Author: J.R. Bookwalter

While most Apple pundits have been focused on what Cupertino might be changing with this year’s versions of OS X and iOS, a new report claims the iPhone maker plans to make a full-frontal assault on the home at WWDC 2014.

The Financial Times reported Monday that Apple plans to debut a “smart home” system during next week’s Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco, hoping to head rivals Google and Samsung off at the pass.

The so-called “Jetsons-style home automation” would allow the iPhone to become a remote control for lighting as well as household appliances and security systems, and Apple patent filings from last November would appear to corroborate such plans.

“Apple’s integrated system will make it easier to set up and control new ‘smart home’ devices,” the report elaborated. “For example, a home’s lights might automatically come on when the owner enters the house, using their iPhone to wirelessly signal their arrival.”

While an Apple spokesperson declined to comment on such plans, an FT source “familiar with Apple’s plans” claims the company intends to partner with “a select group” of device makers, whose hardware would be certified to work with Cupertino’s iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad-based iOS software.

The licensing would apparently work similarly to Apple’s existing “Made for iPhone” program, which allows accessory makers to receive Cupertino’s blessing — and very likely, a prominent place on the shelves at Apple retail stores worldwide.

Apple is supposedly working to make its home automation system both simple to use and more secure than competing options, which include Google-owned Nest thermostats, Dropcam wireless cameras, Philips Hue lightbulbs and Belkin WeMo switches, all of which can be controlled by the iPhone and are sold in Apple retail stores.

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(Image courtesy of SiliconAngle.com)

Americans woke up Tuesday after a long Memorial Day weekend to be greeted by a $50 discount off Adobe’s Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements bundle (normally $149.99) until this Friday, May 30 at 11:59 PM PST. That’s quite a good deal for the consumer photo and video editing software for Mac and PC, which requires no discount code to use.  Who says MacLife.com doesn’t like to save readers money…?

Apple Devices Being Held for Digital Ransom in Australia

The Age reported Monday that iOS and Mac owners in several Australian cities are finding their devices held for ransom by hackers with Russian-sounding names like “Oleg Pliss” who are requesting $50 or even $100 sent via PayPal before they’ll give users access again. Reports of such digital ransom have lit up Twitter and Apple’s support forums over the last 24 hours, despite PayPal claiming no account is actually linked to the email being used by the hacker, and that any money send would be refunded. The hack, which appears to be using Apple’s Find My iPhone feature in some rogue way, apparently does not affect devices with a four-digit PIN code lock, nor two-factor authentication, so readers are once again encouraged to set up one or both to help keep their devices safe.

Tapbots Issues Mandatory Tweetbot Updates Due to Twitter Changes

The folks at Tapbots kicked off the long weekend with a mandatory update to Tweetbot 2.8 and 3.3 on Friday, both of which address “a small change to the way Tweetbot communicates with the Twitter API.” Without the required updates to version 2.8.8. or 3.3.2, Tweetbot will stop working after the change is made at 10AM PST on Thursday, May 29, so users are encouraged to grab the latest versions from the App Store if they want to keep using their favorite Twitter client.

DVD is Dying, So Redbox Plans to Yank 500 Kiosks

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that DVD rental kiosk provider Redbox appears to have hit a plateau after double-digit increases in recent years, planning to deactivate more than 500 of the familiar crimson containers across the United States this year. The move is being blamed on flat operating income last year after 74 percent and 41 percent growth in 2011 and 2012, respectively, but also the fading glory of the DVD format — a gloomy outlook that appears to be spooking Hollywood studios, with one unnamed senior executive calling Redbox a “very important customer” after years of battling to keep such product out of $1 per night (now $1.20 per night) kiosks.

iDrive Debuts Express for Sync for Expediting Cloud Storage

Cloud services are great, but even with a reasonably fast internet connection, it can take weeks to upload gigabytes or even terabytes of data. The folks at iDrive have announced iDrive Express for Sync, a new free service that allows customers to get up and running quickly by loading up a physical hard drive with content, which is then sent back to the service and copied to your cloud account. iDrive already offered such an option for its backup service, but now does the same with Sync storage, which is a separate pool of data reserved for content the user wants to keep around, without having to wait for it to sync from the desktop via the cloud.

