Author: Leif Johnson

Just in time to counter the news about Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 10 operating system (via the BBC), Apple today launched a “golden master candidate” for OS X Yosemite. That means that development of the system is largely at an end, and that from now…

Reports that PayPal was trying to cozy up with Apple for its mobile payment system are almost as old as the rumors about Apple Pay itself. We last reported on the rumors way back in January, and now a new report from Bank Innovation (via MacRumors) claims all that work came to naught. In fact, the veteran Internet payment company apparently signed a deal with Samsung to power its own fingerprint payment system for its Galaxy S5 units.

Apple apparently made the decision to end the talks. Understandably, PayPal’s move incensed the Cupertino company, and it’s said that the partnership with Samsung led to Apple’s surprise decision to exclude PayPal from the dev kit for Apple Pay entirely.

The deal with Samsung “was reportedly forced onto PayPal by eBay CEO John Donahoe,” the report says. “PayPal’s now-former president David Marcus was purportedly categorically against the Samsung deal, knowing that it would jeopardize PayPal’s relationship with Apple. Donahoe won the day, however.”

The rift between the two companies seemingly runs deep now, and its effects were more visibly seen in a recent PayPal ad in the New York Times (also noted by MacRumors) that pointed to the iCloud celebrity snafu as proof of the comparative safety of its payment service, which greatly resembles Apple Pay in concept. “We the people,” the ad read, “want our money safer than our selfies.” Ouch.

But business may soon get rough for PayPal. Word also dropped today from CNN that eBay plans to split PayPal off as its own company again despite recent successes, which only adds to the clash between Marcus and Donahoe. And if Apple Pay turns out to be as “cool” as Apple CEO Tim Cook hopes, PayPal could end up fighting for its very survival. For its part, eBay (which still owns PayPal for now) now claims to welcome the competition from Apple Pay, as reported by MarketWatch.

“I’m hoping that the recent tokenization and Apple Pay announcements begin to accelerate the pace of NFC (near-field communication) adoption. I don’t know if that will be the case, but if it does, we think that’s a very good thing for PayPal,” John Donahoe said in the report.

Follow this article’s writer, Leif Johnson, on Twitter.

Apple recently announced that it would make a patch to combat the dreaded “Shellshock” vulnerability when it announced that the “vast majority” of Mac users are safe, and it just arrived. It’s just for Mavericks, though. If you’re using Yosesmite, you …

We’ve heard a lot about the new iPhones and the upcoming iWatch over the last couple of weeks, but today it’s time for the iMac to shine. Specifically, blogger Jack March reported this morning that Apple plans to release a 27-inch Retina iMac with a resolution of 5120 x 2880, and it’s possible that we’ll see it as early as a media event next month.

The report appears to have some weight; other sources such as 9to5Mac and Re/code have heard similar things from their little birds in the Apple tree.

“A source familiar with Apple’s plans tells me that Apple is indeed planning to launch a Retina iMac at their next press event, however the 27″ Model will be the only model that gets this feature,” said March in his report. “The source says the new 27″ iMac will use a 5120 x 2880 panel as leaked in the OSX Yosemite code a few months ago. This resolution is double the current resolution of the 27″ iMac which is 2560 × 1440.”

The design of the unit is said to remain the same, although the new models will likely feature AMD graphics, marking a shift away from the Nvidia graphics cards found in current iMac models. The rig will also be powered by Intel’s Haswell processors once again; the new Broadwell processors probably won’t be ready until the next refresh or beyond.

And that, indeed, is one of the reason why the 21.5 inch display reportedly won’t feature a Retina screen. According to the report, Apple likely wants to wait until the new processors become available.

We’ll probably see the new iMac at Apple’s anticipated media event next month, when the company will probably reveal the units alongside alongside new iPads with Touch ID.

Follow this article’s writer, Leif Johnson, on Twitter.

Over the last couple of days you may have heard of the looming danger of “Shellshock” to Mac users. This new tech scare centers on Bash, a behind-the-scenes tool that’s been used for many years now on Unix- and Linux-powered machines. Essentially, the root of the problem is an exploit that allows outside users to run code on your machine without your consent, and it could thus has devastating consequences if tackled by unscrupulous individuals. But the good news is that even though OS X runs on Unix, Apple itself says the bulk of us don’t have to worry about it.

