The case involving San Bernardino shooter Syed Rizwan Farook’s iPhone 5c and whether Apple should help unlock it has brought the company’s stance regarding strong encryption to the forefront.
Since this privacy-versus-security debate isn’t going away anytime soon, here’s what you need to know about it so far — and why it’s a much, much bigger issue than just one legal case.
As the next giant untapped market shimmering on the horizon, Apple is looking to grow its brand in India — and to do so it’s taking the bold step of exiting the rapidly-growing sub-Rs 20,000 ($290) smartphone category by stopping selling its older iPhone 4s and 5c handsets.
But the reason totally makes sense.
Apple could be in for its worst ever quarter for iPad shipments, with a new report claiming that the first three months of 2016 are set to hit a historic low for Apple’s tablets with just 9.8 million units shipping.
If correct, those numbers would be down 39.1 percent on quarter and close to 20 percent on-year. While Apple has been experiencing falling iPad demand for some time now, this would be especially bad considering that Q1 2016 is also expected to bring the first ever quarter of declining iPhone sales.
Apple has posted an open letter, signed by Tim Cook, in response to the FBI’s request that Apple unlock the iPhone at the center of a San Bernardino court case.
While United States magistrated judge Sheri Pym wants Apple to hand the FBI a custom firmware file that would allow the unlocking of the handset in question, Apple argues that this represents an, “unprecedented step which threatens the security of our customers.”
And Cook wants the public to be aware of all the details.
Forget all the doom predictions about Apple — according to Drexel Hamilton analyst Brian White, the company may have just had its best January since 2008.
Although Apple itself has said that iPhone sales are likely to fall for the first time ever in the January quarter, White claims that his own analysis of Apple’s suppliers suggests that things are looking far from bleak.
Apple is getting its financial house in order, filing for a series of maturities running from 2018 through 2046 — or roughly around the time the iPhone 22 will be released.
If you didn’t catch Steve Jobs in theaters (and, based on the box office, chances are you didn’t!) Universal Pictures Home Entertainment today released the movie on Blu-ray and DVD.
Extras for the controversial, somewhat divisive film include an “Inside Jobs: The Making of Steve Jobs” bonus feature, and audio commentaries from director Danny Boyle, writer Aaron Sorkin and editor Elliot Graham.
And, hey, if you don’t feel like shelling out for it, you can always enter our free giveaway here.
It may have taken a bit longer than Tim Cook hoped, but Apple Pay is finally launching in China this week — with bank representatives from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Guangfa Bank and China Construction Bank revealing that the mobile payments service will be available from February 18.
These three banks will be joined by 16 other Chinese banks and financial organizations over the coming months.
Apple is reportedly adding a new supplier to help build its eagerly-anticipated 4-inch “iPhone 5se” — giving up-and-coming supplier Wistron a piece of the iPhone-producing pie in an an attempt to “nurture” it as a non-Foxconn Apple manufacturer.
Whether it’s proclaiming himself the next Steve Jobs, screening the recent Aaron Sorkin movie as a birthday gift for his wife, appearing with a rare custom gold-band Apple Watch Edition, or inviting Steve Wozniak to be one of the first to see his baby daughter, Kanye West has always been an enormous Apple fan.
That appears to have changed, however, with the mercurial rapper/pop star sending out a series of bizarre tweets in which — among many, many other things — he pleads with Facebook and Google (but not Apple) to invest $1 billion in “Kanye West ideas” and says that his latest album will never appear on Apple Music.
Apple has acknowledged the existence of a somewhat bizarre bug which bricks any iOS devices that has its date set back to 1970 — and confirms that a fix is on the way.
“An upcoming software update will prevent this issue from affecting iOS devices,” Apple notes on one of its support pages.
While there’s no word on exactly when this software update will be made available, it’s good to know that Apple is on the case.
Apple has a large number of high-profile fans, but there are always bound to be one or two less desirable (but equally famous) ones who slip through the cracks.
