israel

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on israel:

Apple expands Mac processor development in Israel

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Apple M1 Max and M1 Pro chips
The Apple M1 Max and M1 Pro chips were designed in Israel.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

Apple will reportedly design future Mac processors at a new R&D center in Jerusalem.

The company already does chip development in Israel. Some of the more powerful M1 variants were designed in the country.

Apple Pay is gearing up to launch in Israel

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Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
Apple has been in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel for a while.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple Pay is finally gearing up to launch in Israel, marking the 61st territory to offer Apple’s mobile payment solution. Apple has been supposedly negotiating for months to bring Apple Pay to Israel, six years after the service initially launched in the United States.

The Isracard Group, a financial group including MasterCard and American Express Israel, will support the service. No launch date has yet been announced, although the deal reportedly runs for four years.

Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel

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Apple in talks to bring Apple Pay to Israel
But negotiations with banks may not so easy.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple is reportedly negotiating with financial institutions to bring Apple Pay to Israel.

A Hebrew-language report says that Apple has been meeting with banks and credit card companies to introduce its contactless payments system. However, Apple’s fee demands could potentially be a source of disagreement between Apple and the financial institutions in question.

Apple Watch 4 with LTE expands its reach across Europe

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Man’s brand new Apple Watch turns out to be toilet plunger
Man’s brand new Apple Watch turns out to be toilet plunger
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The Apple Watch Series 4 with LTE connectivity is now available in Austria and Finland for the first time. You can order yours from Apple or select carrier partners, with prices starting at €529.

Apple’s newest wearable will also arrive in Israel later this week.

Hacker hacks iPhone hacking company’s secret hacks

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iphone
They say turnabout is fair play, but iPhone users are caught in the middle when iOS hacking tools are stolen.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Israel’s NSO Group makes a business of hacking iPhones and Android devices.  In a reversal of roles, it was hacked by one of its own employees and valuable intellectual property was stolen.

While its tempting to lean back an enjoy this company’s discomfiture, the stolen property was NSO’s phone hacking tools, which were then offered on the dark web.

Apple may be looking to open its first store in Israel

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Tel Aviv
The Sarona Azrieli tower during construction.
Photo: Ted Eytan/Flickr CC

Apple is reportedly negotiating to open its first official retail store in Israel.

While Apple products are available in Israel, at present these can be purchased only through two officially sanctioned importers, iDigital and iStore. The rumored location of the new Apple Store is the upmarket Sarona Azrieli tower in Tel Aviv, the tallest skyscraper in Israel.

Apple may be secretly building iPhone 8 in Israel

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iPhone 7 sales
We're already waiting on next year's iPhone refresh.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The iPhone 7 is barely settling into our pockets, but already Apple is developing the hardware for next year’s tenth-birthday iPhone 8 — at least according to a somewhat dubious new report, citing a source in Apple’s Israel office.

The report claims that hardware for the next-gen iPhone is being developed at Apple’s offices in Herzliya, Israel, and is being referred to internally as the iPhone 8. If true, this would represent a change in Apple’s naming convention, which would suggest that next year’s iPhone will be the iPhone 7s.

Watch Tim Cook and the president of Israel share the love

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Photo: Amos Ben Gershom/GPO
Photo: Amos Ben Gershom/GPO

Tim Cook is currently visiting Israel in conjunction with Apple opening a new office in Herzliya. As part of the trip, he met with the president of Israel, Reuven Rivlin.

The two leaders showed great respect for each other during a chat at the president’s residence. Along with recognizing an Israeli Apple VP in attendance with Cook, Rivlin thanked the Apple CEO repeatedly for “what you are doing for all humanity.” Cook talked about Apple’s love for Israel as an “ally for the U.S.” and a “place to do business.” Cook also praised Rivlin’s work to “bridge the gap” between nationalities and religions in the Middle East.

Apple is staffing up employees for Israeli R&D center

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Photo: Andy/Flickr CC
Photo: Andy/Flickr CC

Tim Cook is heading out to Israel in a few days to inaugurate what will be Apple’s biggest overseas R&D center in Herzliya, but before the place gets Cook’s official visit, Apple is already looking to expand its staff.

Apple announced that its hiring 49 more positions for the Herzliya headquarters as wells as posts at its Haifa office. The 12,500 square-meter Herzliya offices are scheduled to open this week includes a gourmet restaurant, a fish pond and green surroundings.

Some of the new job posts include the following:

Intel And Apple Are In A Race To Hire Former TI Engineers In Israel

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apple_intel

Apple is racing to hire former Texas Instruments employees in Israel in an effort to staff a planned R&D center. Not wanting to be outdone, Intel has decided to ramp up their efforts to hire the same former Texas Instruments employees before Apple can grab them first.

A new report claims that Intel is offering the employees “healthy compensation packages” above the standard salary rates in an effort to keep the employees from slipping into Apple’s hands.

The New iPad Makes Its Way To Another Nine Countries, China Not Included

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The new iPad is now available in 57 markets worldwide, China not included.
The new iPad is now available in 57 markets worldwide, China not included.

Apple continues its rollout of the new iPad in nine additional countries today, making the sought-after tablet available in 57 markets worldwide. This is now the fourth phase of rollouts since the device made its debut on March 16, but one of Apple’s key territories is still without it.

It’s Official: Apple to Buy Flash Memory Firm Anobit For $500M

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Photo by Luisus Rasilvi - http://flic.kr/p/7DDGny
Photo by Luisus Rasilvi - http://flic.kr/p/7DDGny

The rumor is now official: Apple, the world’s largest consumer of flash memory, has paid $500 million for consumer-grade flash memory maker Anobit. The move solidifies Apple’s supply of solid-state memory used by the iPhone, iPad, iPod and MacBook Air. The half-billion dollar price tag tops the inflation-adjusted $472 million acquisition of NeXT back in 1997.