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Rumor Roundup: iPad mini-maxing
Last week, I noted that the relative dearth of iPad mini rumors painted a bleak picture for its purported October launch. Seemingly in retaliation, rumor blogs and mainstream outlets alike were bursting at the seams with iPad mini rumors this week. First, let's clear the few non-iPad rumors out of the way. Apple new Maps app hints company could extend service to Mac, PC browsers (AppleInsider) Literally months after WWDC and the debut of Apple's new in-house Maps effort, AppleInsider finally noticed that entering maps.apple.com in the address bar of an iOS 6 device will direct users to the Maps app, while the same URL on a Mac or PC directs users to Google Maps. They go on to speculate this could be indicative of Apple extending its Maps service to Mac and PC browsers. What they never bother to answer is why Apple would be even remotely interested in doing that, or how maps.apple.com redirecting to maps.google.com supports their thesis in the slightest. If anything, Apple redirecting OS X users to its smartphone rival's website during Mac-based searches makes the case that Apple sees its own Maps as a necessarily mobile-only effort. Apple wants to move Macs away from Intel chips -- report (AppleInsider) In another case of "definitive statement in headline does not match article content," AppleInsider dusts off another perennially nonsensical rumor suggesting that Apple is investigating alternatives to Intel chips for its Macs. Any time you want to see the tech press's ignorance of computing architecture laid bare, look for a story like this one suggesting that the A6 chip -- with a Geekbench score around 1,600 -- would be in any way an acceptable substitute for even the most anemic Intel chips now powering Macs. And suggesting Apple will abandon Intel for AMD isn't any more logical. Apple seen as 'unlikely' to introduce new, inexpensive iPhone model (AppleInsider) Some analyst thinks Apple's discontinuation of the iPhone 3GS means Apple's likely not interested in producing low-cost iPhones to make gains in the prepaid market. This contradicts at least a year of other analysts saying the exact opposite -- and turning out to be wrong -- but who's keeping score? Yield rates for Apple's iPhone 5 in-cell touch panels improving (AppleInsider) Some other analyst says Apple's iPhone production is finally starting to catch up to demand. This is a spectacularly easy call to make considering it happens every single year. Apple Job Posting Hints At Major New System-On-A-Chip Design Effort (TechCrunch) Apple seems interested in continuing to roll its own chips for iOS devices at the very least; the A6 is largely a custom job, and it looks like Apple wants to keep that trend going. TechCrunch unfortunately falls into the same logic trap of speculating this might have something to do with replacing Intel chips on the Mac; not going to happen, guys. Supply of Apple's new iPod touch, iPod nano may be limited at launch (AppleInsider) Considering every rumor blog out there is saying the screen is the limiting factor in the iPhone 5's production, and considering the iPod touch uses the exact same screen, this should come as no surprise. What's less clear is why the iPod nano's supply will be limited. Rumor: iPad mini invitations set to be mailed out Oct. 10 (Apple 2.0 / Fortune Tech) Event announcement October 10, event October 17, shipping November 2. Bold statements all. We'll see. iPad mini production begins...in Brazil? (9to5 Mac) Macotakara says iPad mini production has already begun. Their record wasn't all that great earlier this year, but they've been getting more positive hits lately. AU Optronics reportedly building 'iPad mini' screens ahead of November launch (AppleInsider) According to "sometimes-barely-ever-accurate Digitimes." Is Sharp showing high-res iPad mini screens? (TechHive) The actual story here has little if anything to do with Apple, focusing instead on new display technology unveiled by Sharp that may find its way into future Apple products. Purported iPad Mini parts show full digitizer, frame and housing assemblies (9to5 Mac) Ukrainianiphone.com (sounds legit!) showed some "iPad mini" parts, some of which 9to5 Mac thinks are suspiciously similar to the Kindle Fire. Apple reportedly scrambling to get iPad mini production up to speed for launch (BGR) BGR reports, with Business Insider as a source, on what some analyst said about an unannounced and unconfirmed product. We've crossed the event horizon of newslessness. 'iPad mini' cases made by Cygnett allegedly for sale in Australia (AppleInsider) I like poking fun at case makers for how often they've gotten things wrong in the past, but the recent designs for the iPhone 5 and new iPod touch were on the ball. Cygnett sells loads of cases in this part of the world, though, so they can afford the hit if they turn out to be wrong. Purported 'iPad mini' headphone jacks appear online (AppleInsider) In earlier decades, people grasped at straws. Today, they grasp at ribbon cables. iPad mini could face shortage due to tough-to-produce anodized unibody case (BGR) Any time a new Apple product is just over the next hill past the horizon, Digitimes comes out with the same sky-is-falling headline: "Apple product (x) may be in short supply because of component (y)." New iPad Shows Up in App Analytics Running A6-Based Chip (MacRumors) An "iPad3,6" showed up in some developer's usage logs. That's totally different from the iPad3,1, iPad3,2, and iPad3,3 already out there. What does it mean? Is it the iPad mini? A moderate refresh of the iPad grande? The 2013 iPad? An A6-powered Mac Pro with Lightning connectors and a 7.85" display? A supply-constrained iPhone nano with inductive charging, NFC and a liquid metal case? A touchscreen iMac with Retina Display? The Apple HDTV? The iWatch? Apple Suppliers Begin Producing Smaller Version of iPad (Wall Street Journal) "People with knowledge of the situation" say the iPad mini is in production. For once, I hope they're right, and the product actually hits shelves. I don't know about the rest of you, but after two years of this nonsense, I'm sick and tired of iPad mini rumors.
Rumor Roundup: Completely backwards
It was another slow week for rumors, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense if the iPad mini is supposed to be launching this month. You'd think that we'd be hearing something like 50 rumors a week about the thing, but instead there's barely a peep. AuthenTec Said to Cut Off Non-Apple Fingerprint Sensor Customers in 2013 (MacRumors) A Korean newspaper claims Apple's latest acquisition has informed its customers that its fingerprint sensor tech won't be offered to them anymore starting next year. This has companies like Samsung and HP scrambling to find alternatives, but since AuthenTec -- and by extension, Apple -- owns a large segment of the fingerprint sensor IP, essentially they may all be out of luck. There's not yet any reliable information on what Apple plans to do with AuthenTec's technology. Wide-eyed claims of last-minute NFC additions to the iPhone 5 based on AuthenTec fingerprint sensors failed to pan out, and Apple's execs have indicated they're not particularly interested in NFC at this time. iPhone 5 shortage reportedly a result of Apple's in-cell displays (AppleInsider) Some analyst says the new display tech in the iPhone 5 is the primary reason Apple's suppliers can't manufacture handsets quickly enough to meet demand. This sounds suspiciously similar to rumors from weeks before the handset's debut which said essentially the same thing. Considering the huge, worldwide demand for the iPhone 5, it's probably a combination of factors keeping supplies (relatively) low rather than one single bottleneck. Most of the components in the iPhone 5 are all new, so it doesn't benefit from any of the production scalability that the iPhone 4S did. It certainly doesn't help matters that all over the world people are climbing over one another and selling their grandparents on eBay to be able to buy this supposedly "disappointing" smartphone. Rumor: Apple ordering parts for new product made of carbon fiber (AppleInsider) Macotakara claims Apple has ordered a bunch of carbon fiber, too much for it to be used for engineering samples. My prediction: Tim Cook is using it to build his own race car. He certainly looks like the kind of guy who lives life a quarter mile at a time. "For those ten seconds or less, I'm free." Apple investigating inductive charging mat for docking portable devices (AppleInsider) Despite Phil Schiller pretty much claiming that inductive charging is a solution looking for a problem, it seems like Apple is at least interested in patenting certain applications of the technology. This patent shows that devices could not only charge when placed on a charging pad, but also sync to iCloud or elsewhere, with the device's orientation determining what kind of syncing (if any) takes place. In spite of the coolness factor, I agree with Schiller that inductive charging is more complicated than what we have now. For one, it's yet another thing you'd have to pack on a long trip. Given that you already have to pack a charger and a cable, then plug that charger into the wall, it doesn't seem practical. Plus, try explaining inductive charging to your grandma. "Johnny, tell me again how I plug in my phone to give it more juice?" "Lay it on the charging pad, Grandma." "Watch your mouth, Johnny!" Video of alleged 'iPad mini' mockup hits the web (AppleInsider) Another week, another fake iPad that's somehow newsworthy. For the iPhone 5 we had enough parts leak out over the months before its debut that you could practically build one yourself if you knew the right suppliers. The iPad mini is supposedly going to debut at a "special event" sometime this month, and all we have so far are mockups. I'm still waiting for the smoking gun that finally kills my skepticism that this product actually exists. Jenkins: TV Will Be Apple's Undoing (Wall Street Journal) This isn't a rumor as such, just the most boneheaded analysis I've read in at least a couple of months. It was a slow week for rumors, so here it is. "Apple had snafus under Steve Jobs," Holman Jenkins reminds us, and goes on to list them. "Antenna-gate" (sic) -- Not so much a "snafu" as "minor technical defect wildly blown out of proportion by the media." "MobileMe" -- Objection sustained. "The frequently obtuse Siri" -- Which didn't make it into users' hands until after Jobs's death, but who pays attention to minor details like the date of the biggest tech story of 2011? "Its latest snafu, a faulty maps application installed on the new version of the iPhone, isn't a testament to the inferiority of Apple's current management," Jenkins says. He's right; it's a testament to people not knowing the difference between "application" and "data." Apple Maps, the app, is great. It's the map data that stinks -- or so I'm told, anyway. Unlike Google Maps, in all the months I've used Apple Maps in New Zealand the app has never once tried to steer me down a road that didn't actually exist, something that happened almost every time I used Google Maps. Apple's satellite photos for my town also aren't more than four years out of date like Google's are. But I digress, and so does Jenkins. "Forget the maps farrago," he says, simultaneously making me reach for my dictionary and wonder why the Wall Street Journal's editors didn't excise those opening two paragraphs. What Jenkins really wants to talk about is TV, and why it's going to be Apple's "undoing." "Television is about to demonstrate the inadequacy of Apple's own business model," Jenkins says. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof, so let's see what he says. "Video-content owners aren't looking for a savior and ultimately won't be satisfied with anything less than an open ecosystem accessible by any device." HAHAHAHAHA. Wait, are these the same content owners who region-protect DVDs and Blu-ray discs, georestrict content through Hulu and other services so it's not viewable outside the USA, and keep trying to tell me that it's illegal to rip content off a DVD I paid for so I can watch it on my iPad? Are these the same content owners who embrace DRM-laden physical formats like Blu-ray while shunning "open ecosystems" like worldwide digital distribution? Are these the same content owners who are so married to the current cable subscription system in the USA that they'll cling to it with their dying breaths, no matter how inconvenient, needlessly expensive and technologically backward it is for the rest of us? Those content owners are looking for "an open ecosystem accessible by any device," Mr. Jenkins? Maybe on Earth-253 they are, but here on Earth-442, not so much. "To maintain its position, [Apple] will have to focus more on giving its devices superb access to content it doesn't control and hasn't approved." Jenkins is conflating the idea of the App Store -- very much controlled and curated by Apple, who holds all the cards -- with the iTunes Store, which only contains as much content as media conglomerates are willing to dole out. As one example of what seems to be going on in Jenkins's mind, the reason I couldn't buy the recent high-definition remaster of Star Trek: The Next Generation's first season off iTunes is because Apple doesn't want it there. Not Paramount, not Viacom. It's only available on Blu-ray, and that's all Apple's fault. Somehow. The first season of Game of Thrones wasn't released on iTunes for a full year after its TV airing, and I'm sure that's because Apple wants to make it difficult for people to watch the show if they don't subscribe to HBO. "The time to worry will be if Apple's quixotic quest for TV leads it to block more realistic solutions that emerge on the open Internet." Jenkins, I suggest you travel outside of the USA and try to access literally any streaming video content from major US-based media sites while you're overseas so you can see how "worldwide" the Web really is. I honestly didn't think anyone could get the situation this completely backwards, but Jenkins managed it. Apple is the villain keeping universal, all-access, anywhere, anytime media content off of my devices? It's only because I have a US-based iTunes account that I'm able to get timely paid, legal access to TV shows and movies here in New Zealand at all. TV won't be Apple's "undoing," but it's also not likely the company's going to be able to do for TV what it did for computing, music, smartphones or tablets. That's because content owners are the ones standing in the way of progress, not Apple.
Rumor Roundup: What slipped through the cracks
Between the iPhone 5 launch and all the frenzy surrounding iOS 6's changes to the Maps app, real news has mostly drowned out the rumors this month. With relatively few new rumors surfacing, this edition of the Rumor Roundup is mostly about finding those few stories that slipped through the cracks over the past month. Apple suppliers now shipping new 13" Retina MacBook Pros, iMacs - report (AppleInsider) "The details were published by sometimes-reliable Digitimes" and I stopped reading before whatever came next. Apple's iPhone 5 unveiling this week is just the beginning (BGR) Another analyst broke out the "biggest launch in consumer electronics history" hype that BGR has already latched onto at least twice in the past several months. But wait, there's more! The iPad mini! The slightly revised iPad! The Apple HDTV! All this and more can be yours for the low, low price of $9.95. Toss aside your incredulity and order now! Stock-outs of Apple's AirPort Extreme could hint at new 802.11ac model (AppleInsider) Low stock on the AirPort Extreme might hint at a new model coming soon. Of course, given that this low stock situation started nearly two weeks ago with no new AirPort devices in sight, it might not be indicative of anything at all; however, it would be Apple-esque to keep the non-iOS products clear of the big iPhone 5 / iPod reveal. Leaked iPad mini photos may reveal finished tablet design for the first time (BGR) Or, they reveal mockups produced by people with tons of resources and way too much time on their hands. Either / or. Prominent developer continues to believe NFC hardware exists on the new iPhone (9to5 Mac) Nope. And, by the way, nope. Sorry Foxconn, Apple is reportedly placing 50-60 percent of its iPad mini orders at Pegatron (9to5 Mac) Some Asian newspaper claims to know the factory production splits for a device not yet even verified to exist. Sounds legit! Sprint to discontinue the iPhone 4? (9to5 Mac) Nope. iPad mini spyshots leak, look slightly more convincing [gallery] (9to5 Mac) In this case, "spyshots" means more mockups and "slightly more convincing" means not really convincing at all. iPhone 5 predicted to be 'Apple's last blowout U.S. bestseller' Analysts got together and predicted that "Apple has peaked and next year's iPhone launch will mark the start of a decline." These guys say the same thing every year, and they're always wrong. If they keep beating this drum, there will of course come a point when they can't help but be right; unless aliens land and don't laugh themselves silly at our comparatively pitiful technology, there will come a point when Apple must sell iPhones to every human on Earth multiple times per year to sustain its exponential growth. It's got about another six or seven years before it gets to that point, however. Source: Apple Aggressively Recruiting Ex-Google Maps Staff To Build Out iOS Maps | TechCrunch And a million Android enthusiasts scrambled to their keyboards to be FIRST! to type some variation of "See? Apple copies too!"