Amazon Steps Up War Against Book Publisher Hachette

The New York Times closed out last week by reporting that e-tailer Amazon is taking its fight for higher payments from publisher Hachette to the customers by delaying shipments, raising prices and even holding select titles hostage completely, marking them as “currently unavailable.” In the U.S., Amazon has effectively shuttered sales of Hachette physical books coming this summer and fall, despite having already been slapped on the wrist by a federal antitrust lawsuit. Independent booksellers wasted no time touting immediate availability of titles being banned on Amazon, with Books-a-Million offering as much as a 30 percent discount. Hachette is the fourth largest book publisher.

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(Image courtesy of The Age)

Former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts has only been at the helm of Apple Retail for three short weeks, but a new report claims the latest veep plans to shake up the future of Cupertino’s brick-and-mortar stores in a number of ways.

9to5Mac published an exhaustive look at Apple’s retail endeavors on Monday, attempting to shed some light on how newly installed vice-president Angela Ahrendts plans to shape the company’s direct sales moving forward.

Although Ahrendts only started in early May, the executive has spent the last three weeks visiting retail stores and getting caught up with store managers. The retail VP is now expected to start acting upon a three-prong attack for the near future.

“An emphasis on China, mobile payments, and completely revamping the end-to-end Apple Store sales experience,” the report elaborated, which includes shaking things up at the top branches of Apple’s retail executives.

A renewed focus on the Chinese market is something of a no-brainer: Anyone who follows Apple’s quarterly earnings can see that’s where the real profit growth lies, and where China is concerned, Cupertino has nowhere to go but up. Ahrendts apparently hopes to increase Apple’s retail presence from the current 10 stores to 30 locations by 2016.

Perhaps the more interesting part of the story is Ahrendts’ fascination with mobile payments, which ties in neatly with the “major focus” she hopes to put on “blurring the lines between Apple’s online and physical stores” to “improve the overall experience for Apple customers.”

By all accounts, Ahrendts was quite successful at revamping London-based Burberry during her tenure as CEO there, and Apple CEO Tim Cook has praised the new retail VP for her “focus on innovation” as well as sharing the same values already present inside Cupertino.

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There’s still no confirmation a deal between Apple and Beats Electronics is taking place, but that saga took another interesting turn late last week. According to The Wrap, the founder of the MOG online subscription-based music service that ultimately became Beats Music is suing co-founders Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre, claiming he was fired before he could receive benefits from an incentive plan. Looking for a potential slice of Apple pie, maybe?

Apple Support Document Details 4K Displays with OS X 10.9.3

In case you didn’t catch it, the latest OS X Mavericks 10.9.3 update released last Thursday added support for 4K displays and Ultra HD televisions with late 2013 MacBook Pro with Retina Display and Mac Pro models. Rather than leaving users to blindly figure out the best way to connect their Mac to a new high-def display, Apple posted a support document outlining some of the potential pitfalls, as well as detailing which DisplayPort-compatible 4K displays are compatible with the update. A handful of models from Sharp, ASUS, Dell, and Panasonic will only support single-stream transport (SST) at 30Hz, while four additional models can be set for 60Hz multi-stream transport (MST); the support document outlines how to get started with either type.

Intensify Adds SmugMug Integration, Print Lab

If you need to pull more detail out of your photos, there are few Mac applications that do it with as much style as Intensify or Intensify Pro, new members of the Macphun family launched late last year. On Monday, the company announced a free update that adds additional RAW file support for more cameras, OS X Mavericks enhancements including notifications, UI improvements, and SmugMug integration. Last but not least, the latest updates unveil Macphun Print Lab, allowing Intensify images to to be turned into real-life postcards, canvas prints, and much more, which can be gifted to family and friends via MILK Books. Intensify is available for $19.99 from the Mac App Store, while the Pro version priced at $59.99 adds plug-in support; both titles can also be purchased direct from Macphun, where the Pro version is available in Creative Kit bundles with other titles such as Snapheal Pro.

Verizon Amps Up Wireless Speeds with Coast-to-Coast XLTE

Who doesn’t love faster? Verizon Wireless announced Monday the launch of XLTE, an upgrade to the carrier’s existing 4G LTE network that will squeeze even faster peak speeds and double the bandwidth out of compatible devices. XLTE taps into nationwide markets where AWS spectrum has been activated, but requires devices capable of pulling in the extra bits, which includes the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c, as well as Samsung’s latest Android smartphones and Verizon’s newest DROID line. Verizon has posted a list of XLTE markets (PDF link), which includes more than 200 cities from coast to coast, and more yet to come.

