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Watch Apple show off its design studio and spaceship campus (update)
For years, most people have only known about Apple's secret design studio through anecdotes. There's talk of extreme security, loads of specialized manufacturing gear and other stories that make it sound more like Willy Wonka's chocolate factory than a real-world place. However, a lot of that mystery is about to disappear. CBS' 60 Minutes is airing a tour of Apple at 7:30PM Eastern that, on top of an interview with CEO Tim Cook, includes a rare peek at Apple's design wing. You unsurprisingly won't see future products (as hinted by the black cloth above), but there are promises of a talk with design chief Jony Ive about the process behind making all those iPhones, Macs and Watches.
Tim Cook says Apple will learn from discrimination seen in Australia store
A video hit the web this week showing Apple store employees in Melbourne, Australia, kicking out a group of black teenagers because security was worried "they might steal something." In the video, the teens (from Sudan and Somalia) repeatedly question the employees' concerns, but the only response they receive is, "End of discussion. I need to ask you to leave our store." Apple swiftly apologized and a senior manager from the site visited the students involved to assure them they were welcome at the store. Apple CEO Tim Cook sent an email to employees calling the incident "unacceptable," asserting the company's commitment to inclusivity and pledging to re-train its leadership in stores worldwide (as unearthed by Buzzfeed). "While I firmly believe that this was an isolated incident rather than a symptom of a broader problem in our stores, we will use this moment as an opportunity to learn and grow," he writes.
Apple's Tim Cook calls Microsoft's Surface Book 'diluted' (updated)
On top of announcing an expansion in Ireland, Apple CEO Tim Cook also took some time to weigh in on Microsoft's newest hybrid laptop, the Surface Book. "It's a product that tries too hard to do too much," he said, according to the Irish Independent. "It's trying to be a tablet and a notebook and it really succeeds at being neither. It's sort of diluted." Ouch. We actually found the Surface Book to be a pretty darn good hybrid laptop in our review. Cook's comments are particularly rich on the heels of the iPad Pro's launch this week, a large tablet with keyboard and stylus accessories that looks like it was inspired by Microsoft's Surface hybrid tablet. Of course, the big difference is that the iPad Pro is running iOS, not OS X. Cook seems to be taking more issue with Microsoft's attempt to unify desktop and mobile interfaces in a single platform.
Tim Cook warns UK government against weakening encryption
Following the UK's Investigatory Powers Bill, which was released last week with new and extended surveillance powers for the government, Apple CEO Tim Cook has defended strong encryption. Speaking to the Telegraph, Cook reiterated that Apple believes "very strongly in end-to-end encryption and no back doors." He pointed to recent data breaches (hello, TalkTalk hack) and emphasised that they can endanger both public privacy and national security. "To protect people who use any products, you have to encrypt."
The iPhone helped Apple to another quarter of record-breaking sales
Apple just announced its Q4 2015 financial results, and as usual it's another big quarter for the iPhone. The company sold just over 48 million iPhones in Q4, up from 39.3 million one year ago. That's despite the fact that the new iPhone 6s was only on sale for about one week of the quarter. The company says it also had the biggest quarter of Mac sales ever, with 5.7 million units sold -- that's up from 5.5 million in the year-ago quarter.
Tim Cook expects 'massive change' in the auto industry
In an interview yesterday evening at the WSJD Live event in Laguna Beach, California, Tim Cook didn't spend too much time talking about phones and computers. Rather, he chatted about the company's newest and more forward-thinking endeavors like the TV, the Watch and Apple Music. And: he even fielded a few questions about the future of, ahem, cars.
Apple Music has 15 million users, but free trials count for over half
After informing the audience at WSJD Live that the Apple TV arrives next week, Tim Cook went on to talk / praise Apple Music, which now has 15 million listeners. The generous free three-month trial still encompasses the majority of these, with 8.5 million people still feeling the service out. However, that means around 6.5 million iPhone, iPad and Mac owners that are paying the monthly subscription fee. Or forgot to cancel it.