One of these is North Korea’s super villain dictator Kim Jong-un, who apparently is quite the Apple fan — as evidenced by a recent photo posted on Twitter by Reuters’ Korean correspondent and author of North Korea Confidential James Pearson, showing Jong-un looking deliriously happy about his Apple MacBook Pro.
Since being introduced back in 2011, iMessage has gone on to become a monster hit for Apple as a communication tool.
How popular is it? According to Eddy Cue, iOS users cumulatively send up to 200,000 per second: a number which adds up to a whopping 63 quadrillion messages per year.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) might be on course to take over 100 percent of Apple’s A10 chip orders, but that’s not to say that it’s entirely without problems right now.
According to a new report, a recent earthquake which hit one of TSMC’s factories in southern Taiwan caused more damage than initially thought: with resulting wafer shipments for the first quarter of 2016 likely to fall as a result.
Kate Winslet picked up another award win for her role as Apple PR guru Johanna Hoffman at last night’s BAFTA British movie award show.
Winslet’s win was the only prize won by Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs semi-biopic, which was also nominated for “Best Adapted Screenplay” and “Best Actor” gongs for screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and lead actor Michael Fassbender, but lost out to The Big Short and Leo in The Revenant.
Award-winning Israeli photographer Sephi Bergerson recently shot an Indian wedding in Udaipur using just his iPhone 6s Plus — and the results are spectacular!
In an accompanying video, Bergerson describes the way that using an iPhone has changed his photography. While he notes that it ultimately still comes down to the skill of the photographer (which is presumably why I’m yet to pick up any photography awards despite my many iPhone snaps), it’s fascinating to hear him discuss his craft.
Check out the video below.
Apple’s currently “stumbling” — and it’s the fault of a “negative,” “strict,” and overly “harsh” corporate environment, claims U.K. newspaper The Guardian.
“At Apple, you’re gonna be working 60-80 hours a week and some VP will come yell at you at any moment,” one coder is quoted as saying. “That’s a very hostile work environment.”
Samsung has mocked the iPhone for its lack of wireless charging before, but Apple is reportedly looking to change the game with “cutting-edge” technology that would move its devices beyond the charging mats used by current smartphones and into true wireless charging.
And the tech could arrive as soon as 2017, with the launch of the iPhone 7s.
If you’re the proud owner of a two-prong Apple AC wall plug adapter, as included in the Apple World Travel Adapter Kit, you may have a trip to the Apple Store in your immediate future.
That’s because Apple has announced a voluntary recall of adapters designed for use in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Continental Europe, New Zealand and South Korea, after certain models were found to break and put users at risk of electrical shocks.
Apple could get back in the stereo game with a speaker system capable of finding the “sweet spot” in a particular room and modifying its sound accordingly.
Despite the noise being made about big multinationals using loopholes to avoid paying tax, Apple’s Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri has made it clear how much he thinks Apple owes as part of the European Union’s ongoing investigation.
“My estimate is zero,” he told the Financial Times. “I mean, if there is a fair outcome of the investigation, it should be zero.”
Don’t spend it all at once, E.U.!
Apple Store retail guru Angela Ahrendts says that the secret behind Apple’s success is its culture, telling an interviewer that, “The company was built to change people’s lives.”
The dedication to keeping not just customers, but also employees, feeling like they’re part of a greater mission is paying off in a big way, too — with Ahrendts noting that last year Apple Stores had their highest employee retention rate in history, with 81 percent of people staying put.
The iPad Air 3 may boast a 4K display, as well as up to 4GB of RAM and improved battery life.
Given that the current iPad Air has a resolution of 2048 x 1536, a 4K display would come close to doubling its predecessor’s image quality.
The rest of the PC industry may be crashing, but Apple expects Mac sales to remain relatively stable in 2016 — with sources in the supply chain claiming that Mac-series product shipments are likely to remain around the 20 million unit mark this year.
Apple continues to get a better foothold in China, despite a slowdown in the country’s smartphone market.
According to the latest smartphone sales data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, in the month of December Apple regained its status as China’s most sought-after smartphone brand, with a sales share of 27 percent for urban China.