PhotoSync 2.2 for iOS Adds Wake-on-LAN Support

Touchbyte GmbH announced Monday the release of PhotoSync 2.2 for iOS, an update to the company’s versatile image transfer app. The universal $2.99 app now supports Wake-on-LAN (WoL) for auto transfer and quick transfer to computers, allowing a supported Mac or PC to wake up from sleep when transfers are being made from an iOS device. The update also brings support for the Toshiba Canvio Wireless Adapter, a $79 device that allows shutterbugs to back up photos and videos to any USB hard drive or stick, and a new hierarchy view for SmugMug, as well as the usual bevy of bug fixes including stomping out crashes with SFTP servers, photos importing with the wrong orientation on iOS 7.1, and more.

Shazam Swaps Spotify for Deezer in 4 European Countries

Billboard is reporting that the most recent updates to music ID app Shazam for iOS and Android appear to have made a rather unpopular change. Spotify is no longer a “listen free” option in the United Kingdom, Germany, Mexico, or Brazil, with streaming music provider Deezer having slid right into its place. The change was first noted in the free version of Shazam, but has now infiltrated the paid Shazam Encore app as well. Shazam confirmed the change as part of a “new partnership” with Paris, France-based Deezer, which is currently offered in roughly 180 countries but has yet to penetrate the American market — something the company plans to do later this year. Presumably, Spotify is safe for now in the U.S., and Rdio continues to be the second free streaming option, in addition to the ability to purchase via iTunes.

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Just a few short years ago, this time of year would have been one of anticipation for the arrival of a new iPhone. Instead, eager buyers have to wait out the dog days of summer — or cave in to a potentially lucrative offer on a current model that’s hard to resist.

9to5Mac is reporting that Apple plans to hold an “enormous” iPhone event at the company’s U.S. retail stores in effort to lure upgrade-eligible customers hanging onto older models to grab a new iPhone 5s or iPhone 5c.

According to the usual “source with knowledge of the initiative,” the event will kick off this Thursday, May 8 with an email sent to owners of older iPhone models who are eligible for a handset upgrade.

In order to claim the presumably lucrative offer, customers will have to visit their nearest Apple retail store, with the staff apparently being briefed about the event today to prepare for “an influx of visitors to its stores on the levels of traffic driven to stores for new product debuts.”

There’s no word on exactly what kind of deal Apple will be offering older iPhone owners to upgrade to a newer model, or whether a device trade-in will be required to take advantage of the deal.

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Former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts is officially now working for Apple as senior vice president of retail and online stores, and according to a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, the new retail boss racked up a healthy $68 million signing bonus just for joining the team. Naturally, she’ll have to wait for those 113,334 restricted stock units to vest over the next four years, but hey, wouldn’t we all like to cash in before we actually do any work?

Amazon Moves Shopping to Twitter with #AmazonCart

If you happen to buy a lot of products from Amazon that you initially discover on Twitter, this one may be for you. The two companies announced #AmazonCart on Monday, a new hashtag that allows any Amazon-originated product link to be added to a customer’s shopping cart just by retweeting with the hashtag — all without leaving Twitter. The process doesn’t actually make a purchase, but rather tosses the product into your cart where it can be purchased or removed at the shopper’s discretion. Of course, the downside is you’ll have to share purchases with Twitter followers, so you might not want to purchase anything friends or family could publicly shame you about. The embedded YouTube video below explains how it works.

Heyday Photo Journal App Adds Unlimited Cloud Sync

Hey, Inc. recently released an update to its free iPhone photo journal app Heyday, with version 1.2 finally adding the ability to sync an unlimited number of images to the cloud. While Heyday has always been able to sync timeline memories with other devices, cloud sync for photos means that users won’t lose images after they’re deleted from the Camera Roll, and they’ll show up on other devices synced to the same account. For cloud-averse users, Heyday can also now be used completely in offline mode — no need to sign up or log in, and everything remains solely on one device. With cloud sync now in place, the company is also teasing a native iPad version for the near future, which would nicely round out this automatic journal app we rated “Excellent” in our review late last year.