Tim Cook says the new Apple TV is coming next week
Apple's CEO is being interviewed tonight at the WSJD Live event, and Tim Cook revealed that yes, the new Apple TV will arrive this month as promised. The taller, more powerful fourth generation box is due to ship next week, bringing along its touchpad remote and access to the App Store with tvOS. Pre-orders should begin starting October 26th, so those waiting may not have to wait until next month after all. In his comments he explained the TV experience is a decade behind the iPhone, and needs to be modernized. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings recently pondered a future where apps are bundled like channels, but for now Cook is just focusing on how ridiculous the traditional pay TV setup is and where it can be improved upon, saying "Have you ever tried to buy HBO through a cable company?" Good point. Ed. Note: Updated with pre-order info. Nicole Lee contributed to this report
Recommended Reading: What will astronauts eat while exploring Mars?
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. How NASA Is Solving the Space Food Problem by Elizabeth Preston Eater The first manned test flight for NASA's Orion capsule may have been pushed back this week, but the project forges on. One issue that the agency faces in the quest to send humans to explore Mars is food. This piece from Eater examines the challenges NASA looks to overcome with regards to the dietary needs of the crew during deep-space missions, including some onboard gardening.
Apple will (eventually) let you remove some of its iOS apps
Apple's iOS devices have long included apps that you're unlikely to use (do you really need a stock tracker?), and that list only seems to be getting longer. That's potentially a big problem, especially when the company is still shipping 16GB flagship iPhones where every megabyte counts. However, there might be some relief in sight. In a chat with BuzzFeed News, CEO Tim Cook says that his company will eventually "figure out a way" for you to remove some of those apps. You won't get to yank all of them (that "might cause issues" with some device features, Cook says), but this could spare you from creating a folder for the bundled apps that would otherwise gather virtual dust.
Tim Cook is Stephen Colbert's next 'Late Show' tech guest
Stephen Colbert continues to rack up high-profile tech guests for The Late Show and the latest is none other than Apple CEO Tim Cook. Of course, Colbert announced it in the most new-Colbert way possible: Smiling for the camera, talking into his Apple Watch in a Twitter photo and asking Siri to pencil the Cupertino boss in for next Tuesday, September 15th. It probably isn't a far cry to expect the iPhone 6S and iPad Pro will be major points of conversation, but anything's possible. Set your DVRs, folks.
Apple hired more women, but still has a huge gender gap
Apple's largely white guy workforce isn't going to change overnight, but the company made strides this year, according to its latest diversity report. After promising changes in June, Tim Cook said "we're working hard to expand our recruiting efforts, so we continue to hire talented people from groups that are currently underrepresented in the industry." Globally, it hired 11,000 women over the past year compared to around 6,500 this year before. The company also took on 50 percent more black employees and 66 percent more Hispanics in the US over the same period. That's positive, but Apple is still 69 percent male and 55 percent white, just a percent better than last year.
Facebook lets users 'celebrate pride' with rainbow filter
If you're a fan of the Supreme Court's ruling today that same-sex marriage is legal in all 50 states, Facebook has your profile-pride needs on lock. While logged into Facebook, head to facebook.com/celebratepride to superimpose a rainbow banner over your profile picture. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and plenty of other tech executives are celebrating the legalization of gay marriage today on social media: Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted, "Today marks a victory for equality, perseverance and love," and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella similarly wrote on Twitter, "A historic moment and step forward for equality in America. #LoveWins." In a speech this morning, President Barack Obama characterized the Supreme Court decision as "justice that arrives like a thunderbolt."
Tim Cook says privacy is a fundamental, moral right
It should surprise no one that, while being honored as a champion of privacy, Tim Cook threw shade at Google for its attitude toward its customer data. As TechCrunch reports, Apple's CEO was speaking at a Washington-based civil liberties non profit and said that his company believed that people had a "fundamental right to privacy." He went on to say that "the American people demand it, the constitution demands it and morality demands it." It's a song that the executive has played several times before, expressing distaste for companies who seek to monetize a user in ways other than to sell them expensive gadgets.