Rumor Scorecard: iPhone 5 edition
Now that the iPhone 5 launch event has come and gone, it's time for a thoroughly unscientific and begrudging look back at several months worth of rumors. Predictably, the farther from the path of physically-based evidence the rumors strayed, the more inaccurate they became. But the overarching theme this rumor cycle was parts leaks -- physical evidence is usually the best kind when it comes to rumors, and we had plenty of it this year when it came to the iPhone 5. In fact, anyone who paid even a modest amount of attention to the rumors these past few months probably wasn't the least bit surprised by the iPhone 5's features. I have to wonder how much of that is fuelling the rabid "disappointment" amongst anti-Apple blowhards this week. It's been widely remarked that despite a fully functional iPhone 4 being poached from a bar two years ago, the agglomerated parts leaks this year gave us a much more complete picture of the iPhone 5. Tim Cook insisted that Apple was going to "double down" on secrecy; assuming he was telling the truth, it's safe to say Apple failed in that endeavor. Perhaps next time. I won't declare any "winners" or "losers" in this game. Despite serving their purpose within the Apple news community, I think the rumor blogs are kind of like having your older brother peek under the wrapping of your Christmas gifts and tell you what you're getting weeks in advance, which means we all wind up losing. Maybe that's just me. Nope Apple's next iPhone could see weaker demand, upgrade cycle to blame (BGR) iPhone 5 preorders sold more quickly than any iPhone to date. China Mobile support likely to make Apple's next iPhone a 'true world phone' (AppleInsider) Incompatibilities between LTE networks make a "true world phone" a pipe dream as far as 4G is concerned. And there's nothing I can find in the tech specs that indicates the CDMA model iPhone 5 will be compatible with China Mobile's 3G network. The same source for this story also didn't expect the iPhone 5 to show up until October, so there's that. Why Apple Bought AuthenTec: It Needed NFC Fingerprint Sensors, Quickly (The Next Web) The iPhone 5 doesn't have fingerprint scanners or NFC technology of any kind. Confirmed: The New iPhone Will Have A 19-Pin "Mini" Connector (TechCrunch) Confirmed: The new Lightning connector has 8 pins. New iPhone prototypes have NFC chips and antenna (9to5 Mac) Whether the prototypes had it or not -- and until they show up on eBay, who knows? -- shipping iPhone 5 handsets don't have NFC. Apple experiencing battery issues in development of next iPhone - rumor (AppleInsider) This may or may not have been true, but either way the iPhone launched a month earlier than most analysts expected. Sort of Apple's next iPod nano may resemble tiny iPhone, feature dedicated iTunes service (AppleInsider) The new nano does indeed look kind of like the "iPhone nano" that keeps never showing up, but the "dedicated iTunes service" didn't happen. Eight-Pin Dock Connector + iOS 6 / Bluetooth 4 Link Details? (Updated) (iLounge) Spot on as far as the connector goes, but 100 percent wrong on Bluetooth 4 linking Apple devices together. New iPhone on track for fall release, 4G LTE and NFC confirmed, final production starts later this summer (BGR) Right on most of the details, except this one: "We can also confirm that NFC hardware is present in the phones as well." Nope. New Details On Apple's Next iPhone, iPods, iPad mini, iPad (4th-Gen) + Cases (iLounge) Once you ignore the iPad mini speculation, iLounge's record on the iPhone/iPod event in this post is only 50/50. They were right about the new iPhone and iPod touch showing up in September at the same event, but wrong about new iPhone cases and the lack of a new iPod nano. New rumors ahead of Apple media events: iPod touch redesign, iPod nano with WiFi, 'iPad mini' name (9to5 Mac) Although this leaked case accurately foreshadowed the iPod touch redesign, 9to5 Mac's speculation that the "mystery hole" was for a speaker was incorrect; it was for the device's loop feature. Meanwhile, the iPod nano doesn't have WiFi. Apple iPhone 5 and iPad mini event planned for September 12, iPhone 5 release date for September 21 (iMore) The iPhone 5 definitely showed up on September 12. Still waiting on that other device, though. Next iPhone will be 'biggest product launch in consumer electronics history' (BGR) Still too early to tell, especially considering how "disappointing" the thing apparently is. Decidedly so Inside Apple's Go-Slow Approach to Mobile Payments (Wall Street Journal) The WSJ's suggestion that iOS 6's Passbook was the extent of Apple's ambitions in mobile payments was exactly right. Apple's Ping to End With a Thud in Next Release of iTunes (AllThingsD) To the surprise of absolutely no one. iPhone 5 case image leaks confirm final design? (MobileFun) Claimed Next-Generation iPod Touch Case Points to Significant Redesign (MacRumors) Case Manufacturers Ramping Up for Radically Redesigned iPod Nano, Updated iPod Touch (MacRumors) I like to poke fun at case makers because of how often they get it wrong, but they got it right this time. Apple will provide an adapter for the new, smaller Dock connector set to debut with the iPhone 5 (iMore) And that adapter's cost, at US$29, launched a hundred frothingly hyperbolic posts from pundits exclaiming that "in these tough times" people who can afford a $199 phone plus two-year cell phone contract and hundreds of dollars in accessories are somehow going to be bankrupted by the Lightning-to-30-pin adapter. Apple Planning 'All-New' iPod Touch and iPod Nano for September Launch? Apple to Update iPod Touch with 4-Inch Display, A5 Chip, Buffed Aluminum Rear Shell? (MacRumors) KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo probably has a source inside Apple. iPod nano stock shortages across US retail seem to point at upcoming refresh (9to5 Mac) They certainly do. iPods likely to share the stage with iPhone 5 at next week's Apple event | 9to5Mac I didn't put much credence in this, but it turns out I struck out on this one when I predicted an October unveiling instead. Apple 'to drop iPhone 3GS' - Telegraph And thus did Apple's longest-lived iPhone shuffles off the retail coil. Next-gen iPhone to launch in Sept. despite reported component shortage (AppleInsider) Digitimes' reports of launch delays due to component shortages turned out to be bogus. Surprise! New purported next-generation iPhone parts photos show fully assembled device (9to5 Mac) New photo of white next-generation iPhone front with centered FaceTime camera (9to5 Mac) iPhone Board Shows A6 CPU Branding (iMore) Video Shows Redesigned "iPhone 5" Headphones (Tinhte.vn via MacRumors & BGR) There were parts leaks galore this year, enough that weeks before the iPhone's launch you could practically send proof of purchase from your breakfast cereal off to China and have parts shipped back so you could assemble your very own iPhone. Now that the iPhone 5 is well and truly out from beneath the shroud of rumor and barely maintained secrecy, we can undoubtedly look forward to weeks or months of fevered speculation about the iPad mini. Until or unless parts for that device leak on the same scale as the iPhone 5, I suggest not getting your hopes up. If those leaks do start showing up though, it may be enough to convince even a skeptical curmudgeon like me.
Rumor Roundup: The storm before the storm
The week before an Apple event sees a flood of rumors washing over the internet. This past week was a textbook case, with 20 rumors to address even after cutting out the less interesting ones. Notification in iOS 6 beta hints at iBooks for Apple TV (AppleInsider) Have you ever wanted to read books on your TV? Me neither. But a random error message could mean you might be able to do just that soon. Or... it could just be a random error message. Apple Seeks to Create Pandora Rival - WSJ.com Remember how in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 Apple was going to unveil a streaming music service? Maybe it'll really happen this year. Maybe it'll work more reliably than iTunes Match. Maybe it'll also be available outside the US. Maybe. Apple to unveil new lineup of desktop iMacs | Fox News Fox News isn't normally where I'd go for reliable information, but we have it on good authority this source knows of what he speaks on this matter. Prior rumors surrounding the next iMac update suggests it won't have a Retina display update, however, so don't expect these to be anything more than processor-bumped versions of the existing iMac. Apple TV No iPhone as Talks Bog Down With Media Companies - Bloomberg Cable companies have watched Apple dominate the music industry and smartphones, and the massive media conglomerates have apparently learned their lesson: Don't let Apple show consumers a better way, because that quickly makes your former golden goose irrelevant. As our own Victor Agreda noted, this does of course mean that cable companies get to keep their fat profits at the expense of user convenience. Imagine if radio broadcasters had purposefully tried to suppress TV broadcasts -- and succeeded. Photos of iPad mini die cast mold may reveal final design (BGR) Someone took a metal block and carved it into the shape of an iPad mini. For some reason. New Photos Show Details of Alleged 'iPad Mini' Rear Shell (MacRumors) See if you can find what's wrong with this allegedly leaked part without scrolling down to the comments. Hint: one a day keeps the doctor away. Evidence of airline support for Apple's Passbook surfaces ahead of iPhone debut (AppleInsider) Not sure why AppleInsider went with the "iPhone debut" angle in the headline, since Passbook isn't exclusive to the new hardware. Anyway, airlines are supposedly working to incorporate their boarding passes into Passbook, enabling travelers to scan their phones to check in. I've been using something similar for three years via Air New Zealand's iOS app, so this comes as no great surprise. iPods likely to share the stage with iPhone 5 at next week's Apple event | 9to5Mac "Details on the changes coming in these new iPods are currently scarce," 9to5 Mac says. They are indeed. The post is so vague and so short on details that I'm convinced that new iPods aren't likely to debut on September 12 at all. October seems more likely. iPhone 5 cases already showing up at AT&T (BGR) Whether those are genuine iPhone 5 cases or not, those definitely aren't iPhone 5 handsets in the images. Homework assignment: Identify at least four obvious Photoshop errors in the post's leading image. Apple 'to drop iPhone 3GS' - Telegraph Apple might discontinue the iPhone 3GS this year -- it's comparatively old hardware and doesn't run a lot of flagship iOS features. But the iPhone 3GS has to be so cheap to produce by now that Apple could easily use it to address the prepaid smartphone market if the company decided that was in its best interests. We'll see. Apple cuts memory chip order to Samsung for new iPhone: source | Reuters This supposedly has nothing to do with the companies' recent court battles and is all about Apple diversifying memory components among different suppliers. Also, Samsung "fell down some stairs," according to spokesperson T. Durden. Potential 'iPhone 5' supply constraints seen as positive for Apple stock (AppleInsider) Some analyst figured out that constrained supply + high demand = profit. This might be a revelatory finding in a world where ExxonMobil and De Beers didn't exist. Sources: Apple to be sole maker of Dock Connector Adapters | iLounge News Predictably, rumors that Apple would be the sole supplier of adapters for the new iPhone's modified Dock Connector sent the internet into a frenzy of "evil closed Apple, blarrrrgh!" Think about it, though: is it surprising that Apple's not working with third parties on this at first when they've been so terrible at keeping their yaps shut about forthcoming products? Looking right at you, case makers. Give this six months. If there are still no third-party Dock Connector adapters out then, by all means take the tinfoil caps out of storage. iPhone 5 Leaks Out Of Foxconn Jincheng Factory? Boots Up iOS 6 Error (video) » M.I.C. Gadget This looks about as genuine as a three-dollar bill. Closeup Photos Show Clear Difference in Thickness Between iPhone 5 and 4S (MacRumors) The difference in thickness certainly looks remarkable when the two phones are next to each other, but I wonder how much if any difference it'll make in daily usage. I've certainly never looked at the iPhone 4 / 4S and thought, "Gee, if only this thing were a millimeter thinner, my life would be complete." FedEx Planning for 'Surge Volume' Event September 21-24, Coinciding with Rumored iPhone 5 Launch Date (MacRumors) Either FedEx knows something we don't, or -- more likely -- someone who works there reads the same rumor sites as the rest of us. Redesigned iPhone (N42) being announced next week at iPhone 4S price points (9to5 Mac) The new model comes in at the old model's prices, every year -- in the USA, anyway. I'll be very eager to see how things shape up where I live, where iPhone handset prices traditionally hover between "Haha, yeah right," and "Wait, you weren't kidding? Oh god help me." Case Manufacturers Ramping Up for Radically Redesigned iPod Nano, Updated iPod Touch (MacRumors) I never get tired of asking this question: When have case makers ever gotten it wrong? New Apple iPhone to Support LTE Around the World - WSJ.com "It isn't likely to work with all carriers' LTE networks in all countries," according to the article. The Wall Street Journal must therefore be using some strange definition of "around the world" with which I was previously unfamiliar. One more thing... The iPhone 5 Roundup and a New Feature on MacRumors Kudos to MacRumors for their daringly original new weekly rumor roundup.
Rumor Roundup: Case not quite closed
The calendar pages are flipping away rapidly now that the Labor Day break is done; September 12th is right around the corner. As is the way of such things, the wilder speculation and left-field rumors of the fallow months between product introductions gradually give way to the reality of shipping gadgets and actual features. The closer we get to iPhone Day, the more concrete things get; we begin to see the bright line between "rumor" and "news" get fuzzy and soft. That's why this week's Roundup splits its focus between things we think we know, and things we know are fake. German Carriers Receiving Nano SIMs (iFun.de, AppleInsider) The tiny, controversial Nano SIM cards essential for the next-generation iPhone are reportedly showing up at Telekom stores in Germany. As Steve pointed out earlier today, these cards don't have a specific phone associated with them... yet. The other interesting point in this story is that the carrier reps are supposedly also seeing a new 10-euro LTE plan add-on. Right now only one HTC handset is LTE-enabled for Telekom, so it's a fair bet that the next one on the list will be le iPhone nouveau (or, properly, iPhone 5). Sharp Lagging On iPhone Displays (Reuters) A source "familiar with operations" at the Japanese manufacturer told Reuters that production on screens for iPhone 5 is not keeping up with demand, and that the company's profit margins are being squeezed by the high costs of making the new screens. While it's certainly possible that Sharp is running into issues with the newer, thinner in-cell screens that supposedly will front the iPhone 5, the other two manufacturers tasked with building the screens haven't yet said a peep about issues they might be having. In this case, since Apple will be building these widgets as fast as they possibly can, having 1/3 of the screen suppliers struggling to keep up isn't great, but it's not necessarily catastrophic. Video Of Assembled iPhone Next-Gen Parts (MacOtakara, iLab Factory) Proving again that the whole does not equal the sum of its parts, several Japanese sites posted videos of an assembled mockup built from leaked iPhone components. The mockup shows all the rumored features: longer screen, next-gen dock connector, two-tone back panel, and so forth. If the parts are legit -- and at this stage in manufacturing, there's no reason to think they'd be fake -- then the assembly does give some sense of what the iPhone 5 will look like in hand. iPhone 5 Dummy at IFA 2012 (iMore, GSM Israel News) There's an iPhone at IFA! There's an iPhone at IFA! Well, actually, there's not. What was showing up at the European trade show was a dummy iPhone that case makers are "confident" represents the dimensions of the next-gen device. According to the Italian site HDblog.it, similar "mockups" are readily available at retail in China. (Apparently the word "fake" means the same thing in Italian that it does in English.) Nevertheless, the same deal as the Japanese parts assembly above: assuming that the pieces fit together as expected, this should be a reasonable proxy for the finished device. The Verge put together a video hands-on that shows the mockup next to an iPhone 4. Video Shows Redesigned "iPhone 5" Headphones (Tinhte.vn via MacRumors & BGR) Those are some seriously funky earbuds. Are your ears shaped that way? Mine aren't -- but then again, they're also not shaped like the original iPhone earbuds, which I find downright impossible to use. If the Vietnamese site's pictures and video are accurate, Apple's next-gen earbits will be tapered and sleek. That's a pretty big "if," however. As BGR points out, the headphones as pictured lack an in-line remote control -- so they can't possibly be intended for an iPhone in their current build state. iPhone Board Shows A6 CPU Branding (iMore) Given that the ARM chips powering the iPhone and iPad are Apple's own to brand as it sees fit, there wouldn't be much surprise if the next phone carries an "A6" chip versus the A5X quad-core currently found in the Retina-equipped iPad. As iMore points out, the phone version doesn't need four cores, and if it's trying to run LTE it definitely doesn't need the battery drain of that class of CPU. New iPad Model Identifiers Show Up In Logs (Marco.org) Instapaper's head honcho believes he's spotted the telltale signs of the iPad micro in two model identifiers that appeared in his server logs. One would be the WiFi version, the other the LTE or 3G build. Although in theory they could be die shrinks or other modifications of existing models, that's not what Arment's gut tells him. We know from past experience that these browser strings can be forged, but in this case it's plausible that the real devices are really hitting the Instapaper servers. Unfortunately, if the other rumors are true, that won't be confirmed for a month or so.
