Apple leaks

December 19, 2007: Apple settles a lawsuit with reporter Nick Ciarelli, resulting in the shuttering of Think Secret, his masssively popular Apple rumors website. Writing under the screen name Nick de Plume, the Harvard University student had broken a number of Apple stories on the site, which he launched in the late 1990s.

The terms of Ciarelli’s settlement with Apple remain secret. In a statement, he says he will “be able to move forward with my college studies and broader journalistic pursuits.”

October 1, 2011: Just days before it is to be publicly unveiled, the name of the iPhone 4s is revealed online.

The latest iTunes beta inadvertently spills the beans on the new name. The code also reveals that Apple’s new handset will come in black and white color options.

June 15, 2011: Three people get sentenced to prison in China for leaking information about the iPad 2 prior to its release.

The Foxconn R&D employees receive sentences ranging from one year to 18 months. They also must pay fines between $4,500 and $23,000. If you ever wonder why more Apple products don’t leak prior to release, this might help explain why!

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Apple finally brings Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro to iPad, and apparently uses some clever spycraft to take down a leaker in the process. Talk about killing two birds with one stone.

Also on The CultCast:

• One feature in the new Final Cut Pro for iPad makes iPhone owners jealous (and hopeful).
• Erfon thinks it’s a great time to buy a Mac.
• Humane’s combadge-style gadget might not kill your iPhone, but the company’s vision of a personalized AI sounds promising.
• Enter for your chance to win an Urban MacBook Sleeve from SwitchEasy.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

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The tipster who went by analyst941 leaked a large number of details about iOS 17, but his or her inside source apparently was caught by Apple in a sting operation. The source has reportedly been fired, and both they and the tipster could face legal action by the iPhone-maker.

It appears that Apple caught the leaker by laying a “canary trap” — a piece of classic spycraft used by intelligence agencies for years.

April 20, 2010: A day after the most high-profile iPhone leak in history, tech news site Gizmodo dissects a prototype iPhone 4, then publishes the teardown — showing the world exactly what’s inside the soon-to-be-released device.

The iPhone 4 prototype, accidentally left in a bar by 27-year-old Apple software engineer Gray Powell, quickly becomes the biggest story in the tech world. And that’s where the trouble begins.

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: The more we hear about Apple’s upcoming AR/VR headset, the more we’re perplexed about who is actually going to buy one. We take a long, hard look at the latest leaks — and come up shaking our heads.

Also on The CultCast:

• We might get a raft of exciting new Macs — including the first Mac Pro powered by Apple silicon — at a March event.
• Apple’s Pro Display XDR and Studio Display get some high-end competition.
• Sorry, voice actors. AI narrators look like the future of audiobooks (and Apple leads the charge).
• Our final best-of-2022 picks.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

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An India-based blog posted a series of renders on Wednesday it said are based on leaked factory CAD images of the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro. They support leaks and rumors indicating that a hole-punch design will replace the notch, among other changes.

Apple CEO Tim Cook is fed up with employees who leak details of upcoming devices to the press. He sent out a company-wide memo that said, “people who leak confidential information do not belong here.”

The memo was quickly leaked to the press.

Jon Prosser’s iPhone 14 leak is every Apple fan’s dream — and Tim Cook’s biggest nightmare.

The audacious revelation, dropped Wednesday morning via Prosser’s YouTube channel, Front Page Tech, showcased what next year’s iPhone 14 Pro Max might look like.

The exclusive iPhone 14 renders look so sweet that they might give pause to anyone contemplating buying an iPhone 13 later this month. That’s the nightmare part of this equation — and likely the part that makes Prosser nervous. Angry Apple executives might unleash all the company’s massive legal resources to stop him. And maybe even exact revenge.

iPhone 13 is still a week away but a major leak on Wednesday revealed many of the details of the iOS handset that’ll replace it in 2022. That includes renders of the iPhone 14 that you can check out in amazing augmented reality.

With AR, you can bring a virtual 3D version the device into your home or office and see it from every side. This might be the best way to see the coming end of the camera bump. And to wonder if Apple will really replace the screen notch with a “hole punch” camera.

Here’s how to see an AR mockup of iPhone 14.

Andrey Shumeyko was part of the market for iPhone prototypes and insider secrets. He was also giving Apple the names of other people who shared this type of information.

His hope was the company would pay him for the info. He was very disappointed.

An apparent iPhone 13 dummy leak suggests Apple plans to rearrange the rear-facing camera layout on some devices this year.

It appears handsets with just two camera sensors — like the regular iPhone 13 and a possible iPhone 13 mini — could have their modules placed in a diagonal orientation as opposed to one above the other.

Apple is reportedly forcing some of its employees to wear “police-grade” body cameras in an effort to stop them from leaking proprietary information.

Recently, the company stepped up efforts to stop internal info from appearing in the press. This is apparently the latest move.