Patent Jury Foreman Suggests Apple Go Straight for Google

Re/code reported Monday that the eight-person federal jury who handed Apple a $119.6 million victory over Samsung last Friday reconvened yesterday to address a potential error. The recalculation added $4 million to Samsung’s damages, but unfortunately tweaks to the amounts awarded on other products put the final amount right back where it started. Speaking of the jury, The Wall Street Journal is reporting (via 9to5Mac) that foreman Tom Dunham believes Apple should attack Google directly, rather than spar with Samsung, the largest Android equipment manufacturer. “If you really feel that Google is the cause behind this, as I think everybody has observed, then don’t beat around the bush. Let the courts decide. But a more direct approach may be something to think about,” Dunham elaborated. Observers have speculated Apple may have avoided that option thus far since Google gives away Android, rather than licenses the operating system.

Boost Mobile Debuts Unlimited Plans Starting at $40 Per Month

Sprint prepaid subsidiary Boost Mobile today announced new unlimited talk, text, and data plans which promise to offer even better value for frugal smartphone users. Starting at $40 per month for 500MB of high-speed data, the Monthly Unlimited Select plans work with any Sprint-compatible device, but aren’t eligible for the company’s “Shrinking Payment” discounts. While the trio of new plans are truly unlimited, the $50 tier includes only 2.5GB of high-speed data, while the most expensive $60 plan bumps that amount up to 5GB. Boost Mobile also offers a number of add-on services including international text and calling, Mobile Wallet, and smartphone insurance packages.

Red Giant Officially Launches Universe

Users of pro video tools like Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Final Cut Pro X, and Motion now have a new arsenal at their disposal, thanks to the official launch of Red Giant Universe. First announced as a beta more than two months ago, Universe is a community of free tools for editors, filmmakers, visual effects, and motion design artists using Mac and PC. The package includes 31 free plug-ins, but Red Giant also offers a Premium membership priced at $10 per month ($99 per year) that gives users access to an additional 19 tools (12 effects, seven transitions), as well as others yet to be added in the future. Those averse to subscription-based services can also plunk down $399 for a lifetime subscription that will never expire.

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Late last month, Realmac teased an update to Clear for iOS and Mac, which promised to deliver one of the most-requested features: Reminders. That update has finally arrived, complete with a bonus for owners of the former Clear+ app.

Realmac Software announced Tuesday the release of Clear for iOS 1.4 and Clear for Mac 1.1, which now offer the ability to set a date and time to be reminded about items on any to-do list.

Adding a reminder is elegantly simple: Tap or click the “Add Reminder” prompt located underneath any to-do list item, select a date and time and Clear will sync the reminder via iCloud to everywhere the app is installed, and serve it up at the appropriate time.

Realmac has also introduced new Sound Packs to Clear, which are included free with the Mac version, and available as an optional in-app purchase on the iOS app, which iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users can try out before actually buying. In addition to the bundled Clear sound pack, today’s update adds Sci-Fi and 8-bit options, the latter of which will certainly bring back memories of a long-lost era for former arcade game junkies.

As a way of thanking users who previously purchased Clear+ for iOS, Realmac is offering the new Sound Pack absolutely free. To claim these in-app purchases, users will first need to reinstall Clear+, open the app and then jump over to Clear for iOS and navigate to the Sounds setting; complete instructions are posted on Realmac’s support website.

Clear for iOS 1.4 is now available from the App Store, with the companion Clear for Mac 1.1 also ready to download from the Mac App Store.

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The Apple v. Samsung rivalry took an interesting turn on Monday with the Korean smartphone maker’s announcement of a second consecutive quarter of declining profits compared to Cupertino’s quarterly earnings growth last week, which revealed the company sold far more iPhones than analysts expected. All eyes now turn to July, when Samsung will reveal how their latest Galaxy 5S may (or may not) boost their fortunes…

As Expected, Apple Quietly Bumps MacBook Air Specs

It seems like only yesterday that we reported a MacBook Air refresh was imminent, and just like clockwork, Apple has delivered the goods with an overnight update to their U.S. online store. The slimmest Macs to date have received updated Intel Haswell processors, along with $100 price cut which makes the 11-inch base model only $899 and the 13-inch model a more affordable $999 — and the same price drops apply to models with more generous amounts of onboard storage as well.