Rumor Roundup: October surprise
Though this week's Apple news was dominated by the company's not-at-all-shocking victory over Samsung in the Patent Trial of the Century, that doesn't mean sites didn't find time to squeeze out the usual gamut of rumors. Apple's 'iPhone 5 Tsunami' predicted to sell 250M units over life cycle (AppleInsider) Some analyst consulted his crystal ball and determined the next iPhone -- which hasn't sold a single unit or even been officially confirmed to exist yet -- will sell a quarter of a billion units. Apple's best quarter so far only managed 15M iPhone sales, for reference. Even though the historical data (revealed in the Samsung trial discovery) shows each new iPhone has sold approximately as many units as all the iPhones before it combined, eventually there will come a time when that kind of growth is impossible unless every single living human being buys one. We're not quite there yet, but it's still way too early to make a call on the number of units sold for a product that's not even on the market. iPod nano stock shortages across US retail seem to point at upcoming refresh (9to5 Mac) Last week I let the snark flag fly when 9to5 Mac posted about a German "reward points" company claiming to be running dry on iPod nanos. The site did some further reporting and took the wind out of the snark flag in the process: according to their research, it turns out the nano is short on stock at a few retailers you may actually have heard of, like Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. Bottom line, if you know someone who's expressed interest in buying an iPod nano, maybe convince them to wait a couple of weeks. It's not looking like a smart time to buy one. Apple to Ramp Up 7.85" iPad Mini Production in September? (MacRumors) "Digitimes reports that" -- forget it. Just never mind. Verizon Vacation Blackout Reveals The New iPhone Will Launch On Friday, September 21 (TechCrunch) "A trusted Verizon employee" confirmed to TechCrunch that Verizon has declared they shalt not take vacation from September 21-30. Given the rumors out there already about the iPhone's release date, the natural conclusion is this is related to the launch of the next iPhone. These vacation blackout periods have often been a decent hint of forthcoming launch dates, so it seems we won't have a full one-year wait between the iPhone 4S and the iPhone whatever-it's-called after all. iPhone 5 supply shortages could make Apple's new phone hard to find (BGR) Another "report" sourced from Digitimes, this time with the usual Chicken Little nonsense about component shortages meaning devices will be in short supply. Seriously, Digitimes says this literally every time a new Apple product is rumored to launch. I live in the middle of the ocean, more than a thousand kilometers from the next nearest bit of land, and there isn't a single Apple Store in my country. The only times I've ever had trouble getting hold of a newly-launched Apple product have been due to the incompetence of a local telco or a brain-damaged Australian shipping company. Granted, there's usually a launch delay of several weeks before the products make it down to where I live in the first place, but once they do they're not hard to find. Bottom line: If you simply must have the latest gizmo on launch day, then go get in line. If your constitution can handle a wait of a couple weeks, then don't worry about it. After all, if Apple's supposed to sell 250 million of the things, it has to be cranking them out at a breakneck pace already. LG says started production of new screen, as Apple plans product launch (Reuters) Reuters' headline makes it sound like LG's CEO got behind a podium and said outright the company was building screens for Apple. Instead, all he said was "We just began mass production and we don't expect any disruption in supplies." Every other word in the article is speculative. These screens probably are bound for the next iPhone, sure. But Reuters (and most of the rumor blogs that followed in its trail) didn't do a stellar job distinguishing between the CEO's own comments and Reuters' own interpretation of the event. Alleged Apple 'iPad mini' cases show rear camera, mystery hole (AppleInsider) Giz-China.com (sounds legit!) posted photos of third-party cases supposedly destined for the iPad mini. These were obviously worth every bit of attention they received, because when have case makers ever gotten it wrong? Claimed Next-Generation iPod Touch Case Points to Significant Redesign (MacRumors) From the same dubious Chinese source as the iPad mini case leak, but this time for a different device: the iPod touch. This case also shows a "mystery hole" -- two forthcoming products with "mystery holes" raises the kinds of questions I'm not comfortable writing out in full. This is a family publication. New rumors ahead of Apple media events: iPod touch redesign, iPod nano with WiFi, 'iPad mini' name (9to5 Mac) Via 9to5 Mac, we learn that Macotakara has said the next iPod nano will have Wi-Fi for connecting to the iTunes Store, and the "iPad mini" will actually be called the "iPad mini." Macotakara has gotten a few things right in the past, but not nearly often enough to take what the site says as gospel. Wi-Fi in the nano sounds like a logical enough development, but I must be the only person left in the tech world who thinks "iPad mini" is a tremendously irksome product name. Why not just go full-on ridiculous and call the iPod touch the "iPad nano" instead? Sharing the Stage (Daring Fireball) John Gruber officially needs to move out of my head. No less than 24 hours after a lunchtime conversation with my boss where I said it makes no sense for Apple to introduce a major new product like the "iPad mini" at the same event as a new iPhone, Gruber laid out a case eerily similar to my own. His premise is essentially that the press has a limited attention bin to draw from; they could focus attention (and adulation) on the newest iPhone or a new form of iPad, but not both at once. Traditionally well-informed Jim Dalrymple of The Loop gave some brief affirmation for Gruber's analysis, which he repeated to Mike and Kelly on last night's Talkcast. Not long after, AllThingsD went all-things-in on the rumor, saying that Gruber's contention "more than makes sense -- it's so," according to sources. ATD's Apple connections are many and varied (starting at the top with Uncle Walt himself), so when the site puts multiple pins in the calendar that adds a lot of weight. I'm inclined to agree. Think about it: I can't recall a single Apple keynote event in the past 10 years that went significantly over two hours. They usually hover around the 90-minute mark. Here's how I see the next event breaking down: 15 minutes of recap on Apple's sales (the "bragging rights" intro) 15 minutes reviewing iOS 6 features (in case we all forgot since June) 30 minutes talking about the new iPhone's hardware and any iOS software features specific to it 15 minutes of third-party software demos 15 minutes of explanatory movies, new ads, and wrapup Not only does that leave no time for an iPad mini intro, it also doesn't give us much (if any) time to introduce new iPods, either. That's why I think another event in October will give us the new iPod touch, probably new iPod nanos, and (god help us) maybe even an iPad mini. Here's how that event might play out: 5 minutes bragging about iPhone sales 20 minute demo of the new iPod nano 15 minute demo of the new iPod touch 30 minute demo and justification for the existence of the iPad mini 10 minutes third-party software demos (Gosh, look how easy it is to build for this new device) 10 minutes explanatory movies, new ads, and wrapup It makes sense to me, anyway. Don't be shocked if the iPad mini is a no-show at the September event, but count on the internet to erupt in fury if it isn't there.
Rumor Roundup: A drop of logic in an ocean of nonsense
This week's rumors brought us more of the usual: iPhone component leaks, predictions of a supposedly forthcoming iPad mini without a shred of reputable evidence to support them, and more analyst fever dreams of an Apple HDTV. iPhone 5 front panel leaks in new photos (BGR) Yet another parts reseller got its hands on the next-gen iPhone's front faceplate and rushed to post pics. So many outlets have done this already that it barely qualifies as news anymore. At this point, I'm pretty sure that if I asked them, my next-door neighbors would probably have one of these parts in their shed. Apple reportedly talks iPhone 5 LTE support with Korean carriers (CNET) Loose-lipped executives at two Korean mobile carriers say they've been negotiating with Apple over LTE support in the next-gen iPhone. If it's true that these execs have blabbed about unreleased Apple products, something tells me there'll be some very uncomfortable tension the next time they all sit at the negotiation table. German rewards club states that iPod Nanos are no longer being delivered, new release in late September (9to5 Mac) From Germany we discover that Shell says it can't deliver iPod nanos to its rewards club customers "due to an upcoming re-introduction of this device from Apple." Well stop the presses. Despite no evidence of nano shortages anywhere else on the planet, this sales letter from a rewards club in Germany is obvious proof the iPod nano is getting refreshed in September. In possibly related news, my local library's last copy of Canterbury Tales was checked out, so I expect Chaucer to complete it any day now. FINALLY. Why Apple Bought AuthenTec: It Needed NFC Fingerprint Sensors, Quickly (The Next Web) TNW does a lengthy analysis of Apple's recent negotiations with AuthenTec, a company that develops fingerprint scanners and other technologies. Apparently Apple was so intent on getting this company's technology that it just outright bought AuthenTec for over $350 million. "Will we see fingerprint technology in the new iPhone (or iPad)?" TNW asks. "It seems almost certain." No, not certain at all. Apple pivots quickly, but not that quickly. If Apple's really supposed to push out the next iPhone in September, it's not going to incorporate a fingerprint scanner that AuthenTec only introduced this May. None of the parts leaks so far support the idea that the next iPhone will have a fingerprint scanner on it, unless it's somehow built into one of the cameras. Apple's 7.85-inch iPad mini and future iPads may adopt ITO film coating (AppleInsider) "Reports from the Far East" indicate forthcoming Apple devices' displays may be coated with indium tin oxide (ITO). That "reports from the Far East" bit sounded rather suspiciously familiar to me, so I decided to do a Google search for "ITO iPad." Sure enough, 30 seconds later I found the actual source of these "reports from the Far East" -- "sometimes reliable" DigiTimes. Nice try, AppleInsider. iPad mini will look like a large iPod touch with smaller side bezels [Gallery] (9to5 Mac, many others) This week's recipe for iPad mini rumors: 1 cup easily faked and uncorroborated parts leak 2 cups "tips from sources we have reason to believe have knowledge of Apple's plans" 5 gallons speculation sauce Mix until your arm falls asleep. Bake at 7" for two years. Baste once every three months with "reports from the Far East." These purported schematics of the iPad mini now appear to be real (9to5 Mac) Schematics released in July supposedly showed what the iPad mini might look like. I remember saying they looked like anyone with basic competency in Adobe Illustrator could have thrown them together in 15 minutes, but because these drawings matched up with this week's speculation thunderstorm, 9to5 Mac hauled them back out for an encore. "These iPad mini drawings, originally posted at ThinkiOS, were initially sketchy looking to us," 9to5 Mac says. They had reason to be skeptical, because the schematics claimed the screen had a 7-inch diagonal measurement despite every other "source" on this entirely mythical device claiming it's 7.85 inches instead. So if these schematics now appear to be real, does this mean the iPad mini will have a 7-inch screen after all? Do we have to throw the past six months of rumors and that extra 0.85 inches out the window now? Possible Photo of 'iPad Mini' Dock Connector Flex Cable with Headphone Jack at Bottom New Photos of Claimed Dock Connector and Headphone Jack for iPad Mini and Next iPhone in Black and White (MacRumors) Two sets of dock connector/headphone jack assemblies leaked this week, and since one of them isn't for the iPhone or the iPad, it must be for the iPad mini. Um, guys? You do realize Apple makes an iOS device that's neither an iPhone nor an iPad, right? One that's a very similar size to the iPhone, uses mostly the same internal parts, and has its headphone jack on the bottom? An iPhone without the phone? It's like an iPod, except with a touchscreen? Remember? Apple's New Front in the Battle for TV (Wall Street Journal) Oh great, here we go again with another Apple HDTV rumor sourced from "people familiar with the matter" -- wait. What's this? "Apple Inc. is in talks with some of the biggest U.S. cable operators about letting consumers use an Apple device as a set-top box for live television and other content." (emphasis added) Do a search for "set-top box" in that article. You'll find seven instances. The only reference to an Apple television was made in passing: "Two people briefed on the matter said the technology involved could ultimately be embedded in a television." Sure it could be, but according to former Apple executive Jean-Louis Gassée, "As for a full-fledged 50" TV set...I don't think so. The computer inside would be obsolete well before the display goes dim. This seems to favor a separate Apple TV box." At long last, we're getting some logical-sounding analysis on this matter. An Apple HDTV has never made sense to me for a multitude of reasons, but an enhanced version of the existing little box makes perfect sense. The WSJ followed up with a second report that said that's exactly what's in the cards: an Apple TV with a built-in DVR and full on-demand video. Even the currently shipping Apple TV could act as a "set-top box" of sorts -- but only if Apple and the cable companies could agree to a setup where these companies offered their content over IP via channels/apps that users could subscribe to individually. Since that would be the first step in exposing the cable companies for the "dumb pipes" they really are, that kind of thing won't happen any time soon. Still, how refreshing it is to see a publication as mainstream as the Wall Street Journal crush the hopes and dreams of Apple HDTV stalwarts once and for all. Surely this is the last time we'll have to hear of this perpetually nonsensical device... Apple: iPad Mini, iTV Now In Production, Analyst Reports (Forbes) Immediately after the Wall Street Journal reported that Apple's ambitions for the living room have aligned around a set-top box and not an HDTV, analyst Peter Misek claimed that the "iTV" is in "full production" already, and will launch either later this year or early next.
Rumor Roundup: Some screwy, asymmetric assembly required
Most of this week's rumors focused on parts leaks related to the new iPhone that's maybe (probably) getting released next month. We'll get to those later. Let's start with an example of how some credulous writers may find themselves getting screwed -- literally. Apple could screw over iPhone repair shops with crazy new screw design (BGR), Apple May Be Working On A Top-Secret Screw Design To Lock You Out Of Your Devices Forever (CoM), parade of others Some random Redditor posted pictures of an alleged asymmetric screw intended for future products that even BGR acknowledged was "of dubious veracity." Personally, I'd have put the odds of this thing's veracity at way, way less than one percent, but did a moment's thought stop the march of speculation? Of course not. That's why this morning's announcement that the entirety of "Screwgate" was dreamed up by a Swedish design firm, just to see how much rumor mayhem they could cause, is so amusing and disturbing. They made the model, they posted it on Reddit, they waited. Boom. (Obviously, that's a more effective technique than sending it to us and claiming you found it randomly on the Apple Store.) Cult of Mac's gullibility recap takes the position that their original reporting included "a degree of healthy skepticism" about the likelihood of the renders representing reality; you can check out the initial post and decide for yourself if the scare-the-cows, hide-the-children headline tracks with that assertion. As to why this didn't make any sense in the first place, forgetting the throwaway Reddit account provenance: Apple's existing "pentalobe" screws on the iPhone and MacBook Pro with Retina Display are more than enough to keep all but the most dedicated of DIY enthusiasts from prying at the case (I say that knowing full well which shelf my pentalobe driver is on). Changing to an even screwier design for the fasteners would have come at a high cost in retrofit and service updates, all for essentially zero tangible benefit to the company. Nearly a third of consumers say they'd suddenly be interested in a new TV if it came from Apple (AppleInsider) Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster chased after his white whale yet again, this time in the form of a survey. He asked 200 people in the American Midwest if they'd buy a new TV if it had an Apple logo somewhere on it. Around 98 of those 200 people said, "Yes, I would totally buy this completely hypothetical product despite no one ever producing the slightest physical evidence of its existence or rationale for Apple to sell one" (not a direct quote). 29 percent of survey respondents said they'd buy the thing even if they weren't in the market for a new TV in the first place. These impressive percentages dropped sharply as the make-believe price for the mythical product rose; only about 24 of 200 people expressed any interest if the cost were over $1500. Apple has repeatedly said it doesn't know how to make a budget-priced computer that isn't a clunker, and while the iPhone and iPad's prices compare favorably against their competitors, neither of them are exactly impulse buys. My question is, who are these people who expect Apple to produce a 50-inch HDTV with unparalleled screen quality, built-in storage, apps, access to the App Store, voice-activated interface, and a built-in juicer all for less than $1500? Nearly 80% Of Americans Would Shun iPad Mini In Favor Of iPhone 5 (Cult of Mac) CouponCodes4u (sounds legit!) ran a survey significantly broader in scope than Munster's -- nearly 1900 respondents on this one. Brace yourselves, because the results of the survey are (not really) shocking (at all). Given a choice between buying the new iPhone or the still-imaginary iPad mini, a full 80 percent of survey respondents said they'd go for the iPhone. But why? According to the rumors, the iPad mini is supposed to be the Apple Product of the Year, isn't it? Not so much; 46 percent of people not interested in an iPad mini felt the product was "pointless." I'm torn on this one. On one hand, this survey almost perfectly echoes my own thinking. I don't see a point to the iPad mini, and it seems Apple would be making a mistake to release a product that would only cannibalize sales of the more expensive iPad Señor. On the other hand, these are survey results from some coupon site I never heard of before, so I can't bring myself to take them too seriously. I almost want the iPad mini to actually be a real, shipping product now. Not to buy one -- count me among the 46 percent who think it's pointless -- but to see how it would do on the market. It seems like a no-win scenario product to me; if it turns out few people want to buy a cheaper, smaller iPad, then it's a failure. But if a bunch of people buy it instead of the more expensive iPad with its presumably fatter profit margins, then it undermines Apple's profits. Apple files hint at re-engineered iMac and Mac Pro models, potentially without optical drives (AppleInsider) The headline hedges a bit, but the first several paragraphs of this AppleInsider piece make it sound fairly confident the next Mac desktop models won't have optical drives, based on code snippets one of its readers found in the Boot Camp Assistant plist file. It's only when you get to nearly the bottom of the article that you'll read this: "The appearance of new Mac Pro and iMac models in the USB booting support list doesn't definitively mean the models won't have optical drives, as it also lists MacBook and MacBook Pro models that do incorporate an optical drive." Face, meet palm. iPhone parts The number of iPhone parts "leaked" this week made me cringe when I thought of having to address them all one-by-one. First there was a "nano SIM" tray, then measurements of the enclosure, photos of the display shielding, the new battery, the new dock connector, and finally the new logic board. Thankfully, repair shop iFixYouri drew up a diagram of how all these disparate parts might fit together (via 9to5 Mac), and the leaked parts all seem to line up with the appropriate spots on the leaked logic board. Brian Klug of AnandTech also generated what he calls "the most horrible looking Photoshop document ever and determined that these parts also line up with the leaked cases, right down to the screw holes. Taken as a whole, these parts seem genuine. In order for them to be faked, and consistent across disparate sources, someone would have had to go to essentially the same amount of trouble involved in creating a working smartphone. I'm usually quite skeptical of the various rumors out there, because it's so often extremely difficult to separate what seems legitimate from the constant white noise of B.S. Once I see (photos of) physical evidence instead of the usual "he said, she said people familiar with the matter supply chain sources in Asia" nonsense, I get significantly less skeptical. Based on what we've seen so far, we're probably looking at a new iPhone with a slightly redesigned exterior casing that looks like a rather logical evolution of the iPhone 4/4S design. It has certain design features that harken back to the original iPhone, such as a two-tone and two-material backside. It's thinner than the iPhone 4S, but it's slightly longer in order to contain a larger, 16:9 format screen (aligning with the tea leaves on the software side). It has a battery of very slightly higher capacity than the iPhone 4S, which probably has more to do with driving a larger display than powering a 4G chipset (multiple tests have shown the new iPad's 4G chipset impacts battery life far less than its power-hogging Retina display). It has a new, smaller Dock connector that may or may not be MagSafe-style and will almost definitely have an adapter for old accessories. That's it. That's all we "know" about the next iPhone with about a month to go until the purported unveiling date, at least until/unless someone takes a heat gun to that leaked motherboard and finds out what kind of chips it's packing. Almost as interesting as the parts themselves is the fact that so many of them have leaked out despite Tim Cook's promise to "double down" on secrecy. This year's leaks haven't been as dramatic or salacious as 2010's "iPhone 4 left in a bar" scenario; instead, this has been more like "death by 1000 cuts" in terms of the pace and relative minutiae of each part leaked. None of these rumors have addressed the most personal, pertinent question I have about the next iPhone: How many weeks after it's released in the rest of the English-speaking world will I be able to get my hands on one here in New Zealand?