Specifically, in a statement to Engadget, Apple claimed that “the vast majority of OS X users are not at risk…With OS X, systems are safe by default and not exposed to remote exploits of bash unless users configure advanced Unix services.” In other words, if you’re not even sure what all this talk of Unix and Bash means, you shouldn’t be in danger.

Source: Robert Graham

Still, Apple said in another statement to iMore that it’s creating a patch to help those who might still be affected by it. You’re reportedly not in danger if you’re using OS X Yosemite, but you might be at risk if you’re still using Mavericks.

Cult of Mac also provided a handy method of checking to see if your OS X unit is at risk. Simply open your terminal, and copy and paste the following command into the interface:

env x=’() { :;}; echo vulnerable’ bash -c ‘echo hello’

If you’re not at risk, the Terminal should reply with:

bash: warning: x: ignoring function definition attempt bash: error importing function definition for `x’ hello

Follow this article’s writer, Leif Johnson, on Twitter.

HealthKit is easily one of the best selling points of iOS 8, but Apple fizzled some of that enthusiasm when it pulled HealthKit-enabled apps from its store not long after the operating system was loosed on the public. Apple did, however, claim that suc…

The iPhone 6 Plus is impressively thin — but is it perhaps too thin? Since the device landed on shelves last week, several users have reported that the device has already started bending in their pockets. Lewis Hilsenteger of YouTube’s Unbox Therapy set out to find what kind of stress it takes for Apple’s newest device to warp, and he published the results in a video that runs just short of five minutes.

Hilsenteger, who claims he’d been using his device already for a couple of days, was surprised to find that his own phone had a slight bend toward the center of the unit. It’s very slight, as he shows in the video, and he states that it’s “inconclusive.” Enough people have posted photos of warped devices, however, that he took it upon himself to destroy his own phone. “For the sake of science,” of course.

Hilsenteger proceeds to bend his phone by applying his thumbs to the back of the unit, whereupon some extremely visible bending occurs just below the iPhone 6 Plus’s volume controls. It’s obvious he’s putting some serious pressure on the unit, though, and it’s unlikely that you’ll encounter that kind of force just keeping the device in your pocket.

“Bottom line here is, it’s an aluminum phone,” he says. “It is going to bend if you apply enough pressure like I just did.” He adds that achieving such results through everyday wear probably depends on factors such as how tight your jeans are.

Already bought one and want to make sure you don’t suffer the same fate? A good, sturdy case should help prevent such warping, and you might want to take it out of your pocket when bending over.

Follow this article’s writer, Leif Johnson, on Twitter.

iOS 8 has had an impressive first week, but it hasn’t been without bugs. Reports this morning revealed an impressive adoption rate for the new mobile operating system (even though it lags behind IOS 7’s), but so many of those first-week users are findi…

Oh, Beats — we hardly knew ya. For a while there it looked as though Apple would use the Beats streaming music service as its own entity, preferring to keep its own brand attached to iTunes Radio. But that’s no longer the case (if it ever was), according to a new report from TechCrunch. Indeed, only a couple of months after acquiring the service in May, Apple is reportedly getting ready to shut it down.

“Many engineers from Beats Music have already been moved off the product and onto other projects at Apple, including iTunes,” the report says. “It’s not clear when exactly Jimmy Iovine and Dr Dre’s music service will be shut down or what Apple will do with streaming, but every source with knowledge of the situation that we talked to agreed Apple plans to sunset the Beats Music brand.”

These sources allegedly include “several prominent employees at Apple and Beats.” It’s been thought that Apple acquired Beats for a head start into iTunes music streaming since the day rumors of the buyout first leaked, but recent events seemed to conflict with that initial assessment. After all, Apple recently created a dedicated Beats channel for Apple TV, and it notably added Beats as a “Made By Apple” app.

But some of the signs were there already; indeed, TechCrunch points out that the absence of Beats as a preinstalled app on the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus served as a red flag. It’s also unclear how this move will affect the headphone side of the business, which Apple has been promoting in its retail stores and via a new dedicated subhead on the online store.

[UPDATE] Not so fast. According to recode.net, the TechCrunch report is in error. Their article states, “Tom Neumayr, Apple’s PR rep, says the TechCrunch story is ‘not true’ but wouldn’t go beyond that.” It’s speculated that Beats Music may simply be rebranded.