FreedomPop Adds Sprint iPhone to Free Wireless Service

Freemium wireless provider FreedomPop announced Monday that they’ve added iPhone 5 to the company’s no-contract lineup, offering free talk, text, and data. Similar to FreedomPop’s earlier foray into Android devices, the latest deal involves refurbished Sprint-compatible hardware at the one-time price of $349, which includes 200 voice minutes, 500 text messages, and 500MB of data each month; unlimited plans start at $5 per month. iPhone 4, 4S, or 5 owners with a Sprint-compatible device can also bring their own handset and take advantage of the same deal, while iPhone users on other carriers can download a free app to take advantage of the same free voice and text service on existing devices.

Apple Executives to Headline Re/code Conference Next Month

AllThingsD may be gone, but Re/code is very much alive and well and will be returning to Rancho Palos Verdes, California next month for the annual tech conference hosted by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher since 2003. Now christened The Code Conference, the May 27-29 event will feature a bevy of familiar tech faces including former iPod boss and Nest co-founder Tony Fadell, BlackBerry CEO John Chen, and Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Apple will also be represented at the conference with not one but two faces: senior vice president of Internet software and services Eddy Cue, and senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi. Sadly, the event has long since sold out, but if history is any indication, there will be plenty of online videos to watch after the conference wraps up.

Facebook Messenger Hits 5.0 with Video Sharing

Social networking giant Facebook updated their free Facebook Messenger app for iPhone on Monday, adding the ability to send videos from the Camera Roll and have viewers watch them without having to leave the app. Version 5.0 also brings instant photo sharing that doesn’t require users to leave a chat in progress, the ability to press and hold down on a sticker to access that pack and improved search functionality. As always, Facebook Messenger 5.0 is a free download from the App Store.

Sorry Twitter, Social Media Isn’t Really Helping TV Networks

Re/code reported Monday that microblogging service Twitter may not really be doing much to help television networks “deliver eyeballs to your shows” after all. According to the Financial Times, a wave of chatter about the recent Winter Olympics in Sochi across Twitter and Facebook didn’t actually translate to big ratings for NBC. “I am saying the emperor wears no clothes. It is what it is. These are the numbers,” explained NBCUniversal research chief Alan Wurtzel. Maybe they should talk to SyFy, who saw a record number of viewers tuning in for last year’s Sharknado, largely on the strength of the B-movie being talked up on social networks, including Twitter.

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Subscribers of Adobe Creative Cloud are getting a little something extra in their Easter basket this month with the long-awaited arrival of Lightroom mobile, which allows editing images while on the go and automatic sync back to the desktop.

Adobe today announced the release of Lightroom mobile, a free iPad-only companion app for the Mac or PC versions of Lightroom 5 that enables image sync between desktop and mobile.

Lightroom mobile works with Adobe’s Smart Preview technology to create high-quality proxies from full-resolution images stored on desktop versions of Lightroom 5, allowing photographers to perform non-destructive image editing, update metadata, or change collections from the iPad, then sync those changes back to the Mac or PC.

The iPad app features a full complement of Lightroom tools including editing of RAW images from DSLR cameras or those imported from the iPad, along with the most popular enhancements and presets from the desktop version. When finished, images can be shared straight to popular social networks in just a few taps.

Adobe is quick to note that this isn’t a full cloud storage solution similar to its unlimited Revel service — while Lightroom mobile is capable of syncing an unlimited number of images from the desktop, the full-resolution files always remain in Lightroom 5 and only the Smart Previews are stored in the cloud as needed.

In addition to Lightroom mobile for iPad, Adobe is also introducing a web-based component that allows synced photos to be viewed from any browser. The company plans to introduce an iPhone version of Lightroom mobile later this year.

Although Lightroom mobile is free, the app requires a current subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud to actually work, the cheapest of which is the company’s $9.99-per-month Photoshop Photography Program that bundles Photoshop CC and Lightroom 5. Lightroom mobile is now available from the App Store and requires iOS 7.0 or later.

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Apple held the lottery for this year’s Worldwide Developer Conference in an effort to prevent developers from scooping up all the tickets within seconds of being made available. Judging from our Twitter feed, a number of longtime Mac and iOS developers wound up empty-handed this year, so congrats to those who managed to get in and here’s to a new Apple keynote on June 2!