Rumor Roundup: 'Likely fake, but have a look'
The week was chock full of actual news from the Apple versus Samsung trial, and the amount of inside information that came out in evidence and testimony would've been any rumor site's dream come true if it had only come out a few years ago. But that doesn't mean they can't keep speculating on the as-yet-unreleased and may-never-be-released Apple products of tomorrow. RBC: Apple's iPad mini is coming this fall (BGR) If you've been wringing your hands over whether the iPad mini would ever actually see the light of day, worry no longer. RBC Capital Markets is on the case, and according to them, the iPad mini is, in BGR's words, "Definitely maybe" coming this fall. Man, am I glad RBC Capital Markets finally weighed in. I'm sure that, like me, they're your most trusted source of news on all of Apple's inner workings. Why, I was just saying to myself the other day, "Who the [expletive deleted] is RBC Capital Markets?" That's the kind of reputation money can't buy. Apple in talks to acquire e-commerce social network The Fancy? (9to5 Mac) Taking a break from its usual schtick of sensationalist linkbaiting, Business Insider now says Apple may be in talks to buy The Fancy, which from the sounds of things is basically a unisex version of Pinterest. If this turns out to be true, I'd be curious to see what Apple does with the site. I have a feeling it'd be more of a tech/talent grab for the App Store than anything else, but who knows. New Details On Apple's Next iPhone, iPods, iPad mini, iPad (4th-Gen) + Cases (iLounge) iLounge has a bushel of rumors regarding Apple's forthcoming autumn product launches, so let's just go through them one by one. New iPhone: Yup. New iPhone cases: Probably. Why not? New iPod touch: Yup. New iPod nano: Let's all hope so. iPad mini: Don't hold your breath. Unless you can hold it until November. Or Neverember. Fourth-generation iPad: Not a chance. iLounge likes to come out with long lists like this, and more often than not the majority of things on them never come to pass. Eight-Pin Dock Connector + iOS 6 / Bluetooth 4 Link Details? (Updated) (iLounge) Let's have two more pie-in-the sky rumors to round out the list. New 8-pin Dock connector: Contradicting the majority of rumors thus far which pointed to a 16- or 19-pin connector, iLounge claims the iPhone's new dock will have only 8 pins compared to the current iPhone's 30. What does this mean to you as a consumer? Not much, unless you get in on the "Apple took away 22 of my pins, RRRAAALLLGH" class-action lawsuit that's bound to start in October. iOS 6 + Bluetooth 4 Link: This rumor claims the iPhone (and other devices) will soon communicate with one another over low-power (and presumably always-on) Bluetooth 4. This isn't a new idea; the iPhone 4S was the first Apple device to have Bluetooth 4.0 support, and the iPad (3) and 2012's MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models followed suit. Plenty of people speculated that low-power Bluetooth would be useful for accessories like watches and heart rate monitors, but Apple hasn't showed much interest in actually utilizing this built-in low-power Bluetooth yet. I'm cautiously optimistic it'll throw the switch eventually. New Video of "iphone 5 glass lens" Leaks (ETrade Supply) These guys took one of those "iPhone 5" faceplates that have been making the rounds and went to town on it with a digital micrometer. If you were ever curious about exactly how many fractions of a millimeter thinner the new glass is compared to the one on the iPhone 4S, here's your answer. If this is a fake, ETrade Supply has gone Kubrickian in its attention to detail on it. And frankly, this part has popped up in so many different locations by now that my credit card and I are both convinced the next iPhone will have a 16:9 display ratio after all. Next-gen iPhone to launch in Sept. despite reported component shortage (AppleInsider) Rising star of the Apple rumor scene, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims that despite DigiTimes' claims of component shortages (more about that nonsense later), the next iPhone will indeed launch in September. Following my usual rule that anything DigiTimes says about Apple is 95 percent certain not to happen, I'm throwing my money behind Kuo's claim. Sharp to start shipping iPhone screens to Apple this month (Reuters) Sharp's new president supposedly revealed that his company will start shipping screens for the next iPhone this month -- during a press conference. One of two things happened here: either the press misquoted him, or Sharp's going to be looking for a new president soon. Non-functioning next-gen iPhone prototypes/fakes surface in Bangkok? These iPad mini shells are likely fake but have a look 9to5 Mac posted two stories about "parts leaks" that it couldn't even vouch for, one of which it was 99 percent certain was fake. The question naturally arises then: why post them at all? The answer, my friend, is blowing in the pageviews. Wall of shame DigiTimes did what it always tends to do in the weeks leading up to Apple product launches and trotted out its "low yield rates for (x) may affect Apple's next (product)" Mad Libs. This time, it's new touchscreen components that will supposedly limit production of the next iPhone. Unfortunately for this claim, other sources who have managed to get more than one prediction in two years correct claimed the opposite. The "sometimes reliable" site also claims that Apple's going to shift display production away from Samsung and toward Sharp and LG (noting that Sharp's own president is chiming in on the topic now, as mentioned above). Thing is, it's been saying the same thing about various components for well over a year, yet many of the iPad and iPhone's components are still Samsung-manufactured. No word yet on whether DigiTimes' latest citation managed to cost Samsung another $10 billion in market value. You know... the more I think about it, the more I think Apple should buy DigiTimes. The site gets the rumor blogs' undivided attention despite almost never getting anything right -- the perfect tool for product secrecy -- and it's already cost Samsung more money than Apple will get out of the company even if Apple wins its patent lawsuit. It makes perfect sense.
Rumor Roundup, Episode 15: Let's do the time warp again
Thus far, 2012's rumor cycle has been eerily similar to 2011's. We keep hearing about the iPad mini, an aluminum-backed future iPhone, and a whole bunch of other stuff that failed to materialize last year. But this year will be different -- that's the implicit promise, anyway. For the rest of us, it kind of feels like the rumor mill is stuck in a time warp... and as we'll learn later, this week the New York Times took that concept and ran with it. All the way to Tijuana. Apple will provide an adapter for the new, smaller Dock connector set to debut with the iPhone 5 (iMore) With rumors of the next iPhone's Dock shrunken connector starting to look plausible, the Internet calmly assessed the situation and logically thought out how Apple might handle it. Hahaha, just kidding, everyone lost their damned minds. Variations on the words "I have hundreds of dollars in accessories and Apple's going to render them obsolete overnight?! HELL NAW!" echoed across the Web a few thousand times. Whether the iPhone's Dock connector is actually shrinking or not, and whether or not iMore's sources are accurate, the site is pretty much just stating the obvious. If Apple's going to fundamentally change a connection port that hundreds of millions of consumers have grown to depend on over the past ten years, of course it's going to provide an adapter. Duh. That having been said, prepare to have this debate again in five years if/when the iPhone has no Dock connector at all. Now let's have a blitz of rumors, all via MacRumors, and all from the same source: KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Apple Planning 'All-New' iPod Touch and iPod Nano for September Launch? Tweaked iPad and New 'iPad Mini' Said to Closely Follow Next-Generation iPhone Launch 13-Inch Retina MacBook Pro and Updated iMacs Reportedly Due in September-October That's an awful lot of rumors from the same guy, all in one week. MacRumors goes out of its way to say he's offered "remarkably accurate" information in the past, but as I recall Kuo's been responsible for only a handful of rumors that were already all over the Internet by the time he said them. The one original piece of analysis I can remember him producing was the demise of the 17-inch MacBook Pro -- a call I personally thought was misguided -- so I suppose I'll give him a bit more leeway than I'd reserve for a traditional "analyst" of Apple's affairs. The iPod touch and iPod nano haven't seen any real updates since 2010, so whether Kuo's accurately forecasted this or not, I hope he's right. Both products are starting to feel decidedly stale next to Apple's other product offerings. As for the "tweaked iPad" and iPad mini rumor, I'm calling B.S. The "tweaked iPad" rumor originally came from DigiTimes, which automatically makes it about as realistic as the Tooth Fairy riding a unicorn to the leprechaun's gold at the end of a double rainbow. And anyone who's read more than one of these Rumor Roundups already knows where I stand on the iPad mini: two years of B.S. rumors means it ain't real until it ships. Maybe not even then. Kuo's also calling for 13-inch MacBook Pros with a Retina Display to appear in October alongside updated iMacs, though he doesn't say whether the iMacs will have a Retina Display or not. It seems inevitable that all of Apple's products will eventually have Retina Displays -- at least the products that have displays; any analyst who suggests a Retina Mac mini or Mac Pro is going to get a permanent place in the Hall of Shame. Calling specific timeframes is trickier, because we don't know how well or how quickly production of new displays will scale. Apple to Update iPod Touch with 4-Inch Display, A5 Chip, Buffed Aluminum Rear Shell? (MacRumors) Macotakara is the underlying source for this latest rumor, and the best odds I can put on it are 50/50. The site offered accurate info on the iPad 2 a couple years back, but since then it's been one inaccurate rumor after another. Even so, an A5 processor and the same 4-inch display rumored for the next iPhone do seem like obvious additions to the iPod touch; the device has traditionally shared many of the same components as the iPhone. If Apple follows a staggered schedule of upgrading iOS devices to the latest processors -- iPad first, iPhone six months later, iPod touch a year after that -- it'll go a long way toward keeping CPU supplies unconstrained. Multiple reports say iPhone 5 will launch on September 21st (BGR) Multiple sources you've never heard of before, PhoneArena and App4Phone, claim the next iPhone will launch September 21. BGR notes that neither site has a "proven track record" with iPhone rumors, but that didn't seem to matter when posting the story or writing that very definitive-sounding headline. Apple iPhone 5 and iPad mini event planned for September 12, iPhone 5 release date for September 21 (iMore) iMore spins the roulette wheel and comes up with a completely different date for the launch also pins the iPhone release date on 9/21, with an announcement coming nine days earlier. I'm eagerly waiting for Jim Dalrymple of The Loop to weigh in on this; the last time iMore predicted an Apple launch date, one "Nope" from Dalrymple was enough for me. Apologies to iMore for the error -- in fact, the last time the site pinned a product launch date, Dalrymple actually responded with a "Yep." AllThingsD has now (Monday afternoon) weighed in as well, saying that its sources are also pointing at the 9/12 event date; the site also cites analyst Maynard Um saying that Apple is spending more money on components now than it had in previous quarters, meaning something's got to be built out of all those parts. New leaked photos may reveal final iPhone 5 design (BGR) A case vendor posted photos of a mockup iPhone? Stop. The. Presses. Because when have case makers ever gotten it wrong? I honestly have no idea why the various rumor blogs latched onto this one so fervently when it's pretty obvious this case vendor is just reading the exact same rumors as everyone else. Apple, Google Line Up to Bid for Kodak's Patents (Wall Street Journal) "People familiar with the matter" say the patent sharks are circling Kodak's portfolio. Apple is supposedly in an unholy alliance with Microsoft and, even worse than Microsoft, Intellectual Ventures. O what dark days are these when Apple teams up with well-known patent trolls to shout "Ni" at passing camera companies. Samsung was reportedly interested in buying the patents too. If its bid is successful, it could lead to some wretched Twilight Zone lawsuit where Samsung sues Apple for violating Kodak's patents on devices Samsung itself blatantly copied from Apple. New purported next-generation iPhone parts photos show fully assembled device (9to5 Mac) A cellphone repair shop assembled the front glass and backside of the alleged next-gen iPhone and posted pics for all to see. These pics show nothing new: the device is thinner and longer than the iPhone 4S, has a mostly aluminum backside, a smaller Dock connector, headphone jack on the bottom (ugh), and a design aesthetic that looks like the original iPhone and iPhone 4S had a few too many piña coladas and made the beast with two anodized aluminum backs. Though I'm skeptical of almost every Apple rumor that crosses my desk, put non-Blurrycam and not obviously Photoshopped pictures in front of me and my skepticism starts to lift. If these parts are fakes, they're very cleverly done -- like, "Apple should hire this guy" cleverly done. On the other hand, assuming these pics are representative of the real deal, I can hear the pundits complaining already that the device doesn't look "different enough" compared to its predecessors. At least five brain-dead analysts will call the device "boring" and opine that Apple has lost its creative spark. They'll then hold up some knockoff abomination from Samsung as evidence of what Apple should have done instead. Finally, these arguments will vanish in a puff of logic and an avalanche of cash when Apple sells 70 million in six months. Apple Officials Said to Consider Stake in Twitter (New York Times) This was my favorite rumor this week, because it's so emblematic of how far the media has fallen. Last week, I said to myself (and anyone listening on Twitter), "You know what I haven't heard in at least 3 months? 'Apple should buy Twitter! Herp derp!'" Not even a day later, I woke up to the New York Times piece linked above and laughed. And laughed. And laughed. Predictably, the Internet exploded with speculation. Only instead of "Apple's gonna buy Twitter!" this time it was "Apple's gonna invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Twitter!" Different verse, same song. Meanwhile, I wondered the same thing I wonder every time someone mentions this: What can hundreds of millions or billions of dollars invested in Twitter get Apple that it doesn't already get now? "Apple has to be social," people say, which I suppose is true. "Apple doesn't know how to do social itself," they say, and that's definitely true (coughPingcough). Ergo, "Apple needs Twitter." But Apple already has Twitter. Since iOS 5 there's been systemwide integration on iOS devices, and in Mountain Lion that's migrated to Macs. People who might have had zero interest in "the twitters" now hear about it and get curious -- Twitter signups jumped following iOS 5 going public. The third-party app ecosystem handily addresses the needs of users who despise Twitter's own apps or find its web interface a hassle. So where, exactly, is the need for Apple to dump a truck full of cash into this? The closest thing to a logical argument I've heard on this is that Apple should invest in Twitter because Google might do it first. If Google bought Twitter, or even a majority stake in it, Apple could get shut out (somehow). On the other hand, since virtually every action Twitter's taken in the past few months seems like a case of a drunk hunter deliberately trying to shoot himself in his own foot, that line of reasoning might well be moot before too much longer. That word "moot" is remarkably appropriate in this instance, because it turns out the New York Times got it somewhat wrong. "Apple Discussed Investing in Twitter" the Wall Street Journal's headline goes, with the past tense of discuss a delightfully subtle dig at the Times. "Apple Inc. and Twitter Inc. held discussions more than a year ago about Apple possibly making a strategic investment," the Journal writes. "The discussions between Apple and Twitter didn't immediately result in a deal and aren't currently active." I've been wondering this for a while: do major publications like Bloomberg, the New York Times, and even the Wall Street Journal still have access to people who actually are "familiar with the matter"? Or have they simply started posting old and dusty Apple rumors sourced from the same dodgy bin that everyone else draws from, banking on their credibility to drive page views and subscriptions on a level that the smaller outlets can't compete with? Certainly in the past, an iPhone rumor felt "real" if it showed up in the New York Times, but you can't rely on that anymore. This time, the New York Times got itself caught in the same "last year's news" time warp as the rest of the rumor crew, and it seems like just a matter of time before it starts posting six-month-old tinfoil hat ravings about the Apple HDTV. #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; } #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; } #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; } #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; } #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
