One of the companies that is responsible for the displays in the next iteration of the iPhone, Sharp, is apparently going to be starting production of the LCD display units for the iPhone 5S next month. The report comes from Japanese publication Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun who suggest that the ramp up of the components required for the iPhone 5S will start in June, and that other manufacturers such as LG have already started production on the displays required for the new device.
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Rumor: iPhone 5S Screen Manufacturing Getting Underway
Foxconn Moves Into Televisions
Favored builder of Apple products, Foxconn, is making big moves into the television market, according to a new report from the New York Times. In a strategy, that could prove interesting for Apple should the company make a long-rumored move into the television market, Foxconn has apparently formed close investment partnerships with companies like Sharp and, as a result, has invested around $840 million in a new LCD panel factory in Japan. The company now has the capability to make 90% of the component required for a television in-house.
While the move is said to be part of an effort to diversify Foxconn’s interests so that it is not as reliant on Apple, it is an interesting move for the company that builds a significant number of Apple products. Apple itself has been long rumored to be looking at revamping the television market with recent rumors suggesting that the company is developing a television with Ultra HD ’4K’ resolution. The new television is also thought to include motion control functionality and internet connectivity.
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Rumor: Two New iPad Mini Launches Within One Year
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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Rumor: Low Cost iPhone To Be Better Than Expected
A new report is today suggesting that the long rumored low cost iPhone that Apple is expected to release later this year will actually be of a better standard than many were expecting. The report comes from AllThingsD who have been speaking to Mark Moskowitz and Gokul Hariharan, analysts from J.P. Morgan. The analysts suggest that the low cost iPhone will launch at a price point of $350-400 and would be a ‘mid-range’ device, rather than a lower priced, less functional product.
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Apple Releases iOS 6.1.4 For iPhone 5 Devices
Apple has today released a minor update for iOS 6 that is apparently restricted only for the iPhone 5. The company issued an update labelled as iOS 6.1.4 that apparently contains one new feature in the form of an updated audio profile for the speakerphone on the iPhone 5. There is no further detail of what exactly has been fixed or altered in the update, but improvements to the speakerphone, for example during a call, are not immediately apparent.
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New Solid State Storage Options Have Been Added To iMac
Apple has today added two new storage options to the recently redesigned iMac, giving more flexibility for users who are looking to use solid state storage. The company has now made the iMac available with a solid state drive of either 256GB or 512GB in size, adding to the current Fusion drive offerings (Via MacRumors). The upgrades, which replace the 1TB SATA Hard Drive, are available for $300 and $600 respectively. This is the first time that the 21 inch iMac has been offered with only SSD storage having previously only been available with a 1TB Fusion drive. The 27 inch iMac was previously available with a 768GB SSD but the storage choices now expand with the 256GB and 512GB SSD offerings.
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New Kindle iOS App Offers Amazing VoiceOver Support
Continuing their significant series of improvements to the already polished Kindle app for iOS devices, Amazon has today released an update through the app store that gives Apple VoiceOver support to ebooks on the app. The new version of the app now lets users select the option to read aloud books, a feature that is useful not just for visually impaired users. In addition to the new VoiceOver feature, the new Kindle app also contains a number of small improvements related to search and highlighting.
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Rumor: iOS 7 Launch In September
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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Rumor: iOS 7 To Have Massive New Design
Apple has apparently been working on some extremely significant changes for iOS 7, and the next generation operating system will have some massive design alterations that will make it stand apart from its predecessors. The rumor comes from 9to5Mac who, after talking with sources familiar with the new OS, have suggested that iOS 7 will feature a ‘flat’ user interface which gets rid of the skeumorphic designs of the previous iOS versions. This will mean a massive change for users who are very familiar with the existing iOS user interface.
The report notes that there will be new icons for Apple’s native iOS apps, such as the Phone app, the iMessage app and the Contacts app. Interestingly, the software has also been tested in he wild, using devices with polarizing filters to prevent items on the screen being visible to people other than the user of the device, although its unclear if this has been off Apple HQ.
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Rumor: New MacBook Pro And MacBook Air To Launch In June At WWDC
Apple will apparently be making some significant updates to its laptop line-up at the Worldwide Developer Conference in June of this year, according to a new report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo, who has provided several pieces of accurate pre-release information in the past, is saying that Apple will be launching new versions of the MacBook Air and the Retina Display MacBook Pro, both including the latest Intel processors, codenamed Haswell. The analyst also suggests that Apple will be continuing to produce the non-Retina Display version of the MacBook Pro due to the popularity of the device in in developing markets.
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