrade with a better camera and processor.
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