Rumor Roundup, Episode 14: "Confirmed"
There weren't many rumors this week, but what few there were mostly followed a theme: "confirming" things that are in no way whatsoever actually confirmed. But first, let's find out how much money the analysts think Apple earned in the past few months. Was it a $#!^load, a $#!^ton, or a metric $#!^ton? Big money, big money, no whammies While one analyst was ready with the pre-emptive doom and gloom for Apple's fourth quarter earnings, at least two analysts expect Apple's upcoming third quarter results to be yet another blowout. Morgan Stanley: New iPhone makes AAPL a second half 2012 top pick (AppleInsider) Analyst Katy Huberty, who's usually one of the analysts we hear from during Apple's quarterly financial calls, is taking a bullish view on Apple's next iPhone. It's not quite the "most important consumer electronics launch ever" hyperbole we've heard from other analysts, but she is predicting "one of the most significant product cycles in two years." We won't know for quite some time whether she's right or not. However, it does bear noting that a few years back SeekingAlpha called Huberty "the worst analyst on Wall Street when it comes to forecasting Apple's financial situation." Ouch, man. Apple is once again expected to crush Q3 with near-record earnings (BGR) Another analyst expects near-record earnings from Apple at the forthcoming quarterly call. This time it's Stephen Rosenman of... SeekingAlpha? Hmm, somewhat awkward. It should be noted that SeekingAlpha's got no greater claim to Apple forecasting accuracy than Huberty; five months ago, when Apple's stock price hit $500 per share, SeekingAlpha predicted the stock would soon hit $790 per share. Apple's current stock price is just over $600 per share, which means the stock has to gain nearly $200 per share in value over the next seven months for SeekingAlpha's prediction to come true. Basically, take anything these analysts say about Apple's financial performance with a very large grain of salt. Over the past five years the most accurate financial forecaster has been Apple itself. The company consistently turns in earnings that are around 115% of whatever guidance it gave for the quarter. (You can see the roundup of analyst predictions over at Apple 2.0.) Last quarter, Apple said it expected revenue of $34 billion for Q3. Don't be shocked if Apple's actual numbers come closer to $39 billion. Also don't be shocked if analysts like those at SeekingAlpha say Apple "missed" estimates if the company doesn't meet their $44 billion revenue predictions. Same old rumors, bigger names The Wall Street Journal and Reuters both rehashed rumors we've heard many times from outlets that don't get talked about on CNN. WSJ dragged out a month-old rumor about the next iPhone adopting new technology to get a thinner screen. Meanwhile, Reuters reiterated a rumor about the iPhone's dock connector shrinking that's even older yet. Both articles cited that most dependable and upstanding of sources, "people familiar with the matter." This increasingly widespread media catchphrase is vague enough that it could mean virtually anything. In decreasing order of credibility, decreasing actual level of familiarity with the matter, and increasing likelihood of who these sources actually are: Apple personnel actually working on the device People at Apple not working on the device, but who totally know a guy "Sources in the Asian supply chain" Analysts The trend so far this year has been wild and unsupported claims about next-gen features coming from lesser media outlets which are then supposedly "confirmed" when big-name bastions of journalism like the WSJ, Reuters, Bloomberg, or the New York Times say essentially the same thing the rumormongers have said for months. This feeds on itself when the rumor sites will say things like "Reuters Confirms a Smaller Dock Connector and Relocated Headphone Jack on Next iPhone" when it's probable Reuters is using the same sources the site referenced months before. Without knowing who these outlets are actually using for sources, it's impossible to say with any confidence whether they've confirmed anything at all. I'd like to think that a paper like The Wall Street Journal knows better than to take a source like DigiTimes seriously, but worse things have happened. Loose definition of reality Apple Analyst: iPad Mini, iTV Are For Real (Mashable) With a headline like that, you just gotta know Gene Munster is involved. Sure enough, the Piper Jaffray analyst addressed a financial conference and said, "The TV thing is real. It's just a function of time. Some suppliers are more open in talking about it than others." If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride. And Gene Munster's horse would be pimped out with a 60-inch Apple HDTV. Unfortunately, Gene might be in for a bit of a wait... Apple's HDTV Will Be U.S. Only At Launch, Might Not Ship Until 2014 [Analyst] (Cult of Mac) Other analysts have pushed back the speculative release date for this still entirely nonexistent product. The Apple HDTV, which was supposed to come out two years ago, then last year, then later this year, then next year, apparently won't be coming out until 2014 now. And even when it does come out, it'll be US-only. The reason? "Content deals," say the analysts. Because apparently, even though Apple has the rights to show iTunes media on iPod Classics, iPod touches, iPhones, iPads, Apple TVs, every model of Mac that can run iTunes, and every single PC out there, according to these analysts it would be a "massive burden" for Apple to negotiate content deals for the new device. Keep in mind that every harebrained Apple HDTV rumor out there has described a device that's essentially the guts of the current Apple TV unit shoved into a big Thunderbolt Display. It's puzzling why these analysts think Apple would have to fight a two-year battle with content owners over that. It's just as puzzling why we're still talking about an Apple HDTV at all when we haven't even seen a single shady "parts reseller" post dubious pics of the device's front faceplate online. "Confirmed" BGR made two separate BREAKING EXCLUSIVE "confirmations" about features in the upcoming iPhone. Though a couple paragraphs of words follow each of BGR's headlines, they aren't of much use -- BGR doesn't say much of substance to support either of these confirmed claims. New iPhone on track for fall release, 4G LTE and NFC confirmed, final production starts later this summer Confirmed: Apple's iPhone 5 to feature nano-SIMs, AT&T and other carriers already testing new cards BGR doesn't explicitly cite any sources for either one of these stories. Let's just hope these confirmations are a bit stronger than last year's "confirmed" Sprint-exclusive iPhone 5 with 4G WiMAX. Wall of Shame Just like last week, there's only one item on the Wall of Shame. In fact, it came up as I was writing this article, which means we came this close to having a week free of DigiTimes-sourced rumors. Oh well. Maybe next week. Anyway, DigiTimes "confirmed" that Pegatron has started building the new iPhone. It's not clear if they're using the same dictionary definition of "confirmed" that BGR does, but sources familiar with the matter say it's highly likely.
Rumor Roundup, Episode 13: Surfing the Web in the bathroom
This week was pretty typical for the world of Apple rumors. The various sources gave us plenty of sauce on the next iPhone, the iPad mini, and a bunch of other stuff that ranged from mildly plausible to laugh out loud ridiculous. Plausible 13-Inch Retina MacBook Pro Shows Up in Benchmarks (MacRumors) Geekbench benchmarks have shown up for an unreleased 13-inch MacBook Pro, fuelling speculation that an update is imminent. Given that the 13-incher already got a decidedly modest update at WWDC, that speculation naturally turns to this model having a Retina Display like its bigger brother. Benchmarks on unreleased Apple products seem to regularly find their way onto Geekbench for some reason, and they almost always turn out to be proven correct; in fact, I can't think of a single time they weren't. Apple Store overnights happening July 24. Mountain Lion launch the next day? (9to5 Mac) Sources allegedly from within Apple's retail outlets claim the stores will be doing an "overnight" on July 24, which could point to a July 25 launch for Mountain Lion, the next iteration of OS X. While these overnights can happen for just about any reason and aren't necessarily indicative of, well, anything, this also isn't the first time July 25 has been touted as the launch date for Mountain Lion. Lion launched the day after Apple's Q3 2011 financial statements were released, and with the earnings announcement taking place July 24, many expect Apple to establish a pattern this year. The Mountain Lion gold master has already been released to developers, so the public release can't be terribly far off. iPhone parts New photo of white next-generation iPhone front with centered FaceTime camera (9to5 Mac) A Chinese site has posted photos of what's supposedly the next-gen iPhone's front glass. It looks pretty much identical to every other leak out there. Either that means it's genuine, or the design has reached meme status and all the fakers are copying one another. Speaking of which... Alleged Photos Of The iPhone 5 Leak Out Of Asia (Cult of Mac) Come for the sensational headline, stay for what are clearly not pictures of the iPhone 5. "Sources in the Far East" produced photos of what looks like an overenthusiastic sculptor's mockup of a next-gen iPhone rather than a finished product. Allegedly this is engineering mockup for the purposes of making cases or other accessories, but it could just as easily be some guy with too much time on his hands who decided to use modelling clay instead of Photoshop. Hang on, it gets worse. Exclusive: iPhone 5 Engineering Sample Photos Direct from China (GottaBe Mobile) A site no one ever heard of before this week has EXCLUSIVE (!!!) photos straight from the factory floor in China... of a metal block. It's vaguely shaped like an iPhone with some incised metalwork adding to the illusion, but otherwise it's just a small metal block. It could have come from anywhere. iPad mini Exclusive: New iPad Mini Engineering Sample Photos (GottaBe Mobile) But wait, there's more! The same site no one heard of before this week has another EXCLUSIVE (!!!!!!) about the iPad mini. This time it's a plastic resin mockup that follows the memetastic design that every rumor blog has been pushing since August of 2010. Just like the big metal block iPhone 5 before it, this mockup could have come from just about anywhere on Earth. It could have come from my recycling bin. You never know. iPad Mini drawings reveal design details: 7-inch screen, thin design, and 19 pin connector confirmed (Think iOS) Think iOS, which you're 99.999 percent likely to have never heard of before just now, claims to have engineering blueprints of the iPad mini sourced from "anonymous sources in China." Said drawings don't reveal terribly much except for the fact that at least one person in China's billion-plus population knows how to use Adobe Illustrator. Case makers provided the same site with photos of cases they've made for the iPad mini, which totally legitimises this claim, right? Because when have case makers ever gotten it wrong? As Tablet Race Heats Up, Apple May Try Smaller Device (New York Times) Now the New York Times has thrown its hat into the iPad mini ring. To some people this might make the device somehow realer than hearing about it at, say, Cult of Mac, but the paper doesn't bring anything new to the table. "Several people with knowledge of the project who declined to be named discussing confidential plans" didn't say anything we haven't heard from countless other "sources." The story is at least good for an amusing anecdote about Steve Jobs saying smaller tablets weren't good for much "besides surfing the Web in the bathroom." That pretty much seals the iPad mini's fate for me; even if Apple ever releases one, I've already got an iPhone that's perfectly capable of keeping me entertained while I'm on the throne. Macotakara Macotakara's track record isn't quite as bad as DigiTimes, but it's bad enough that taking everything the site says seriously is a seriously bad idea. A story about the iPhone 5 starting production for a fall launch is innocuous enough simply because it'd be hard to be wrong, but the site's bold claim about a redesigned iPod nano is tougher to swallow simply because it's the sole source for the story. No one else has said a word about this supposed new design. I hope Macotakara is right about the redesign, because I've never been a fan of the current iPod nano's form factor. However, this story has the whiff of something that's just not going to happen, another miss among many others that rumor sites will conveniently ignore in favor of the few things they got right. DigiTimes Wall of Shame For some reason, this past week was blessedly light on B.S. rumors from DigiTimes. Rather than the explosion of the week prior, only one DigiTimes rumor struggled from its leathery egg sac into the harsh light of breathless reposting. The site claims a 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display will debut before October. Unfortunately the site is probably correct, and its stalwart defenders will doubtless point out the one thing it got right while ignoring the 99 other things it got wrong. DigiTimes probably hit pay dirt this time -- not because it has any inside information (it doesn't), but because after throwing enough darts at the board even a blind person will eventually hit the bullseye. Sites on the DigiTimes Wall of Shame this week: MacRumors, BGR, and AppleInsider, who all latched onto this "report" like it was sourced from 1 Infinite Loop itself. The derp, it burns The week just wouldn't be complete without outlandish, poorly-thought-out, and often mutually contradictory nonsense. Apple Maps for Macs? iOS Code Hints at That (Technically Personal) A New Zealand-based developer claimed to find evidence of Apple Maps running on OS X. He found out that graphical features of Apple's Maps apps were disabled for older integrated Intel GPUs -- the same weak-sauce GPUs preventing certain models of Macs from upgrading to Mountain Lion. But the kicker here? He found this code snippet in the XML file for the iPhone simulator. That sound you just heard was 1000 iOS developers all going *facepalm* at the same time. All this code really does is ensure the iOS Maps app renders properly in the iPhone simulator on a Mac. It doesn't point to Apple Maps for OS X; I mean, other than creating a web app in iCloud, how would that even work? Nearly everyone else is on the Google Maps bandwagon. BMO: Apple may post huge Q4 miss (BGR) Some analyst has left the sanity ballpark early to beat the traffic and is calling for Apple to post a big miss for its fourth fiscal quarter -- before results for the third quarter are even out. This analyst's only evidence (if you can even call it that) is the fact that everyone suspects the next iPhone won't be out until Apple's Q1 financial quarter, meaning lots of people will hold off on purchasing one. The thing is, if everyone is already expecting this consumer behaviour -- Apple included -- then how on Earth can Apple post a "miss" for the fourth quarter before it's even released its next quarter guidance? That's like you telling me I'm going to be an hour late to your party before you even tell me what time the party is. Apple seen selling up to 6 million 'iPad minis' this holiday (AppleInsider) Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray is well-known for chasing the Apple HDTV dragon, but he's also well-known for a formula: take (x) number, multiply it by a million, then tack it onto Apple product (y) during financial quarter (z). It apparently doesn't matter if the product is even confirmed to exist or not; Munster will happily pull numbers out of thin air regardless. It sure seems like anyone can be an analyst, doesn't it? Here, let me try: Apple will sell 174 octillion atoms before the end of this financial quarter. That was easy! Piper Jaffray, I assume my check is in the mail. iOS hacker says iOS 6 beta 3 could be released today (BGR) This has got to be my favorite rumor in months for no other reason than it's so rare to see them disproven so quickly. Some iOS hacker claimed the third beta of iOS 6 would be released on July 9, and BGR was quick on the trigger to tell the whole wide world. It's July 16 as I write this, and iOS 6 beta 3 is nowhere to be found. I'm sure BGR has learned a valuable lesson and will never again post a poorly sourced ru- HAHAHAHA... sorry, I couldn't finish that sentence without typing laughter.