Update: Mark Gurman from Bloomberg said on Twitter that there’s no truth to this report.

Obviously not https://t.co/yD0JbDld3b

— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) June 30, 2021

Leaker Sonny Dickson showed off iPhone 13 dummies Wednesday of four possible models that could be released this fall, in addition to case renders and video of a case, included below.

They all suggest a handful of tweaks to iPhone 12 that may be forthcoming in the new models.

Apple filed a lawsuit against Simon Lancaster on Thursday, accusing the former employee of leaking company secrets to the media.

He worked at Apple as a materials engineer for over 11 years, helping to design upcoming products. That gave him access to information not publicly available. Apple alleges he traded that info for personal gain.

I imagine Tim Cook seething with rage.

And I imagine workers in Apple’s marketing department filled with a gut-churning mixture of righteous anger, paranoia and dread.

What could cause such unpleasantness inside the pristine glass walls of Apple’s spaceship HQ (or within remote employees’ home bubbles)? Tuesday morning, images of the entire iPhone 12 lineup and HomePod mini leaked just hours ahead of Apple’s “Hi, Speed” event.

A listing of multiple unknown tablets by the Eurasian Economic Commission seemingly confirms that Apple will soon introduce a range of new 2020 iPad models.

The same source also says multiple Apple Watch models running watchOS 7 are about to be released.

This week on The CultCast: New Apple hardware is incoming, and thanks to a reliable leaker, we might know the release dates for iPhone 12, Apple Watch Series 6 and more. We’ll tell you what to expect. Plus, it’s Apple stock adventure, part 2! I talk about my massive Apple stock purchase, including how much I spent, why I’m buying in now, and how much my investment is now worth. We talk real numbers!

And if you’ve been thinking about getting a new Mac with the butterfly keyboard, don’t do it until you hear this episode, cause with COVID-19 shutdowns, keyboard repairs are now a total nightmare.

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A supposed image of the iPhone 12 display hardware shows that the screen cutout in the upcoming handset remains the same size as in its predecessors.

Earlier this year, we heard unconfirmed reports that this feature, usually called the notch, would shrink considerably in the iPhone 12. That’s not going to happen, if the image that leaked out Thursday is legit.

Two separate leaks Thursday provide new details about Apple’s forthcoming AirTags, circular Bluetooth tracking devices that will help users find lost keys and other items.

iOS leaker @Soybeys posted what supposedly are some of the sound effects Apple will use for AirTags. A second report from Twitter user @blue_kanikam says AirTags will utilize a custom R1 chip, similar to the iPhone 11’s U1 chip, to know where the tiny tracking tags are spatially in order to work with other devices.

Jon Prosser is the hot new Apple reporter on the scene. On Twitter and his Front Page Tech channel on YouTube, he delivers Apple scoops with a healthy side helping of humor. So, is Prosser the new Mark Gurman?

Read our take in this week’s issue of Cult of Mac Magazine. As always, the free iOS mag is filled with Apple news, reviews and how-tos.

In the space of three short months, Jon Prosser went from an obscure YouTube nobody pumping out videos barely anyone watched to becoming one of the hottest Apple reporters on the internet.

On Twitter and YouTube, he’s unspooled a string of accurate predictions, including the exact dates and launch times of two of Apple’s newest products, the 13-inch MacBook Pro and the 2020 iPhone SE. That’s no mean feat, given Apple’s obsessive secrecy.

Prosser’s latest leak — revealed on last week’s episode of Cult of Mac’s podcast, The CultCast — claims Apple is working on a special pair of Steve Jobs Heritage Edition AR glasses. That wild revelation drew skepticism from none other than über-Apple reporter Mark Gurman.

“Do I even need to say that this (along with the rest of the Apple AR glasses stories in the past week) is complete fiction?” Gurman tweeted.

Jon Prosser makes headlines

Perhaps Gurman, who made his bones at 9to5Mac before moving up to Bloomberg, is feeling the heat. Prosser is starting to nip at his heels.

Details on iOS 14 started leaking out in February, with sources claiming to have a leaked copy of the next iPhone operating system. An investigation by Vice apparently confirms that researchers and hackers really got access to an iOS version more than half a year before its release.

This week on The CultCast: We talk Apple leaks with the man who’s driving Tim Cook crazy … Front Page Tech‘s Jon Prosser! And we cover it all, including juicy new details on Apple Glass, Apple Car, Apple’s master plan for the next iPhone, the next Apple TV, Apple’s secret VR gaming headset, which big leaks are coming next, and more.

After a series of uncannily accurate leaks, there’s no doubt Prosser has become Public Enemy No. 1 in Cupertino. (Just ask Apple Senior VP Phil Schiller, who blocked Prosser on Twitter.) You don’t want to miss this discussion about his methods, his motivations and his sources deep within Apple’s organization. The ProsserCast is real!

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