Follow this article’s writer, Leif Johnson, on Twitter.

If all that hullabaloo about record numbers of preorders and crowded Apple stores didn’t tip you off, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus are selling quite well. How well? According to a press release sent out by the company this morning, customers acquired more than 10 million of the devices over the weekend. Yes, that’s a record.

“Sales for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus exceeded our expectations for the launch weekend, and we couldn’t be happier,” Apple CEO Tim Cook says in the press release. “We would like to thank all of our customers for making this our best launch ever, shattering all previous sell-through records by a large margin.”

Indeed, those numbers could have been higher if the two devices’ release weren’t slightly tainted by the low availability we’ve come to expect from Apple launches over the last couple of years. Cook referred to this unfortunate (but somehow enviable) state of affairs in the release.

“While our team managed the manufacturing ramp better than ever before, we could have sold many more iPhones with greater supply and we are working hard to fill orders as quickly as possible,” Cook says. The limited availability issues most strongly affect the iPhone 6 Plus, which is listed as not shipping for three to four weeks across the Apple Online Store.

Still, that’s an impressive launch weekend for the Cupertino company, especially considering that the iPhone 5s and 5c together “only” reached 9 million sales during the same timeframe. As usual, Apple didn’t provide a breakdown on the sales for each of the devices; we’ll likely have to wait until the quarterly earnings call in in October before we learn those numbers.

Follow this article’s writer, Leif Johnson, on Twitter.

The big update to Apple TV may still be in the works, but in the meantime, everyone’s favorite Cupertino company has expanded the device’s current offerings with the addition of a Showtime Anytime channel. Notably, the channel acts as both an on-demand channel and way to view subscription content if you already have the channel through a cable provider.

There’s a good chance you can run the channel if you live in the States and have both a cable connection and a subscription to Showtime. Supported providers include AT&T U-Verse, Bright House Networks, Comcast Xfinity, Cox, DIRECTV, Optimum, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS — along with a massive number of regional providers. The channel also reportedly allows the viewing of full episodes from select shows for free, although it’s unclear what these programs are.

The addition of the Showtime Anytime channel allows Apple TV owners to watch popular shows such as Dexter, Homeland, Californication, House of Lies, Ray Donovan, and The Tudors on Apple’s diminutive entertainment device, as well as Showtime’s normally impressive list of premium movies.

The news follows on the heels of today’s earlier announcement that Apple had revived the iTunes Festival Channel for the device, which we covered in today’s Morning Report. Earlier in the month, Apple also added NFL Now, Fox Now, and CNBC. As for the highly anticipated Apple TV refresh? It’s likely that we won’t see it until sometime next year.

Follow this article’s writer, Leif Johnson, on Twitter.

Big is in at Apple. We already know that’s true for the iPhone based on all the rumors surrounding the 4.7- and 5.5-inch models that are expected to hit shelves later this year, but now Bloomberg is reporting that we’ll see a 12.9-inch iPad sometime in early 2015. Naturally, the sources “asked not to be identified because the details aren’t public.”

Rumors about this device have been floating around since last year. We published a three–part series outlining predictions for the device (then commonly called the “iPad Pro”) last winter, and a July 2013 report from the Wall Street Journal claimed that the Cupertino company was testing tablets that measured “slightly less than 13 inches diagonally.”

Source: Ramotion

The report from Bloomberg claims that the big iPad represents an attempt to “shake up” the iPad line after two consecutive years of declining sales. The screen is said to support a high enough pixel density to reach ultra high definition (UHD), and its overall design will roughly match that of today’s iPad mini and iPad Air.

Apple may be planning to market the massive tablet to business buyers, particularly in the wake of its notable partnership with IBM aimed at assisting enterprise customers. It’s worth noting that reputable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities shot down rumors of a big iPad last year (via MacRumors), suggesting instead that Apple will release a new 9.7-inch iPad sporting significantly higher pixel densities than we see in current models.

Follow this article’s writer, Leif Johnson, on Twitter.

Have no interest in an iOS-compatible smartwatch? What would you say to an iOS-compatible smart shirt? In what appears to be a first for the fashion industry, luxury designer Ralph Lauren is hoping you’ll say “yes.” This week at the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, the brand is outfitting ball boys and one top tennis player in shirts that relay performance information to iOS devices.