Rumor Roundup, Episode 12: Revenge of DigiTimes
Just when you thought it was safe to go back on the Internet, the rumor blogs slithered forth with twin, unkillable horrors: the iPad mini and... and... DigiTimes (cue lightning and horror film musical sting). Before we dive deep into the muck and mire, let's get the handful of semi-credible rumors out of the way first. Supply of Apple's 27" iMac drying up as Ivy Bridge upgrade awaits (AppleInsider) AppleInsider did something I haven't seen the site do in a long time -- some original research. By checking on stock levels at various US-based retailers, AppleInsider discovered the 27-inch iMac is out of stock or close to it at many outlets. Given that the last iMac refresh happened over a year ago as of this writing, the device is definitely due for an update. Whether that will happen sooner rather than later is anyone's guess. Apple seemingly indicated its desktop models wouldn't be updated until 2013, but on this subject, how far can you trust the word of a company that never discusses forthcoming products? Apple's New iPad is Finally Coming To China (MIC Gadget) Now that Apple has coughed up $60 million to trademark troll Proview, there don't seem to be any hurdles left to launching the third-gen iPad in China. The government's regulatory bodies have already certified both the Wi-Fi and 3G models for sale, and rumors point to a July 27 launch. The one new thing I learned from this story is that the iPad (3) isn't already sold in China. I'll never complain about launch delays in New Zealand again. (Oh, yes you will. --Ed) Inside Apple's Go-Slow Approach to Mobile Payments (Wall Street Journal) The Wall Street Journal claims to have heard from a source briefed on a senior executive meeting at Apple regarding the possibility of implementing a mobile payments scheme (such as NFC) in a future iPhone. This source claims Apple is taking a "wait and see" approach to mobile payments, with the new Passbook app in iOS 6 representing Apple dipping its toe in the water of an "electronic wallet" system rather than diving straight in. I can see this going either way. Apple is often conservative about implementing new technology if it doesn't consider it fully-baked yet -- witness the original iPhone with no 3G, or the iPhone 4S with no 4G. On the other hand, once Apple has the tech at the level it desires (usually something developed entirely or almost entirely in-house), it's not shy about dropping it into the marketplace with an unceremonious "Boom." As wishy-washy as it sounds, the next-gen iPhone might have NFC or similar technology, or it might not, and at this stage neither would surprise me. Now that the halfway believable rumors are out of the way, let's take our first step on the journey of 1000 duhs. The iPad mini Apple Said To Plan Smaller IPad To Vie With Google Nexus (Bloomberg) Bloomberg gets things off to a spectacularly dumb start by positioning the supposedly forthcoming iPad mini as a reaction to Google's Nexus 7 and Microsoft's Surface. According to Shaw Wu, who like most Apple analysts is wrong far more often than he's right, Apple plans to compete for the lower-priced tablet space that Amazon and Google are currently fighting over. Because fighting for the low-end market is totally something Apple does. Ever. *cough* The analysis that follows is kind of baffling in its attempt to justify this still-mythical device. It's well-known by now that Google's margins on the Nexus 7 are razor thin, which makes it incredibly unlikely Apple intends to compete on price alone with an "iPad mini" tablet. It's equally well-known that Apple is selling tens of millions of full-sized iPads per quarter already, while sales of the Kindle Fire tanked after the first quarter and the Nexus 7 hasn't been around long enough to tell what impact it's had. Despite the new tablet announcements from Microsoft and Google over the past few weeks, Apple still doesn't have any real competition for the iPad. An iPad mini would very likely cause more lost sales for the full-sized iPad than it would for either the Nexus 7 or Kindle Fire, two products that seem to be aimed at markets that either can't afford an iPad or just hate Apple that much. Bloomberg's story set off a firestorm of speculation across the blogosphere this week, because for the first time ever a supposedly reputable news outlet was reporting on the rumor. There's a flawed assumption that once Bloomberg or the Wall Street Journal publishes an Apple rumor, it goes from rumor to fact. That assumption crumbles in the face of the fact that Bloomberg cites no sources in its story other than "people familiar with the plans," an analyst with a shaky track record... and DigiTimes, the epitome of all that is demonstrably inaccurate when it comes to Apple rumors. Apple Preps for Smaller Tablet (The Wall Street Journal) The Wall Street Journal weighed in just after Bloomberg, and the Internet jumped up and down saying, "Aw yeah, son. The iPad mini just got real!" Read past the headline and you'll find the Journal's source for the story: component suppliers in Asia. Follow Apple rumors long enough and you'll find that "sources in the Asian supply chain" is code for "people completely and utterly unfamiliar with the matter, who are likely making a bunch of stuff up." In the wake of these poorly-sourced reports from usually reputable outlets came speculation from John Gruber of Daring Fireball that the iPad mini would use the same non-Retina display technology as the iPhone 3GS. The 7.85-inch device would have the same 1024 x 768 resolution as the original iPad and iPad 2. Other blogs picked up on this speculation and compared UI elements from the iPhone and iPad, concluding the iPad mini would be more of a super-sized iPod touch than a downsized iPad in terms of its software. Then came reports from far less reputable sources: Apple's 'iPad mini' to launch soon for $249-$299, report claims (BGR) BGR cites a Chinese-language site no one heard of before saying the iPad mini would be between $249 and $299. This, of course, contradicts earlier BS rumors claiming the device would cost a mere $199. BGR cites supporting "analysis" from Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White (a name that's popping up more and more often in my Apple rumors RSS feed), as if that means anything at all. iPad mini to be produced in Brazil? (9to5 Mac) Citing Macotakara, whose shaky record essentially makes it DigiTimes Junior, 9to5 Mac reports the iPad mini may be made in Brazil, may be released in September, may be as thin as an iPad, and may actually exist, ever, outside the fever dreams of the blogosphere. Well, not that last part. That was me. No matter how reputable or disreputable the news outlet and no matter what evidence they claim to have, after more than two years of speculation, prestidigitation, and obfuscation concerning the iPad mini, I am burnt out on this device and the rumors surrounding it. After 24-plus months of nonsense, there is literally no source worth listening to on this matter other than an Apple executive walking onto a keynote stage holding a miniaturized iPad in his hands. Until that happens -- if it ever happens -- there is no way I will believe this product exists. And despite the fact that I don't really see any plausible economic reason for Apple to make one, I still kind of hope they do introduce something like an iPad mini just so the rumor blogs will finally shut up about it. DigiTimes We haven't heard much from DigiTimes in a while after the very public beating the site's credibility took. My systematic dismantling of any claim the site had to being mentioned in the same sentence as the word "reliable" would have been enough, but Harry McCracken coincidentally took it to the next level on Time Techland and abused the site so thoroughly that I thought we'd never hear from it again. Indeed, weeks passed where sites like MacRumors passed on reporting the latest rubbish from DigiTimes while sites like BGR and AppleInsider were happy to carry on looking foolish by taking them seriously. Even so, DigiTimes stopped being the regular rumor fixture it was in the past, and for a sweet, short while it seemed the site would fade into obscurity at last. Alas, it was not to be. Perhaps counting on the Internet's short attention span and hoping we'd already forgotten how completely inaccurate the site is, the rumor blogs positively bursted with DigiTimes-sourced "news" this week. Here's a selection of the truth-free flotsam clogging the Internet's tubes this week. I've only cited the first site to gleefully feed on the nonsense, but rest assured they are all equally culpable. No links, because as of now I'm not linking to DigiTimes-sourced claptrap anymore: More Claims of October Launch for Updated iMac Models (MacRumors) Rumor: Apple readying minor revisions to new iPad battery, lens (AppleInsider) Apple's next iPhone rumored to feature quad-core processor (AppleInsider) Apple rumored to revise backlight for iPad update (AppleInsider) Apple to continue dominating ultra-thin notebook market following Windows 8 launch (BGR) Aside from the iMac story, which at least has supporting evidence speculation from other sources, every other story has DigiTimes as its sole source. That means if there's one thing you can count on, none of these things will actually happen. It's interesting to see how the various rumor blogs are treating rumors sourced from DigiTimes. To its credit, 9to5 Mac now usually refrains from posting them at all. BGR pounces on them with wild abandon and never goes out of its way to acknowledge the site's less-than-reputable track record. AppleInsider posts absolutely every DigiTimes rumor it can get its hands on, and its only nod in the general direction of credibility is appending "sometimes reliable" to DigiTimes' name. MacRumors is the most interesting case, particularly since it swore off DigiTimes rumors for several weeks. I've seen site founder Arn defend the site on Twitter, and a snippet from one of this week's posts does the same: DigiTimes has come under increasing criticism for a number of claims that have not been borne out, but the publication does occasionally offer correct information and weighing its information with other rumors can still help fill out a picture of Apple's roadmap. MacRumors points to the one thing DigiTimes managed to get right in two years of speculative nonsense, a report about the MacBook Pro's forthcoming Retina Display which merely echoed speculation found in countless sources elsewhere on the Internet. Look, even a broken clock is right twice a day -- but that's more often than some rumor sites.
Rumor Roundup, Episode 11: Biggest hyperbole in consumer electronics history
This past week seemed like a rerun of the week before in many ways. An Apple competitor released a tablet, and every corner of the Internet cried out, "What does it meaaaan?!" To Google's credit, the company's tablet announcement included actual demonstrations of its features, a shipping date, and a price. Even people otherwise disinterested in Android looked at the Nexus 7 and said, "Hmm. If I didn't already have an iPad, I would totally buy one of those." It's a bit strange that in a week dominated with news of Google's 7-inch tablet, we didn't hear a single word about Apple's perpetually "coming next quarter" iPad mini. In fact, the rumor mill was very quiet this week overall. Almost... too quiet. Apple Said To Prepare iTunes Changes To Improve Sharing (Bloomberg) "People familiar with the matter" claim iTunes will get a big overhaul later this year. There'll be deeper iCloud integration and more sharing features. Chalk this one into the "I want to believe" column. iTunes is a bloated juggernaut and has been for years. Apple keeps tacking on new features, consolidating more and more of the iOS experience into this one program that, alone among OS X software, has me wanting to stab my screen virtually every time I use it. Nearly two years ago, I hoped iTunes 10 would get the kind of under-the-hood tuneup that OS X Snow Leopard got. The psychological factor of iTunes flipping to "X" territory with its tenth major version made it seem like for the first time in years, iTunes would finally stop sucking. Two years later, I'm still waiting. We all are. What Developers Thought About WWDC (Buzzfeed) In iOS 6's Music app on the iPhone, lighting on the volume slider's knob changes angle depending on input from the device's accelerometer. It's a subtle but neat little trick that goes a long way toward showing Apple's attention to detail. According to Buzzfeed, an unnamed Apple employee claimed this was only the beginning. Soon, input from the phone's ambient light sensor will enable drop shadows based on the angle of ambient light, and UI elements will be rendered in 3D. This seems a bit far-fetched, at least on the current hardware. The iPhone's existing ambient light sensor does an okay job of detecting how much light there is, but sensing the direction of light would probably require a much more sophisticated sensor. None of that means this rumor is impossible on future hardware, but it seems like a feature that would be exclusive to newer devices. Apple Wins Patents for Inductive Charging & iOS Scrolling, Rotating & Resizing on Displays (Patently Apple) Apple received a patent for an inductive charging dock. That part's not a rumor; it's a fact on file at the US Patent Office. The patent does invite speculation about the next iPhone's charging methodology considering recent rumors surrounding the dock connector and older rumors about Apple investigating inductive charging. Inductive charging, which would allow an iPhone to charge wirelessly when placed near a plugged-in dock, isn't a new technology. The Palm Pre had it, as do many third-party chargers for wireless controllers for the Wii and PlayStation 3. Apple focused heavily on "cutting the cord" in iOS 5 last year, with features like iCloud and Wi-Fi synching making it largely unnecessary to plug an iOS device into a computer. I won't go so far as to say inductive charging is a matter of "when, not if," but it does seem like a natural feature for Apple to pursue. New iPhone prototypes have NFC chips and antenna (9to5 Mac) 9to5 Mac claims to have pulled data from next-gen iPhone prototypes. According to its (alleged) data, the next iPhone will have an embedded Near Field Communication (NFC) chip. This technology, in concert with a third-party payment processor, could allow your iPhone to act like an electronic wallet. Rather than hauling out a credit/debit card, then putting in a PIN or signing a receipt, all you'd have to do is finalize the transaction right from your phone. Apple's announcement of the new Passbook feature in iOS 6 raised eyebrows all over the blogosphere given what we already know about NFC. The technology has been a rumored iPhone feature for a long time and is on many iPhone owners' "sure would be nice to have" lists, including mine. I'm almost never without my iPhone, but I forget my wallet all the time. While I'm dubious of 9to5 Mac's claim it's got access to data from iPhone prototypes, this is one rumor I definitely hope comes true sooner rather than later. Apple experiencing battery issues in development of next iPhone - rumor (AppleInsider) Once again, an Asian news site and some analyst combine their powers for a completely unsubstantiated and unprovable fluff piece. This time, supposed manufacturing issues are causing nearly 70 percent of batteries produced for the next-gen iPhone to fall below Apple's standards. None of these "sources" have the least bit of proof for any of their claims -- the battery vendor itself isn't even named -- and the only way we'll ever know if they were right or not is if the next-gen iPhone is substantially delayed. Let me see if I can come up with something more substantial. Hang on a second. *holds finger up to the wind* The next iPhone will launch in October... and it heralds the End of Man. Codenamed Cthulhu, it currently waits dreaming in R'lyeh. Hey, speaking of mythical monsters... Foxconn moves to secure Apple HDTV orders, industry exec says (BGR) There's nothing in this story worth mentioning except for one word: DigiTimes. BGR rather inconsiderately buries the source for its story halfway through the article, when etiquette demands that DigiTimes be mentioned within the first ten words so we all know to stop reading immediately and close the tab. Maybe there are two things worth mentioning, because the last line is kind of cute: "Launch speculation ranges from the fourth quarter this year to some time in 2014." BREAKING: Apple expected to produce HDTV sometime between now and the Andromeda Galaxy's collision with the Milky Way. Next iPhone will be 'biggest product launch in consumer electronics history' (BGR) Wait a second. That headline sounds awfully familiar. April 2012 familiar... Apple's next iPhone launch could be most important in smartphone history (BGR) Yup, there it is. I'm starting to think there's a sign in the front office window at BGR that says, "World's Best Hyperbole."
