The iPad mini would be perfect, if only it had a Retina display. Many have assumed that Apple will bump up the specs on the iPad mini display this year, but other than a rear shell, we haven’t seen any solid hardware leaks yet.
According to a new report though, Apple is definitely going to add a Retina display to the iPad mini this year. In fact, they’ve ordered the initial units, and mass production of the mini Retina displays has already begun in full force.
There’s a belief that Apple makes new engineers work on fake products until they can be trusted. According one of the company’s former employees, Adam Lashinsky, who published the book Inside Apple last January, the Cupertino company hires people into so-called “dummy positions” until it’s confident that they can be a part of upcoming products without leaking information.
But how accurate are those claims? We know Apple takes secrecy very seriously, but would it really waste time and money on giving people fake projects just to ensure they won’t squeal?
Along with making ridiculous predictions like the impending arrival of an iTV, analysts have now taken to predicting when Apple will hold their next keynotes.
If you believe Peter Misek from Jefferies, then Apple is going to hold an Apple TV-related event in March, but there probably won’t be any new hardware on display, just software.
According to a source that posted on a Chinese microblogging site, the iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 have been spotted at Apple suppliers in China. Both models could release in 2013, said the source, named Old Yao on the site.
The source also notes that the iPhone 5S looks a lot like the iPhone 5, while the five-inch iPhone 6 is even lighter and thinner than that.
It’s good to take all rumors with a big grain of salt or two, of course, but this one is both exciting and plausible, even without any photos.
For a couple of glorious years, Apple’s iPod nano came in a form factor that could be worn as a watch. Then this year, as Apple is wont to do with the permanently schizo iPod nano line, Apple switched to another design entirely, leaving fans who want a bonafide iWatch in the lurch. But perhaps there is method in Apple’s madness, as a new rumor suggests that Cupertino has phased out the watch-like nano to build their own Bluetooth Smart Watch for 2013.
Quite a few resellers of Apple’s Mac Mini computer are currently out of stock of the diminutive desktop Mac, potentially signaling a potential hardware refresh. Amazon, MacConnection, Mac Mall, and J&R retailers are all reported to not have any more Mac minis of the 2.3 GHz or 2.5GHz persuasion, according to Apple Insider.
German Mac blog, Macerkopf, also noted today that Mini supplies are running out in its country, as well.
Could this be the front wave of a potential new hardware refresh of the Mini, perhaps to the new Ivy Bridge chipset?
A new report suggests that Apple is making deals in the carbon fiber business, possibly ahead of next year’s iPad launch.
Japanese site Macotakara can be a hit or miss source. They were one of the first sites to leak images of what would prove to be the iPhone 5’s new display, but they habe also said that the new iPod nanos would have WiFi and that Apple’s making a Galaxy Note like phablet. So their rumors need to be taken with a grain of salt.
Now Macotakara is reporting that an anonymous source is telling them that Apple is buying huge amounts of carbon fiber. This makes sense, as Apple has shown a lot of interest in carbon fiber in the past, patenting an iPad design made out of the stuff and making key hires with the expertise necessary to mass produce carbon fiber gadgets.
By using carbon fiber for future devices, Apple could create products that weigh significantly less than the aluminum and stainless steel devices they produce today, but be just as sturdy. So it’s obvious Apple’s got a lot to gain by making this switch. The question is when it will happen? In time for next year’s iPad debut, or is carbon fiber still far off in the future?
This time last week we had very little idea of what the new iPhone may look like. Sure, we had rumors and claims that gave us something to go on, but none of them were supported by any evidence. But in the space of just a few days, we’ve seen several front and back panels from a number of different sources, which have today been backed up by what is purported to be a leaked blueprint for the next-generation iPhone.
Apple isn’t going to debut their new rumored HDTV set at WWDC 2012, but according to a new report, they will unveil the version of iOS that it will run on, and which will be coming to the Apple TV set-top box later this year. Even more interesting? Your Apple TV might soon become the hub through which the rest of your living room connects.
Over the last couple of months Sharp has been rumored to be Apple’s partner for producing the LCDs of the mysterious “iTV” the world is waiting for. While analysts, such as Peter Misek, have been linking Sharp to Apple for a while now, definitive proof of their connection has yet to surface. However, adding to the rumors, Sharp announced today that they have begun production on 32-inch Hi-DPI LCD’s displays this March that could be used in Apple’s new iMac line that is expected to be unveiled in June.
![A Dearth Of Mac Minis Could Point To Hardware Refresh [Rumor]](http://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Mac-Mini.jpg)
![Apple Is Buying Up Carbon Fiber For Future Mystery Product [Rumor]](http://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/carbon-fiber-frame-lg.jpg "carbon-fiber-frame-lg")