Apple's Tim Cook calls state discrimination laws 'dangerous'
A number of tech executives have decried state laws that promote discrimination against the LGBT community by allowing companies to refuse service on religious grounds, but Apple CEO Tim Cook is taking his opposition to the next level. The executive has written an editorial for the Washington Post that says it's "dangerous" to enact these laws, which include Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act and Arkansas' tentative HB1228. To him, these measures not only "rationalize injustice" against fellow human beings (including himself), but are "bad for business" -- they could stifle employment and corporate growth.
Tim Cook: Apple isn't becoming the new Microsoft
Are you getting the sense that Apple is becoming the new Microsoft, the giant corporation that's simultaneously doing too much and refusing to take risks? Not surprisingly, Tim Cook would like to have a word with you. He tells Fast Company that he doesn't accept those comparisons because Apple is "willing to lose sight of the shore" and drop existing technology, like optical drives and the 30-pin connector, in the name of progress. To Cook, Microsoft's problem (until lately, at least) was its refusal to "walk away from legacy stuff" -- it was so determined to support the old way of doing things that it had trouble moving forward.
Apple Watch is available April 24 starting at $350
It's been six whole months since Tim Cook revealed the Apple Watch to the world. Here we are again. With good reason, though. Apple may have already officially introduced us to its first smartwatch, but there were still some big questions left unanswered. Today Apple gathered the press to give the Watch the launch event it always deserved (and, you know, tell us how much it'll cost and when we can buy it, what apps we can expect, etc.). Now we have some answers.
Apple invests in a solar farm that can power 60,000 homes
Apple makes much ado about using clean energy sources to power its buildings these days, and it just put its money where its mouth is... a lot of money. The company is investing a whopping $848 million in a First Solar plant in California's Monterey County that, according to Apple chief Tim Cook, should generate enough electricity to power 60,000 homes. Apple will get a 130-megawatt supply from the solar farm to light up buildings such as its future spaceship-like campus, while the remaining 150 megawatts will go to Pacific Gas & Energy's grid. Reportedly, this is the largest commercial deal to date in the solar industry -- it certainly eclipses many of the other green energy initiatives we've seen in tech, which tend to "only" require tens of megawatts.
RuPaul on 'gaymers,' Tim Cook's coming out and why we need to lighten up
RuPaul Charles is nothing if not brutally frank. And with a decades-spanning career that's taken him from former New York City club kid to one-time "Supermodel (of the World)," to current host of Logo TV's cult reality show competition RuPaul's Drag Race and all-around impresario of his brand, he's certainly earned the right to tell it like it is. That candor's what his drag persona would refer to as "No T, No Shade," and it's incredibly refreshing. Sure, Ru's name may not be the first that springs to mind when you think tech, but with his recently released freemium mobile game Dragopolis 2.0 hitting iTunes and Google Play, he carved some time out of his busy schedule to talk to me about being a "gaymer," the importance of Apple CEO Tim Cook's coming out and why Netflix is the key to his current media empire.
Mark Zuckerberg defends free Facebook, fires back at Apple and Ello
When Tim Cook published an open letter in September to address iCloud privacy and security concerns, he said free online services treat you, the consumers, as product. Even newcomer Ello, which is dubbed the anti-Facebook, has a manifesto that ends with: "You are not a product." Well, those sharp words have found their mark in Zuckerberg (pun totally intended), and it sounds like they hit him where it hurts -- so much so that he's just unleashed some biting commentary of his own, despite previously declaring his respect for Cook as a leader. In an interview with Time magazine about his plans to get the world online with Internet.org, the social media mogul irritably defended Facebook's free / ad-supported model, against what he sees as charges that an advertising business model is fundamentally misaligned with customer's interests. The way he sees it, if Apple were truly aligned with customers then it would charge less for all of those iThings it's selling.
