Apple just made its September 9 iPhone/iWatch event official by sending out press invites that revealed pretty much nothing other than the date of the event. To add to the mystery of what could be an Apple double-feature, with both the iPhone 6 and the iWatch taking the stage, one MacRumors reader at Woz’s alma mater noticed that Apple is already building a massive side stage at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts.
Judge Lucy Koh has denied Apple’s second attempt at banning certain Samsung phones. After Apple won its second major patent infringement case against Samsung earlier this year, it requested that a permanent injunction be placed on nine Samsung devices in the U.S.
Just like when Apple was denied a sales ban after its 2011 landmark victory against Samsung, Koh has not granted the second request. This time around, the ruling signals that Apple and Samsung’s court disputes are indeed settling down.
Over the past week, two new leaks from abroad have given us new details about what accessories will be coming with the iPhone 6. The first leak suggested that the iPhone 6 would ship with a Lightning cable with a fully reversible USB plug; the second leak — which came just this morning — suggested that the iPhone charger was also getting a redesign.
We now have video of both the new fully reversible Lightning cable and the new iPhone 6 charger in action. They look great, but unfortunately, there’s at least one disappointment: while the charger will indeed ship with the iPhone 6, our source says that USB Lightning cable won’t be available until next year.
At this point, thanks to myriad leaked parts, we have a pretty good idea what the iPhone 6 will look like. One question some of us still have, though, is what the antenna panes of the rear shells we’ve been seeing so far will actually look like.
On the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s, the cellular antenna peeks out of two glass antenna panes, installed specially for just that purpose in the aluminum rear shell. The rear shell leaks we’ve seen so far suggest that the iPhone 6 will keep the antenna panes, but they may not actually be made of glass. Other leaks have suggested the opposite, indicating that the iPhone 6 might look more like the iPhone 5 and 5s in the back than previously thought.
Hedging his bets, iPhone conceptualist Martin Hajek has created renders comparing both possibilities. Check them out after the jump. For my money, the glass antenna panes look infinitely better. What do you think Apple will go with?
This week on the Cultiest of Casts: Steve Ballmer lands the perfect job; NFC and your iPhone make credit cards obsolete; iPhone 6 gets even faster data access; new photos give us our best look yet at a 4.7-inch iPhone 6; Apple wins their first Emmy; APPL stock hits an all-time high; and, behold, Podcasting turns 10! Oh, and it’s growing like crazy, too.
Snicker your way through each week’s best Apple stories! Stream or download new and past episodes of The CultCast now on your Mac or iDevice by subscribing on iTunes, or hit play below and let the chuckles begin.
Our thanks to Lynda.com for sponsoring this episode! Learn virtually any application at your own pace from expert-taught video tutorials at Lynda.com.
Click on for the show notes.
Apple has launched a new iPhone 5 battery replacement program for a “small percentage” of iPhone 5 devices that “may suddenly experience shorter battery life or need to be charged more frequently.”
With the probable iPhone 6 reveal nearing, a new Samsung device — referred to as the Samsung Galaxy Alpha — has leaked. The ongoing Apple-Samsung rivalry means the two companies battle each other with practically every new device and software update. But will Samsung’s latest offering hold its own against the iPhone 6? Or will it become another faceless device that’s simply here then gone?
Watch today’s Cult of Mac news roundup to see the latest rumors regarding Apple’s and Samsung’s latest devices, tech luminaries taking the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, and the inside scoop on how a former Apple employee turned his store uniform into cash for his favorite charity.
Subscribe to Cult of Mac TV on YouTube to catch all our latest videos.
Apple is expected to reveal the iPhone in nearly three weeks, but according to a Reuters report, production has hit a snag, sending suppliers scrambling to get enough parts in time, thanks to a last minute design change.
To make the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 thinner than ever, Apple planned to shrink the backlight assembly by using a single layer of film — instead of the two used on the iPhone 5s display — but after running into some last minute problems with production, Apple decided to redesign the key component.
The iPhone 6’s official unveiling is less than a month away, and even though we pretty much know what it’s going to look like, the rumor mill hasn’t let up on new details that could make their way into the iPhone 6.
Once again, we’re donning our finest gypsy apparel and stepping behind the crystal ball to divine the truth behind this week’s most plausible and impossible rumors to see if NFC really is coming to the iPhone, whether the iPad Air 2 will get a RAM upgrade, and if it’s true that iWatch is too hopelessly behind to launch in 2014.
Come stare into our crystal ball to see past the rumors and into the future…
Apple finalized its $3 billion acquisition of Beats Electronics just a few weeks ago, but for those looking give their earbuds a taste of Beats, the Online Apple Store is making the over-priced cans a little bit cheaper.