Rumor Roundup, Episode 10: Google, start your photocopiers
With WWDC only recently ended and Apple's next event presumably months off, the Apple rumor cycle has hit the trough in its perpetually wavelike motion. Microsoft's Surface tablet pre-nouncement dominated tech headlines all week and Google's I/O conference starts tomorrow, so there was barely enough room to shovel in the usual B.S. about the next iPhone or an Apple-branded HDTV. But that doesn't mean some people didn't try. Foxconn rumored to begin receiving Apple television LCDs in Q3 2012 (AppleInsider) Asian news outlet! Analyst! Wonder Twin powers activate! Form of: B.S. rumor! Two sources of Apple rumors combine to give us the same old line about an Apple HDTV coming out later this year. The fact that this has been going on since 2010 doesn't appear to deter people from donning sandwich boards saying "The Apple HDTV is nigh!" and roaming through Times Square mumbling about LCD suppliers. China Mobile support likely to make Apple's next iPhone a 'true world phone' (AppleInsider) Some analyst claims the next iPhone will be compatible with China Mobile's 3G network. Ignore the fact that analysts the world over were making the same claim about the iPhone 4S last year. *Jedi hand wave* The analysts are right this time. Really. At least one person reading this right now is about to shout something like, "It's not a true world phone if it doesn't support T-Mobile in the US!" Keep hope alive, random T-Mobile enthusiast. iPhone 5 case image leaks confirm final design? (MobileFun) Hey, it's our old friend, the case image leak! It's been a long time since we've seen one of these, what with the iPhone 4S turning out to be virtually identical to the iPhone 4 and the iPad (3) almost the same as the iPad 2. We're supposed to believe these "leaked" images depict the overall design of the next iPhone, because some case manufacturer who reads the same rumor blogs as everyone else drew some mockups based on designs that have already been floating around for weeks. Case manufacturers are a terrible source for information on next-gen Apple devices. They have a vested stake in getting the design right ahead of time -- those who have cases ready for a new iPhone as soon as it launches stand to profit handsomely -- but they are also able to turn on a dime and adapt to a new design relatively quickly. The last time one of these companies got it right was several months before the iPad 2 launched, and that was almost a year and a half ago. Confirmed: The New iPhone Will Have A 19-Pin "Mini" Connector (TechCrunch) TechCrunch "independently verified" that the next iPhone's dock connector will be changing to a smaller version. Unfortunately, if I'm reading the story correctly, TechCrunch "verified" this with case and accessory manufacturers -- none of whom have any legitimate idea what they're talking about several months away from the device's launch. Hon Hai: Apple's iPhone 5 to put Samsung's Galaxy III to Shame (Patently Apple) Foxconn's chairman supposedly got loose-lipped about a forthcoming Apple product -- again! Only this time it wasn't the mythical Apple HDTV. This time, a man whose multi-billion dollar business is completely dependent upon not irritating Apple by talking about unreleased products told people the next iPhone "will put Samsung's Galaxy III to shame." Personally, I don't see how this is possible. Samsung's ads clearly state the Galaxy III is designed for humans. This implies the iPhone isn't, and since everyone reading this is a human (except you, X'lzborkg), by process of syllogism it's clear the Galaxy III is superior to anything Apple could design. Because all of you using iPhones are sheep, get it? Haha, oh Samsung. You got us good that time. Predicting the next Mac desktops (Marco Arment) iOS developer Marco Arment did some thoughtful analysis about forthcoming Mac desktops and predicted iMac updates with Retina Displays would come in October or November. "Multiple sources" corrected him, saying that while the next iMacs are coming out in the fall, they won't have Retina Displays. From there, it was like watching hyenas pile on a zebra; "iMac refresh won't have Retina Display," the rumor blogs crowed from the rooftops one by one. And there was much (the opposite of) rejoicing. If you follow the money trail, this won't come as a shock. Apple's portables have financially outperformed its desktops for years, so the company has more incentive to put cutting-edge features into the products people actually want to buy in the first place. Here's my shot in the dark, completely uninformed guess for how the Retina Display rollout is going to happen: 13-inch MacBook Air (next refresh, early to mid-2013) 13-inch MacBook Pro (next refresh) 11-inch MacBook Air (next refresh, or maybe two refreshes from now) iMac (after all of the above get Retina Displays) Thunderbolt Display (six months after the iMac) Feel free to correct me if you know better. And pass it on throughout the rumor blogs while you're at it, because that's more fun than playing "telephone" ever was. Google, Apple Tighten Grip on Smartphone Market (Wall Street Journal) This had to be my favorite rumor of the week, because it somehow managed to make Google look even more "Me too! Me too!" than Microsoft for a change. "People familiar with the matter" claim that Google will soon launch its own tablet, developed in concert with Asustek. The "low-priced" tablet is supposed to "dent the market share of Apple's iPad" according to these sources. Well... good luck. And good job finally realizing your existing tablet strategy was the modern equivalent of the Soviets' Buran space shuttle: an inferior copy of an existing device, never destined for human use and consigned to collect dust in a far-flung warehouse. Quick tip for the launch, Google: let people actually use the device after your onstage song-and-dance routine. Because although there are people out there who hate Apple with a fire so white-hot that it burns away every trace of logic, and there are disreputable outlets that happily employ them, those of us still capable of rational thought are liable to call shenanigans if your product announcement doesn't actually show the product in action. Between Microsoft launching its own tablet and now Google, you have to wonder where that leaves guys like Dell, Acer, and Samsung. Poor Samsung! With three major players to choose from, how's it going to decide whose designs it's going to copy? [Android enthusiasts, please direct flames to null@tuaw.com. --Ed]
Rumor Roundup, Episode 9: 'Coming soon'
With plenty of actual news saturating the Apple-focused internet, it was a relatively light week for rumors. But almost every time Apple holds an event of some kind, the week that follows is a cavalcade of criticism about what Apple launched and speculation about the products that didn't show up. During the week following WWDC, when people weren't busily speculating that the irrepairable new MacBook Pro would be the root cause of the zombie apocalypse, they were frothily predicting the onset of more Mac updates. Onward to this week's Rumor Roundup. iMac Update Might Be Coming Sooner Rather Than Later (MacRumors) Taking a second trip to the well of Geekbench results from unreleased iMacs, MacRumors speculates that iMac updates are due in the relatively new future. The site doesn't provide any evidence of this beyond noting that Primate Labs, which maintains Geekbench, believes the benchmarking scores are accurate and not fakes. Before WWDC, multiple rumor sites assured us that the entire Mac lineup would be seeing updates. In the end, only the MacBook Air and Pro got updates. The iMac is arguably overdue for an update, but whether its next update will see the Retina Display coming to the iMac is less certain. Apple expected to launch 13" Retina MacBook Pro by early Oct. and Rumor: Online battery test log points to possible 13-inch Retina Display MacBook Pro (AppleInsider) Some analyst claims we'll see a 13-inch version of the MacBook Pro with Retina Display in October. Normally I'd put this down to typical analyst shenanigans of throwing multiple ideas against a wall and seeing what sticks, but this same guy correctly predicted the demise of the 17-inch MacBook Pro -- a claim I thought was complete B.S. Supposed battery testing info from an unreleased MacBook model seems to back up the analyst's assertions -- assuming they're accurate. To borrow a phrase that analysts love to use when it comes to the Apple HDTV, a 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display is a matter of when, not if. Despite the caterwauling from certain sectors of the internet (including our own backyard) over its lack of upgradability, Apple has drawn a line in the sand with the new MacBook Pro. It sees beautiful but sealed boxes as the future of computing, and it's inevitable that (most of) the rest of the Mac lineup will follow suit. Some Apple stores reportedly planning store-wide meetings next week (AppleInsider) "People familiar with Apple's plans" claim Apple is planning on holding an all-hands retail meeting soon. Uncharacteristically, this claim doesn't come with a rash of speculation about some unreleased, mythical Apple product. Instead, the speculation seems more mundane, that this meeting is intended to introduce Apple Retail to its new boss, John Browett. Apple's Ping to End With a Thud in Next Release of iTunes (AllThingsD) Sources tell AllThingsD that Apple's halfhearted attempt at social networking, Ping, will be end-of-lifed in the next major update to iTunes. Reactions to this news range from "Duh," to "What's Ping?" Now that Facebook has its peanut butter in Apple's chocolate, Ping has gone from neglected and irrelevant to utterly redundant. If you're a serious fan of Ping -- there must be at least one, right? -- be prepared for the service to appear nowhere other than semiannual "Top 10 Apple failures" lists. Apple's next iPhone could see weaker demand, upgrade cycle to blame (BGR) Some analyst brandished garlic and a crucifix toward AT&T's CEO and subdued him long enough to ask whether AT&T planned to offer early upgrade discounts to the millions upon millions of people who've bought the iPhone 4S. Brace yourself: AT&T said no. Somehow, this means no one in the rest of the world that isn't the United States and hasn't sold its smartphone soul to AT&T for two years won't buy the iPhone 5. To put it lightly, that's a bit of a stretch. To put it more heavily, that's a completely stupid claim, one worth revisiting for laughs once Apple sells a bazillion iPhones in 2013. Full disclosure: My telco contract doesn't expire until November, so I won't be buying the next iPhone until then. Fuller disclosure: That's when it's probably launching in New Zealand, so no skin off my, er, nose. 3D renders of next iPhone parts good enough to fool many (9to5 Mac) Virtually every rumor site exploded with news of supposedly leaked photos of the next-gen iPhone, fully assembled and in glorious color. But the weirdest thing happened: 9to5 Mac, of all sites, skipped the speculation and actually asked the guy who posted the photos what was up. Turned out these widely dispersed and breathlessly speculated upon photos were simply skillful 3D renders based on parts leaks and rumors. Though they're confirmed fakes, I certainly won't complain if the next iPhone looks like those photos. As for the rest of you Cinema 4D and Photoshop fakery aficionados? The gauntlet has been thrown. If you want to fool most of the Apple-loving internet, this is your new standard.
Rumor Roundup, Episode 8: Post WWDC edition
Now that the WWDC keynote has taken place, let's look back at the past couple months of wild-eyed speculation surrounding what Apple was supposed to have announced at the event. We know already what new stuff Apple actually announced at WWDC... or launched the same day without fanfare. Hardware Spec bumps on the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro A new 15-inch MacBook Pro with a Retina Display A new AirPort Express A new Smart Case for the iPad Thunderbolt adapters for both Firewire 800 and Ethernet A new MagSafe adapter An extremely minor refresh of the Mac Pro, not mentioned in the keynote (and lambasted by Apple legend Andy Hertzfeld) Software Dictation support in Mountain Lion US$19.99 price and July launch for Mountain Lion Expanded language and nation support for Siri in iOS 6 Siri on the new iPad New Maps application in iOS 6 Facebook integration in iOS 6 There were many more things hauled out before the keynote crowd at WWDC and onto the Apple Store, but those were arguably the biggest new things announced. Let's see what the various rumor sites got right. MacRumors and its sources made the following correct predictions: 17-inch MacBook Pro discontinued Unreleased MacBook Pros showing up in benchmarks Leaked 13" MacBook Pro specs suggest only minor changes iOS 6 drops support for iPad and third-gen iPod touch AppleInsider's sources got a total of two things right -- oddly enough, both sources are infamous for being wrong much of the time. Gene Munster expected a Mac refresh in June DigiTimes finally got one right when it predicted the same thing BGR managed to get exactly one of its "breaking exclusives" correct when it showed leaked photos and mockups of the new Maps app for iOS 6. Meanwhile, MG Siegler correctly reported wide-ranging Facebook integration in iOS 6. 9to5 Mac's wait-and-see approach gained it the highest number of accurate rumors by far; several accurate rumors came out within the past week, and most of them within the past couple of days. The site's only long-term rumor that eventually paid off was the 15" Retina Display MacBook Pro; advance detail about a full refresh of the Mac line didn't pan out. Correctly predicted 15" Retina Display MacBook Pro with impressive accuracy Siri for iPad 3 in iOS 6 Do Not Disturb, Safari iCloud Tabs, and Mail VIPs in iOS 6 Evidence for Facebook integration in iOS 6 iPad Smart Case MacBook Pro Retina Display hardware specs MacBook Air hardware specs Now let's take a look at the list of things people got wrong. First, a few rumors that were sort of right in the end: AppleInsider cited an analyst predicting the demise of the 17-inch MacBook Pro. Unfortunately for the site's already shaky accuracy, that same analyst predicted a 13-inch Retina Display MacBook would launch. Another of AppleInsider's favorite analysts was one for three on his predictions; Apple did indeed launch its own Maps app, but analyst predictions of upgraded Camera and Photos apps failed to pay off. The Wall Street Journal, like many other sources, expected far more extensive Mac updates than actually took place today. Notably, its sources claimed new iMacs were launching at WWDC. That didn't happen. 9to5 Mac expected Mac Pro updates alongside spec-bumped MacBook Pros, a new AirPort Express, and a new USB SuperDrive. All of that happened, but the Mac Pro received an extremely modest refresh; when it posted the Mac Pro new part numbers (which were spot-on) 9to5 speculated that the new Mac Pro would be "an incredible update over the nearly two-year-old model." Wishful thinking, and we're not immune either, but that's not how the cookie crumbled. The site also predicted redesigns for the iTunes Store and App Store on iOS, but its predictions of a redesigned iBookstore did not pan out. Now it's time for the lengthy list of rumors that were just flat-out wrong. BGR Redesigned Liquidmetal iPhone debuts at WWDC Foxconn taking orders for Apple TV Apple to demo new TV OS at WWDC Apple "iTV" intro set for WWDC Apple to introduce TV SDK at WWDC No one in their right mind expected new iPhones at WWDC this year, and not one of BGR's claims about the Apple HDTV came remotely close to coming true. AppleInsider AppleCare training points to June Mountain Lion Launch Apple plans to launch $799 MacBook Air Apple manufacturing first batch of HDTVs Apple to unveil entirely new MacBook series at WWDC Apple to refresh most of its Mac lineup at WWDC AppleInsider's habit of citing analysts and DigiTimes as legitimate sources didn't do the site's credibility any favors. All of these analysts' predictions were wildly off the mark; DigiTimes was, as usual, laughably wrong. 9to5 Mac Apple to update almost all of its Mac lineup at WWDC Apple to finally revamp Mac Pro (was a speed bump) Unlikely new MacBook Pro specs label surfaces (entirely faked) 9to5 was fairly well convinced that all, or nearly all, of the Mac lineup would be refreshed at WWDC; the potential Mac mini refresh and the iMac worked their way out of the coverage over the course of the week before the conference. The site also echoed claims of a 13-inch MacBook Pro with a Retina Display. Verdict Over the past couple of months, a massive influx of rumors surrounding supposed software and hardware updates at WWDC swirled through the echo chambers of the Apple rumor sites. However, with vanishingly few exceptions, only the tiniest percentage of rumors that came out more than a week before WWDC turned out to be true. BGR had the worst record by a wide margin, with only a single accurately-sourced story relating to WWDC. None of its predictions about the Apple HDTV came true; keep that in mind the next time the site writes about the product. AppleInsider's over-reliance on industry analysts (which the site now daftly calls "insiders") and its insistence on continuing to take DigiTimes seriously renders the site's track record as poor at best. MacRumors, to its credit, has stopped citing DigiTimes as far as I can tell. The site still sources from most of the same analysts as everyone else, however, making its overall track record only marginally better than the already low average. 9to5 Mac does appear to have well-placed sources feeding it information on iOS features and hardware specs. The high accuracy of the rumors 9to5 Mac does get right strongly suggests its sources work within Apple. If Tim Cook follows through on his promise to "double down" on secrecy, that may create some challenges. The lessons from the past couple months of rumors are obvious. The farther out from the event, the less likely the rumor is to be true. Analysts have no idea what they're talking about when it comes to Apple, and they are not worth sourcing for stories. That goes double for publications like DigiTimes and "sources in the Asian supply chain." The closer we get to an Apple event, the higher the number of rumors overall, and the higher the chances some of them will be true. The most accurate leaks are likely coming from within Apple itself. The Apple HDTV does not exist. Give up the hunt, Ahab.
