Rumor Roundup: Recycling
Two of the rumors in this roundup are repeats from 2013. And 2012. And 2011. I'm all for environmentally-responsible recycling, but this seems excessive.
Apple in talks with Samsung to settle all future patent disputes out of court (9to5 Mac)
Too bad this report was shot to pieces not even a day later, when The Verge (among others) reported that Apple and Samsung are both far too pissed at one another to consider a settlement. Considering how adamant both sides were that a settlement is out of the question, the original report from The Korea Times appears questionable at best.
From the article: "Taiwanese media is not always the most reliable of sources when it comes to reports of contracts awarded to local companies." That's putting it mildly. Every year a report like this comes out claiming that Apple is ditching Samsung, whether it's for the iPhone's CPU or the iPad's display or some other Samsung-produced component. Yet year after year, Samsung goes on making parts for Apple.
However, pattern recognition is apparently a skill most rumor bloggers do not possess. Speaking of which...
Morgan Stanley predicts Apple will incorporate NFC into future iPhone for mobile payments (AppleInsider)
AppleInsider opens this article by noting that "prognosticators have given failed forecasts for years predicting Apple will add [NFC] technology to the iPhone." For some reason, the article doesn't end there and goes on for several hundred more words. Some analyst at Morgan Stanley said the same thing analysts have been saying about the iPhone for the past three years: "The next one will have NFC. Seriously! Promise. I know we've been wrong about the past three iPhones, but this one is definitely going to have NFC."
I think we've now officially reached the point that absolutely everything rumored for the iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, and iPhone 5s is now also rumored for the iPhone 6. God help the rumor blogs if all this comes true in 2014, because then they won't be able to recycle the same tired BS next year.
Apple reportedly will pay ISPs for direct network connections (Ars Technica)
Pretty shocking to see Ars Technica on this week's list -- it usually steers well clear of Apple rumors and sticks to newsworthy stuff. However, the analyst Ars cites for this report isn't a typical analyst; this guy actually knows what he's talking about, which lends his report a level of credibility missing from most Apple rumors.