“Everyone is exploring wearable tech watches and headbands and looking at cool sneakers,” said David Lauren, Ralph Lauren’s executive vice president of advertising, in an interview with the New York Times. “We skipped to what we thought was new, which is apparel. We live in our clothes. We want to control the technology and make it applicable to our life in a way that is refined and comfortable. Nothing clunky that you have to strap on. You’re just putting on a shirt.”

The black nylon shirts, created via a partnership with OMsignal, are reportedly able to keep track of the wearer’s heart rate and stress levels with the help of silver-coated thread and sensors woven into the fabric. The information, stored in a “black box” that wearers clip onto their shirts, is then sent to an app on the user’s smartphone where it delivers the information in the form of a a variety of reports. (Swimming with one, in case you were wondering, is reportedly out of the question.)

Marcos Giron, currently the top singles player in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, is the only participant apart from the ball boys who’ll be wearing the shirt, and then only during practice sessions. Ralph Lauren plans to release an entire line of such wearable technology sometime next year, but there’s currently no word on how much they’ll set you back. Considering the prices of the brand’s normal clothing, however, it’s likely you’ll end up saving money if you buy a MacBook instead.

Follow this article’s writer, Leif Johnson, on Twitter.

One of the bigger bits of Apple-related news today (seen in our Morning Report) was the alleged leak of a schematic for a new “Phosphorus” component for the iPhone 6, which was initially thought to be a new processor by a user named GeekBar in a post on Weibo. But that’s not the case, argues a MacRumors forum poster named leecbaker; instead, we may actually be looking at the device’s rumored barometric pressure sensor.

“The chip pictured has the part number BMP282,” leecbaker said in his post. “I’m 99.99{813a954d5e225a1509f22204ece89c855080ce25555f20805f61bed63cbfde3b} sure this is a Bosch barometric pressure sensor, similar to this part BMP280. Variants of one part often have slightly different part numbers — if Apple got Bosch to customize the chip for them with different packaging, or a slightly different measurement range, that would explain the difference in part number.”

Such a sensor could yield far more features than mere pressure readings, the poster says — it could also assist with GPS navigation and weather forecasting, and add some utility to Apple’s upcoming Health app in the form of lung-function measurements. Another reader, kdarling, lent weight to leecbaker’s claims by pointing out that the pins on Bosch’s pressure sensor match those in the leaked schematics.

Bosch’s pressure sensor. Via MacRumors

It’s worth noting that GeekBar has been wrong about the identification of “leaked” parts in the past — the poster recently incorrectly claimed that a component was associated with flash storage when it was instead associated with RAM — but the parts themselves may be genuine. At the very least, they suggest that some of those early far-fetched rumors about the iPhone 6 (and the “iWatch,” by extension) may have some truth to them, after all.

Follow this article’s writer, Leif Johnson, on Twitter.

The government of Brazil isn’t amused by the Secret app, which lets you make comments you normally wouldn’t make on Facebook or Twitter under the protection of anonymity. In fact, it’s so incensed by the app that it’s ordered Apple to remove the app fr…

Some owners of the iPhone 5 have been experiencing trouble with the device’s battery, and Apple today launched a replacement program to remedy the problem. Apple claims that the faulty devices were sold between September of 2012 and January of 2013 and suffer from shorter battery life and the need for frequent charges.

Only a “limited serial number range” was affected by the problems, according to the Cupertino company, and you can see if your device is listed among them by entering your serial number over at Apple’s replacement site. Should you find that your serial number qualifies, you can exchange your device’s battery at Apple Authorized Service Provider, an Apple Retail Store, or via Apple Technical support.

Source: Forbes

As a bonus, Apple will even refund you if you had to seek a third party for a replacement. According to the support page, the replacement program covers iPhone 5 batteries for two years after it was first sold at retail or until March 1, 2015—whatever date works best for the customer.

The replacement program launches today in both the United States and China, and the company will extend it to other countries beginning August 29. This marks the second time we’ve seen a battery replacement offer from Apple in recent months, the other being an understated program to replace faulty iPhone 5s batteries.

Follow this article’s writer, Leif Johnson, on Twitter.