Rumor Roundup, Episode 7: Screen size matters
Though it was far from being a slow week for real news in the Apple sphere, the fact that WWDC is just over the horizon means the rumor scene has kicked into high gear. So many rumors came out this week that I've broken them down by product category for our latest edition of the Rumor Roundup. The biggest star this week was the supposed next-gen iPhone, but the mythical Apple HDTV wasn't far behind. Oddly enough, I didn't see a single rumor about the "iPad mini" this week, marking the first time in months that I haven't seen someone opining on that hypothetical/nonsensical device. Speaking of nonsensical devices: Apple HDTV 55" Apple LCD TV for about $2,000 seen as matter of 'when,' not 'if' (AppleInsider) Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster says the Apple HDTV is definitely going to debut someday. But as anyone who pays even modest amounts of attention to Apple rumors should know by now, Munster has been saying the same thing for years. Munster seems to be operating on the principle that if he keeps saying it, he'll eventually be right. B.S. detector reading: 9/10. Gene Munster has been spouting certainty-tinged speculation about the Apple HDTV for so long that it's no longer worth taking him seriously on the subject. Every time I see Munster's name associated with the Apple HDTV, it just reminds me of the final chapters of Moby Dick when Ahab's first (and often only) words to passing ships at sea are, "Hast seen the whale?!" All I'm saying is, don't be surprised if a long-bearded and bedraggled Gene Munster lets out a mighty bellow and hurls a harpoon at the Apple HDTV if it ever debuts onstage. Foxconn reportedly begins taking orders for the Apple TV (BGR) Apple reportedly manufacturing test batch of first smart TVs (AppleInsider) Though the names of their overseas sources vary, both BGR and AppleInsider are beating the same dead horse drum: The Apple HDTV is being built right this very second. At least that's what those notoriously reliable Chinese newspapers are saying. B.S. detector reading: 9/10. In case you didn't pick up the sarcasm in the preceding paragraph, Asian news sources are in fact notoriously unreliable when it comes to Apple. Both BGR and AppleInsider try to cite supposed remarks from Foxconn's CEO as evidence of "prior art" in this rumor chain, but both sites rather conveniently ignore that those remarks were debunked by a combination of investigation, clarification from Foxconn, and common sense. Apple to demo new TV OS at WWDC in two weeks (BGR) "A trusted source" claims Apple will demo a new version of the Apple TV OS at WWDC. B.S. detector reading: 3/10. The grid-style UI that debuted with the third-gen Apple TV only a few months ago is very evocative of the iOS homescreen, and I don't think that's a coincidence. The Apple TV seems ripe for exploiting the third-party app ecosystem, and a large number of WWDC sessions are listed as "To Be Announced" in terms of their subject matter. Unfortunately, BGR's analysis goes off the rails in speculating that "Apple's HDTV" will run this OS, prompting a revised B.S. detector reading of 7/10. If Apple were building an HDTV, I'm sure it would run essentially the same OS as the standalone Apple TV box. And if my grandmother had wheels, she'd be a wagon. Mac Now I'm very confident there will be another Mac Pro (Marco Arment) The creator of Instapaper, Arment also devotes a fair amount of time to remarkably levelheaded analysis of the Apple scene. Arment notes that Jim Dalrymple of The Loop, another excellent source of brain-damage-free Apple analysis, has said there's no chance Apple will discontinue the Mac Pro. B.S. detector reading: 0/10. Jim Dalrymple is like the anti-DigiTimes; if he says something about Apple with this level of confidence, you can put money on it. Well, you can if gambling is legal where you live, anyway. On The Possibility Of An Apple Standalone Camera (iLounge) A source that iLounge itself admits is somewhat sketchy claims Apple is investigating developing its own point-and-shoot camera. B.S. detector reading: 9/10. The point-and-shoot camera market is in a death spiral. It has been for years, and the reason rhymes with "Bly phone." The best camera is the one you have with you, and the iPhone 4S camera that's probably in your pocket right now is a great substitute for all but the high-end point-and-shoots. Entering the standalone camera market at this stage makes about as much sense as selling Apple-branded 5-disc CD changers. Of course, Apple has had a foot in the standalone digital camera market before with the unexceptional QuickTake line -- but the company's not headed back there. Production ramp of Apple's next-gen MacBooks creating labor shortages in China (AppleInsider) According to DigiTimes, blah blah yadda yadda phhhbbbbttt. B.S. detector reading: Off-scale high due to using DigiTimes as a source. AppleInsider is one of the few sites left that's still shameless enough to source from DigiTimes after the pummelling the "sometimes reliable" source took both here and elsewhere in the blogosphere a few weeks back. Because DigiTimes claims there's a labor shortage in China, the safe money is on Chinese unemployment reaching record levels within a week of publication. If DigiTimes were to say the sun will rise tomorrow, I'd buy every single flashlight in town. New MacBooks coming in June, next-gen iPhone launching this fall according to report (BGR) Some guy says the most obvious and risk-free thing any analyst has said all year. For reasons unknown to anyone but this analyst and BGR, it's news worth repeating. B.S. detector reading: 0/10 -- but seriously, no points awarded. You want the real inside scoop on Apple? A new iPad will come out in 2013. It will have features the current iPad doesn't have. BREAKING EXCLUSIVE STOP THE PRESSES. iPhone 9to5 Mac posted enough new information about the supposed next-gen iPhone that I'm starting to wonder how much longer it'll be before an Apple employee leaves one in a bar. Between leaked faceplates and rear casings, supposed hardware references in a beta version of iOS 6, and alleged output from a debugger of the prototype phone, an image of the next iPhone is starting to emerge. If these "leaks" (with varying degrees of believability) are true, the next iPhone will be a device with a 16:9 aspect ratio screen as its central differentiator from previous versions. Over the past couple weeks, a storm of rumors has swirled around the topic of the next-gen iPhone. Thus far the consensus is the device's screen will grow from its current 3.5-inch diagonal dimension to 4 inches, and it'll switch aspect ratios from the current 3:2 ratio to a more widescreen 16:9. However, these rumors have been around for well over a year, and they failed to materialize in 2011 when the iPhone 4S kept precisely the same dimensions as its predecessor. B.S. detector reading: 4/10. Along with schematics and video evidence of a new faceplate, there's enough physical evidence here to give even a skeptic like me some pause. Rumor sites rarely bother with evidence; their stock in trade is usually the he-said/she-said of supply chain leaks, Asian newspapers, and daydreaming analysts. When physical evidence like this surfaces, however, it's a lot harder to dismiss out of hand than the usual rubbish. The standard cautionary caveat is that all this evidence could have been faked, but past leaks from similar sources have borne fruit. At the very least, it's nice to see rumors that are even halfway plausible for a change. Unfortunately, that will be short-lived... Apple's next iPhone expected to consume 70% of high-res LTPS screen supply (AppleInsider) According to DigiTimes -- I stopped reading whatever came next. B.S. detector reading: Off-scale high due to using DigiTimes as a source. If AppleInsider went even one week without sourcing from the Site that's Never Right, I'd start to worry that maybe the Apocalypse really is coming in December. Apple's iPhone dives deeper into prepaid this September (BGR) An "unnamed source" claims the iPhone will be available on Boost Mobile later this year. B.S. detector reading: 10/10. Hilariously, this rumor was debunked within less than a day of hitting the web. Journalistic credibility: Where you at? iOS 6 Befitting the march toward WWDC, a number of this week's rumors surrounded the next major revision of iOS. They're presented below in decreasing order of legitimacy, based on where the rumor originated from. After Years Of Flirting, Facebook And Apple Set To Achieve Relationship Status In iOS 6 (TechCrunch) MG Siegler's sources claim Facebook integration will be a major feature of iOS 6. The depth of that integration isn't revealed, but it's likely to be along the same lines of the Twitter integration introduced in iOS 5 in 2011. B.S. detector reading: 1/10. Reports from last year claimed Facebook integration was coming in iOS 5, and the only reason it didn't was because talks between the two companies broke down. Like it or not, Facebook is a huge slice of the online world, and it has deep hooks into many iOS apps -- even the ones it doesn't develop. Facebook integration makes good sense, and Siegler's sources are usually reliable. Let's all hope with the greatest of fervor that Facebook's integration into iOS 6 is programmed with greater care than Facebook's own iOS app. Apple's new iOS 6 Maps app with 3D mapping is coming this summer, and we have photos (BGR) A "trusted source" gave BGR screenshots of what may represent the new Maps functionality in iOS 6. These screenshots appear extremely similar, if not identical, to the 3D mapping Apple acquisition C3 Technologies has demonstrated in the past. B.S. detector reading: 4/10. Multiple sources have claimed new mapping technology will be a major feature of iOS 6. Apple's dependence on Google Maps has been an increasingly odd holdover from the long-lost days when the companies were bosom buddies; now that they're direct competitors in the mobile space, it's logical for Apple to divest itself from as many of Google's services as it can. Some have even speculated that Siri, which bypasses Google for much of its functionality, was an important first step in cutting the Google cord. At least one entity seems to think Apple has something up its sleeve in the mapping space; Google itself announced an event relating to a revolution in its mapping service, to debut a few days before WWDC. Absolutely no one in the tech sphere thinks this is a coincidence. iOS 6 to feature redesigned iTunes Store, App Store, and iBookstore (9to5 Mac) "Sources familiar with Apple's upcoming iOS 6" claim Apple's online stores will be redesigned for iOS 6, with "major overhauls" in the stores' interactivity. B.S. detector reading: 6/10. Any time the words "familiar with" are a part of the source's alias, it sends the B.S. detector into spasms. The apps in question dish up most of their features from remote servers; Apple has been known to update these apps on the backend in the past, so it's as yet unclear why it would need to wait for a major OS update to push out these updates. The fact that this supposed overhaul is sketched out in only the very broadest of terms also doesn't do much to quell the whiff of B.S. from this story. 'Greatly enhanced' iOS Maps, upgraded Camera & Photos apps expected at WWDC (AppleInsider) An analyst makes the same claims as everyone else regarding updated iOS maps, then throws in some vague assertions about the Camera and Photos apps alongside sketchy rumors of new Macs. B.S. detector reading: 8/10. The analyst in question has been wrong far more often than he's been right, which one of our commenters noted the last time his name was brought up. For that reason alone I'm taking his "analysis" with a large grain of salt. And a lime. And a shot of tequila. Bring me another; leave the bottle. That's it for this week's rumors. Given that Apple's yearly developer conference is just a week away as I write this, it's an easy bet we're going to see a gargantuan maelstrom of rumors over the next several days. Before you decide to play Vegas odds on any rumor, though, consider the source. If it's a site that's still citing DigiTimes, consider switching to the slot machines instead. The Vegas slots pay out about as rarely as DigiTimes, but at least you get free drinks.
Rumor Roundup, Episode 6: iWant to believe
Unlike the week before, this past week hasn't seen an epic B.S.-storm of rumors. A few of the ones that came out got huge piles of attention, however, not the least because rumors of a 16:9 screen iPhone sound so delicious to so many that we all want to believe... even though we've all been "burned" on this one once before. But before we can get to those slightly plausible rumors, we have to get the utterly ridiculous ones out of the way first. New Apple TV Will Feature Seamless Siri Integration (Insideris) Stop me if you've heard this one: Apple's HDTV will have a feature where you can control playback and other functions using Siri on your i*BZZT* B.S. detector reading: 8/10. We've been hearing this one since Siri debuted, yet the latest Apple TV shows zero integration with the "intelligent" voice assistant. In fact, it's been seven months since Siri went public, and aside from a very modest expansion of language support, the software hasn't seemed to improve much. It's still restricted to a single device, the iPhone 4S, and it still doesn't handle driving directions or local business searches in most countries. Then, there's this week's gossip that Siri has been a disappointment to Apple so far, and Steve Jobs would have "lost his mind" if the voice-activated software was launched during his tenure. I have no problem with Siri personally; it does everything I ask it. I just wish I were able to ask it more things. But I'm not holding my breath for Siri integration with a product that has about as much evidence in its favor as Sasquatch. Apple's Coming Plan To Take Over The TV Business (Forrester Research) Forrester Research, famous for predicting Apple's unparalleled ascendancy and imminent doom in the same week, now predicts the Apple HDTV will be a non-TV TV. In other words, picture hanging a 32-inch iPad on your wall. Think about how "easy" it is to get media from various sources on an iPad. Then picture that replacing your current TV. Now picture that someone got paid to say that with a straight face. B.S. detector reading: 10/10. What Forrester has proposed is effectively no different from the existing Apple TV, except it comes with a 32-inch screen and a much higher price tag. It sounds like the kind of product Apple would have been ecstatic to launch in 1996, back when the company had no idea how to make products that actually earned it money. The Apple of 2012 knows better. Bigger than an iPhone, yet smaller than an iPad: the next Apple TV? (GigaOM) GigaOM reaches the Singularity of stupid Apple rumors by combining the Apple HDTV and iPad mini into one epically mythical, misguided product. The iPad mini will be the TV that goes wherever you go! And it'll provide zero advantages over any of Apple's existing products! B.S. detector reading: 10/10. Bad enough that GigaOM has divided by zero as far as Apple rumors go, the site has also conveniently neglected close to 65 years of TV viewing habits. Even if our 9.7-inch iPads now offer nearly double the resolution of the best HDTV out there, I'd be willing to bet 99.9 percent of you still watch most of your TV on a much bigger screen that's much farther away. Even assuming the iPad mini existed, it'd have to be just as multifunctional as the iPad Grande it's supposed to complement. Otherwise, why would anyone buy it? Microsoft set to release Office for iOS and Android tablets in November (BGR) A "reliable source" tells BGR Microsoft Office is heading to iOS devices in six months. No really, this time for sure, guys. B.S. detector reading: 6/10. I fully expect Office to debut on at least the iPad, eventually. But "reliable source" and BGR go together about as well as pickles and caramel. The site's BREAKING EXCLUSIVE RUMORS have been so consistently wrong (remember the "Sprint-only iPhone 5?") that virtually anything the site says has to be taken with enough salt to induce cardiac arrest. Facebook Tries, Tries Again on a Smartphone (New York Times) Facebook, world famous for this week's terrible IPO and one of the buggiest household-name iOS apps in existence, is supposedly working on its own smartphone. Again. Just like in 2011, and 2010, both of which were indisputably the Year of the Facebook Phone (that never launched). B.S. detector reading: 7/10. A software company building its very own smartphone wouldn't be a new development. Google did it with the Nexus lineup... sort of. And the Microsoft-Nokia pairing is almost certain to see some Windows 8 devices coming out sometime between now and 2099. But here's the problem: most of the people accessing Facebook from a smartphone already have an iPhone. Facebook's going to have to make a phone that's more compelling than the most successful smartphone in the world, and I'm not convinced that a company with no hardware sales experience is going to manage well in that regard. Plus, if the phone's OS is anything like Facebook itself, the user interface is going to change so often (and almost never for the better) that people are never going to get used to how the damned phone works. Apple May Make A Splash...With The Mac (Wall Street Journal) A bunch of analysts agree that Apple's getting ready to launch new Macs with Retina displays. B.S. detector reading: 5/10. Here's the problem: I want to believe that new Macs with Retina Displays are on the way. But because a bunch of clueless "analysts" predicted them, it kind of feels like the products vanished from existence the second the WSJ's story went live. These analysts don't have any more information than the rest of us. They're going off the same information we have, which is the usual slurry of rumors and made-up nonsense. Since that's all they've got to go on, take their predictions as seriously as they deserve to be taken. 3-year-old iPhone 3GS primed for revival (BGR) Some analyst claims the iPhone 3GS is going to be reduced in price and offered as a prepaid handset. As evidence, he says- hahaha, no, he didn't offer any evidence whatsoever. B.S. detector reading: 6/10. Apple has shown no intention of entering the prepaid market in spite of years worth of analysis claiming otherwise. About the closest the company has come to addressing the prepaid market is offering its handsets contract-free at an unsubsidised price. The iPhone 3GS may seem like an ideal prepaid iPhone, but the question is whether Apple wants to "water down" the iPhone brand by offering such a super-cheap alternative. And given that the iPhone 3GS shares almost no components with later iPhones and iPod touches, at some point it's simply going to be more trouble to continue building the device than it's worth. Likely next-generation iPhone with 3.999-inch display, 1136 x 640 resolution in testing (updated: more decimals) (9to5 Mac) 9to5 Mac makes a bold claim with initially plausible sounding numbers backing it up: the next iPhone will have a 16:9 ratio, 4-inch display at a resolution of 1136 x 640. The site throws in some official-sounding codenames and some typically cloak-and-dagger tales of phones being carried around Apple's campuses in fake cases to disguise them. B.S. detector reading: 5/10. Even if 9to5 Mac's story sounds mostly plausible, there's a small problem: none of it is new. Not one iota. Not the Photoshopped mockups, not the calculated pixel resolution, not the 16:9 screen. We've been hearing the same thing since at least February of 2011. An iPhone with a 16:9 screen, running apps designed for the current 3:2 screen, would run those apps "letterboxed" like a widescreen movie on a standard TV, with 88 blank pixels on either side. Some apps, including TUAW's own app, could in theory be easily updated for that resolution. Other types of apps, particularly games, are going to take a lot more work to port to yet another resolution. I would love it if the iPhone's screen switched to 16:9 -- that was by far my favorite of the mockups I did in February of last year -- but I won't be at all surprised if the next iPhone has exactly the same screen. But then again... New Part Leaks Include Taller iPod Touch Front Panel, 'iPhone 5' Cameras Yet another parts leak, but at least this one is more interesting than a Home button or headphone cable. MacRumors got its hands on images of an iPod touch front faceplate that seemingly matches the 16:9 aspect ratio rumored elsewhere. B.S. detector reading: 5/10. It'd be one thing if MacRumors actually handled these parts, but all it has to go on is images from a parts supplier -- images that are relatively easy to fake. That said, past parts leaks to MacRumors have panned out before, and I'm willing to give them a few bonus points just for relying on someone other than DigiTimes for a change. As WWDC gets closer, we're sure to hear yet more rumors surrounding the upgrades to the Mac lineup. Depending on how slow of a news week we have ahead, we'll probably hear more about the iPad mini and Apple HDTV, too. More's the pity.