MacPhun Adds Made-to-Order Printing to Focus 2

The folks at MacPhun announced Tuesday a new update to Focus 2 and Focus 2 Pro for Mac, which add the ability to print images to a canvas, postcard, or framed print that’s shipped right to your door. The new Order Prints feature is a partnership with MILK Tailor Made Books, and the update also includes enhancements to image processing, custom focus brushes, and user interface improvements. The updates are free of charge and now available to Focus 2 users from the Mac App Store, or Focus 2 Pro users from the “Check for Updates” menu option.

Sonico Shifts iTranslate Voice 2 Back to Original Version

Sonico Mobile announced Monday the resurrection of iTranslate Voice, the original universal version of the company’s $1.99 voice-to-voice translation tool. After launching iTranslate Voice 2 recently, Sonico found that the all-new version wasn’t getting much attention in the App Store, so the company has effectively reversed course by removing the sequel from sale and bringing back the original version, this time with the same iOS 7 makeover. Moving forward, Sonic plans to update both apps, so owners of either version will continue to be supported, but the move once again highlights the need to have a proper upgrade path where developers can charge a discounted price for a new version, rather than treating it as an entirely new app.

Amazon Instant Video for iOS Now Optimized for iOS 7

Amazon may have publicly whined about being unable to get Instant Video on the Apple TV during last week’s Fire TV introduction, but the e-tailer continues to tweak its free, universal iOS app. The latest version 2.5 released on Monday finally delivers “a new, updated look and feel” for the Amazon Instant Video app which is optimized for iOS 7 and stomps out the usual bugs, while delivering always welcome “stability improvements.” Curiously, the app still doesn’t support Google’s $35 Chromecast, which many competing streaming services have already added — but Amazon would probably rather have you buy a Fire TV instead.

Flying Meat Celebrates 11.5 Years with $14.99 Deal on Acorn 4

If you’ve had your eye on the popular image and photo editor Acorn but have been too cheap to shell out $49.99 to buy it, this is your lucky day. Flying Meat Software announced Monday that Acorn 4 is on sale to both new and upgrade users for the low price of only $14.99, available on the Mac App Store or direct from the company’s website. Developers Gus and Kirstin Mueller had originally planned to celebrate the company’s 10th anniversary with such a deal a year and a half ago, but claim they “completely forgot about it” until now. The $14.99 deal is only for a limited (and unspecified) amount of time, so we would advise not waiting too long on this one.

Verizon Follows AT&T Down 4 Lines for $160 Rabbit Hole

So much for not competing on price: Fierce Wireless is reporting that Verizon Wireless has reduced the cost of its More Everything plans for customers with data buckets of 10GB or more. The new $160-per-month price for four smartphones should look familiar to AT&T customers, because it’s exactly the same as what Ma Bell launched back in February. The new deal effectively slashes $20 per month off Verizon’s previous price, but the carrier remains defiant about not giving customers a discount for bringing their own device or buying one outright, which is rapidly becoming the industry norm thanks to moves by rivals AT&T and T-Mobile US.

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Apple and Samsung are once again duking it out in court, and the proceedings have become something equivalent to a reality TV show for industry observers, especially those longing for a larger iPhone.

MacRumors reported Sunday (via Re/code) that Apple executives are apparently well aware of consumers’ desire to have a larger iPhone, judging from a slideshow the company produced a year ago.

As part of its latest ongoing Apple v. Samsung courtroom tussle, Cupertino has present a slide deck dated April, 2013 that offers a tantalizing peek into the company’s fears that iPhone growth is slowing each quarter.

Apple blames the decline on three factors: Carriers who want to kneecap the iPhone due to its higher subsidy payments, competition from low-cost Android smartphones and consumer desire for “less expensive & larger screen smartphones.”

The most damning evidence is a slide with the headline “Consumers want what we don’t have,” which demonstrates how the majority of smartphone growth is for devices with a screen size over four inches or priced under $300.

Whether or not Apple intends to resolve this thorny dilemma with this year’s presumed iPhone 6 remains to be seen. The device has been widely rumored to arrive in two different screen sizes, first with a 4.7-inch model and later with a larger 5.5-inch model, which judging from the company’s own research is the one everyone really wants anyway.

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(Image courtesy of Re/code and MacRumors)